Friday, December 31, 2010

Serial/Lot Tracking Could Save Your Manufacturing Business

CNN reported today that Ford is recalling thousands of trucks due to a faulty module that could potentially start a fire.

Ford discovered the fault on the assembly line and decided to investigate. It was traced to a single part called a body control module; a part manufactured by Lear Corp. As Lear investigated, they were able to find out that this specific part failed because "a new hire failed to clean a soldering machine over a 6 day period in October".

Wow! Now that's an impressive level of detail. This recall could have been much wider... maybe millions of vehicles. But instead, its limited to 6 days! How did they know? It's because they use software similar to MISys Manufacturing that provides visibility and detail into their manufacturing processes.

Because Lear was able to isolate and track down that specific part to a specific source location - which led to a specific place and time in the manufacturing process - they were able to quickly tie it back to the vehicles that received these parts and limit the damage and cost.

Mistakes happen. And when they do, make sure you have the right tools in place to fix it!

Visit http://www.misysinc.com and take the 6-Step tour.
New Chapter Now Available: How To Choose A Right-sized Manufacturing System - The Basics of Planning

It is easy to say “We should do better planning” but actually accomplishing this goal is often very difficult – virtually impossible without strict procedures coupled with a computerized system.
Effective planning is often illusive for manufacturing firms whether they are small or large, but for different reasons.

Small manufacturing firms usually lack the manpower required to “get organized” and implement sufficiently strict policies and procedures where planning is possible. Without strict procedures, small firms generally will revert to “seat-of-the-pants” operations where all efforts of focused on getting through to the end of the day... read more

Thursday, October 21, 2010

As you continue to hunt for the right manufacturing solution, take a look at this free resource: "How To Choose a Right-sized Manufacturing System"

It's an unbiased, five chapter series written by David Brown, the CEO of MISys Manufacturing. After working with manufacturers for 25 years, Dave really knows his stuff... it's like getting a top-dollar consultant for free. Click, read, enjoy.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

We had a fantastic showing for part 1 of the 4-part webinar series for Peachtree users.  "Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing Edition (QME) Overview".  The video has been archived here - http://www.misysinc.com/webinar/ 

Enjoy!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

“So, exactly how old are you?”

Sometimes this is an easy question to answer. Sometimes it isn’t. For MISys Manufacturing, we first started selling our manufacturing software in 1977 when we were based in Massachusetts. Then in 1983 we moved to God’s country and registered our company name in the Green Mountain state of Vermont. We tend to consider that as the beginning of our company, though we were already in the business for 6 years by that time.

So, we are 33 years old by one way of thinking, and 27 by another. We like to think of it as being in business for “over 25 years” and leave it at that. Maybe it makes us all feel a little younger that way.

Friday, June 25, 2010

The two biggest lies when the Auditor makes a surprise visit:

Manufacturer: “Good to see you.”
Auditor: “I’m only here to help.”

Medical device manufacturers are accustomed to seeing auditors. There are the “independent” auditors hired by the manufacturer to visit twice a year just to test the systems and make sure that everything is in place. Then there are the insurance accreditation auditors, plus the OEM’s internal and external auditors for subcontract work, the ISO 13485:2003 certification auditors, and the big daddy of them all – the FDA. For even the well prepared, the heart still skips a beat and the chest tightens a bit when the auditor walks through the door.

MISys Manufacturing can help. The Serial Lot Tracking module of MISys was designed to trace raw materials, sub-assemblies and finished goods in inventory. MISys silently logs every transaction involving a serialized or lot tracked items through physical inventory, purchasing and production. Manufacturers using Serial Lot Tracking can easily generate detailed audit reports to satisfy virtually any regulatory agency, giving them confidence to say:

“We’re in great shape. I look forward to your report.”

Monday, May 10, 2010

MISys Guys on the Road!

We've blogged about each of these individually but the MISys guys just want to remind you that we may in a town near you in the next two weeks. We are attending the Sage Insights show starting next week in Denver, CO. Hope to see all our business partners and our strategic parters at the show. This will be the 27th consecutive Sage/Accpac show MISys has attended since becoming a development partner back in..??? - well let's not go there.

And after we return from Denver we pack up again and head for the Scaling New Herghts show in Atlanta at Stone Mountain, GA. For all you QuickBooks fans come see us at the show! The MISys guys then get a break until fall when off we go again to the Intuit Solution Provider Summitt in October in Los Angeles and in November to the Accountng Solutions Conference put on my our friends at the Sleeter Group.

We really enjoy getting out from MISy world headquarters in Woodstock, Vermont to see in person all the folks we talk to on a regualr basis by phone and email. Hope to see you in person soon!

