http:// 2013-05-17T04:38:48Z 2013-05-17T04:38:48Z xec-inc-chooses-cincom-for-its-microsoft-dynamics-crm-needs

Cincom’s relationship with Microsoft has grown significantly over the past year.In March 2012, Cincom announced that it had signed a strategic, global independent software vendor (ISV) agreement with Microsoft to deliver enhanced enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution capabilities. Cincom agreed to create a new ERP solution combining the breadth of Microsoft Dynamics AX with Cincom’s deep domain expertise in complex manufacturing. In July 2012, Cincom furthered the relationship by adding its Cincom Acquire® configure, price, quote (CPQ) software to the global ISV agreement. The agreement integrated Cincom Acquire with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It also integrated the Cincom Guru™ business rule engine to knowledge-enable the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform by automating decision-making using business rules. In August 2012, Cincom announced a new Microsoft Dynamics practice that would resell Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Office 365 in the United States.In March 2013, Cincom announced its new Cincom Total™ ERP software, natively developed within the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform. Cincom Total is the only knowledge-driven ERP solution that enables manufacturers to manage and optimize their total business from complex selling through manufacturing to aftermarket services.“Cincom is an example of an organization that is driving innovation in complex manufacturing.  They are delivering solutions that help our customers save money and discover new ways to sell and achieve more,” said Doug Kennedy, Vice President, Microsoft Dynamics Enterprise Sales and Customer Lifecycle Management.

2013-05-17T04:38:24Z cincom-systems-launches-first-knowledge-driven-erp-solution-for-global-manufacturers

Cincom Systems announced the launch of its new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, Cincom Total™, natively developed within the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform. Cincom Total is the only knowledge-driven ERP solution that enables manufacturers to manage and optimize their total business from complex selling through manufacturing to aftermarket services. Cincom Total infuses a company's expert and tribal knowledge as business rules inside any enterprise information or process; thus allowing manufacturers to master complexity, improve decision-making and increase business process velocity. Designed to Handle Production Processes Specific to Manufacturing IndustryCincom Total is built to help companies master the challenges, complexities and chaos of modern manufacturing. Cincom Total delivers a single view into all of manufacturing’s critical processes including opportunity-to-order, order-to-cash and plan-to-achieve. “This result is smarter decision-making because you have the immediate knowledge you need to streamline your processes, reduce your costs and improve your margins,” said Dave Schwarber, managing director of Cincom Manufacturing Business Solutions. “Cincom Total builds on the company’s extensive engineer-to-order (ETO) expertise and combines its expertise in ERP, which makes this solution ideal for the rapidly changing needs of manufacturers,” said Dylan Persaud of Eval-Source, a software evaluation and strategic consulting firm. “Cincom Total with the Microsoft Dynamics AX partnership brings ETO to the midmarket and enterprise very effectively.”Improved Production EfficiencyAccording to the NAM/IndustryWeek 1Q 2013 Survey of Manufacturers, more than 55 percent of U.S. manufacturers see increased efficiencies in the production process as a primary driver for future growth.“Cincom Total lets you operate in your ideal style using what you need to be most efficient. For instance, you can have multi-mode processes next to batch and next to kanban individual projects running in the same facility, on the same system,” continued Schwarber.Manufacturers can now benefit from the breadth and depth of Cincom Total capabilities including:·        Knowledge Configuration·        Complex Selling·        Estimating·        Product Configuration

2013-05-17T04:33:29Z sterling-group-selects-cincom-acquire-configure-price-quote-software

Worldwide software provider, Cincom Systems, announces that the Sterling Group (http://www.sterlco.com), a provider of industrial equipment for the plastics industry, has chosen Cincom Acquire® (http://acquire.cincom.com), a product configurator, quoting and pricing software designed to improve sales processes for companies selling  complex products or services. Cincom Acquire is a Microsoft® global strategic partner for manufacturing.“What we see with our customers who implement knowledge-enabled configure, price, quote solutions is that they are not just selling  products and services,”  says Jim Wilson, Cincom Acquire Program Director, “they are also selling more value because they are putting knowledge around recommendations and guidance.”Cincom Acquire helps companies:·        Close deals up to 80 percent faster·        Configure products and services·        Produce perfect quotes and proposals for customers and prospects·        Extend product, pricing and discounting knowledge to field reps, channel sales and dealers·        Access, view and analyze all sales activity and pipelines across all channelsCincom Acquire enables true collaborative selling processes and provides guided selling, channel and distributor collaboration, sales and product configuration as well as quotation and proposal management and integrates with existing systems including Microsoft Dynamics® and other enterprise systems. Cincom Acquire has helped companies selling complex products and services successfully streamline their sales, design and proposal processes by delivering critical product and sales knowledge to the point of sale, while significantly reducing “quote-to-cash” time. Cincom has helped manufacturers reduce proposal generation time from five days to 15 minutes, decrease time to close a sale by 80 percent and cut lead times from 14 weeks to six weeks.

