Information Technology Services

Software Selector for Small Manufacturers

Small manufacturers and job shops need good software solutions to control their business, make profits and grow. This service assists small manufacturers in finding a suitable manufacturing software package for their company. IMC assists small manufacturers in taking the next step toward full technology integration, to include not only accounting, but also inventory tracking and manufacturing modules.

What is IMC's Software Selector for Small Manufacturers?

IMC's Manufacturing Software Selection Assistance helps companies in defining their requirements for a manufacturing software system. It is a computer-based questionnaire that is divided into functional business areas. The questionnaire is to be completed by the company's key personnel within each business group, with guidance from the IMC project manager. The end result is a ranking of manufacturing software systems that best correspond with the company's business requirements and a selection of which software system to install.

PHASE I: Identify Company Needs and Software Candidates

  • IMC will assist the company in completing a computer-based questionnaire that defines the company's requirements for a manufacturing software system.  The questionnaire is divided into 26 functional business areas.  The company's key personnel within each business group complete the questionnaire with guidance from the IMC project manager.  The IMC will learn what is unique about your business and document your special requirements.
  • The IMC project manager will use the questionnaire to perform a comparative requirement analysis against a group of different moderately priced but very capable manufacturing software systems.  This analysis ranks a list of manufacturing software systems that best corresponds with the company's business requirements.
  • The IMC project manager will present and discuss summary reports of the company's needs and corresponding candidates' systems.
  • The IMC project manager will help you review potential solutions to determine how they will make you more efficient, control your operations better, become more profitable and grow your business.
  • The IMC project manager will work with the company in ranking and selecting software system demos and assist the company in preparing requests to the selected software vendors.

PHASE II: Software Demonstrations (Optional)

  • The IMC project manager will participate along with the company in the interview and/or demonstration of the software system(s).
  • The IMC project manager will advise the company on questions and answers between the company and software system provider.

What software systems can be compared with Software Selector?

The Software Selector for Small Manufacturers tool is an easy to use, interactive template that includes full feature capabilities of the following 12 software systems:

  • DBA, Inc.
  • E2
  • Factory Edge
  • Job Boss
  • Macola POP
  • MRA+
  • PC MRP
  • Peachtree and RealTrac
  • QuickBooks and ERP LT
  • Visual EST - TRK
  • Visual Job Shop
  • Win Magi

Summary of Company's Activities

  • Provide key personnel with assistance in completing the questionnaire.
  • Select and arrange for the software systems to demo.
  • Select the software system of choice.

The Benefit to You…

Software Selector for Small Manufacturers is a manufacturing software decision support template designed to assist small manufacturers with the best-fit software selection. IMC's MCSE & CNE certified information technology staff assists the company through the process. The template provides details on:

  • Available functionality in 26 important areas of manufacturing, accounting and IT
  • Capability scores in 161 detailed aspects of the software functionality used most commonly by small manufacturers
  • Cumulative scores of fit and functionality against user needs among the 12 solutions surveyed ranking best fit solutions
  • Hardware and network requirements for each solution
  • Systems pricing to align cost with capability so that price and performance can be balanced before getting demonstrations of detailed capability
  • Contact information for each systems developer, including website links for easy follow-up