Global Shop Opens New Tech Center

Global Shop Solutions (The Woodlands, TX), a global leader in the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software industry, has announced the opening of a new research and development technology center to support the next generation of the company’s ERP software, existing customer requirements, and new sales opportunities and markets. Coming off the strongest quarter in its nearly 40-year history, the family-owned business is making a significant infrastructure investment to support its explosive growth and ongoing R&D initiatives.

“We are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality, feature-rich ERP package,” says Erika Klein, the vice president of research and development. “This new facility will support the hiring of the best and the brightest, improve communications between employees and customers, and expand our R&D capabilities to keep our software at the forefront of ERP technology.”

The new tech center will provide additional space built specifically for the company’s growing R&D department, which includes two new teams designed to enhance the company’s product offerings and improve technical support. The new Peripheral Products team is currently working on a customer relationship management application and a radio frequency identification (RFID) solution, as well as enhancements to the software’s existing CAD interface. The recently formed maintenance team will focus on providing best-in-industry turnaround time when responding to customer software requests.

According to the human resources director Jayland Keeney, the new structure also supports the company’s strategy of attracting and retaining top talent by offering state-of-the-art workspace for software professionals. “Our commitment to excellence can be seen in the continual evolution of the product as well as the longevity of our employees,” says Keeney. “We have one the highest employee retention rates in the industry, with an average tenure of nearly eight years. This stability enables us to focus on improving our software to meet the constantly changing needs of our customers.”

“We take pride in the fact that we continue to invest the most R&D resources dedicated to a single product in our industry,” adds chief executive officer Dusty Alexander. “We invite all our customers to come visit the new Tech Center.”

Following up on its strong performance in 2014, the company started off 2015 with a bang by achieving several company “bests.” Overall company revenue for a single quarter set a 39-year company record, while new customer orders and completed go-lives for new customers also reached new company highs.

“2014 was a strong year for us, and we expect the upward trend to continue throughout this year,” noted Alexander. “We’re continuing to grow in both new software sales and consulting services, which indicates we’re doing a good job of attracting new customers and helping existing customers run their businesses more efficiently.”

Alexander attributes the robust sales growth to several factors, including the redesign of its core software product. Released last year, the newest version of the software comes loaded with new features, new screens, and enhanced customization capabilities that give manufacturers a simpler, more intuitive system for managing their entire business. In particular, the customization features seem to have caught on with new customers.

“Our software has always been known for its high degree of individual company customization, which allows manufacturers to tailor it to their unique shop floor requirements without a lot of expensive programming,” says Alexander. “Our latest version includes a new feature, called ARC.net, that makes it even easier for customers to build in the customization they need or download something we have built for another customer off the ARC site.

“The ARC site offers a library of more than 1,300 custom applications, created by our users, at no cost to our customers,” adds Alexander. “We’re fortunate to have a customer base that works with us to continually improve our software product and keep us at the forefront of ERP technology.” In addition to sales, the company continues to grow on the staffing side as well, with the total number of employees now approaching 200.

For most manufacturers, determining how much individual inventory cost components contribute to the total cost of finished goods can be a difficult and uncertain process. The mystery of this process is removed with the introduction of FLOOOM, a new software release that takes a giant step forward in ERP job costing capabilities.

“Too often, individual costing components such as labor and materials get lumped together when determining finished goods costs,” says Alexander. “When cost of goods sold starts to creep up for a product line, it can be very difficult to pinpoint which cost components are causing the increase. FLOOOM measures freight, labor, overhead, outside, other and material so our customers can determine their individual costing components with remarkable precision.”

Using this new release, manufacturers can get reliable answers to critical job costing questions such as:

• How much labor and material went into this part?
• How does the cost breakdown compare with past production?
• Which process needs to be improved to lower costs?
• How will a change in production costs (such as material) affect the financial statement?

In addition to identifying the percentage of each cost component for work in progress, the software also provides powerful historical tracking capabilities, offering an instant time-lapse view from past to present of every part that has passed through the shop floor. Manufacturers can simultaneously view old quantities and cost, current transaction and cost, and new quantity and cost, as well as a complete history of finished goods costs, allowing them to make better management decisions.

“This is all about empowering our customers by providing greater visibility of their cost factors,” adds Nick Knight, the director of consulting and implementation at Global Shop Solutions. “The more ways they can look at the data, the greater their ability to fine-tune their production processes to improve the bottom line.”

www.globalshopsolutions.com