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QuickSilver Manufacturing, Distribution & Financials System Highlights

Manufacturing

For a more detailed description of each module, please click on the highlighted text.

Engineering Data Base - Supports the Part Masters, Bills of Material, routings, operations, and work centers.

Standard Product Cost - Provides accurate and timely cost information including two sets of cost elements for each part. Dollarize all material/labor movement within an Accounting Period.

In Process Data Base - Control and report on the work-in-process of manufactured orders. Supports material and labor tracking.

Formal Purchasing System - Provides control of purchased items/services for stock parts and indirect materials from order generation through receipt. Features include quote and requisition processing. It completely interfaces to Accounts Payable.

Physical Inventory/Cycle Counting - Perform and automatically update complete physical inventories as well as ABC or user-defined cycle counts.

Stock Locator - Track onhand inventory by bin location within a multi-plant and/or multi-stockroom environment. Interfaced with other areas of the system that affects inventory status.

Misc. Jobs & MRP/CRP - Provides Master Production Scheduling, Material and Capacity Requirements Planning, generation of the shop calendar, and more...

Formal Tooling System - Track, control, and project tool usage/ inventory for perishable tools, fixtures, jigs, and kits through the use of tool kit Bills of Material, routings, and shop orders. Create preventative maintenance schedules for equipment/machines.

Lot Control - Maintain and track inventory by lot number. Identify every end item made from a particular lot of materials.

System

Data Processing - Per the system control record, tune the system to meet your needs. Track system activity through audit listings. Perform backups, end of month processing, and mass updates. Purge old records.

Security - The QuickSilver system comes with it's own internal security system that allows you to tailor your own menu/program level security by department or user.

Distribution & Financials

Support Files - Define, maintain, and list master codes and files tailored to meet your business requirements.

Customers - Maintain and report basic information regarding customers including separate invoice-to and ship-to addresses, pricing levels, discounts, forms printing rules, and credit data.

Product Information - Inquire, maintain, and list manufacturing , distribution, and financial information specific to a part number. Mass change product prices. Check product availability.

Estimating - Design and develop a product estimate or cost simulation from scratch or from an existing Bill of Material or estimate. Convert an estimate into an engineering data base part number.

Quote Processing - Enter, maintain, re-open, and re-use customer quotes. Copy estimate information into a quote. Transfer a quote to a sales order without re-keying. Print, summarize, and analyze quotation performance.

Order Processing - Inquire, maintain, and analyze all aspects of sales orders. Features include mass entry of order lines, converting quotes to orders, printing of order forms, acknowledgments, and change notices. The system performs order pricing (discounts), credit checks, and product availability analysis based on your defined rules. Multiple inquiries by customer, product, P/O...

Shipments Processing - Create pick lists and/or tickets for orders due to be shipped. Print packing lists and bills of lading on demand. Shipments entry feeds invoicing. "Quick Process" a shipment to fast-path it through the system by eliminating normal processing steps.

Invoicing - Review and prepare shipments for invoicing based on date parameters or order numbers. Pre-print and audit invoices before actually processing them. Process and print invoices and debit/credit memos, which in turn will reduce inventory, feed sales analysis, A/R, and G/L. Quickly enter and process a non-QuickSilver sale (over the counter) as a short cut to normal processing.

Sales History - Inquire into and maintain sales history. Build and sort various sales reports based on your selection requirements. Reports can be detailed or summary, with or without margins, current vs last year, etc... Report on sales tax, sales tracking, customer service, charges, margin/ pricing, and commissions.

Return Authorizations - Enter, maintain, and track product returns for whatever reason. Convert return authorizations into credit memos.

Accounts Receivable - Fully integrated to billing and G/L. Perform on-line cash application by invoice or cursor "check off". Abundant/flexible inquiries and reports are provided of A/R and payment history. It supports early payment cash discounts and user-defined aging periods. Print statements and Dunning letters.

Accounts Payable - Fully integrated to purchasing/receiving and G/L. It supports future and recurring payments, check reconciliation, project# control, and flexible aging periods. Perform online vouchering with user-defined terms/discount options. A check processing cycle permits you to select invoices for payment with system-generated checks (or manual checks). Numerous powerful/flexible inquiries and reports are provided, including 1099's, and vendor analysis..

General Ledger - Flexible to fit your account number (up to 15 characters/9 field elements). Account number search/lookup, inquiries to view account balances, history, detail journal entries. Powerful/ flexible financial statement writer; design your own balance sheet, income statement, plant/dept expense summaries, cash flow analysis, etc... It supports recurring and miscellaneous journal entries, reversing entries, distribution streams, and budgets .

ENGINEERING DATA BASE

The Engineering Data Base module supports the primary functions of Product Definition - (the material and labor content of a product). These functions provide a data base of "WHAT IS MANUFACTURED" and "HOW IT IS PRODUCED" which is the source of information for the rest of the Manufacturing Control System.

To support the "MATERIAL CONTENT" of the product, the Engineering Data Base organizes and maintains the data required for each unique Part and Bill of Material. Facilities are provided to maintain Purchasing, Production Control, Inventory Control, and Cost information (see Standard Product Costing) as well as data required by Product Design Engineering.

Reports and inquiries are provided to supply Bill of Material and Part Number information for new product introduction, engineering change control, parts standardization and obsolescence control.