2013-05-17T04:29:47Z cincom-acquire-brings-real-time-dealer-information-into-microsoft-dynamics-crm

Cincom Acquire® (http://acquire.cincom.com), a guided selling and product configuration software solution from Cincom Systems, has improved its integration with Microsoft Dynamics® CRM to help companies selling complex products or services through multiple channels improve their sales effectiveness. Cincom Acquire allows channel reps to configure, price and quote offerings through a web portal that directly integrates to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM system.“Selling complex products and services through extended channels is a big challenge for most companies,” said Jerry Miller, director of Cincom’s Intelligent Selling Solutions division.  “Cincom Acquire captures the knowledge of the product engineers, pricing agents and network planners and provides it to your channels directly through the portal interface, so they can be as knowledgeable as your own staff.”Acquire’s integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates more knowledge of sales activity.  “Information input into Acquire by channel partners goes immediately into your CRM system,” said Miller. “This gives a real-time, full view of all direct and indirect sales activity—this is a huge competitive advantage.”The Value of One Platform Solution versus Many Point Solutions Cincom Acquire for Microsoft Dynamics CRM combines multiple point solutions into one integrated, multi-channel selling platform. The solutions included are configuration, pricing engine, quoting and Microsoft Dynamics CRM, which includes a selling solution, marketing solution and customer-service solution. “It’s a one-stop software technology designed to scale and grow with your company and its changing technology,” said Miller.“So much has improved with the use of this system. We’re not only saving a tremendous amount of time, but our costs have been drastically reduced as well,” said Jeff Wegner, Regional Sales Director for Smeal Fire Apparatus Co.About Cincom Acquire Cincom Acquire is a multi-channel, multi-currency and multi-lingual selling solution that automates the configuration, pricing and quoting (CPQ) of complex products and services. Cincom Acquire is powered by the Cincom Guru™ Business Rule Management System (BRMS) that empowers business users to automate complex sales and product knowledge. Cincom Acquire has helped companies streamline their sales processes by delivering critical product and sales knowledge to the point of sale, while significantly reducing “quote-to-cash” time―reducing proposal generation time from days to minutes and closing deals up to 80 percent faster.

2013-05-17T04:28:55Z cincom-systems-has-stellar-year-with-cincom-acquire-configure-price-quote-system-1

Worldwide software provider, Cincom Systems, has much to be happy about as it starts a new calendar year. Its Cincom Intelligent Selling System division, makers of Cincom Acquire® and Cincom Guru™ software, has improved its 2012 global fiscal year new business revenue by almost 300 percent over the previous year. “This has been one of the best years for our Intelligent Selling Solutions division all around,” says Jerry Miller, Worldwide Managing Director of Cincom’s Intelligent Selling Solutions division. “Many of the initiatives we’ve been working on—developing strong partnerships, expanding our sales channels, improving our business processes and releasing significant new product—have come together all at once.  We are beginning to see a significant uptick in demand in our primary targeted regions of North America, Europe and Greater Asia Pacific.”Expanded Partner Network One of those initiatives—expanding sales channels—progressed significantly when Cincom Acquire configure, price, quote software was added to Cincom Systems’ Global Independent Software Vendor (ISV) agreement with Microsoft Dynamics. The partnership integrates Cincom Acquire with Microsoft Dynamics CRM.Cincom also spearheaded the first Special Interest Group within the Microsoft User Group focused on manufacturing; expanded its partnership with IT consulting company, eLogic Group; and added several new partners.Increased Customer Base Both Fujitsu Frontech North America Inc. , Smeal Fire Apparatus and Caroil System S.p.a. announced successful implementations of Cincom selling software this year while many others began extensive multi-site, enterprise implementations. New sales were penned this year including Heil Trailer, Stewart & Stevenson and Fortis Alberta.  In addition, many existing customers significantly increased their investments in Cincom’s best-in-market Configure, Price, Quote solutions by extending usage into additional users and new business operations.New Cloud Offering Cincom Acquire also became available this year as a hosted service on Microsoft’s Windows Azure platform. Cincom Acquire customers benefit by having the Microsoft Windows Azure platform because it delivers a more cost-effective, on-demand solution while ensuring the performance, reliability and security of an on-premise alternative. “We had a great year and are looking forward to an even better year in 2013,” said Brad Fleming, North American sales manager for Cincom Acquire.About Cincom Acquire Cincom Acquire is a multi-channel, multi-currency and multi-lingual selling solution that automates the configuration, pricing and quoting (CPQ) of complex products and services. Cincom Acquire is powered by the Cincom Guru Business Rule Management System (BRMS) that empowers business users to automate complex sales and product knowledge. Cincom Acquire has helped companies streamline their sales processes by delivering critical product and sales knowledge to the point of sale, while significantly reducing “quote-to-cash” time―reducing proposal generation time from days to minutes and closing deals up to 80 percent faster.