Monday, May 03, 2010

Identifying Specific Objectives - This is chapter three of How To Choose a Right-sized Manufacturing System. http://www.misysinc.com/downloads/rssfeeds/choose/choose03.htm

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Understanding Types of Manufacturers - this is chapter two of How to Choose A Right Sized Manufacturing System - http://www.misysinc.com/downloads/rssfeeds/choose/choose02.htm

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

How To Choose a Right Sized Manufacturing System
Dave Brown, President and CEO of MISys wrote a very interesting book called "How To Choose A Right Sized Manufacturing System". For those of you who had an opportunity to obtain a copy know that the book takes Dave's 30 years of manufacturing experience in both the field of manfacturing and manufacturing software design, to explain to both accounting practitioners and manufacturers how to navigate the complex terms and operational challenges of picking a manufacturing software sytem and then using those features to run a successful manufacturing company. If you missed the original book we are publishing portions of it here for download in our MISys blog or by going to our web site and linking to our RSS feed. You can see the first installement, "What do you want to accomplish" by clicking here: http://www.misysinc.com/downloads/rssfeeds/choose/choose01.htm More installements to follow in our blog and via our Twitter feed.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Winner of our Disney Trip
Pat Donnelly of Oak State was our big MISys winner of the trip to Disneyworld in Orlando. Not only did Pat go but he took three others from his accounting department with him. Pat says about the trip, “On Day one we, traveled to Orlando and Disneyworld. The next day we headed for Animal Kingdom after purchasing the last four umbrellas and then to Hollywood studios. It rained the entire day but the lines were great. On day two the sun came out and all was well other than the lines. I have never seen so many different kinds of strollers and hope to never see another one. This was of course at the Magic Kingdom. Then, to escape the screaming kids we went on to Epcot. Day three we relaxed in Downtown Disney, toured around the Boardwalk and some of the other Disney properties. To summarize the trip, it was great other than the reoccurring stroller nightmares. “

Congratulations to Pat and the accounting crew at Oak State and their successful trip and return from the world of Disney.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Dateline Woodstock
Now generally we don't think of Vermont as having a lot of monsters. But as it turns out, our safe little state is home to a whole zoo-full of incredible creatures. Champ is here, of course, and he, she, or it, has many aquatic cousins. Like Memphre in Lake Memphremagog. And "Elmo" in Lake Elmore. And of course Crystal Lake's little known "Ms Crystal".Then there are the mythical land dwellers.Down south we've got "The Bennington Monster". Up in the Northeast Kingdom, there's 0ld Slipperyskin. And folks tell me something extraordinarily weird is lurking on Black Mountain in Addison.But, in honor of this special time of year, I was determined to find something truly out of the ordinary. So I started asking around. Most people looked at me askance, but I'm used to that. Finally, I spoke to my friend Howard Coffin, who answered without hestation and in just one word: "Cronchers". Turned out Mr. Coffin is something of an expert on Cronchers, having written about them on several occasions.So today I want to introduce you to a real rarity, Vermont's so-called "Sidehill Croncher".These elusive monstrosities are said to reside within the deep, remote, almost forgotten Chateauguy wilderness near Bridgewater. Considered very dangerous, Cronchers are an unlikely hybrid: part deer, part wild boar. According to Mr. Coffin's description published by The Rutland Herald in 1966 - and I quote - "the Croncher has... short tusks, dark dirty brown hair, weighs at least 100 pounds, [and] has hooves with prominent dew claws." Unquote.It seems that Cronchers are well adapted to Vermont's hilly landscape as their legs are shorter on the right side than on the left - an adaptation that allows them to graze more comfortably on steep hillsides. Because of this evolutionary peculiarity, they must always travel in a counter-clockwise direction... and would fall over if they turned around. Although they can move at extremely high speeds, people can easily escape them by running straight up or straight down the slope. The Croncher will not be able to attack because it would have to circumnavigate the entire hill in an effort to catch up.Possible sightings of Sidehill Cronchers (or Crevida Scrofa) have been reported in Stockbridge, Ludlow, and maybe on Mt. Mansfield. But make no mistake, these animals are rare - so rare, in fact, that no one has ever seen one.
Used with permission from Joe Citro
You can find more commentaries by Joe Citro on-line at VPR-dot-net.

Friday, April 09, 2010

Have you tried the MISys RSS feed lately? We have started a series of whitepapers on our RSS feed on How To Choose a Right-sized Manufacturing System. So far three papers have been published. If you are a MISys customer or a MISys partner just log in on the MISys web site www.misysinc.com and click on the RSS feed in the lower left hand column.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Essentials of Accpac Manufacturing. The 9-part webinar series entitled Essentials of Accpac Manufacturing is wrapping up this week and next with a look at the Labor Tracking module and custom reporting options for MISys SBM.

We have received a quite a few responses from Accpac business partners similar to this: "Thanks for hosting this webinar on MISys SBM, This is the first time I've taken a serious look at your product after selling MISys SAE for the past 8 years. Honestly, I'm amazed at the improvements and new features you've put into MISys SBM. Awesome!"

