SYSPRO Helps to Evolve Life and Science with Fisher Scientific
Company Size
1,000+
Country
- United States
Product
- SYSPRO
- Microsoft SQL Server 2000
Tech Stack
- SQL Server
- SYSPRO
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Customer Satisfaction
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Data-as-a-Service
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
- Life Sciences
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Predictive Maintenance
- Process Control & Optimization
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
Fisher Scientific International Inc., headquartered in Portsmouth, NH, is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacturing and sales of the highest quality life science and analytical products. The company produces thousands of lines of specialty and state-of-the-art laboratory products for the clinical, research and industrial markets. Fisher Scientific’s products basically fall into three categories: Clinical Diagnostics, Labware and Life Sciences, and Laboratory Equipment. With annual revenues exceeding one billion dollars, Fisher Scientific’s rapid growth has come from several fronts. Sales have grown as a result of rising worldwide expenditures on medical research and the demand for more sophisticated medical instrumentation and lab supplies to improve the speed, accuracy and cost-containment of the research and diagnostic testing. Fisher Scientific has also grown through worldwide acquisition. Today, Fisher Scientific consists of more than 50 different companies located around the globe. The majority of these companies can be classified as small- to mid-size manufacturing businesses (SMB), with unit sales typically ranging from $3 million to $200 million. While many of the Fisher Scientific International companies are single-site operations, some are characterized by multiple facilities. Additionally, many of the companies employ diverse manufacturing methodologies. Some units make and engineer product to order, while others build product to stock based upon sales forecasts. Still others employ a combination of methodologies, or what can be characterized as “mixed-mode” manufacturing.
The Challenge
The diversity of companies falling under the Fisher Scientific International umbrella continues to be a challenge to effective corporate management. While each Fisher Scientific unit operates as an independent entity, the Fisher Scientific management team realizes that corporate control and economies of scale are necessary to enhance corporate profits, maximize operations, enhance quality and improve customer service. In an effort to facilitate proactive corporate decision-making, boost overall corporate efficiency and quality, and maximize customer service, the management team established common corporate software standards – ones that could eventually be adopted by all Fisher Scientific units. It was felt that software uniformity would facilitate efficiency as well as cost-containment. It would also streamline employee training, minimize the impact of employee turnover and ease software maintenance by Fisher Scientific’s IT department. In addition, standardized software would produce uniform data and reports, as well as provide the ability to generate customized reports – all necessary to maximize corporate control and decision-making. Moreover, common software standards would enhance management’s ability to conduct sophisticated research on sales and market trends.
The Solution
Jerry Bean, Fisher Scientific’s Corporate Director of MIS, faced the challenge of selecting software that would meet the highly diversified needs of the various Fisher Scientific International units. After extensive research, he selected a software solution that was currently being successfully utilized by two Fisher Scientific units. He chose Microsoft’s SQL Server 2000 platform and SYSPRO enterprise software offered through SYSPRO reseller Sutton Software, Inc. While Fisher Scientific International is a “billion dollar company,” many of the company’s 50+ units fall into the small- to mid-range manufacturing category, with individual sales ranging from $3 to $200 million. The choice of SYSPRO enterprise business software was partly based on the fact that the solution is designed for single and multi-site units in the small- to mid-range manufacturing category. Bean’s choice was also based on the SYSPRO ability to handle all the diverse manufacturing methodologies employed by different Fisher Scientific units. The software easily accommodates: make-to-stock; make-to-order; engineer-to-order and mixed mode manufacturing. Additionally, the software features full accounting functionality and supports the high volume distribution requirements characteristic of many of the units. Bean also considered the global nature of Fisher Scientific’s operations and the fact that SYSPRO translates to French and Spanish, as well as English.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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