2013-05-17T04:26:29Z cincom-systems-signs-barry-wehmiller-international-resources-as-channel-partner

Worldwide software provider, Cincom Systems, has signed a strategic, channel partnership agreement with Barry-Wehmiller International Resources(BWIR). BWIR now resells Cincom Acquire’s configure, price, quote capabilities on Microsoft Dynamics CRM.Cincom Acquire® for Microsoft Dynamics increases the value of existing Microsoft Dynamics investment by providing additional deep functionality to:§  configure complex products and services,§  create and manage complex pricing and discounting rules required for multi-channel selling, and§  generate customized offer documents tailored to each customer’s specific needs.Power of Partnership“Leveraging the power of both companies and focusing on our strengths—Cincom’s deep product capabilities and BWIR’s knowledge of the manufacturing industry—will be a great benefit to our customers,” said Jerry Miller, Cincom Acquire managing director. “Our customers will receive solutions that are not just suited to their unique needs but that also help them empower more people in their organizations to make better decisions faster.”“Barry-Wehmiller International Resources (BWIR), the consulting arm of Barry-Wehmiller Companies in the areas of Enterprise Consulting, Engineering Design and PLM to the mid-market manufacturing industry globally, has a strong presence in the industry verticals like industrial equipment manufacturing and oil and gas equipment manufacturing. These industry verticals require product configuration solutions to be part of the business systems like CRM or ERP. This provides completeness to the capabilities of these enterprise systems to support business needs. Realization of this has ensured a partnership with best-of-breed product configuration solutions from Cincom Systems. We see this partnership going beyond a value added reseller model to BWIR being a consulting and development partner to Cincom Systems, which will add more value to our customers globally,” said Balachandran Anantharama, partner in Enterprise Consulting for BWIR.“We have extensive experience in discrete manufacturing, and our relationship will Cincom will be a ‘best fit’ for our clients’ needs going forward,” said Praveen Rudraradhya, director of Enterprise Consulting for BWIR. “Cincom has the flexibility, power and range of capabilities that we can use to address a wide range of products and environments, while being easy to use for both us and our customers. As with any technology we embrace, we will invest in maintaining in-depth expertise on Cincom’s products within the Microsoft environments we support.”Cincom Acquire Makes Complex Selling Simple Cincom Acquire has helped companies streamline their sales processes by delivering critical product and sales knowledge to the point of sale, while significantly reducing “quote-to-cash” time―reducing proposal generation time from days to minutes and closing deals up to 80 percent faster.About Barry-Wehmiller International Resources Barry-Wehmiller International Resources (BWIR) is a global provider of business and technology solutions to the mid-market manufacturing domain. BWIR is a division of Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc.  For more information, visit the company’s website at http://www.bwir.com.

2013-04-30T11:51:46Z five-ways-to-tackle-australia-s-challenging-business-climate-topic-of-cincom-presentation-at-national-manufacturing-week

Sydney, AUSTRALIA (01 May 2013) – Australian manufacturing is at a crossroads. Industry pressures including the high dollar, high labour costs and rapidly changing customer demand are having a significant impact on business growth. To help manufacturers successfully overcome these issues, worldwide software provider, Cincom Systems (http://www.cincom.com.au), will present “Five Steps to Make Manufacturing Pay in Challenging Times”  ̶  an industry discussion  ̶  on Tuesday 7 May, 2013 at 11:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at the NMW Solutions Theatreduring National Manufacturing Week.The presentation discusses five key business concepts that are often overlooked in challenging economic environments. It will also demonstrate how culture and the commitment to a constant-improvement mindset can bolster teams in difficult times.The Importance of PlanningCincom recently commissioned a survey of Australian manufacturers to find out how these businesses plan to grow under the certain climate. According to the survey, most companies noted that Planning (46 percent) was the process that required the most improvement in their businesses with Sales (18 percent) and Product Design and Development following (18 percent each). “The more complex your business, the more difficult it is to plan for it”, says Greg Mills, Cincom ANZ Country Manager. “Whether you produce a complex good, operate a complex process with intricate regulations or supply chains, have complicated selling and quoting systems or even function on a project-based business model, manufacturing isn’t a straightforward service. At Cincom, we want to help these types of manufacturers better plan and execute for success”.To celebrate the launch of new Cincom software solutions and the partnership with Microsoft Dynamics®, Cincom will be holding a competition at stand 2800. Attendees that solve the puzzle in the shortest time can win a two-night family accommodation voucher and more.In addition, Cincom will display its Cincom Acquire® configure, price, quotesoftware and its Cincom Total™ ERP software, natively developed within the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform. Cincom Total is the only knowledge-driven ERP solution that enables manufacturers to manage and optimise their total business from complex selling through manufacturing to aftermarket services.About National Manufacturing WeekNational Manufacturing Week, held 7 May to 10 May in Melbourne, is in its 43rd year and consists of more than 300 local and international manufacturing industry suppliers and presenters. The theme for this year’s event focuses on presenting solutions that help manufacturers target new, higher-value sectors as well as boosting productivity in their day-to-day operations.About Cincom SystemsFor 44 years, Cincom has helped thousands of clients worldwide by solving complex business problems with its software and services. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom at 1-800-022-871, send an e-mail to info@cincom.com.au or visit the company’s website at www.cincom.com.au.  Cincom is a Microsoft Global Strategic Partner in Manufacturing.

