Press Releases

June 12, 2001, Hampton, NH (USA) — Lilly Software Associates, Inc., best known for the ERP solution VISUAL Manufacturing, announces that the first installation of its VISUAL Distribution Center Management System (DCMS)® 2.1.5 software has "gone live" at Learning Resources of Vernon Hills, Illinois.  Version 2.1.5 represents significant enhancements to Lilly’s WMS product, which prompted AMR Research to write in its May 14 2001 Supply Chain Alert that “These enhancements re-enforce Lilly’s ability to compete head-to-head with and win against the best-of-breed WMS vendors in the market today.” 

While Learning Resources was the first customer of VISUAL DCMS 1.0, “This is not a re-implementation, but a true upgrade,” said Lilly Software’s VP of Distribution Solutions, Stanley Chew. “It is rare that a company upgrades a WMS.  In my 15 years of experience, I have never seen it done and I have never heard of any competitors doing it, ever.  Re-implementing a new version, yes, but upgrading, no.

 “And it underscores what we call our package strategy. VISUAL Distribution, paired with Lilly's VISUAL Manufacturing suite, integrates a company's supply chain from its core business through distribution.”

The main features of the upgrade include -

·                    Advanced Cross Dock/Flow Through Support
·                    Interleaved Cycle Counting
·                    Manufacturing Integration using ASN's
·                    Paper Based Picking
·                    Advanced Reverse Logistics
·                    Lot/Trace for the Food Processing Industry
·                    Rules Based VISUAL Rate Maintenance and Billing for 3PL 

“Those are not nips and tucks,” said Chew, “But major functionalities, which expand both the best-of-breed nature of VISUAL DCMS, and the tighter integration and interoperability of our supply-chain strategy.” 

Learning Resources has become Lilly’s “showcase” of a complete supply chain solution. Before the company purchased VISUAL Distribution in 1999, it had already used the patented scheduling of Lilly's VISUAL Manufacturing, in a highly customized version that allowed for the company's strong distribution requirements: Learning Resources both assembles and distributes product from the company's 100,000ft2 headquarters and warehouse. Given the size and willingness of the organization, Lilly Software chose Learning Resources as its beta site. Learning Resources now uses VISUAL Distribution - Front Office plus VISUAL Distribution - Warehouse, which features both a best-in-class warehouse management system (WMS) and radio frequency (RF) control.

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.