To support the "LABOR CONTENT" of the product, the Engineering Data Base organizes and maintains the data required for Routing Operation and Work Centers. Facilities are provided to maintain production control and cost information as well as data required by Mfg Engineering.

Routing and Work Center reports and inquiries are provided to facilitate standards changes, manpower planning, and process control. Work Center where used retrievals provide where used information by Part Number and Operation.

Maintenance to engineering and production control type data is performed in this module. Note that the Part Master file is made up of four elements: engineering type information, inventory/ production control data, costing information, and Distribution/Financial product information. The first two elements (engineering and inventory/production control data) are defined in this module.

The Part Master data has been segregated due to security. This way Engineering, Production Control, Costing, and Accounting can each maintain the data they are responsible for.

STANDARD PRODUCT COSTING

 

The Standard Product Costing module is designed to maintain accurate and timely cost information. It provides for two sets of cost elements for each part number in the Part Master file. These sets of costs are the fiscal standard cost and the current standard cost.

The Fiscal Standard Cost of a part is based upon the Bill of Material and Routing used to manufacture the part at the time the standard is established. These material and labor requirements are costed using purchased material costs, purchase service costs, and labor/burden rates.

Once established, the Fiscal Standard Cost is generally not changed for one year. Changes to the Bill of Material, Routing, or costing rates are not reflected in this standard until the annual revision of the standard. Fiscal Standard Costs are normally used to value the onhand inventory. The Job/Inventory Costing module will use the Fiscal Standard Cost to value the inventory movement transactions.

The Current Standard Cost of a part is based upon the most current version of the Bill of Material and Routing used to manufacture the part. These material and labor requirements are costed using the most current purchased material costs, purchased service costs, and labor/burden rates. These costs can be updated as required.

Current Standard Costs can be used in product pricing and any other analysis where the most recent product costs are required.

Both the Fiscal and Current Standard Costs are made up of the following elements of costs: Material, Labor, Setup, Fixed Overhead, and Variable Overhead. In addition, each set of cost fields are further classified as "This Level Cost" and "Unit Cost". "This Level Cost" represents the cost to fabricate, machine, or assemble a part; not including the cost of any component parts (lower levels).

Standard Product Costing is a natural by-product of maintaining the Bills of Material and Routing operations. Costed bills and routings are provided for each manufactured part costed by the system.

The Standard Product Costing module maintains:

Part Master File Cost Fields that provides additional data to the Engineering Data Base for maintaining the current and standard material costs of all purchased parts.

Work Center Master File Cost Fields that provides additional data to the Engineering Data Base for loading Work Center labor and burden rates. Labor rates include setup and direct labor rates. Burden includes fixed and variable elements.

Routing Operation File - Purchased Service Costs are maintained which provide input to the Engineering Data Base for loading the most current purchased service cost data on all purchased service operations. The system accumulates these costs as a "This Level" purchased material cost. In addition, direct labor and setup standards are included as separate elements of a routed.

Labor Grade Costs that provides input per the labor grade values, which can be used to override the work, center values.

Two Sets of Cost Elements in "Unit" and "This Level" elements for Fiscal and Current Standard costs.

Provision for selective cost build-up due to any lower level change in the Bill of Material or routing is a feature of the Standard Product Costing module. Cost build-up could be of Current Costs or Fiscal Costs, as desired. This feature provides for generation of costs for only those parts that are affected by lower level Bill of Material and/or routing changes.

Standard Product Costing provides the ability to generate the Fiscal and Current Standard Costs for new parts. This allows inventory to be properly evaluated.

Identify exception conditions in the Bill or Routing which prevent calculations of cost build-up such as assemblies without bills or routings and purchased parts without costs established. All higher-level assemblies impacted by these exceptions will be flagged to highlight the lower level exception condition. Costed Bills and Routings will be used to resolve the error exception.

The "audit" ability to preserve cost development elements such as Bill of Material, routing, and labor/burden rates in effect at the time the Fiscal Standards are established is provided.

Establish costing quantities. The accounting lot size quantity provides the ability to apportion a lot cost, such as setup, to a single unit of product.

Provides for component scrap factors. For some parts, their use as a component leads to material rendered unusable or physically lost as a normal occurrence in the production process. To provide for this in costing of parent parts and in ordering component material, a scrap factor will be maintained on the Bill of Material via the Engineering Data Base. As a result, additional material will be committed to an order and this material will be included in the cost of the product.

Provides for user option of Fiscal or Current costs for the inventory valuation cost basis. This feature is designed to isolate the impact of material and labor cost changes. (Only one basis for valuation can be used at a time.) It should be noted that the choice of costs for inventory valuation directly impacts the variance analysis capability of the Job/Inventory Costing module that always uses fiscal costs as its standard.

IN-PROCESS DATA BASE

 

The In-Process Data Base (IPDB) module supports the primary function of controlling the work-in-process for both manufactured and purchased parts. For manufactured parts, this function will provide a data base showing what material should have been used versus what materials were used, and what labor should have been performed versus what labor was performed.

"Material Tracking" - The IPDB will copy the Bill of Material for the part to be produced from the Engineering Data Base to the Components Required file at order release time. If necessary, structure modifications are allowed in the IPDB. Fields are established to capture the actual materials issued to the floor during the production of the order.