2013-01-31T01:46:53Z cincom-recognised-in-the-top-20-australian-defence-industry-sme

Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Worldwide software provider Cincom Systems was recognised in the Australian Defence Magazine (ADM) as a Top 20 Defence Small Medium Enterprise (SME).Cincom ranked 18th in terms of revenues within the Australian Defence SMEs for the 2011/2012 financial year. During that year Cincom solutions were deployed in various Primes who are engaged in current defence contracts, such as the Air Warfare Destroyer Programme. Cincom offers an extensive portfolio of business software solutions tailored for the aerospace and defence (A&D) industry including Risk Compliance and Quality, Bidding and Estimating, ERP, Lean Execution and more. Combining quality software with highly skilled implementation and support services, Cincom helps A&D manufacturers better manage their complexity and keep costs under control.The Top 40/ Top 20 is a who’s who of the Defence Industry in Australia and has charted the growth of the sector for almost a decade, providing a valuable resource for Government and Industry alike. About CincomFor 44 years, Cincom has helped thousands of clients worldwide by solving complex business problems with its software and services. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom at 1-800-022-871, send an email to info@cincom.com.au or visit our website at www.cincom.com.au

2012-10-05T05:56:11Z cincom-s-erp-supports-norris-industries-goal-of-complete-sustainability

Key to Norris’ operations is the strategic mantra of a constant pursuit of sustainability. Director of Sirron Holdings – Norris Industries’ parent company, Arvid Taylor explains that Norris’s interpretation of sustainability is a holistic one and includes both maintaining their business as well as the environment. “It’s not just about carbon, it’s about the entire environment including paper, water, scrap materials – anything we generate gets recycled,” he says. “We aim to make sure we are sustainable from a business point of view as well,” says Arvid. Some of the key successes Norris Industries have achieved as results of their strategic direction include; a Hunter Manufacturing Award, Australian Design Award and NSW Sustainability Advantage Award: Bronze. Arvid explains that in order to achieve the state government accredited Sustainability Award the business had to pass a series of milestones and tests on ALL levels of the environment.  “They focus quite heavily on water consumption and waste elimination and how you handle that… Also overall electricity use is driving to net neutral due to investment in solar and investigating other options;  as a consequence of this we have now put in induction lighting rather than LED lighting which is far more efficient”.Crucial to attaining business sustainability is achieving efficiency by controlling costs and wastes with accurate records of all inputs and outputs.“[Previously] we had a simple job recording system; there was no planning in it at all,” Arvid explains,  “everything had to be controlled manually which in the smaller shop wouldn’t have been a problem, we used to be able to just about run that off a whiteboard!” he says. As the business and the requirement to manage inventory and stock grew however, so too did the need for an end to end solution. “It became clear that an all points approach was needed to reinvigorate the business and that’s when we started looking for an ERP solution.”After a thorough evaluation of relevant business solutions, Cincom’s Priority was chosen as Norris Industries ERP system. “It came down to complexity and cost. Cincom’s Priority won the day on that basis,” says Arvid. On a process level, Norris has streamlined a variety of operations such as; ·        Creation of Work Orders and Purchase Orders – Norris are now using MRP and Purchase Planning within Cincom’s Priority to raise orders. This has seen substantial improvement and slashed processing time·        Inventory Cycle Counting – Norris, with the use of Cincom’s Priority now conduct daily cycle counts for selected inventory items rather than performing an annual stocktake. This has led to process efficiencies in inventory accuracy and there is now no longer a requirement to shut down the factory for 2-3 days to perform stocktake.·        Service Warranty Management – Norris now use Cincom’s Priority to assign warranty service orders automatically through authorised service technicians across their nation-wide dealer network, completely eliminating the need for paper and waste.On a more strategic level however Cincom’s Priority is now the backbone of Norris Industries sustainability efforts. “Cincom’s Priority supports our sustainability initiatives by keeping an eye on costs and tracking consumption and incidents… [it also assists by] recording where we spend our money and how we spend it,” says Arvid. Cincom Systems prides itself on its reputation for building long lasting, evolving partnerships rather than a simple vendor/ client relationships.  Norris Industries presents a great example of this partnership at work, with the business currently reviewing further modules of Cincom’s Priority, offering mobile functionality.“We are definitely looking at the unique mobile [iPad and Android] solutions that Cincom’s Priority offer to help service our market more directly… Mobile Field Service and WMS,” explains Arvid. Cincom’s Priority Mobile Field Service solution manages the movements of service and maintenance staff on the road. The use of mobile technology means staff can complete transactions such as ordering parts, route planning and approving with signatures, on the go. Cincom’s Priority Warehouse Management System (WMS) is a mobile solution that controls in real time the optimisation of the warehouse. WMS manages all movements and storage of materials as well associated transactions.About Cincom Systems:Cincom Systems of Australia is a pioneer in the business software industry and a provider of a number of ERP and enterprise wide solutions.  For over 40 years, Cincom Systems have provided innovative software solutions and services that streamline their clients’ businesses and achieve optimum customer experiences in a variety of industries.  More information can be found at www.cincom.com.au or contact Cincom at info@cincom.com.au. About Norris Industries:Norris Industries is an Australian owned manufacturer and supplier of high performance commercial glass and dishwashers for the hospitality industry.  The company has been running since 1954 and operates in Caves Beach, Newcastle NSW.

