After Cannon pioneered the independent vendor software market with the MCS and our managed Application Service Provider (ASP) model in 1968, we observed the first wave of competition in the seventies and what seemed like a new set of vendors in each decade thereafter. Competition was always impressive, often with marketing and sales budgets that rivaled their software development or acquisition cost. These manufacturing systems are too often poorly designed, too labor intensive, and represented to fit every type of manufacturing. The software vendors took your check, introduced you to flocks of consultants and wished you the best of luck.

Many of the more recent vendors have supplemental software packages that they claim enhance their manufacturing MRP II system such as Financial, Warehousing, CRM and e-business to offer something new called an "ERP" system. It won't work! Most of these systems feed directly or indirectly off the manufacturing database and if the manufacturing database is lacking, the succeeding database information will have the same deficiencies. For example, if the manufacturing system doesn't accurately collect costs, then the Financial system won't report accurate costs. If the manufacturing system doesn't show detailed Customer Order status in Production then the CRM system can't produce Customer inquiry information. IT'S AN OLD TRICK first used by IBM in the mid 1970's.

The significant challenge in manufacturing is to first CONTROL the logistics inherent in manufacturing operations with complete and timely information.

Trade magazines have reported numerous instances of excess inventory totaling 13 Billion dollars accumulated in the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain in the first quarter of 2001. Most of these unfortunate companies were using Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and E-Commerce software.

Cannon suggests there was too much "Planning" and not enough "CONTROL". Such events occur when the "lifeblood" of the company (inventory) is under the control of software that emphasizes "Planning" but does not follow up with "CONTROL" in the complex environment of materials management. The Cannon Material CONTROL System would have gone into an excited state of alarm; warning that excessive forecasts were not being matched by Customer Orders. Be wary of a single vendor that has several software packages representing everything you need. Merely bolting together several weak packages does not make a 'good' system.

The workable solution is to select best of breed, mature application systems and require each software vendor to make the system work within the plan before you pay. With Cannon's business model you see the scheduled results before you are invoiced and make budgeted monthly payments.