Guide Corporation Chooses QAD Software
19 August 1999
Guide Corporation Chooses QAD Software for Industry-Specific Functionality and Quick Implementation
CARPINTERIA, Calif.--Aug. 19, 1999--for Services and Enterprise Software plus ECommerce to
Streamline EDI Management with Multiple Trading Partners
QAD Inc. , developer of e-business-enabled enterprise and supply chain software, announces that Guide Corporation, a leading manufacturer of automotive lighting systems for companies that include GM, Isuzu and Toyota, has signed a $1.7 million deal for QAD applications and services, including an EDI e-commerce message conversion system.
The company chose QAD over competitors SAP and Baan for its automotive expertise, strong industry references, and ease of implementation.
"QAD's key strengths are its automotive focus and the ability of its applications to be implemented quickly and economically," said Jim Johnson, Guide Corporation CIO. "With its built-in industry-specific functionality and fast implementation, QAD will make it possible for us to install a complete enterprise system without seriously disturbing our business -- and gain new flexibility in supporting our trading partners."
As a new company formed from a subsidiary of General Motors, Guide needed to acquire a cost-effective enterprise solution to support the development of its business. The company worked in conjunction with QAD partners PriceWaterhouseCoopers and EDS to evaluate several other industry vendors.
Guide chose QAD over SAP and Baan as the best overall ERP solution to meet its needs and signed a contract in April of 1999 to implement QAD applications. Guide also based its decision on QAD's strong reputation among other GM spin-offs.
At its Indiana and Louisiana sites, Guide will implement the latest version of QAD's flagship enterprise software with a Net User Interface, ECommerce, Qwizard, The Planner, and Release Management applications. QAD's new software architecture, named QAD/Connects, offers seamless connectivity to a variety of internal and external applications and information systems to support dynamic collaboration across the supply chain.
Guide selected QAD's ECommerce application for its unique placement of the processing logic, EDI document specifications and trading partner specifications in database tables that can be modified at the user interface level with a set of maintenance programs. This will allow Guide to upgrade and change trading partner libraries, adding new transactions and trading partner profiles without programming, reducing the time and money spent on implementation, testing and creating user interfaces.
"ECommerce will greatly reduce the time we have to spend on implementation, testing, and creating user interfaces," said Johnson. "With this functionality, we look forward to greater efficiencies in our overall operations."
The Guide system will be implemented on an HP 9000 server. The flexibility of the QAD system enables Guide to integrate all future acquisitions into its new system.
About Guide Corporation
Guide Corporation designs and makes auto lighting systems including headlamps, turn signals, tail lamps, and license plate lamps. The company has factories in Indiana, Louisiana, and Mexico and supplies its products to General Motors, Isuzu, and Toyota, among others.
Guide is owned by New York-based investment firm Palladium Equity Partners, which purchased the lighting operations of GM's former subsidiary, Delphi Automotive Systems, to create the company in 1998. The company took its name from Guide Motor Lamp Manufacturing, which developed the first electric headlamp before it was acquired by GM in 1928.
About QAD
Founded in 1979, QAD is a leading provider of e-business-enabled enterprise and extended supply chain management software and services to multinational companies of all sizes, with special focus on the mid-market. Available in 26 languages and able to support multiple currencies, QAD software helps speed business processes for more than 300,000 licensed users at more than 4,000 licensed sites in more than 80 countries.
QAD software is specifically designed for global manufacturers in the following targeted industries: automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial, and medical products. Another important advantage is QAD's quick results wherever sites are located. QAD revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 1999, totaled $193 million.
For more information about QAD, telephone 805/684 6614, or visit the QAD Web site at http://www.qad.com. To receive any of QAD's news releases via facsimile, contact 800/356-0747, or outside the U.S. contact 213/253-5647.
Note to Editors: QAD is a trademark and MFG/PRO 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 news 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 evolving demand for the company's software products and products that operate with the company's products, the publication of opinions by industry analysts about the company, its products and technology, the entry of new competitors and their technological advances, delays in localizing the company's products for new markets, 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; and general economic factors. In addition, revenue and earnings in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software industry are subject to fluctuations and the growth rates recently experienced by the company do not necessarily represent future operating results. Investors should not use any one quarter's results as a benchmark for future growth. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and the enterprise resource planning industry, please refer to the company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 1999.