"Labor Tracking" - The IPDB will copy the Routing for the part to be produced from the Engineering Data Base to the Labor In Process file at order release time. If necessary, updates are allowed to it's operational structure in the IPDB. Fields will be established to capture the actual labor consumed on the shop floor during production of the order.

IPDB will print shop paper and turnaround documents to accommodate both material and labor tracking.

All information pertaining to the IPDB for an order is available on both reports and online inquiries. Examples of reports provided include manufactured orders in various sequences, stock status reports, priority dispatch reports, and labor analysis reports.

Both manufactured orders and purchased orders will provide support to the Material Requirements Planning system, Capacity Requirements Planning system and the Job Cost sub system.

Order Release for Manufactured Orders - Production Control will work from the MRP Order Action report to determine which manufacturing orders to place, and in what quantities and times. The system provides for two types of manufactured orders (Released and Firm Plan):

Released orders contain the Labor in Process (LIP) and Components Material Requirements (CMR) records necessary to generate and monitor the production of a part.

Firm Plan orders have no LIP or CMR records, they serve the purpose of generating requirements for components (through MRP) without actually committing those components to an order. Firm Plan orders will also project manpower and machine requirements during Capacity Requirements Planning.

The Order Request program allows for the entry of a Firm Plan code, a paper switch and a force release switch. The Firm Plan code identifies the order as being Firm Plan or Released. The paper switch tells the shop paper program to print shop paper for the order immediately after it has been released or to bypass the shop paper print until a future time. The force release switch is used by the Material Availability Audit program. It prevents an order from being released unless all of the components are available to be committed to the order.

The Order Release program creates data records in the IPDB necessary for the order being generated. Order Master and Order Header records are created. For released orders, CMR and LIP records are created by copying the Bill of Material and routing for the part number being manufactured. Any changes unique to the order can then be made to the CMR and/or LIP records.

Order Changes - IPDB is flexible. It allows most changes to take place anytime up to the close of the order. This feature facilitates the entry of special orders for parts, which are close to a standard product in your Engineering Data Base, but allows additions and deletions to the labor and/or material structures (same as...except). Quantity changes will automatically recalculate the new required quantities of all of the components used on the order as well as adjust the commitments for all of the components in the Part Master file.

Shop Paper - The manufactured order shop paper can be printed at any time following order release. The paper switch tells the system when and what type of paper to print.

The "Print Shop Paper" procedure prints a copy of the manufactured order, listing the labor operations and the materials required. It will also print out the material requisitions and labor tickets to be used as turnaround documents by the shop floor. When an order that contains a purchase service operation is printed, the system will generate a Purchase Service Requisition that can be forwarded to the Purchasing Department to inform them of the required purchase. This requisition can also be used as a turnaround document to post the actual vendor and purchase order to the labor operations.

Labor Reporting - QuickSilver uses a very straight forward labor reporting system. This has been done to accommodate the tailoring which may be needed to link the labor reporting with your payroll system. QuickSilver does not feed a payroll system. Modifications could easily be made to facilitate this. The inputs to the labor reporting system are the turn around documents prepared by the shop paper programs. The system allows labor tickets to report direct labor, setup labor, and rework labor. The system does not zero balance the labor tickets against a time card; it assumes the times and quantities are correct.

Labor Tickets - Labor Tickets will be edited to assure valid part number, order number and sequence numbers. An efficiency report will be prepared and the Labor In Process file is updated. Labor Ticket data is stored in the Labor In Process Detail file for later use by the Job Cost module.

Material Reporting - The primary purpose of this feature is to maintain accurate balances of the quantities on hand, on order, and committed. This feature uses the material requisitions produced by the shop paper program. It allows for a complete fill of an order using a single transaction or the use of single issue transactions for each of the component parts used on the order. It also records and tracks all component shortages encountered for an order.

The material reporting feature allows for parts coded as floorstock in the IPDB to bypass the necessity of processing issue transactions for those parts. Floorstock parts will be automatically issued by the system at the time a stock receipt is processed against an order.

All issued components will maintain the onhand and the committed fields in the Part Master file of the Engineering Data Base as well as the issued quantity in the Component Requirements file. All transactions are kept in the Components Required Detail file for use by the close programs and the Job Cost module.

Order Closes - Order closes fall into two main categories for the IPDB. There is a manufacturing close called a "final tag" and the actual order close used by the Accounting Department. This allows the order to remain on file until the proper accounting entries are made.

"Final tag" indicates that Manufacturing has completed the order. IPDB will still accept transactions against this order after the final tag has been processed but it will issue warning messages. The final tag produces a job close report that points out all material and labor variances to Manufacturing to allow them time to correct any reporting errors prior to the accounting close.

"Close tag" indicates that the Accounting department is ready to book the order as finished and transfer the dollars from the work in process account to the finished goods account. It produces a close order report which also highlights all variances in the order in quantities as well as dollars. No transactions can be processed against an order, which has been flagged as closed.

Inquiries are allowed by order number and part number. QuickSilver can list all of the orders in due date or start date sequence. Listings can be run for the entire file by order number or part number. Most inquiries are available in either hard copy or via online.

Receiving Parts to Stock - Transactions must be entered to receive manufactured parts to the stockroom. These transactions maintain the onhand and the on order quantities in the Part Master file as well as update the quantity complete in the Order Header file. If a manufactured part is made up of any floorstock components, these are issued automatically by this receipt transaction.

