MicroStrain Inc. Earns 2008 Summit Award at Consona Customer Conference
Company Uses Made2Manageâ?¢ ERP to Double Revenue Without Adding Production Staff and Win Transformation Award
Las Vegas, Indianapolis and Williston, Vt. (October 15, 2008) –
Consona Corporation (Consona), a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes, today announced at its premier customer conference, Consona Connect, that MicroStrain Inc., a leader in the design and manufacturer of smart sensors and Made2Manage ERP user, is the 2008 recipient of the software provider’s Transformation Award.
The Transformation Award, part of Consona’s annual Summit Awards, honors a customer that has been able to either reinvent its business or achieve a strong return on investment in a relatively short period of time. Recipients of the award submit both qualitative and quantitative data that illustrate how the solution has impacted the customer’s business model or overall business performance. Award recipients display significant business improvements and changes, such as unprecedented customer satisfaction levels, the introduction of new products and services, or increased sales.
Founded in 1987, MicroStrain produces sensors that are used in a wide range of applications, including knee implants, civil structures, advanced manufacturing, unmanned military vehicles and automobile engines. Over the past 20 years, its customer base has grown significantly, and its internal processes have had to keep up.
As a startup, MicroStrain used an entry-level financial accounting system and managed scheduling and job costing on spreadsheets. Production managers walked around collecting parts and checking them off a paper bill of materials. This approach made it difficult to understand product demand and keep track of available parts to meet that demand. As a result, MicroStrain spent a lot of money shipping parts at the last minute to meet production schedules.
Processes on the engineering side were also manual. The company’s engineers stored their design information in various folders, and it was often difficult to find the latest versions of PCB designs, mechanical designs, bills of materials and other critical information. The engineering change order process was managed by passing around a paper form, which was often lost. In an effort to streamline and automate formerly manual product management and engineering processes, MicroStrain turned to Made2Manage ERP.
After implementing Made2Manage ERP, MicroStrain realized the following returns:
* Doubled annual revenue in the past two years without having to add production staff.
* Reduced turnaround time on the average order from one week to two days.
* Reduced inbound shipping charges by approximately 35 percent due to better material planning.
“Made2Manage ERP makes it very easy to determine what our customers are asking for, what we have built, what materials we have used, and what materials we have left,” said Mike Jewett, project manager at MicroStrain. “The high level of integration offered by the system means each area of the company is able to access and use data that was already entered by other functions, saving nearly everyone a considerable amount of data entry time, as well as preventing errors.”
“We are thrilled to honor MicroStrain with a Summit Award for some absolutely tremendous achievements,” said Jeff Tognoni, CEO of Consona. “MicroStrain sets a standard for the commitment it takes to gain maximum return on a business system investment. The growth and success this company has achieved with our support reminds all of us at Consona why we’re in business.”
About Consona Corporation
Consona Corporation (Consona, formerly known as M2M Holdings Inc.) is a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes. Consona is dedicated to becoming a valued business partner by helping each and every customer continuously improve business processes over time. Toward this mission, Consona invests in the people, processes, technology and tools needed to provide its customers with a unique combination of customer care; product fit; a broad range of consulting, IT and business services; and industry expertise. Consona serves more than 4,500 customers worldwide and across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, financial services, health care, high tech, and local government. Battery Ventures and Thoma Bravo jointly own Consona. For further information, visit http://www.consona.com, e-mail info @ consona.com, or call (888) 8 CONSONA.
Contact:
Mitch Briggs
Consona Corporation
Direct: (317) 249-1620
Mobile: (317) 829-4210
mitch.briggs @ consona.com
Valerie Harding
Ripple Effect Communications
Direct: +1 (617) 536-8887
vharding @ recommunication.com
Source: Consona