Economic Outlook
According to a January 4 USA Today article: "An unexpectedly strong report on manufacturing activity bolstered confidence that the nation's factories will help sustain an economic recovery.

The Institute of Supply Management (ISM), a trade group of purchasing executives, said its manufacturing index read 55.9 in December after 53.6 in November. A reading above 50 indicates growth.

That is the fifth straight month of expansion and the highest reading for the index since April 2006. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a reading of 54.3.

A separate report on construction spending sounded a more cautionary note. Construction activity fell in November for a seventh straight month as spending on both residential and commercial projects declined. The 0.6% drop was bigger than the 0.4% decline that economists had been expecting.

Still, the ISM report said new orders, a signal of future production, jumped last month to 65.5 from 60.3 in November. Indexes measuring production and employment also rose."

View the entire article.

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Consona Ranked one of World's Largest Software Companies
In 2009, Consona ranked 181 in Software Magazine's Software 500—two spots higher than last year's rank of 183. Software Magazine’s Top 500 is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and services suppliers targeting medium to large enterprises.

"Consona continues to move up in the Software 500 ranking, thanks to our ability to maintain a strategic financial vision, while providing award-winning technology solutions to our customers," said Jeff Tognoni, CEO of Consona.

See the complete 2009 Software 500 list (registration required).


Tips for a Successful ERP Implementation
The process of implementing a new ERP software system is challenging, sending your organization down a long road of beneficial, although sometimes demanding, change. If it is done properly, the good news is you'll gain lasting benefits for your company's operations.

Drawing on its considerable experience gained from many successful implementations, Consona has authored a white paper, "Six Steps to a Successful ERP implementation." The six steps outlined in the white paper are designed to help companies successfully negotiate the potential pitfalls of ERP systems implementation, including:

	Understanding the true significance of the implementation.
	Fully committing the right resources to the project.
	Being prepared to manage the changes fully and effectively.
	Planning to manage and measure the benefits.
	Fully embracing integration.
	Planning for the end of the project before you start.

Download the white paper now.


Customer Conference Fast Approaching
Mark your calendars for Consona Connect 2010, Consona's premier customer event. This year's event will be held October 12-15, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Consona Connect 2010 will provide customers with the opportunity to learn about the products released in 2009 and 2010 and take a look ahead at 2011. With events scheduled everyday, Consona Connect 2010 will focus on networking and education to encourage co-creation.

Consona customers will find a one-stop shop for accomplishing many of their annual objectives ranging from:

	Productively networking with other users to execute industry best practices.
	Building a stronger partnership with Consona Corporation by providing feedback on product design.
	Evaluating new product offerings to enhance their business processes.
	Experiencing personalized training and education for their entire team.

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Ulbrich Stainless Steels
Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Metals, Inc., an international supplier of custom rolled strip, foil, flat and shaped wire products, has concluded the second major implementation of the AXIS ERP solution at its shaped wire facility in North Haven, Conn. The scope of this implementation includes sales, manufacturing on three shifts, and costing functions, as well in their corporate finance department. More than 40 custom capabilities were created in the core AXIS software application for Ulbrich.

"AXIS is one of the few ERP solutions that enable us to customize the system to meet our customers' unique metals industry requirements and needs," said Vic D’Amato, corporate controller, Ulbrich. "It also provides many opportunities for expanded usage, including improved accuracy and completeness of data during order entry, optimized selection of inventory for producing customer orders, and automated creation of shop order process routings."

The next implementation will be Ulbrich's strip mill and service center in Wallingford, Conn. on April 1, 2010. The remaining locations—including the precision flat wire mill in Westminster, S.C. (Ulbrich Precision Flat Wire) and the service centers in Alsip, Ill., Fresno, Calif., and Mexico—are scheduled to go live with AXIS in 2010.


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Ohio Tool Works
Ohio Tool Works is a leading company acknowledged throughout the honing industry for the high quality of its custom manufactured honing machines and tools and its unparalleled commitment to customer success.

Ohio Tool Works was established in 2004 and serves a variety of industries with a complete line of high-quality vertical and horizontal honing machines and custom honing tools. With multiple systems in place to track inventory, accounting, and costs, Ohio Tool Works searched for an alternative that would streamline its ERP efforts and unify its systems. After evaluating a number of systems, the company selected the Made2Manage ERP solution.

"The professionals at Made2Manage understand our industry and were able to accurately demonstrate how the system can serve our company," said Angie Smith, project manager for Ohio Tool Works. "We soon determined that the Made2Manage ERP solution itself could stand up to our rigorous business processes and provide the functionality and ease of use we are looking for."