Rework Orders - IPDB facilitates entry of Rework Orders into the system and entries of labor to be redone through the Labor In Process maintenance program. This reduces the possibility of misplacing or losing these parts and allows better cost and material control for rework labor.

Labor reporting is accomplished via labor tickets, which can be produced by the shop paper programs in the same manner as a normal order. The Rework Order will be handled the same as the other orders during it's life in the IPDB.

Priority Dispatch - This feature produces priority dispatch reports that reflect the labor reported on each order. It lists all the operations of the open manufacturing orders by department and work center in priority sequence to assist the foreman in scheduling his manpower and machines. Priority Dispatch utilizes the critical ratio formula. This formula prioritizes the orders based on the amount of work remaining compared to the amount of time left to do the work. This report can then be used to take advantage of common setups and common labor skills.

FORMAL PURCHASING SYSTEM

PHYSICAL INVENTORY CYCLE COUNT

The foundation of every good Inventory Management system is accurate inventory records. Inaccurate inventory records can result in shortages as well as excess inventory. There are two requirements for maintaining accurate inventory records.

A good system for recording all receipts and disbursements, which affect the inventory balance.

An effective system for auditing the accuracy of the system and for discovering and correcting the causes of the errors.

The QuickSilver In-Process Data Base provides the necessary tools to satisfy the first requirement. The Physical Inventory/Cycle Count module (PICC) provides the ability to highlight and correct inventory inaccuracies. When used in conjunction with the inventory audit trails, it assists in determining the causes of errors, thus satisfying the second requirement.

Features of the PICC module include:

- Tag Generation

- Tag Register reports in tag, part and location sequence

- Tag Maintenance

- Missing Tag Register

- Tag Inquiry by part number

- Voided Tag Register

- Variance Reports

- Updates of inventory status with actual inventory counts

- Cycle Count History report

- Print blank tags

- Facilitates multiple active cycles

The PICC module easily interfaces with any user defined selection criteria for cycle counting. It allows for range selections and has the ability to select specific items to be counted.

The ability to audit inventory records stems from the physical inventory. Physical Inventory involves:

- - The counting of items in stock.

- - Comparing the results with the perpetual inventory record balance.

- - Reconciling the differences and adjusting the record balance to agree with the quantity actually onhand.

There are two basic methods for taking physical inventory:

Periodic; usually on an annual basis.

Cyclic; continuous counting of inventory throughout the year.

Under the cycle counting method, physical counts are scheduled during the year so that all inventory items will be counted at least once. The count is reconciled with the inventory record. Of the many advantages of cycle counting, there are three that are truly significant:

Timely detection of errors and elimination of the conditions causing the errors.

Improved record accuracy and a more correct statement of assets.

Elimination of the annual physical inventory resulting in significant cost savings.

Compare these with the disadvantages of the periodic physical inventory:

Most people assigned to count are unfamiliar with the inventory items, counting methods or reconciliation techniques.

As a result of number 1 and for other reasons, usually as many errors are introduced into the records as are corrected.

The method is very inefficient in the utilization of manpower. Frequently, substantial overtime is required to accomplish it.

Operations must be shut down.

At inventory time, it is usually too late to find out what happened and much less try to correct the causes for errors.

While most managers consider the elimination of the annual physical inventory the most important reason for adopting cycle counting, this is not the case. There is a far more compelling reason. Cycle counting is the only way to achieve inventory record accuracy and inventory record accuracy is the foundation on which every inventory management system must be built. It is an essential and vital factor in the effective planning and control of inventories.

Step-by-Step Method - Installation of a cycle counting program can best be accomplished by following a well?planned step-by-step method. These steps are:

Education and training of the company personnel to be involved in the concept and techniques of cycle counting.

Assignment of responsibility for cycle counting tasks.

Establishment of a system to measure inventory record accuracy. There are many ideas concerning how inventory accuracy should be measured. It can be measured in terms of "significant" errors in that errors are measured within specified tolerances allowed.

Establishment of a selection criteria to determine what parts to count and when. Since the risk of error is related to the frequency of transactions, several techniques have been developed for varying the cycle count counting frequency. Some of the selection criteria available include:

• ABC BLOCK SYSTEM: Inventory is divided by ABC classification (distribution by value technique). "A" items are counted more frequently than "B" items. "A" items have greater dollar usage, higher reorder frequency, and lower tolerance for significant error. "B" items are counted more frequently than "C" items.
• RECEIVER SYSTEM: Items are counted when a replenishment order is received.
• RE-ORDER SYSTEM: Items are cycle counted at the time of reorder.
• ZERO BALANCE SYSTEM: Items are cycle counted when the inventory record balance is zero or when there are none in stock. Also when the record is negative.
• TRANSACTION COUNT SYSTEM: Items are cycle counted when a specific number of transactions have been processed.

A combination of these methods and/or others can be used to establish an effective cycle counting program. The QuickSilver PICC module will easily interface to any of these selection criteria techniques.

Engineering Data Base:

Part Master Maintenance. A part number cannot be deleted if active locator records exist.

Part Master/Product Structure/Routing Mass Delete. A part number cannot be deleted if active locator records exist.

In-Process Data Base:

Requisition Print. Requisitions list the first 10 locations at which component parts are found.