2012-09-25T03:03:07Z cincom-talks-efficient-warehouse-management

Extract:It has been well reported that internet shopping is on the rise and bricks and mortar retail is on the decline.  Research states that the key contributor to this trend has been the consumer’s pursuit of the lowest cost, followed by convenience and increased variety. The role of logistics and distribution has been paramount in this rise as, with the increase of use of the internet we have seen consumers virtually cutting through the supply chain to achieve their requirements of lower cost, convenience and increased variety of products. The prominence of e-commerce today is an example of the market identifying wastes (from a consumer perspective) in a long established supply chain and eliminating them. This example can also be applied to logistics and distribution in general. Wastes in your supply chain may be costing your consumers time, convenience and money, tying up capital in unnecessary inventory and consequently costing you potential business. This article is about looking at wastes in warehousing and logistics and how we can eliminate them and at the same time improve our profitability, quality and customer service.The Deadly Wastes of Lean originally identified in by Taiichi Ono as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS) are:·        Defects·        Inventory·        Processing·        Waiting·        Motion (usually means unnecessary motion of workers or machine during a process)·        Transportation and·        Over ProductionA final but important waste “Loss of Human Intellect” was added later. The consumer (be that a retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer or end consumer) sees the primary purpose of warehousing and logistics as the delivery of material and services to the right place at the right time in the right quantities and quality. Put more simply, a consumer sees the true value of warehousing and logistics as the satisfying of their goods and service needs at the lowest possible cost- anything that does not add to this value can be considered waste. Applying the delivery criteria; right time, right place, right quantities and quality as demonstrated by the consumer, we can identify the wastes associated with each.Right PlaceThe consumer is more concerned about material arriving at the right place rather than the path it takes getting there. So any movement of material that takes place which does not get it to the customer’s ‘right place,’ adds no value. These unnecessary movements could include transport between factory and warehouse, distribution centre and final consumer. Unnecessary movement can also occur within the warehouse. The movement of material from receipt dock to reserve stock to pick face to packing and despatch adds no value to the consumer.Right Time In terms of logistics, ensuring material is delivered at the right time is just as important as getting it to the right place. How often have we experienced delays because material did not turn up in time? In manufacturing it can stop entire production lines and the costs can be enormous. In retail it could result in a lost sale. As a supplier we often allow “buffer time” and deliver the material early however this is often just as bad as delivering late. At the destination; there may be no equipment or staff to unload the truck, nowhere to store the stock or even any space to park the truck. We now can see further waste: waiting for equipment and people, wasted movement finding space to park or moving stock from place to place as space becomes available and even unnecessary stock holdings. To eliminate these deadly wastes it is essential that delivery schedules are rigidly enforced and stock is delivered within the agreed time window.Right QuantityGetting the wrong quantity of material to the customer can often be worse than sending material late. If material is undersupplied; extra transport and time will need to be spent sending additional material and picks may need to be performed multiple times. If material is oversupplied, time and labour will be spent recovering oversupplied material and material that is over supplied can be damaged in return movement or rendered unusable; this also adds to recovery or disposal costs. Not moving the right quantity means you are looking at waste in material, transport and reprocessing plus possibly wasted movement inside the warehouse. Right QualityQuality, in terms of logistics and warehousing is not simply about the quality of the material that is delivered to the customer. The right quality in this case refers to delivery method, packing sequence, damages that may have occurred in transit as well as any defects in the material delivered to the customer. Failure to deliver to the right quality can lead to associated waste in material, transport and movement. The delivery of the material itself is commonly seen as part of the quality of the goods and services you provide and will reflect on the perception of your organisation by the customerLoss of Human IntellectThe most important part of any attempt to reduce waste is maximising the use of our human assets. This is about training the people in the organisation to see waste and to be aware and supportive of the need to operate as a Lean, waste free business.“If any organisation wants to achieve successful and sustainable change, then the most important factor is the commitment of leadership to lead the change process to develop a flexible and responsive supply chain. Getting everyone involved in your Lean initiative from the upper management to the truck driver, through a structured process of continuous improvement, is the only way to change behaviour and locking in a new culture of Lean,” Grant Forsdick explains.The Wicked Warehouse WastesIn parallel with Tiichi Ono’s Deadly Wastes of Manufacturing, we can refer to the wicked warehouse wastes as follows: Customer’s Wastes Wicked Warehouse Wastes Deadly Wastes of Lean Right Quality Defects Defects Right Quantity Overstocking and SLOB Stock Inventory Right Place Repacking Processing Right Time Waiting – early & late delivery Waiting Right Time/ Quantity Movement within a location Motion Right Time/ Place Unneeded Transport Transportation Right Time/ Quantity Material Waste Over Production All of the Above Human Capital Human Capital Principles, Techniques and Tools“Lean Thinking provides many of the methodologies for waste elimination/minimisation through the supply chain. It is however important for leadership to first clearly understand the principles of Lean Thinking and how these can be included in the business strategy to achieve the desired returns. Thereafter Lean best practices such as Value Stream Mapping, Standard Work, Change Over  Reduction and even  5S can be applied to the supply chain to eliminate waste and make value flow in order to provide improved quality and customer services at the lowest total cost,” Grant Forsdick further explains. In addition, many logistics operations have adopted various technology tools and systems that can help organisations automate and adopt techniques to reduce wastes. Many are already using Warehouse Management Systems such as Cincom’s WMS to assist in optimising Picking and resource utilisation and also reduce defects and material waste. There are Transportation and Delivery tracking Systems that can assist in load planning, route optimisation and delivery Confirmation.If you want to improve your logistics operations the time to start was yesterday. In the highly competitive environment, getting the logistics side right can be the differentiator that leads to success or failure. To read full article, please see September/ October edition of MHD Supply Chain Magazine.

