The Carondelet Corporation is a division
of MetalTek International, a North American metalworker and
manufacturer of alloy components. With over a century of experience,
MetalTek's Carondelet Division offers innovative and custom
solutions for the sand casting needs of severe service alloy users
worldwide. The Company produces custom cast products in more than
380 alloys, manufacturing heat, corrosion and abrasive resistant
stainless steel, as well as duplex, super austenitic and proprietary
alloys.
Keeping track of such a diverse range of
materials and manufacturing processes requires a powerful and
flexible ERP package. In 1998, MetalTek International chose MAPICS
XA to replace their homegrown ERP systems at two of their five
locations. One of the major drawbacks of the Carondelet homegrown
system had been the need to write and maintain custom reports. With
scarce in-house programming resource available for the reporting
task, a bottleneck in end-user report production often resulted. In
addition, the implementation of another ERP system had been aborted
because too much custom programming was needed to make the system
fit their business! A lesson learned - The Carondelet Division
decided on a policy to deliver business reports in the future
without custom programming.
So as they moved forward with MAPICS XA,
a key part of the IS vision was that no custom-written reports would
be implemented. However, balancing the need to eliminate custom
programming, coupled with the end user's demand to get information
beyond the standard MAPICS XA reports, was recognized as a
significant challenge.
In implementing Info WorkPlace (IWP)
MetalTek has found the perfect answer - report production and
productivity above and beyond the traditional custom programming
approach. Virtually all parts of their business are now benefiting
from over 150 customized IWP reports.
IWP was an integral part of the MAPICS
XA installation from the outset. Early in the MAPICS implementation
two members of the implementation team attended the standard IWP
MAPICS Business Academy training course, run by The Oakdene Group in
Chicago.
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Initially the MAPICS XA-supplied data
subsets were used as the basis for reporting. However, as IS grew
more confident and creative in their use of IWP, the data subsets
were extended across other areas of MAPICS. Once the systems went
live two more employees - both in the IS Department - were trained
in IWP. However, with part of the original team dispersed to other
areas of the business, just one person using IWP is able now to
satisfy report creation for the entire company.
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As Joan McCready (IS Manager) points out
"I have very few end-users who are interested in writing their
own IWP reports. Because of the 20+ years of custom homegrown
programs and reports, there is not a culture of do-it-yourself.
Managers don't have time to write reports - we are very lean in
"office staff". Most managers are directly involved in
either production, sales or purchasing - so they are too busy with
other priorities."
Joan has created new data subsets to
deliver end-user report requests. The subsets provided by MAPICS XA
provided a good beginning, but didn't always help her to meet the
specific requirements of her users. Reporting currently concentrates
on MAPICS XA application files. Joan comments, "Additional data
subsets and some enhancements to the existing core subsets were
needed. Otherwise, I have not needed to add to, or modify MAPICS XA
in any way."
The Carondelet Division has developed a
truly comprehensive range of IWP reports from listings to summaries;
to data extractions for download to PC applications --- over 150
reports to date. Reporting encompasses a wide range of MAPICS
applications --- IFM, COM, EPDM / PDM, IM, PCC, MRP/CRP, PMC and
PUR. In fact, IWP is helping virtually every department within the
business to get information from MAPICS XA.
The variety of reporting embraces:
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Customer shipments and backlogs
("sliced and diced every-which-way")
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Cost analyses
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Inventory audits for work in progress
and location control
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Production control -- labor tickets and
shop floor packets
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Manufacturing order status, history and
ready to close; scrap and job cost reports
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Bills of material and COs with purchased
parts
… and much more.
Even with payroll services outsourced to
ADP, IWP has a role to play in providing supplementary reporting for
time cards, employee time and absence and ELVDTA files for approved
and unapproved leave / vacation.
When MetalTek's Carondelet location
moved to MAPICS XA, even the iSeries was a totally unfamiliar
machine. They started out with no in-house RPG programming skills.
Even Joan, the main user of IWP, had a COBOL background, and just iSeries
and RPG classroom experience. So getting up to speed was a
concern, but as Joan confirms "…writing a report using IWP is
much faster than writing in a third-generation language such as
COBOL or RPG. Even if I must also design a new subset, I can still
write a report in less time than writing in RPG." Such
productivity gains have meant that Joan has been able to provide all
the reporting needed by her users.
Specifying reports can be daunting. Most
IS departments will relate to the constant round of refinements to a
report design and definition before an end user is completely
satisfied. In the worst case this may even require re-writing the
program from scratch. "When end-users ask me for a new report,
they often do not have any idea how to design or define reports. In
the beginning, I would be given a report from the homegrown system
and asked to reproduce it, which I did. A few of the end-users are
now able to define what they want in a report. With the rest, I
prototype what I think they want, then go back and forth with them
to finalize the result.
Using IWP and Jacana I can make the
changes quickly and easily and re-run the report. During this
process, the users usually think of several other reports they also
need, which may or may not be variations of the report at hand. Once
the reports have been created any such refinements are easy,
especially with the drag-and-drop and copy & paste features
within Jacana. When the reports have been finalized, the users can
run them from their MAPICS XA menu, and print and use them like a
standard MAPICS XA report."
Joan concludes "The biggest
advantage has been the removal of custom programming; we have not
had to hire additional staff to write reports that are used daily to
run the business. I see the product continuing to be extensively
used at our location in the future."
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International Case Study PDF |

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Momentum's report writer OPEN/DB is also marketed under a variety of derivative names including Info WorkPlace, Midas/Q,
S/RW and R2/D2. The Information Interface functionality itself is the same at comparable release levels.
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