Inventory Update. Transactions requiring a valid location to be entered include onhand adjustments, unplanned issues, unplanned receipts, stock receipts, scraps from stockroom, returns from stockroom, issues to floorstock, component issues, returns from floorstock, shipment entries, and location transfers. Transactions not allowing a location entry include hold quantity, release quantity, component scrap, and adjustments to floorstock.

Miscellaneous Jobs:

Part Master Control Record Maintenance. When the Stock Locator System is installed, a switch in the Part Master Control Record is set on. This switch instructs the In-Process Data Base and Purchasing programs to require locations to be entered.

Formal Purchasing System:

Purchase Order Update. A valid location is required for receipt to stockroom transactions.

Various Distribution/Financial programs will reference these locations.

MISCELLANEOUS JOBS & MRP/CRP

(MPS) Master Production Schedule. The Master Production Schedule is used to generate the Master Build Schedule, which will become the driver for MRP-Material Requirements Planning. The main purpose of MPS is to indicate "how many" and the "date required" for each end item or service part sold.

MPS will use either an inputted forecast of end items and service parts, or a backlog of customer requirements, or a combination of both in developing the Master Build Schedule.

Features of the Master Production Schedule include:

Interface to Customer Order Entry System.

Bucket less system. The restriction of fixed time periods does not exist in this system. All dates can be used as long as those dates are valid shop calendar dates.

The Master Build Schedule generated by MPS can consist of forecast quantities, customer requirements, or a combination of both.

Forecast maintenance. The forecast is automatically reduced by shipments made from finished goods to assist in keeping the forecast requirements in balance. The forecasted Master Schedule can also be maintained manually via an online program.

(MRP) Material Requirements Planning. The MRP system is used to determine "what material" is required, "when the material" is required and "how much material" is required to satisfy the Build Schedule prepared by MPS. The gross requirements furnished by the MPS module are exploded thru all levels of the Bills of Material.

MRP will net any onhand and on order quantities from the gross requirement to calculate the net requirement at each level. This net requirement will generate a planned order requirement which becomes the gross requirement for the next level components. This process will continue until all levels of the Bill of Material have been processed. An option is also available to use safety stock, if specified.

MRP reports include the Order Action List, Planned Order List, MRP Detail Report, Pegged Requirements List, and an Exception Report to denote any errors that may have been encountered.

MRP can be run as "full" or "gross only". The "full" or normal MRP goes through the netting process of onhand inventory and on order quantities. The "gross only" MRP does no netting. Use this to explode the annual usage quantities from the end items to the lower level components.

Planning new orders. Three methods of lot sizing can be used by the system to calculate the recommended planned orders:

"As required" will plan the order for the exact amount of the net requirement in the time frame required.

"Fixed quantity" will plan the order for a fixed quantity or multiple of the fixed quantity specified in the fixed order quantity field in the Part Master.

"Fixed time" will accumulate quantities from the net requirements for the specified number of periods as the order quantity.

Calculate planned order start dates. This feature offsets the parts lead-time from the planned due date to calculate the planned start date.

Generate lower level requirements. MRP automatically calculates lower level requirements. Planned orders generated at each level by MRP will be passed to the next level components as their gross requirements. MRP also generates gross requirements for the next level components of firm plan orders.

Time phased allocations. All component material required, but not issued, to complete a released manufactured order is retrieved from the Components Required file and added to the gross requirements for that component in the time period of the parent order's start date.

Pegged requirements. If the pegged requirements option is selected, each component part will be pegged to the parent part that caused the requirement. This is done for planned and released orders. A report is then printed to list these pegged requirements.

MRP Display. An option can be taken to forgo the printing of the normally long MRP Detail Report and save the data for an online inquiry.


MRP Calculation codes. The following code options inform MRP as to what action was taken by the user in inputting the Master Production Schedule forecast. The codes can instruct MRP to bypass any calculations the user may have made during the forecasting. They include:

Net both the quantity onhand and the quantity on order in MRP

Net only the on hand quantity in MRP

Net only the quantity on order in MRP

Do not net either the quantity on hand or the quantity on order in MRP

Master Schedule Demand code options include:

Use only the customer backlog to establish the demand.

Use only the Master Schedule forecast to establish the demand.

Both the customer orders and the Master Schedule will be used to establish the demand. If both files contain a common date, only the largest quantity is used.

Within the lead-time of the part, only the customer orders will be used. Past the lead-time of the part, both the Master Schedule and the customer backlog will be used. If both files contain a common date past the lead-time of the part, only the largest quantity will be loaded.

(CRP) Capacity Requirements Planning. Capacity Requirements Planning analyzes the load across all work centers in your facility related to firm plan orders, orders already released to the shop floor, and the future planned orders which have been recommended by the Materials Requirements Planning module.

The load will be analyzed against both the machine capacity and the labor capacity. Capacity Requirements Planning will take into consideration the utilization percentages of the machines and people, as well as the efficiency of the labor force. This will allow Capacity Requirements Planning to factor the load to realistic capacities rather than hypothetical capacities.

The load will be time phased across each work center using the lead times established for each part in the Routing Operation file in the Engineering Data Base.

Reports will be printed by work center to show those areas of excess load, which can then be leveled by rescheduling the load to other periods, work centers, or by subcontracting. A detail report can be printed showing the actual operations by part number that makes up the load. This report enables you to choose which orders to reschedule in order to ease the load in excess periods.

