Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Accountant's Guide Now Available. Confused by the terminology and unfamiliar topics manufacturers use? A new Accountant's Guide To Choosing The Right Manufacturing Software is available that sheds light on many previously obscure topics. This 75-page reference guide is available free of charge to practicing accountants and consultants who visit the MISys web site at www.misysinc.com/cpaguide.
MISys To Exhibit At TPAC 2008. Next month's TPAC 2008 conference in Vancouver BC will host all the major 3rd-party developers for Sage Accpac ERP. Among them will be MISys, showing the newest version of MISys SBM product which integrates seamlessly with Sage Accpac ERP and Sage Simply Accounting. If you are planning to attend this year's TPAC, make sure you stop by the MISys booth to learn all about the future of MISys Small Business Manufacturing.
New Training Workshops Scheduled. A new series of online training workshops on MISys Small Business Manufacturing has been scheduled at MISys University. These workshops are open to current users of MISys SBM and those who are just considering the purchase of the software (we often have prospects who sit in on training as a means to completing their due diligence). All you need is a major credit card to register online.
Discounted tuition rates are available to current MISys Business Partners. For more information, or to register as a Business Partner, please contact Scott Beavers, MISys Channel Manager, at 802/457-4600 x286.
MISys SBM Reviews Urgently Needed. Now that MISys Small Business Manufacturing has become one of the preferred 3rd-party solutions for QuickBooks, we urgently need experienced users to write a brief review suitable for posting on the QuickBooks web site. This is neither the route to fame nor fortune, but by doing so you will win the enduring appreciation of everyone here at MISys World Headquarters who works so hard to make the software as powerful and reliable as can be. If you've got 50 kind and insightful words about our product to share, please click here.
Dateline Woodstock:
Here in Vermont, you can't turn on the radio or television without hearing about spiraling fuel costs and the affect they are having on everyday life. It's probably not that much different where you live. Vermonters have a long history of living with a light footprint and turning to their own devices when other resources come into short supply. After all, every October for the past several millennia, the ground in Woodstock freezes solid, everything growing suddenly stops, and our world goes into a mild state of hibernation. So we're quite used to spending at least part of our lives in energy conservation mode. A surprising number of Vermonters are actively pursuing ways to reduce their carbon footprint, whether for themselves, or for society at large. Around town, woodpiles are growing daily. According to the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, our state leads the nation for the most number of hybrid vehicles per capita. At a local country fair last weekend, the space allocated to "Hybrids Park Here" was almost as large as "Everyone Else Park Here." From their offices at the Woodstock Squat and Gobble (our local diner), Jacob Hammond and his brother Jeb have been discussing ways to reduce the cost of air travel. Jacob says he's been in touch with some "major airlines" about his plan to have every airliner fly 10,000 feet higher. Besides reducing wind resistance at that altitude, Jacob figures that the average plane will save 18% on fuel consumption by simply gliding the last hour of every flight. Jeb disagrees. According to his detailed calculations, flying at 40,000 feet is equivalent to hugging the outside of every curve at the NASCAR finals, and Jake's idea will have planes actually flying a longer distance of 28%. So Jeb favors a flight path that stays as close to the ground as possible, thus reducing the actual distance traveled. He figures this could be about 6 feet in places like Kansas and Oklahoma, but agrees that a "safe height" would be considerably greater in places like Vermont, Montana, and Wyoming. We're not sure that either Jacob or Jeb have found the secret to reducing aviation fuel consumption. You will have to agree that, as fuel costs increase, there is a remarkable (and gratifying) interest in developing alternative ways of getting by -- just like Vermonters do every October.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Sleeter Schedules Manufacturing Primer. The first in a series of webinars designed to explore manufacturing as the basis for a profitable consulting practice has been scheduled for Monday, July 21st. This webinar is open to existing members of the Sleeter Consultants Network and those who are interested in becoming Sleeter consultants. There is no charge for the workshop, but seating is limited so you must pre-register on-line.
MISys Is Endorsed Development Partner. Manufacturing Information Systems, Inc. (MISys®) has been named a Sage Software Business Management Division (BMD) Endorsed Development Partner. MISys developed the MISys Manufacturing System which has been marketed to Sage Accpac ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) clients for more than 25 years. An Endorsed Development Partner is the highest achievable designation in the Sage Software BMD Development Partner Program. Sage Software is the North American operating company of The Sage Group, plc.
As an Endorsed Development Partner, Sage Software recognizes MISys’ manufacturing software as a preferred manufacturing software solution to Sage Accpac ERP clients. In the next month, MISys and Sage will jointly develop a go-to-market strategy designed to position Sage Accpac as a provider of integrated solutions for mid-sized manufacturing firms. This endorsement provides the sales, marketing, and development departments of the two companies an opportunity to offer the Sage Accpac partner channel reliable product integration and consistent messaging.
“MISys has been at the forefront of manufacturing software in the mid-market for many years. Being named a BMD Endorsed Development Partner by Sage Software shows that Sage understands the importance of the manufacturing vertical market and the strength of manufacturing ERP as a key value-add for many Sage Accpac ERP clients,” said Dave Brown, President of MISys Inc. “With more than 8,000 installed MISys/Sage Accpac customers in 38 countries, it’s rewarding to receive this recognition from Sage Software.”
MISys turns Sage Accpac ERP into an industrial-strength manufacturing system by adding enhanced inventory control, advanced purchasing, material requirements planning (MRP), master production scheduling (MPS), work in process (WIP) tracking, serial/lot tracking, manufacturing orders, job costing, and tracking of shop operations all integrated with Sage Accpac ERP.(more...)
Dateline Woodstock:
Last Friday, the good people of Woodstock, Vermont celebrated U.S. Independence Day (the 4th of July) with a slate of events starting with a noontime band concert on the Town Green, followed by a chicken barbeque at the Woodstock Fire Station, to a gala picnic and fireworks display at dusk. As is our custom, townspeople gathered at the Woodstock Athletic Field (aka the Football Field) for the annual Tableau du Pavillon (Flag Table). We believe the original idea for this event came from far, far away in China where an array of local citizens are pressed into service holding colored cards over their heads to create an image observable from the Moon. When it comes to creating human display panels, our Chinese friends (with an estimated population of 1,321,851,888) have a distinct edge over Woodstockers when it comes to creating High Definition displays. But our enthusiasm prevails and this year a record 1,841 people registered for the event. This is not to say that we can create an image with 1,841 pixels because half to two-thirds of these people are "designated alternates." In China they don't have any designated alternates. In Woodstock, we like to create a big image of the American flag in honor of the occasion. When everyone is properly aligned to create the stars and stripes of the American flag, their designated alternates are invited to hike up Woodstock Mountain to see how it looks. When the alternates hike back down and return to the Football Field, the question they are most often asked is "So, how does it look?" This is where the designated alternates come into play: they are free to ask anyone currently holding a card if they would like to be relieved to see how it looks. So starts the shuffle of colored cards and new people hiking up Woodstock Mountain just to see how it looks. Because of the large turn-out this year, the Tableau du Pavill on event took over three hours to complete, but everyone enjoyed the view and the camaraderie. Next month, when you are watching the Olympic events featuring at least one 1080p image of the Olympic Emblem, stop for a moment to contemplate what it might look like from the top of Woodstock Mountain.