Casco Drives Efficiency Improvements With QAD Supply Chain Portal

Oct. 14, 2010 - PRLog -- QAD Inc. , a leading provider of enterprise software and services for global manufacturers, announced today that Casco, a world-class manufacturer of next generation lighters, power outlets and sensors for the automotive industry, plans to implement QAD Supply Chain Portal (SCP) to improve the efficiency of its supplier communications.

For years, Casco has been embracing Lean Market principles throughout its organization. However, with facilities on five continents, maintaining optimal supplier collaboration and visibility has been a formidable challenge. To meet this need, Casco plans to deploy QAD Supply Chain Portal, formerly known as QAD Supply Visualization.

QAD Supply Chain Portal is an On Demand supplier collaboration portal that will allow Casco and its suppliers to share real-time visibility of demand and supply. Casco and its authorized suppliers will be able to communicate electronically on inventory, scheduling, shipments, invoices and more.  Using a robust feature set that aligns with Just in Time (JIT), Kanban, and other lean manufacturing replenishment methods, QAD Supply Chain Portal will help Casco and its suppliers improve performance by reducing costs, including freight and inventory; improving service levels, communication and compliance; and eliminating supply chain disruptions.

“Our decision on QAD Supply Chain Portal was a natural choice for us,” said Maurice Schaefer, IT Director at Casco. “It will allow us to focus on value-added activities instead of expedite and routing issues. Additionally, the ASN (advanced shipping notice) function will help us leverage EDI (electronic data interchange) in a more cost-effective manner.”

Casco’s material managers will now have greater flexibility in making the right decisions to keep their respective sites replenished without outages. Moreover, QAD Supply Chain Portal dashboards and automatic alert tools will give internal purchasing personnel and suppliers the flexibility they require to manage by exception.

“Supply Chain Portal is an optimal tool for helping us manage Kanban more efficiently,” added Schaefer. “We are looking to standardize our supplier labels for incoming product and offer a self-service option for invoicing.  Its seamless integration with the Lean Manufacturing suite of QAD Enterprise Applications is invaluable.”

About Casco
Founded on 1921 by J.H. Cone in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA, Casco is a leading world-class manufacturer in the lighter and power outlet market with plant and developments centers in Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia. Casco manufactures sensors, power outlets, heater modules and other automotive accessories for almost all major automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) globally.

About QAD
QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies specializing in automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life science products. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time. For more information about QAD, telephone +1 805-566-6000, or visit the QAD web site at www.qad.com.

"QAD" is a registered trademark of QAD Inc. All other products or company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to Investors:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, evolving demand for the company's software products and products that operate with the company's products; the company's ability to sustain license and service demand; the company's ability to leverage changes in technology; the company's ability to sustain customer renewal rates at current levels; the publication of opinions by industry and financial analysts about the company, its products and technology; the reliability of estimates of transaction and integration costs and benefits; the entry of new competitors or new offerings by existing competitors and the associated announcement of new products and technological advances by them; delays in localizing the company's products for new or existing markets; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; delays in sales as a result of lengthy sales cycles; changes in operating expenses, pricing, timing of new product releases, the method of product distribution or product mix; timely and effective integration of newly acquired businesses; general economic conditions; exchange rate fluctuations; and, the global political environment. In addition, revenue and earnings in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software industry are subject to fluctuations. Software license revenue, in particular, is subject to variability with a significant proportion of revenue earned in the last month of each quarter. Given the high margins associated with license revenue, modest fluctuations can have a substantial impact on net income. Investors should not use any one quarter's results as a benchmark for future performance. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and the industries in which it operates, please refer to the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2010 ended January 31, 2010.

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Founded in 1979 QAD has been recognized as a leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software applications for global manufacturing companies.