A display program is provided showing a graphic view of the machine and labor load.

FORMAL TOOLING SYSTEM

Track Tool usage to Routing & Work in Process. A Where Used file is established showing usage back to the standard Routing file of the Engineering Data Base and also the usage to each open Labor-In-Process record in the In-Process Data Base.

Handle kits. When a kit of tools is required at an operation, this feature allows you to define the contents of the kit in a tool Bill of Material file.

Create a preventative maintenance schedule. Analyze the past and projected usage of a tool and project a preventative maintenance schedule if it is an asset type tool.

Perishable Tools. Use inventory control to keep track of onhand, on order, and requirements of the tools. Use an MRP of requirements to project when more tools will be required based on projected usage from present and future manufacturing requirements.

LOT CONTROL

This module has been referred to by many different names because of the many types of requirements it can be used to satisfy. Some of the names include Lot Control System, Lot Tracking System, Batch Control, Heat Number Control, Serialization System, etc... Regardless of the title used to refer to this module, it serves two very key purposes as follows:

1. Provide the capability of identifying all materials used in the manufacturing of a specific end item regardless of the number of levels encountered in the Bills of Material. These materials will be identified down to the unique batch of each material used.

2. When the batch of material is known, this module provides the ability to identify each and every end item made from this particular batch of materials.

The above features are especially useful, and may even be mandatory if you produce products that are food, health, and/or safety related.

The general techniques used are:

Upon receipt of purchased material to receiving, each batch of materials is assigned a lot/batch number. This batch number is carried into the inventory and is used to identify this unique batch of material when it is issued to a specific manufactured order.

As items are completed against a manufactured order, the items are identified using the manufactured order number as they re-enter the inventory. This manufactured order number is then used to issue these parts to the next level of production. And so it goes, all the way to finished goods and then to the specific customer order. The data pertaining to each usage relationship is saved along the way. This allows both upward and downward trace ability of each and every batch of materials used in production.

This information can be retrieved and formatted into any number of different screens and reports to give both online inquiry or printed reports of this information upon request.

DATA PROCESSING

This menu was put together to serve as a source for all of the Data Processing/Information Systems type of functions. For example: flagging information for purge, archiving and saving data, year end file resets, printing blank forms, etc...

In addition, this module includes month and year-end options for the Distribution/Financial modules along with a number of other miscellaneous selections optimally designated to a separate menu from the general user.

System Control File Maintenance allows maintenance of operational control switches, last used numbers, default account numbers, etc... for the Distribution/Financial system.

Distribution/Financial Transaction Registers can be printed to provide audits of maintenance to the database on the Distribution/Financial side.

Manufacturing Transaction Registers can be printed to provide audits of maintenance to the database on the manufacturing side of the system.

As records are "deleted" or inactivated in the system, they have an internal status code established. The Archive/Save Deleted selections serve to copy those deleted/inactive records from files to a series of backup files that can be offloaded to tape. The Reorganize/Purge functions remove the deleted/inactive records physically from the system.

The End of Month Processing selections, although typically performed by accounting personnel, reside on this menu so that they're all in a single location.

Mass update system code values. Change one system code to another value or flush code changes in master files to historical data.

Print Blank Forms gives the ability to produce QuickSilver documents such as invoices, orders, acknowledgments, credit memos, etc... minus the data normally included on these forms resulting in the look of a pre-printed form.

Reset files at year-end or flag old historical data within the QuickSilver files as "ready to be purged".

SECURITY

The QuickSilver system operates under the control of it's own security system. This security system provides for menu and program control. Passwords can be easily added and modified.

Adding new menus and/or programs will require programming expertise. Contact CRT International, Inc. if this need arises.

The Security Master file defines the list of menus and programs that exist within the QuickSilver system.

The Password Master file contains the list of valid passwords.

The Security Authorizations file serves to link a list of programs/menus that can be accessed by each password.

As part of the AS400 security system, your sign in (userid/password) will direct you to a program that will require you to specify your QuickSilver password. The QuickSilver system comes with a pre-assigned password that has full access to all menus and programs. The password will be supplied under separate correspondence when the product is delivered.

There is a function within the security system that can automatically link your AS400 userid with a QuickSilver password. If this function is activated, you will not be brought to this program but instead will be brought to the MAIN QuickSilver menu.

Once at a QuickSilver menu, you may specify any of the menus you wish to transfer to or programs you wish to enter by keying in the 3 to 4 character id. Ex: "MCUS" to go to the Customers menu or "100" to go directly to the Customer Master Maintenance program.

Once active in an online program, you can perform the necessary functions and end the program normally or "hop" directly to another program or menu by selecting the hopping option and entering the desired program/menu identification.

The Member Definitions Maintenance program provides the ability to add and define new menus and programs for the security system.

The Password/Authorizations Maintenance program provides the ability to display all passwords assigned to a menu/program, display all menus/programs assigned to a password, maintain password and menu/program relationships individually, create a new password by "same as" from an existing password and authorize passwords for a new menu/program by "same as" from an existing menu/program.

The Change Company/Location/Division Access program should be authorized to passwords/users who will have access to multiple companies, assuming you utilize the multi-company capabilities of QuickSilver.

