QAD wins HeartWare global supply chain deal Print E-mailBy Stan...

QAD wins HeartWare global supply chain deal Print E-mail
By Stan Beer
Monday, 06 March 2006

ERP vendor QAD has won a deal to build a global supply chain for ASX-listed medical device manufacturer, HeartWare Limited, using its flagship enterprise resource planning system QAD MFG/PRO, as well as its new Business Intelligence module.

Before commencing production and human implants of its heart pump in 2006, elements of HeartWare’s global supply chain must clear stringent regulatory guidelines set by US, European, Asian and Australian regulators. To meet these requirements, HeartWare requires systems with strong credentials in inventory controls, product recall ability, reporting capacity and system performance.

Though headquartered in Sydney, HeartWare will manufacture its products in North America, the world’s biggest market for medical wares. “QAD’s capacity to support the system across different continents was crucial in winning our business,” said David McIntyre, HeartWare’s Chief Financial Officer.

“With some of HeartWare’s senior management based in Australia the controls, timeliness and accuracy of the information is imperative. Not only did the QAD solution address our compliance requirements, they can also provide us with an accurate and timely way of gathering and delivering information about the business’ functions. This, along with QAD’s decades of strong manufacturing experience, particularly in medical devices, was a decisive factor.”

HeartWare will use QAD systems to underpin its manufacturing, finance, regulatory compliance, inventory management, fixed assets and business intelligence. The project is due to go live in early 2006.

McIntyre said, “It was imperative that the chosen supplier have a strong manufacturing bent, not a multi-purpose system. We also looked for a proven track record with reputable companies in the medical device area. Another key deciding factor was the strong roster of medical device companies that are QAD customers, from large to small, and on a global basis.”

McIntyre said the BI functionality in particular fits with HeartWare’s future plans for growth and to re-engineer the business as it grows. “In this aspect, we believe QAD were head and shoulders above the rest,” he said.