QAD ERP takes lead in bang for buck per user for SMEs

Its survey ‘The total cost of ERP ownership in mid-size companies’, which examined more than 600 manufacturers in the revenues range $50 million to $1 billion, measured depth and breadth of functionality, as well as the cost of ERP, including software, services and maintenance. The result, QAD demonstrated best results in terms of cost per user on performance measurements, including reduction in inventory, operational costs and administrative costs, along with improvements in online shipments and schedule compliance. “This study looked beyond the common factors [that] companies typically use to select ERP software, to determine the business benefits manufacturers achieved through cost savings and schedule improvements,” says Cindy Jutras, vice president and group director, Aberdeen Group. “Based on this analysis, we found that mid-size QAD customers produced the highest average improvements for the lowest cost per user.” Earlier this year, QAD released QAD Enterprise Applications 2008 to meet what the company sees as the expectations of a new generation of users by making it more intuitive to learn. The new release provides improved capabilities in financial management, customer management, manufacturing, distribution, supply chain management, and service and support.