All maintenance programs in the Distribution/Financial menus require that your password be assigned to a specific company/location/division. Reports and inquiries, however, allow you to view information across multiple company/location/divisions.

Restrict inquiries to only the appropriate personnel for certain sensitive information within the system including access to cost/profit information.

SUPPORT FILES

The purpose of the Support Files menu is to define base data elements used by the QuickSilver System, primarily the Distributions/Financial applications.

There are three types of base data elements: User-Defined Support Files, User-Defined Master Codes or User Codes, and System Codes.

Support Files:

Support files contain values and information maintained by separate and individual programs in the QuickSilver system. An example is the salesperson's support file. Information of each salesperson defined includes salesperson name, address, city/state/zip, commission code, territory, region, etc...

Seven of the sixteen support files contain fields incorporated directly into the Master Codes Definitions screen because they contain information that is part of a customer record or part number record. You may then define these support fields as either mandatory or optional and assign a default value if desired.

The remaining nine support files are not included in the Master Codes screen because they are not tied to a customer or part number record and do not require a default value. The contract price overrides, terms codes overrides, commission code overrides, and customer product specifications/notes serve primarily as overrides during the order entry process. Standard notes and additional charges codes are used throughout the Distribution/Financial system as a source of data to be retrieved to either reduce key strokes or improve accuracy of data entry. The account numbers, account number link definitions, and accounting periods serves to edit information throughout the Distribution/Financial system.

User-Defined Master Codes or User Codes:

Master codes are user-defined values and associated descriptions. Unlike support files, there's no additional information in the master code file. For example, the master code file entry for a state/province is comprised of two elements:

(1) Field Value ex: 01

(2) Field Description ex: Wisconsin, Waukesha County

System Codes:

System Codes represent conditions and operating rules maintained within the QuickSilver system. System codes are different than master (user) codes and support files because the values and descriptions are system defined. The user selects one of the system-maintained options.

For example, "print acknowledgments" is a system code. The two alternatives for this code are "Y-Yes" or "N-No". "Flag for partial shipments" is another system code. Here there are four system-maintained alternatives to select from: - "S" - Short Ship Quantity Allowed (by the customer) - "I" - Short Ship Items Allowed - "B"- Short Ship Both Allowed - "N"- Short Ship Not Allowed

The user of the QuickSilver system must designate each of these master codes as either a mandatory requirement or an optional requirement. If a field is defined d as optional, a value will not have to be entered.

For each master code, a default value may be assigned; whenever the master code is left blank, QuickSilver will automatically use the default value if one is specified.

CUSTOMERS

Maintains all Customer Master file records including suffix address lists (ship-to/bill-to addresses).

Creates Customer Master reports, customer credit and status reports, and prints customer mailing labels.

Provides Inquiries about customer credit status.

Provides the ability to mass delete "old" customers.

The extent of customer information is based on the use and definition of support file codes. Address suffixes include separate invoice-to and ship-to address files. Customer data is further defined by pricing levels and discounts, forms printing rules, credit history and status, and sales territory.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

The purpose of the Product Information module is to:

Inquire, add, and maintain Distribution/Financial product information in the Part Master file.

Generate reports on Part Master file information based on user-selected options.

Mass change product prices.

View time phased activity about a part number including "available to promise", requirements, and future production and/or purchase orders.

The Part Master file is made up of four elements:

Engineering type information (maintained in the Engineering Data Base)

Inventory / Production Control data, (maintained in the Engineering Data Base)

Costing Information, (maintained in the Standard Product Costing module)

Distribution/Financial product information, (maintained in the Product Information module)

The Part Master data has been segregated due to security. This way Engineering, Production Control, Costing, and Accounting can each maintain the data they are responsible for.

ESTIMATING

Use the Estimating module to design and develop new products or to make revisions to existing products. This module was developed to perform as a separate data base aside of the Engineering Data Base.

Existing products can be copied into the Estimating module. (Bill of Material and Routing) The "same as" copy can be performed for a single level or fully indented bill of material structure.

Once an estimate has been initialized, you have the ability to change the bill of material or routing, or add new products or delete existing components from an existing bill of material.

After a new product has been developed, you have the ability to transfer it to the Engineering Data Base.

When initializing a new estimate, in addition to bringing in an existing structure from the Engineering Data Base, you can also copy from a previous existing estimate or design and build a new product from scratch.

The Estimating module may also be used as an analysis tool to determine affects labor or material cost changes have on the total cost of a product. For example: An across the board wage increase is negotiated for workers. The cost of selected manufactured products can be recalculated based on the labor cost increase.

An estimate number is assigned to each product definition that is initiated. The QuickSilver system automatically assigns estimate numbers based on the last number used as retained in the System Control Record. All associated part numbers, bills of material, routings, work centers, and standard operations are defined within each estimate number.

The system also provides the ability to initialize the Part Master or Work Center Master file, per estimate number "000000". This can serve as a source, for example, to retain next year's pricing for a series of common or all purchased part numbers for next year's rates for all of the work centers. In setting up an estimate "000000" for parts and work centers, you may then retrieve costs to be maintained for estimate "000000" for multiple new estimates as they are initiated.

The normal sequence of events for an individual estimate would be the following:

Initialize the estimate.

Perform maintenance, as desired, to the bills of material and routings - one level or all.