2012-09-18T04:52:42Z cincom-discusses-new-solutions-built-on-microsoft-dynamics-at-apc-2012

2012 saw Microsoft’s largest APC yet with more than 1,200 participants, 800 of those partners. Moving from its past home in the Gold Coast, the event was held at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on the picturesque Brisbane River with the theme ‘Think Big.”APC posed a great opportunity to announce and discuss Cincom’s Global Independent Software Vendor (ISV) status within the partner network and showcase new product offerings for Microsoft Dynamics. “APC is a great launch pad for Cincom’s future commitment to the Microsoft relationship in Australia. At APC we were able to network with other ISVs and System Integrators. We are keen to work with partners to deliver the best solutions to the Australian market and beyond,” says Greg Mills.Key to Cincom’s Global ISV partnership with Microsoft, is the creation of a new Cincom ERP solution for Complex Enterprises built on the Microsoft Dynamics AX framework. The new solution will combine the horizontal breadth of Microsoft Dynamics AX with the technology depth unique to advanced manufacturing. Due for release in late 2012, the new Cincom ERP solution is already gathering interest with Stefan Jansen, Microsoft Dynamics Partner Sales Lead drawing attention to the new product in his session at APC “Grow your business with Dynamics Business Solutions.” Only two months ago it was also announced that the Global ISV agreement will expand to include Cincom’s configure, price, quote solution, Acquire™. This inclusion will mean Dynamics CRM customers will have the opportunity to leverage Cincom’s configure, price, quote solution to deliver quicker quotes, accelerate sales and close deals 80 percent faster. Cincom Acquire is available now. Cincom was selected by Microsoft to be part of its Global ISV program because of its reputation as an industry leader with more than 40 years of transforming complexity into sustainable competitive advantage for global manufacturers. The new solutions will allow both Microsoft and Cincom to further penetrate the complex industry segment with cutting edge technologies that truly support complex companies becoming successful dynamic businesses.“We are really excited about the relationship with Microsoft as it brings real value to business application customers. Microsoft has developed applications that are robust, scalable and work across an integrated technology platform. Cincom’s domain expertise for complex enterprises; be it in maintenance and repair, projects, manufacturing or finance is a tangible value add to Microsoft users looking for an alternative Tier 1 and 2 ERP or CRM solution,” says Greg Mills Cincom Country Manager.

2012-09-14T05:07:16Z cincom-releases-australian-mobility-report

Extract:Since the release of the iPad in April 2010, 67 million Apple tablets have been sold to date. In addition to this, over 10 million non-Apple tablets such as Windows and Android as well as smartphones have made their way into consumers’ hands. People look to their mobile devices to inform, entertain, educate, discover, socialise, organise and much more. Mobile technologies are the social infrastructure of our era. So much so, that academics and social commentators are even voicing concerns about addiction.  FOMO (fear of missing out) is one name for this addiction that refers to the mere possibility that a person may fall behind if they are not “online.”This idea of being constantly online is nothing new for the business environment. Employees have long enjoyed the pleasure of remote access, taking laptops home in the evenings and even checking emails on the weekends.So, what is next?According to Lou Washington of Cincom Systems, mobile will impact the enterprise in ways we can only imagine. “Mobile is already in ERP. Mobile smartphones are already connecting field sales to assorted back-office apps and people via email. Pads or tablets are also well established in field service to help with diagnostics, part inventory and even current schematics for complex in-service products,” he says. Mobile is a natural for the field, but what about on the shop floor? Ray Wang, Principal Analyst and CEO of Constellation Research, Inc. cites three specific areas where mobility delivers potential advantage.·        Safety, Quality or Compliance – In some process based industries such as food or pharma, traceability and in-process checking could be greatly enhanced with mobility. ·        Information Delivery – No longer can people just scribble reference notes on envelopes as they move around their physical facility. Managers now often need access to vast amounts of data in order to get to the distilled information they require. ·        Approvals and Routings – We have already seen the great benefit of barcode readers, and these apps are now being built into smartphones. Tablets also may well offer some advantages in this area too. This is just a taste of the potential efficiencies mobility could contribute to in the workplace. More and more, workers are being asked to perform multiple duties that require multiple applications and wide-ranging data access. We know mobility is here to stay, and with ERP, its uses will only grow as people imagine better ways to put mobility to use in their jobs. Mobility will maximise the effectiveness of the employee and consequently the entire manufacturing operation.To download a free copy of “Cincom’s Australian Mobility Report: An in depth Analysis of the use of mobile computing in Australian Businesses”, please click here.ABOUT CINCOM CBS MobilityCincom recognises that to remain competitive in the current economic climate businesses must be responsive, dynamic and accurate. To help you achieve these goals Cincom can offer the Complete Business Suite (CBS). CBS brings together over 40 years of ERP expertise, cutting edge technologies and a thorough understanding of optimisation and business efficiency. What makes CBS unique is the fact that each application (available individually and collaboratively) is web –enabled and mobile allowing for firstly, full integration with your existing business systems such as, MYOB, SAP and Salesforce.com and secondly, real time access to your business data such as inventory flows, the status of a sales or service calls or changes to budgetary forecasts.CBS includes;·        Mobile Field Sales – An application that brings the travelling sales team accurate information and support, on the go! Mobile Field Sales gives you access to key customer and order data at the point of engagement.  Slashing processing time, Mobile Field Sales improves customer relationships and increases productivity. This application will also integrate with your mobile device and trigger the native applications such as GPS, phone and email.·        Mobile Field Service – This application allows you to remotely handle customer service calls and quotes with ease. With Mobile Field Service, you can access key customer and service-call history at the point of engagement, manage inventory in the field and utilise native device applications such as email, GPS, phone and camera whilst in the application.·        Paperless Warehousing (WMS) – Optimises your warehouse with decreased inventory costs, economic picking, replenishment and Put-away tasks and accurate inventory reporting in real time.·        Delivery Tracking – Tracks the delivery of customer shipments and invoices for given dates and runs. With this mobile application, you can take customer signatures on delivery, including time and location stamp records, to process in real time. Delivery tracking also integrates with your device’s existing applications and can instantly access GPS, phone, camera and email.·        Cincom Acquire® Guided Selling – Brings complex, specific, customised sales information to your team’s fingertips in seconds!·        Cincom Guru™Product Configuration – An initiative knowledge-based system that automates the quote to- order process, slashing wait times from weeks to hours.·        Cincom’s Priority™ – The ERP backbone that brings all of your essential business data together in real time.ABOUT CINCOM SYSTEMS OF AUSTRALIACincom Systems of Australia operate in over 17 countries and have enabled thousands of clients worldwide to increase revenue, control cost, minimise risk, and achieve rapid ROI. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom at info@cincom.com.au or visit our website: www.cincom.com.au

