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| Comark Corp.
is a computer manufacturer for companies such
as General Motors, Goodyear, and many others
since 1974. In this business, Comark must
deal with a product mix that changes by the
week, sometimes even by the day. It must also
deal with a parts inventory where component
values can drop by 50% in an hour. For example,
the Intel Pentiums might be plentiful one
week, and scarce the next. Or, the memory
that goes inside the computer might cost $180
one day, and $380 the next. Additionally,
Comark guarantees that every product it builds
- or a fully compatible replacement - will
be available for a minimum of 10 years. Needless
to say, Comark found it very difficult to
accurately track all of this ever-changing
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In the past, Comark used a combination
of several different systems to handle manufacturing
and financial accounting. The result was
good financial reporting and job costing,
but no high-end, integrated manufacturing
resource planning (MRP). Another problem
was inflexibility. The lack of querying
capabilities made it difficult to identify
records that needed to be investigated or
changed. When it was time to purchase an
integrated system, Comark looked at several
PC-based systems that had good financials,
but lacked high-end integrated MRP. Then,
they discovered Expandable Software (Santa
Clara, CA). The solution provided integrated
MRP in a PC framework that could be implemented
in a few weeks. Its report writing capabilities
allowed novices to create custom reports.
Its querying capability made it possible
to locate records based on virtually any
criteria. Managers liked the low cost of
the package - about $25,000 for a relatively
small implementation.
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The system was installed and ran successfully
for the next several years. Then, an increase
in business caused management to move to
a more expensive package. They installed
a system that had more capabilities at a
considerably higher cost. According to Susan
Murphy, manufacturing manager at Comark,
the result was a disaster. "The system
forced us to change our operating methods
in several important areas, all for the
worse."
Not long after the new system was installed,
management decided to pull the plug and
go back to Expandable. Expandable offered
backflushing capabilities. "The key
is that we use a few bills of materials,
each of which actually encompasses many
different part numbers," Murphy said.
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With the Expandable system now firmly
entrenched, Comark uses the software to
further increase reporting capabilities.
A custom report was created by business
users to replace the voluminous MRP report.
This report was modified, so only assemblies,
not individual components, would appear
as line items. Demand is summarized on a
weekly basis, rather than day by day. Each
department has a concise, one- or two-page
report.
The integration between MRP, inventory,
order entry, purchasing, and financials
has been another major factor in the success
of this implementation. "With component
prices continually dropping, the value of
our inventory is dropping by the same amount,"
Murphy said. "Expandable provides powerful
tools for keeping inventory as low as possible
without incurring stock-outs that reduce
our sales."
As reprinted from Integrated Solutions
Magazine, August 2000.
© copyright Corry Publishing, Inc.
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