Cost the estimate.

Perform whatever inquiry and print functions, as desired.

If this is for a new product, transfer it back to the Engineering Data Base.

Through the proper use of this module, which costs newly designed products with the same formulas as the QuickSilver manufacturing system, you will receive a more accurate cost for new and revised products, reflective of what the cost will be when the estimate is transferred to the Engineering Data Base.

The likely candidate for the individual who would utilize this module is someone who has design and engineering skills, as well as the ability to maintain bills of material, routings, etc... This person will be entering the data for the design to develop the product, performing a cost roll up, printing various routings and bills of material, and finally verifying the design and correcting it, as necessary. This candidate should also have costing and customer sense so that the final cost margin/markup determined can be used to determine the list price to be printed on the estimate document to be forwarded to the customer.

QUOTE PROCESSING

Quotes allow entry of possible orders coming in from customers. Once entered, follow up communication with the customer regarding the status of the possible order can be initiated and quotation forms can be printed. Analysis reports can be run to track statuses/trends in quotes. Margins can be analyzed.

The Quote Module is integrated with the Estimating module. Estimates, previously defined to the system, can be selected and added into quotes.

The Quote Module is also fully integrated with the Order Processing module. Once confirmation comes through for conversion of the quote into an order, this process may be easily accomplished through Order Processing.

The ability to reopen quotes to modify and use again is provided. By utilizing a "dummy customer" technique, quotes for potential customers can be set up under a common customer number until the time comes to convert the quote into an actual order. This eliminates excess data entry into the Customer Master for those prospective customers who have a quote established, but never actually follows through with an order.

ORDER PROCESSING

The functions involved in Order Processing include order entry and maintenance, which includes order header and line item additions, changes and maintenance, the mass entry of orders or order lines, the conversion of quotes to orders, the conversion of one quote or one order to another order, re-pricing order lines, browsing customers, suffix addresses, line items, and available to promise screens.

In addition, Order Processing involves order credit status maintenance, customer order inquiry, and the ability to print forms, acknowledgments, change notices, and other order sets, and also to produce order status and other listings and reports, as well as shipments history, a margin/pricing analysis, and shipments and invoice discrepancy reports.

SHIPMENTS PROCESSING

The Shipping module provides the ability to create pick lists or tickets for orders due to be shipped. Once the pick list process has been completed with items being "picked", shipment entry will complete the process and feed invoicing.

Packing lists and Bill-of-Lading documents can be printed on demand.

A "quick process" option is designed as a fast-path through the system by eliminating selected steps between order and shipment. You could use the "quick process" for over-the-counter types of orders.

QuickSilver functions in a manner that you may find different from many other systems you have seen in that picking lists and packing lists are not printed at the time of order entry but rather printed at the time of shipping. This approach helps to reduce paperwork in that revisions to orders do not affect Shipping Department paperwork because none has been printed up until the point that it is needed to ship the transaction.

Typical sequence of events:

An order is entered with a scheduled ship date. At the time of order entry, acknowledgments or sales order forms are printed, as necessary.

Before the order's ship date, the Shipping Department would request a pick list of items scheduled to ship through a selected date (including this order's ship date).

At that point, a pick list would be generated to serve as a "turnaround document" for items ready to be shipped.

Shipping Department personnel would write on the pick list the quantity that exists to be shipped.

From that document, someone would use the shipping entry program from the QuickSilver system to inform the system of the order/items being shipped.

It's only after that point that the packing list and/or bills of lading can be generated/ printed. These documents can be reprinted if changes need to be made.

INVOICING

The invoicing module provides selections to:

Review and prepare shipments for invoicing based on date parameters or a select order number. This function extracts processed shipments and includes them in the next invoicing cycle

Print a Shipments Register, if required.

Run pre-update invoice edits that may be printed to review invoices before actually processing them. This function provides the option to print a report and a preview copy of each invoice.

Make corrections and rerun the pre-update invoice edits, if desired.

Print or reprint invoices and debit/credit memos. This process also performs updates.

Quickly enter a sale and process the invoice as a short cut to the normal QuickSilver order entry/invoicing process.

Invoicing reduces inventory and feeds Accounts Receivable, Sales History, and General Ledger.

SALES HISTORY

The Sales History module is a user-determined record retention for historical reporting. It includes sales history inquiries and maintenance. Some of the numerous sales history reports include detailed and summary, with and without margins, and current versus last year. Some of the other reports available are based on sales tax, sales tracking, customer service, freight/misc charges, margin/pricing, and commissions.

If payments of commissions are not based on cash received, you likely will only need to utilize the Commissions Due/Owed report.

If your commissions are based on receipt of cash, three reports provided can be used in conjunction with each other. These include:

The Commissions Accrued Report, which identifies the new amount of commissions that have been incurred based on sales. It indicates which eligible commissions are being added to "the pot".

The Commissions Due/Owed Report, which identifies the amount of commissions you can pay based on cash received during the month for current and prior periods' invoices. It indicates which commissions can be taken out of "the pot".

The Commissions Pending Report, which identifies all invoices from current and prior periods that have not yet had cash received. It indicates what's left in "the pot".

These reports can be used as worksheets to determine details regarding the cutting of commission checks.

RETURN AUTHORIZATIONS

Return Authorizations can be processed through this module for sales orders entered through the Order Processing module.