ERP vendor QAD has signed a manufacturing software systems deal with Atlantic Pacific Foods, a NSW-based maker of vegetable oils and margarine spreads.

QAD knocked the final contender Axapta out of the running based on the ability of QAD’s flagship software, QAD MFG/Pro, to run on a Linux platform.

Atlantic Pacific Foods will consolidate its finance, inventory, product planning and invoicing functions into QAD’s MFG/Pro software. The manufacturer has committed to a rapid installation period and hopes to have core modules in place before the end of the year.

“QAD had a better understanding of our requirements right from the start,” said Maxine McPhee, Atlantic Pacific Foods’ business systems and IT Manager. “We asked them to provide their best price up-front and they were the only vendor to stick to that price over four proposal updates. All the other suppliers continued to scale down their pricing, which frustrated the process.”

She said QAD’s suite will help Atlantic Pacific Foods management gain ‘real time’ visibility of what’s happening within the business on a day to day basis, both financially and from a manufacturing perspective. “We are looking for ready availability of management and performance information, better resource efficiency and more effective processes.”

Alan Lawrence, managing director for QAD Australia said, “This win is absolutely in our sweet spot and once again reinforces our dominance in the food and beverage environment. Atlantic Pacific Foods is a small growing business and it wants a trustworthy, low maintenance platform that will support the business as it scales upwards."