Washington-based Pacific Mariner builds fully equipped luxury motor yachts. Overwhelmed by a manual, paper-intensive system, the company struggled to manage its expanding supply chain and inventory balances. Realizing a need for a completely automated and integrated manufacturing, inventory, and accounting system, Pacific Mariner migrated its accounting software to Sage Accpac ERP and purchased the MISys Manufacturing System, which offers tight integration with Sage Accpac software. Consulting firm INFOMAN implemented the new solution and ensured smooth data flow across the new system. With its Sage Accpac solution at the helm, Pacific Mariner has gained control over its supplier relationships and inventory management, and profit margins and overall confidence have risen to new heights.
Pacific Mariner Tries to Stay Afloat Amidst Sea of Paper
Mark Edson, vice president of Pacific Mariner, found himself swimming upstream in a sea of paper. Relying on paper files for its many suppliers, Pacific Mariner struggled to manage its vendor relationships. With business expanding rapidly and without an integrated manufacturing and accounting system, tracking costs and managing stock levels, payroll, and payables became increasingly difficult. Without an inventory control program to track up to 5,000 item numbers, the company was subject to carrying excess inventory. Often, it could not obtain the best prices on key items because of its inability to effectively manage multiple sources for particular components.
In addition, because Edson and his staff struggled to determine projected vs. actual costs and to track labor hours and materials, setting the appropriate sales price for each yacht proved challenging. This, in turn, compromised the company's ability to make the right purchasing decisions and impacted Pacific Mariner's overall revenue. Edson realized that the time was ripe to devise a fully integrated and automated solution to ensure the long-term success of the company.
New System Delivers Stellar Results
Edson investigated numerous manufacturing and accounting packages. Based on the recommendation of business associates, he discovered the MISys Manufacturing System, which offers a balance of manufacturing and job cost functionality plus seamless integration with Sage Accpac accounting software. John Burgess, managing consultant at INFOMAN, provided Edson with three references in the marine industry who vouched for the power and reliability of Sage Accpac software and its tight integration with MISys.
"As a manufacturer, having a versatile manufacturing program that integrated with a flexible, high-performance accounting package like Sage Accpac made the choice easy," says Edson. "The fact that INFOMAN had such a strong reputation in the accounting and manufacturing software arenas, and that their references endorsed Sage Accpac so highly, gave us confidence that we were making the right decision."
INFOMAN configured MISys to optimally integrate with the Sage Accpac Accounts Payable and General Ledger modules. All purchasing is accomplished through MISys and data is posted to applicable vendor accounts in Sage Accpac Accounts Payable. "We can import inventory items from MISys into Sage Accpac Accounts Receivable. The system generates the correct mark-ups and freightcharges and prints invoices on demand. Sage Accpac also makes it very easy for our accounting department to ensure that our purchase taxes are paid properly. We buy parts from all over the world and the multicurrency capability in Sage Accpac makes transacting overseas easy," says Edson.
"Sage Accpac has given us all of the benefits of a fully automated solution. The software is incredibly reliable and easy to use. In fact, I spend less than one day training each new employee on the system. Sage Accpac provides us with great value for the power and performance," says Edson.