With plans to implement across the entire business, the Made2Manage ERP solution should help to reduce time input to retain and manage the data with one system, while providing more accurate real-time costs.


Bennett Building Systems
Founded in July 2007, Bennett Building Systems is one of seven operating companies affiliated with Bennett International Group, LLC. A manufacturer of portable storage buildings, Bennett Building Systems' production began in July 2008 out of its Tennille, Ga. factory. Parent company Bennett International quickly realized its current solution could not support its new manufacturing company's needs and was looking to find a better fit.

For Bennett Building Systems, Intuitive ERP provided the best solution to improve productivity and reduce costs. It will enable end-to-end efficiency from the point of ordering materials to finding and tracking inventory until the point of sale which translates to cost-effective business processes.

According to Danny Lowry, president of Bennett Building Systems, Intuitive's back-office architecture also proved a perfect fit for the operation. "We were especially impressed with Intuitive's ease of use and its functionality. Equally important was its ability to integrate with Oracle Financials, which is the application we use in our McDonough, Ga. corporate office."


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Obtain and Maintain FDA Validation
In 1997, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released FDA 21 CFR Part 11 that requires FDA-regulated companies to adhere to a specific set of requirements for computerized systems, electronic records, and electronic signatures. To assist customers obtain and maintain compliance with FDA 21 CFR Part 11, Consona has introduced Intuitive FDA Validation Services.

Through the Intuitive FDA Validation Services, the Intuitive consulting team of experts can help certify your Intuitive software. Employing his or her practical understanding of the FDA requirements as they relate to validating software systems plus his or her vast knowledge of the functionality of Intuitive ERP, an Intuitive Consultant will specifically:

View the Intuitive FDA Validation Services Data Sheet.


Going Beyond Go Live
Reaching the "Go Live" point is a major milestone in any ERP system implementation. However, it's only the "end of the beginning." Many companies make the mistake of scaling back the implementation project prematurely and miss out on fully achieving the benefits that an ERP system can provide.

In this article, "Phase II Projects and Continuous Improvement," Marianne Chikos, director consulting services at Consona, explains the importance of optimizing the use of the system and tackling Phase ll projects.

View the entire article.


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Made2Manage and AXIS Enhancements
Consona has added new functionality to both Made2Manage and AXIS that will be available in the first quarter of 2010.

CADLink for Inventor is a new CAD interface between M2M and AutoDesk Inventor. This new interface enables users to create and exchange BOMs and parts bi-directionally from Inventor to M2M, and provides the capability to edit BOMs on quotes, sales and job orders in M2M directly from Inventor.

Advanced Reporting 6.0 adds a new ad-hoc reporting capability that enables users to quickly build reports though an easy drag and drop interface. The new Advanced Reporting scheduling enables users to run reports automatically based upon pre-determined schedules and published them in html, PDF, or spreadsheet formats. Once published, reports can be shared by multiple distribution methods, including e-mail, Internet, intranet, SharePoint, etc.

Consona EDI provides a low cost hosted option for EDI targeted at customers with lower transaction volumes. For more information on EDI capabilities, see the Partner Profile on Acclimate Technologies.

AXIS AXIOM 6.0 is planned for release at the end of the first quarter of 2010. This new version contains multiple time zones and enhanced language support. The main focus is a major upgrade to the user interface using .NET tools to provide a new look, added functionality, and improved navigation. New features include:

	Multiple programs can be active simultaneously including multiple occurrences of the same function.
	Fast switching between active programs by clicking the tab or "Ctrl-Tab".
	Users can their own menu of Favorites programs. Favorites can be organized into folders in any order, and optionally launched automatically on startup.
	Facility switching can be performed while programs are active.
	Users can navigate between modules with a single click. No FASTPATH!
	Users can control the order in which modules are displayed and the size of the viewing area for the currently selected module.
	The navigation bar can be "pinned" (always visible) or "unpinned" (minimized until the mouse is dragged over it).

Going Beyond Traditional EDI
Acclimate Technologies is Consona's EDI solution partner. Acclimate's SimplicIT product integrates with Consona's Made2Manage, Intuitive, DTR, and AXIS ERP systems.

In this interview, Rob Young, president of Acclimate, explains the capabilities and benefits that SimplicIT provides Consona ERP customers, and describes some of the other tools available that go well beyond traditional EDI.

View the entire article here.


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