2012-07-11T00:04:49Z cincom-extends-global-isv-agreement-with-microsoft-dynamics

SYDNEY– July 2012 – Less than four months after signing an initial agreement, Cincom Systems(http://www.cincom.com), a worldwide provider of business software, has further extended its relationship with the Microsoft Corporation. Cincom has added its Cincom Acquire configure, price, quote software (http://acquire.cincom.com) to its Global Independent Software Vendor (ISV) agreement with Microsoft Dynamics. The partnership integrates Cincom Acquire with Microsoft Dynamics CRM and includes the integration of the Cincom Guru™ business rule engine (http://guru.cincom.com) to knowledge-enable the Microsoft Dynamics CRM platform by automating decision-making using business rules. “This agreement provides fully integrated configure, price, quote functionality for Microsoft Dynamics CRM users,” says Jerry Miller, managing director of Cincom’s Intelligent Selling Solutions division. “This enables Cincom customers and Microsoft Dynamics CRM users to rapidly grow direct and indirect sales channels by helping sales reps and channel agents make better decisions faster.” Customers in the discrete manufacturing industry will be able to realise exponential gains in profitable growth immediately as a result of this global agreement. “Cincom Acquire combines Cincom’s vertical industry expertise with the powerful Microsoft Dynamics CRM application, and is an example of the innovative solutions being delivered by our partners to help customers achieve their business goals. Cincom Acquire will be a significant benefit to manufacturing customers worldwide,” said Doug Kennedy, vice president, Microsoft Dynamics Partners and Support Services. Cincom was selected by Microsoft to build on the Microsoft Dynamics foundation as part of its Global ISV program because of Cincom’s reputation as an industry leader with more than 40 years of transforming complexity into sustainable competitive advantage for global manufacturers.Cincom fulfils a critical customer need by providing deep domain expertise in solving the most pressing complex enterprise challenges from sales to supply chain. The extension of this partnership will enable companies that sell complex products and services to quickly transform into dynamic businesses. Dynamic businesses display the agility to anticipate and embrace change while sustaining competitive advantage. In March of this year, Cincom announced that it would be building unique ERP solutions for the complex manufacturing market, including aerospace and defence, on the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform. About Cincom Acquire Cincom Acquire is a multi-channel, multi-currency and multi-lingual selling solution that automates the configuration, pricing and quoting (CPQ) of complex products and services. Cincom Acquire is powered by the Cincom Guru Business Rule Management System (BRMS) that empowers business users to automate complex sales and product knowledge. Cincom Acquire has helped companies streamline their sales processes by delivering critical product and sales knowledge to the point of sale, while significantly reducing “quote-to-cash” timereducing proposal generation time from days to minutes and closing deals up to 80% faster. About Cincom For 43 years, Cincom has helped thousands of clients worldwide by solving complex business problems with its software and services.For more information about Cincom's products and services, contact Cincom at 1-800-2CINCOM (USA only), send an e-mail to info@cincom.com or visit the company's website at www.cincom.com. Cincom is a Global Independent Software Vendor of the Microsoft Corporation.

