Press Releases
Lilly Software Has Your Front And Back Ends Covered
A year and a half ago when Lilly Software announced it was going to build from scratch a best-of-breed WMS application, the vendor was met by many skeptics including AMR Research. What did this mid-market ERP vendor know about designing Supply Chain Execution (SCE) software? With no domain experience, could Lilly convince logistics professionals to buy its SCE application? With more than 200 WMS vendors already out there trying to grab a piece of the market, did we really need another WMS application to choose from? Since that time, Lilly has silenced many of its critics and won approval from supply chain experts with the release and successful installs of its WMS product, VISUAL DCMS.
VISUAL DCMS can operate as a stand-alone WMS application as well as a fully integrated component of Lilly's product suite that includes ERP, MES, and APS functionality. DCMS supports the full range of warehousing activities from receiving through shipping and includes functionality typically found only in best-of-breed WMS products such as multi-warehouse inventory management, cross-docking, wave planning, labor management, multi-level bill-of-material light manufacturing capability, and a dashboard presentation of multiple warehouse views. The application runs on Windows NT and uses an Oracle database so it can handle order volumes in the 300,000 order lines per day range without difficulty. Lilly has the application running live at two companies so far, Learning Resources and Blue Ridge Designs, for a total of four sites. The vendor is currently installing DCMS at a third company that utilizes an ERP system from Glovia, which will truly test the application's stand-alone and integration capability.
While Lilly has a list of enhancements it still wants to incorporate into DCMS, it is, by any measure, a strong first-release WMS product. However, the real value of the application is reached when it is used as a component of Lilly's integrated product suite. Lilly can seamlessly take a transaction from order entry through manufacturing and financials and into the warehouse for fulfillment. Data on inventory levels held in the warehouse are kept in constant sync with the inventory levels held in the ERP system. This level of integration means that real-time inventory levels across multiple warehouses are available at order entry, that inventory is immediately allocated upon order acceptance, and that rush orders can be dragged from the order entry screen and dropped into planned, but not yet released, waves in the WMS. Real-time front- to back-end integration is a must for all companies serious about their supply chains, especially those engaged in e-business. Lilly is a rare example of a mid-market vendor that can support these end-to-end business processes.
Lilly has succeeded in building a robust WMS application, but the question remains: Can it be a successful SCE vendor? AMR Research believes it can. Lilly wisely realized that it would not be successful pushing DCMS through its existing indirect distribution network of VARs selling its ERP product. WMS systems require a different sales approach than ERP applications. With this in mind, Lilly has established a separate direct sales and services group to focus on WMS. The vendor is also forming alliances with systems integrators and consultants, such as eSYNC, that specialize in logistics to legitimize itself in the Supply Chain market.
So the final question is: Do users really need another WMS to choose from? The answer is a resounding, no. What they need are integrated front- and back-end business processes. Lilly can provide them with the enabling software to achieve such integration. If Lilly concentrates on marketing an end-to-end business solution rather than competing head-to-head on functionality against established best-of-breed WMS vendors, its foray into the supply chain will be more rewarding.--C.N.
About Lilly Software Associates
Lilly Software Associates, Inc. provides a complete line of enterprise and
supply chain solutions for manufacturers and distributors. The VISUAL
Enterprise™ suite of products helps companies capture and analyze real-time data
about all their business processes using ERP, Project Management, Business
Performance Management, Quality Management, Customer Relationship Management,
and Warehouse Management System capabilities. From award-winning software to
strategies in Lean Manufacturing and TOC, Lilly Software offers companies the
tools they need for higher productivity and profitability.
Most VISUAL® applications run on Windows® 98, Windows NT,
Windows 2000, Windows XP, UNIX®, LINUX, Novell®, using
SQLBase®, Microsoft SQL Server®, or ORACLE®
relational databases.
Lilly Software has received many industry awards for its products, service, and
financial growth since its inception. Most recently, the company has been voted
one of the Top 10 Best of Breed solutions for manufacturing by readers of
Consumer Goods Technology, listed in
Software Magazine's Top 500,
selected as a Top 100 Logistics Information Technology Provider in
Inbound Logistics, listed in the Top
100 Application Vendors in Supply Chain
e-Business, included in MSI's
Top 100 for its eighth year, and ranked as one of
Start magazine's Hottest Companies.
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