Commenting on the results of the webinar series, Dave Brown, MISys President said "I'm delighted that our business partners are discovering that MISys SBM isn't that much different conceptually from the old MISys SAE, even though the look and feature-set have been given a major update. As economic conditions improve in the manufacturing sector, I'm bullish about the cadre of Accpac partners who are getting serious about selling the new product and realizing it is the manufacturing solution that will satisfy their customer's needs."

If you missed this opportunity to learn about the Essentials of Accpac Manufacturing and want to listen to recordings of previous sessions or register for the remaining sessions online.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

QuickBooks Conference in May in Washington State
See MISys manufacturing software at the Puget Sound QuickBooks Conference in May - http://www.qbconference.com/pugetsound/ held at the Hyatt Rengency in Bellevue, Washington. There will be three separate hour-long sessions. Register to participate at http://www.qbconference.com/pugetsound/Register.aspx. This conference is sponsored by Intuit.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing. Peachtree consultants who want to learn more about the Peachtree Quantum Manufacturing system (powered by MISys) are invited to join us in Denver, Colorado for a full-day training workshop just prior to the opening of Sage Insights 2010.

The cost of this workshop is $99 but Peachtree consultants who attend can earn a big commission bonus. Select this pre-conference training workshop during the Sage Insights 2010 Conference registration process, or register separately on the MISys website.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

QuickBooks Canada. The MISys development team is pleased to announce that MISys SBM version 4.0 is now fully compatible with QuickBooks Canada 2010 R3. Even though it seemed like all of Canada was attending the Olympic Winter Games, we know there are a great many small- to medium-sized manufacturing firms north of the border who could really use an industrial-strength product like MISys SBM.

Our marketing research shows that most Canadian manufacturers are satisfied with their accounting systems but many are being driven up-market because of the need for more advanced manufacturing capabilities such as MRP and shop floor control. "Our seamless integration with QuickBooks means that Canadian manufacturers can stick with a right-sized accounting system and still get the manufacturing functionality they need" remarks Scott Beavers, MISys VP of Sales.

A terrific new feature of MISys SBM working in tandem with QuickBooks Canada is its ability to create purchase orders in multiple foreign currencies, and to process resulting invoices appropriately.

Note: To fully utilize the multi-currency purchasing and invoicing functions in MISys SBM, you must be running QuickBooks Canada 2010 R3 or later.

For more information about MISys SBM visit the MISys website at www.misysinc.com.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Manufacturing Grows for Seventh Consecutive Month
U.S. manufacturing expanded for the seventh month in a row in February, with
particularly promising gains in employment, though growth in several other
key indicators is beginning to slow down. The United States economy continues
its gradual economic recovery, with several sectors reversing their decline
or returning to profitability despite an elevated unemployment rate and
reduced consumer demand levels. Growth in manufacturing reflects these wider
trends, expanding through February, although at a slower pace than in
previous months.

According to the Institute for Supply Management's latest manufacturing ISM Report on
Business, released this week, the manufacturing sector expanded for
the seventh consecutive month in February, in line with the overall U.S.
economy, which expanded for the 10th consecutive month.

That's good news for all you MISys users and our Business Partners!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Sage Insights 2010. As we head into 2010, our travel schedule is fairly light, with the next BIG EVENT being Sage Insights 2010 which is being held from May 17-20, 2010 at the Denver Colorado Convention Center.With three Sage-owned accounting systems (Accpac, Peachtree, and Simply Accounting) the Sage Insights Conference is a great place to see lots of important people all under the same roof! We are working with our friends at Sage to firm up dates for MISys pre-conference training at Insights. Right now, we're looking at Sunday, May 16th for Essentials of Quantum Manufacturing Edition. Pencil these in on your calendar and stay tuned for more details.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Annual Satisfaction Survey. It's that time of year again when we ask our customers to rank us using the industry-standard Net Promoter Score. While you're at it, we'll ask you to complete the sentence "If I were MISys, I would..." Your constructive feedback will help us in our quest to be the best software company you've ever done business with. Answer just 2 questions and be in the running for one of several $50 Home Depot gift cards!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Scaling New Heights
That's the theme for this year's Advanced Training Conference for Intuit Advisors being held at Stone Mountain in Atlanta, Georgia. The MISys Guys will be there to talk with Intuit Solution Providers, Pro-Advisors and CPA's. It's May 24-26. Get more information on the conference at: http://www.scalingnewheights.com/.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

The MISys team talks with lots of customers over time and the recurring theme always seems to be that our customers don't know all the things that MISys can do to help their manufacturing operations. The best way to find out is by attending one of our online training sessions at http://www.misysinc.com/misbm/training.php. Those who attend the training are often heard saying, "I didn't know MISys could do that". Another good way to find out if MISys can do something you might not be aware of is to post a question to the MISys forum http://www.misysinc.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php or just browse the FAQ sections or previous posts. MISys has been around for more than 20 years so our knowledgebase is quite extensive. You'll be surrpised at all the things MISys does that you didn't know about.

