GEA Deploys QAD Enterprise Applications At Plant In Poland

Oct. 14, 2011 - PRLog -- QAD Inc. (NASDAQ- QADA, QADB), a leading provider of enterprise business software and services for global manufacturing companies today announced GEA Technika Cieplna Sp. z o.o., — a growing division of process equipment and components manufacturer GEA Group AG — has deployed the latest version of QAD Enterprise Applications to help simplify and streamline its highly complex, manufacturing plant in Opole, Poland.

GEA produces a comprehensive portfolio of high performance heat exchangers, manufacturing 400 different types for use in heat, shell and tube exchangers; industrial heaters; coolers; convectors; and cooling towers.

Manufacturing 5,000 units annually at its 130,000 square foot facility, GEA’s product mix is highly complex and its production planning process extremely precise. GEA’s simplest heat exchanger consists of 30 – 40 components, while its most complex ones contain thousands. This complexity presented GEA with a challenge of supporting growth while continuing to provide excellent customer service.

GEA deployed QAD Enterprise Applications with QAD Configurator to simplify its production planning and customer service needs. QAD Configurator helped GEA streamline its configure-to-order (CTO) environment by allowing personnel to easily, quickly and accurately configure products based on pre-approved engineering and commercial parameters. The application’s integrated validation features also eliminated errors at time of order entry.

“Before we implemented QAD Configurator, it took us three hours to prepare folders with information on material structure, including full technological break-downs for production,” explained Jacek Nazgowicz, IT manager, GEA Technika Cieplna Sp. z o.o. “With QAD Configurator, we reduced this process to 20 minutes. Additionally, our technology experts formerly used two to three programs, re-entering data all the time. Now, we accomplish everything with a single application.”

In deploying QAD Enterprise Applications, GEA was also able to better support the company’s overall finance, warehouse, materials management, production, and order processing efficiency. And, in leveraging the solutions’ bar code functionality, GEA has been able to enhance its real-time data processing efforts for more timely production processing and reporting.

About GEA
Previously known as GEA Metalchem Technika Cieplna Sp. z o.o., GEA Technika Cieplna Sp. z o.o. has been operating from Opole, Poland since 1994. In 1998, the company joined the family of GEA Group companies. For 80 years, the company has successful designed manufactured and constructed industrial heat exchangers. Through those years of operation and full client satisfaction, GEA Technika Cieplna has grown to be the leading manufacturer of high-grade heat exchangers in Poland and more. The company plays a major economic role in the Silesia region. With a 12,000 square meter production facility, GEA Technika Cieplna is ranked top among other leading manufacturing companies in Opole, Poland.

About QAD
QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies specializing in automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life science products. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time. For more information about QAD, telephone +1 805-566-6000, or visit the QAD web site at www.qad.com.

Note to Investors:
“QAD” is a registered trademark of QAD Inc. All other products or company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to Investors: This press release contains certain forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, evolving demand for the company's software products and products that operate with the company's products; the company's ability to sustain license and service demand; the company's ability to leverage changes in technology; the company's ability to sustain customer renewal rates at current levels; the publication of opinions by industry and financial analysts about the company, its products and technology; the reliability of estimates of transaction and integration costs and benefits; the entry of new competitors or new offerings by existing competitors and the associated announcement of new products and technological advances by them; delays in localizing the company's products for new or existing markets; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; delays in sales as a result of lengthy sales cycles; changes in operating expenses, pricing, timing of new product releases, the method of product distribution or product mix; timely and effective integration of newly acquired businesses; general economic conditions; exchange rate fluctuations; and, the global political environment. In addition, revenue and earnings in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software industry are subject to fluctuations. Software license revenue, in particular, is subject to variability with a significant proportion of revenue earned in the last month of each quarter. Given the high margins associated with license revenue, modest fluctuations can have a substantial impact on net income. Investors should not use any one quarter's results as a benchmark for future performance. For a more detailed description of the risk factors associated with the company and the industries in which it operates, please refer to the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2011 ended January 31, 2011.

# # #

Founded in 1979, QAD has been recognized as a leading provider of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software applications for global manufacturing companies. Today, QAD enterprise applications leverage advances in Internet and enabling technologies to provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time.

QAD enterprise applications are focused and optimized for select manufacturing industry segments: automotive, consumer products, electronics, food and beverage, industrial and life sciences.