A whole new world of visibility

Do you want what someone else already has?' 'Do you want to tie yourself to whatever a particular software vendor is doing?' Those are the classic rhetorical questions bespoke software developers trot out to knock packaged systems when you're looking for an ERP system to run your company. And they're likely to add: 'I doubt any MD knows what he's going to want next year…' Trite nonsense? In part, definitively yes. But do today's bespoke system developers still have a role, given the flexibility and, it has to be said, established nature of the packaged systems and their vendors – particularly given the apparent speed and security blanket you buy into? Actually, they can have. There are four apposite observations. First, if your company is small and/or complex enough, then going for bespoke, rather than off the peg, can sometimes work out cheaper and more flexible. Second, given the modular nature of modern 'bespoke' systems, there's not such a massive difference from the packaged boys – except that the emphasis is absolutely on understanding and writing what you want. Third, given the nature of software suppliers in what is inevitably a series of tight niches matching industry sectors, and with business following word of mouth, you're likely to get pretty attentive and flexible service. But fourth, there are also risks, like how likely is your chosen supplier to be there for you in the future – although in reality, if we're going to go down that road, we'd do well to worry about a whole bunch of packaged system suppliers too. All that said, one company that did go the bespoke route, and has never had cause to regret it, is £2m lens coatings firm Siltint Industries, which processes opthalmic lenses, precision optics and the like for opticians, but also firms in the telecoms, defence and automotive industries. Based in Manchester, it's a fairly complex, fast-paced business, with clean room production and advanced manufacturing systems for evaporating metals onto a range of substrates. Fast data entry It's an aside, but we're not talking trivial work here: some products need 40 or 50 precision coatings for anti-reflection and other very specific filtering requirements. Siltint managing director Gerry Biggs says: "For example, we've just processed a large mirror for an astronomical telescope, but we also process fibre optic lenses for telecommunication systems, the military and other specialist applications." What's important for Siltint is customer service, so no different to any other manufacturer – except that, with the bulk of the business being from high street opticians, many requiring two-day turnaround, order entry has to be fast, work tracking slick and foolproof right through to despatch, and production flexible and efficient even though there's not much scope for planning and scheduling. "One of the problems is that we are a JIT manufacturer, but the point is until the post comes in the morning, we don't know what the final schedule is going to look like," says Biggs. He insists that for the company to function it's essential, for example, that some 1,000 orders arriving in the daily post with customers' lenses, are entered within two hours. It's also critical that the right lenses go into the right machines for the right processes in the right sequences, not only for quality and customer service, but because errors can result in expensive damage to machines and downtime the firm cannot afford. "Scheduling isn't so critical for us. It's creating the route through many different processes for a particular order that matters. We have standard routes, and unique routes if we need them, all on a database, and it's all rules-based with rework routes, inserts into the next sequence and so on." It's that kind of complexity that initially drove Siltint away from packaged ERP vendors and into the arms of the opposition. Back in the late '90s when the firm wanted to streamline and optimise – with barcode-managed automatic routing of lenses through the shop floor to improve efficiency and reduce overheads and errors, as well as automated job pricing and discounting, stock management and standard lens re-ordering – the firm came up against two problems. "The first was packaged ERP system vendors saying to us, 'Don't worry, of course it will work,' and 'Don't worry that you won't be using 80% of the functions': they didn't instil confidence. And the second was they weren't terribly interested in what we needed: most found it difficult to get their heads round getting that many orders onto a system that quickly." So when he came across bespoke systems developer Quantiv, which seemed to talk the right language, he was interested. "We told them what we wanted to achieve, and they said, 'What, you mean like this', and then mocked up our order entry for us the following Monday. We were very impressed." Does he consider himself brave going 'off-piste' like that? "No not really. We found we could talk to them, and they delivered." To be fair, in an earlier life Biggs worked in a consultancy installing systems, so he was less likely to be phased. On the other hand, he'd be more aware of the potential pitfalls of custom systems too. He does concede that if you find a packaged solution vendor that is right for you, that's fine, and agrees that you can profit from accumulated 'best practice'. But he warns: "If that company's direction turns out not to be the same as yours, getting what you need done could be expensive, or you'll wait a long time. Going bespoke, you just get what you want when you want it." Cheaper and better And he adds: "It was a lot cheaper than most of the packaged systems we were quoted. And we were excited by the flexibility: it's just not a problem to make changes." Biggs is unequivocal: "It's not as if you're starting from scratch. There are building blocks, for example for the accounting system." And he's certainly right about the flexibility: you can define, for example, scheduling or sequencing algorithms on the basis of how you want to run your business. In fact, using Quantiv's business rules engine, his application was configured and customised in a matter of weeks. The resulting integrated system incorporates all the production process, routing and stock control functionality, process automation and barcode order tracking, also feeding production data back into sales – which in turn drives the company's complex pricing and discounting rules, taking into account forecast and actual machine utilisation and individual arrangements with customers. Biggs reckons the system met all the firm's expectations, noting that automated production tracking and management, with its integrated quality controls on what are complex and time-critical processes, have helped the company drive volume growth without additional overheads. It also saved thousands on machine servicing costs through error elimination. And on customer service, he adds: "We can now tell customers within seconds precisely what stage each order is at and when it will be sent." He also makes the point that the system hasn't stood still, but evolved with the company. "Following an upgrade in 2002, for example, we can also use the system to recognise trends quickly: processes that are growing and others that are fading away, and then adjust pricing." And he says that management information on key metrics has been improved, enabling the firm to look at the business, with month-by-month sales histories of products and coatings, volumes and order profiles, status information and service level analyses. Next up will be a web-based enhancement for customer ordering. Manufacturers using precision optics have complex, high-value coating requirements, so Siltint is looking to provide them with fast, accurate, self-service quotations over the web. Biggs envisages a quotation request system for complex product specifications, with customers also able to access real-time information on their order and account status via secure extranet – as long as he can get the Microsoft licence costs to make it viable.