2012-06-20T23:30:30Z cincom-takes-cpq-to-the-cloud

Sydney, AUSTRALIA June 2012 Worldwide software provider, Cincom Systems (http://www.cincom.com), is pleased to announce the availability of Cincom Acquire (http://acquire.cincom.com) as a hosted service on Microsoft’s Azure platform. The Cincom Acquire product automates the configuration, pricing and quoting (CPQ) of complex products and services. Cincom Acquire is powered by the Cincom Guru™ Business Rule Management System (BRMS) that empowers business users to automate complex sales and product knowledge to help drive more sales through more channels. Cincom Acquire customers benefit by having the Microsoft Azure platform because it delivers a more cost-effective, on-demand solution while ensuring the performance, reliability and security of an on-premise alternative. “Cloud deployment was the only answer for one of our customers needing to improve processing speed of its on-premise solution between its two plants. After looking at a fiber optic cable between the two plants or a third-party hosting solution, they chose Cincom Acquire on Windows Azure, which provided a cost savings over other alternatives,” said Ralph Schwarz, Cincom Acquire product director. ABOUT CINCOM ACQUIRE Cincom Acquire is a multi-channel, multi-currency and multi-lingual selling solution that automates the configuration, pricing and quoting (CPQ) of complex products and services. Cincom Acquire is powered by the Cincom Guru Business Rule Management System (BRMS) that empowers business users to automate complex sales and product knowledge. Cincom Acquire has helped companies streamline their sales processes by delivering critical product and sales knowledge to the point of sale, while significantly reducing “quote-to-cash” timereducing proposal generation time from days to minutes and closing deals up to 80 percent faster. ABOUT CINCOM For 43 years, Cincom has helped thousands of clients worldwide by solving complex business problems with its software and services.For more information about Cincom's products and services, contact Cincom at 1-800-2CINCOM (USA only), send an e-mail to info@cincom.com or visit the company's website at http://www.cincom.com. RELATED LINKS Cincom Acquire website http://acquire.cincom.com Website for configure, price quote; sales and product configuration; guided selling Cincom Acquire Smart Selling blog http://acquire.cincom.com/blog/

2012-05-21T05:25:25Z cincom-reveals-innovation-secrets-to-australia-s-manufacturing-elite-at-national-manufacturing-week-2012

SYDNEY: Cincom Systems – worldwide software provider were proud to present two successful seminars at National Manufacturing Week 2012. ‘Driving Information Closer to the Buyer’ and ‘Your Interactive Connected Business’ attracted participants from all levels of business interested in hearing about developments in enterprise technology. This year the annual tradeshow focused on Innovation, Technology and Education as Australia’s manufacturing industry faces a changing political, economic and social landscape. In response to this theme Cincom saw a fantastic opportunity to discuss some of the latest technology trends in business and operations software. “Your Interactive Connected Business” provided an overview of the shift towards mobile computing in Australia. Mobile computing refers to the ability to process business transactions and access BI information from a variety of mobile devices, remotely. For example Mobile Field Sales software allows roving sales people the option to quote, close, and better manage their customers and prospects without stopping at the office. Combining a sound mobile strategy with a comprehensive ERP backbone such as Cincom’s Priority means manufacturing businesses can become adaptable and dynamic, reacting quickly to opportunities and avoiding competitive threats. Along with Peacock Brothers – mobile hardware supplier, and Flow – data integration specialists, Cincom discussed how the use of innovative technology can turn a process stagnant company into an interactive connected business. The demonstration was well received and sparked much discussion among attendees. Automating processes is not a new idea in the manufacturing world however, before a product can hit the production line it must first be configured before being sold which, for complex manufacturers is a common bottle neck. “Driving Information Closer to the Buyer” comprised of a Cincom chaired discussion on the sales and configuration process for complex manufacturers. Key issues that arose included lead times, limitations in responding to tenders and collaborating with your bid partners. Concluding the session, Cincom then demonstrated one particular technology which aims to automate this process, the Enterprise Sales Portal. Attendees were able to watch the inquiry-to-order and bid management process in real time and ask relevant questions. “The slogan for National Manufacturing Week this year was ‘Making Manufacturing Stronger’; we saw the seminars as the perfect opportunity to transfer information on some seriously innovative ideas and products… Innovation is the path to growth and strength and at Cincom we are dedicated to business improvement and efficiency, and we love communicating that!” Greg Mills, CEO Cincom Systems. National Manufacturing Week was held at Sydney Olympic Park from 8th May – 11th May 2012. The show was tipped to attract over 8,000 attendees from across Australia and abroad. About Cincom Systems Cincom Systems of Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Cincom Systems. For over 40 years, Cincom’s problem-solving software, services and people have helped thousands of companies all over the world grow and manage their businesses. The Australian subsidiary, established in 1975, services both Australia and New Zealand and includes Australian customers Royal Australian Mint, ASC, Thales, CSL, Manly Windows, Campbell Scientific, SMC and TAD. For more information about Cincom’s products and services, contact Cincom at 1 800 022 871, or send an e-mail to info@cincom.com.au.