UltraSource™, Inc., an innovator in the field of thin film technology, provides custom thin film circuitsand interconnect solutions to the Defense, Aerospace, Homeland Security, Telecommunications, Medical Imaging, and Biotechnology markets. Founded in 1991 in Hollis, New Hampshire, UltraSource has become a leader in the thin film industry because of its quality workmanship and responsiveness to customer requirements.

UltraSource decided to make changes to reach the next level of success. The company invested in new equipment, hired additional employees, and added a new sales and marketing team. Management began to see the results it expected, but those results did not last. UltraSource, like countless other companies that experience rapid growth, was losing focus on the value-add processes that provided its customers with the service and quality they demanded.

UltraSource turned to Lean Manufacturing techniques to help it manage its growth and reach new levels of success. “Our reason for adopting Lean Manufacturing was our desire to help our company help its customers,” the company states in its whitepaper, “On the Road to Lean with UltraSource.”  The company was convinced that a transformation to Lean Manufacturing was necessary if the company was to successfully reach its goal of market leadership in the thin film industry.

UltraSource went live with VISUAL in July 2007, after a short but intensive 3 1/2 month implementation process. “The implementation went well” states Jeff Bergart, CFO at UltraSource. “The Synergy team that helped us with the implementation were excellent people. They were very capable. They worked hard, and they were willing to answer all of our questions. They were generous with their time and focused on our project.”

“Previously we needed a systematic way of codifying what we do,” states Jeff Bergart, CFO at UltraSource. “We were doing Lean manually. VISUAL’s DBR dashboard is a wonderful help to us. The VISUAL DBR dashboard is one of many Lean-friendly tools in the VISUAL product. “In addition to the manufacturing process, we’re expecting VISUAL to help us streamline other operations throughout the business, including purchasing, inventory, sales, and finance.”

UltraSource first implemented Lean in its manufacturing operations. The effects of the implementation in manufacturing were felt in all areas of the company’s business.  “Adopting these techniques has given UltraSource a great start,” the company states in “On the Road to Lean with UltraSource.” “But the nature of Lean is that we are merely at the beginning of a lifelong journey.”

On the manufacturing side, UltraSource expects VISUAL to help improve quality and increase output. “Anything that makes us more efficient makes us more profitable,” states Bergart. “VISUAL helps us be more efficient. By minimizing the number of mistakes we make, we improve the quality of our products. Fewer mistakes mean less rework and less wasted material. This makes us more productive and profitable.”

On the strength of its Lean Manufacturing techniques and attention to quality, UltraSource is experiencing the growth it has targeted since its inception. With VISUAL implemented, the company can now better manage that growth. “We’re looking to grow through increased productivity,” states Bergart. “With VISUAL in place, we’re expecting to significantly increase our output without adding staff.”

The term Software as a Service, or SaaS, is often associated with the notion of completely outsourcing your entire ERP business suite and infrastructure. While it is possible to outsource all of your IT, many companies have found that a mix of both on-premise and on-line IT support can actually be a stronger strategy than solely adopting on one over the other.

Most VISUAL customers have chosen to operate the majority of their system on-premise in their own facility, with their own staff. Often times those IT resources can be stretched thin during certain periods, such as in the process of upgrading to a new release, adding new VISUAL modules, or while trying to maintain a reliable back-up regiment.  Synergy Resources has partnered with GoIWx, a former VISUAL partner with over 10 years of VISUAL product experience. GoIWx is a business systems integrator solely focused on assisting VISUAL customers more efficiently, and more cost effectively manage their IT infrastructure.

GoIWx provides short and long term assistance with services such as:

• A “Sandbox” environment for testing upgrades to Software or Hardware.
• An environment for testing new module deployments such as VISUAL Quality, Drum-Buffer-Rope (DBR), or many others.
• Hosting of productivity and collaboration tools such as Microsoft SharePoint and Email that can be shared across the entire company and provide information access to ALL employees.
• Secure and reliable system back-ups and restore facilities

Why buy extra equipment, or hire additional staff, when GoIWx can help address these needs when and where they are needed. GoIWx recognizes the importance of successfully managing mission critical applications such as VISUAL, and the challenges associated with maintaining a secure and reliable IT environment. Let GoIWx help you leverage and maximize your IT environment, so you can focus on your business and your customers. To learn more about how GoIWx can augment your IT staff, join us for an upcoming webinar:

Wednesday, Feb. 25th at 2:00pm – Register
Wednesday, Mar. 25th at 2:00pm – Register
Wednesday, Apr. 25th at 2:00pm – Register

Why is that industry standards like EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) never seem to be all that standard? If you have asked this question, you have likely been involved in the challenges associated with implementing EDI. While there are many aspects to EDI that are “standard”, each industry has worked to adjust those standards to meet their needs. Because of this EDI can quickly become complex. 

Synergy Resources’ EDI partner, Data Communications Solutions, Inc. (DCS) has focused exclusively on these industry specific, business-to-business complexities since 1991. Whether you are focused on Automotive, Food Processing, Medical and Pharmaceutical, Consumer Goods, Plastics, or Transportation and Logistics, DCS can likely help you quickly, economically, and thoroughly solve your EDI and Trading Partner integration issues. DCS has in-depth experience with VISUAL and the VISUAL Manufacturing Data Interchange (VMDITM module). DCS has experience with both the X12 and EDIFACT EDI formats, and can help you set up transactions such as:

• Inbound PO's (850)
• Outbound ASN's (856)
• Outbound Invoices (810)
• Inbound Releases (830)
• Outbound PO Acknowledgements (855)
• Connections using EDI INT AS2 (HTTPS in batch mode) reduces cost by elimination of Value Added Networks.

To learn more about how Synergy Resources and DCS can help you master your EDI communications, join us for an upcoming webinar:

Wednesday, Mar. 11th at 10:00am – Register