Friday, February 05, 2010

Sage Insights 2010. As we head into 2010, our travel schedule is fairly light, with the next BIG EVENT being Sage Insights 2010 which is being held from May 17-20, 2010 at the Denver Colorado Convention Center. MISys now partners with three Sage-owned accounting systems (Accpac, Peachtree, and Simply) so the Sage Insights Conference is a great place to see lots of important people all under the same roof! As other strategic partners schedule events that include MISys, we will be sure to post them here.

Monday, February 01, 2010

January 2010. You may have heard news reports that a major crime ring has been discovered and broken up by Woodstock Police. According to court papers, Jason Hinsdale and his brother Dwayne, have been convicted of attempted assault, although the Police were never able to identify a victim of the Hinsdale’s operation. According the Duncan Duncan, Chief of Police, the Hinsdale brothers started their crime spree (called The Operation) in 2008 by telephoning members of the Woodstock Highway Department, threatening to assault them if they didn't pay a ransom of $100. Six months later, when the twins failed to identify any victims, Dwayne convinced his brother to participate in another version of the operation, one the pair called “The Other Operation.” Dwayne, who once tried out for (but did not place) in the TV hit “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader,” sent letters to 4 Woodstock fire-fighters, threatening not to assault them if they did not pay the $100 ransom. When The Other Operation still did not produce any results, the third and final version of the operation (called Another Operation) finally brought the results the Hinsdales sought. This time, they sent emails to 2 Woodstock Police detectives, threatening assault if the detectives did not pay a $100 ransom. Unfortunately, the brothers sent their email using their own AOL email accounts. Unlike the first two attempts, Another Operation caught the attention of the detectives, who responded to the emails by replying “I can deliver the cash to your home today. What is your address?” The trap was sprung when Jason responded with detailed driving instructions including a link to MapQuest. The detectives quickly tracked down the perps who were immediately transported to the Woodstock District Court the same afternoon.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Did you see the new iPad from Apple?

If you are like us you watched the debut of the new iPad yesterday wondering exactly where it will fit in todays business world. Many a lunch hour has been spent around the table thinking about whether our MISys customers would like to see an app for a smartphone like the iPhone or Blackberry and to be able to check inventory in MISys or produce some critical reports. If you have some thoughts along that line drop me an email at terry.merrill@misysinc.com and let me know what you are thinking. In the meantime it's back to our peanut butter and jelly sandwichs and the MISys wish list.

Monday, January 25, 2010

MISys works with Five Top Accounting Systems

Although MISys can run stand-alone, it works best when it is intergated with a world class accounting system. MISys intergrates with Sage Accpac, Sage Simply Accounting, Sage Peachtree (as Quantum Manufacturing Edition), QuickBooks and Microsoft Business Accounting. When you turn on the accounting integration you can send GL transactions created in MISys to the GL of your accounting system. If you have sales orders in your accounting, better known as Order Entry you can retrieve them into MISys, create a corresponding MISys work order or manufacturing order and purchaee and pull from inventory the raw material items needed for manufacturing. When the product is complete you can transfer the finished good back to your finished goods inventory in your accounting system. No more double entry of items and transactions. With MISys it's all seamless and easy.

Monday, January 18, 2010

What tablet? At MISys, Inc. engineers, salespeople, and marketeers all spend a good part of their day learning about new technology and noodling about how various developments might impact what we do in the future. Coming up on our radar is the rumored announcement (January 26th) of a very cool new gizmo from Apple.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Website refurbishment. As mentioned in a recent newsletter, the MISys website is undergoing a major facelift. One element of the redesign is this new portal from which we can deliver specific and timely information to our business partners around the world. We hope it will be a place you visit on a regular basis to see what is going on with the folks at Manufacturing Information Systems, Inc. (aka MISys).

Dream vacation winner. We are happy to report that Patrick Donnelly of Oak State Products was the winner of a Disney Dream Vacation. Patrick was one of many who took advantage of a recent promotion to purchase or extend their Upgrade Subscription Plan for MISys SAE. But Patrick was the only one to win a trip to Walt Disney World. Congratulations Patrick!

Accounting integration. With the release of the Shop Floor Control module for MISys SBM last fall, the MISys engineers (headed up by our VP of Development, Dave Halpert) has been busy working with our accounting partners to streamline the integration with their products. Sometimes functionality we would like to have is not possible due to the current state of the various accounting SDK's with which we work. We appreciate the cooperation our partners offer to enhance their SDK's which will allow us to provide even better accounting integration in future versions of MISys SBM.