Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Bioscience Company Chooses Microsoft Dynamics AX to Improve Support for Compliance With Industry Rules

PURE Bioscience picks Microsoft technology over competitors for its ease of use, scalability and manufacturing capabilities.

REDMOND, Wash. — March 25, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that PURE Bioscience has selected Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 to speed and integrate its business processes, helping to support the company’s compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and with the requirements of numerous regulatory authorities, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States. Microsoft Dynamics AX is a comprehensive business-management solution for midsize and larger organizations that offers a high degree of scalability, customizability and full industry-specific functionality. It helps optimize and centralize supply chain processes and improves real-time visibility into operations.

PURE Bioscience, headquartered in El Cajon, Calif., develops and markets technology-based bioscience products that provide nontoxic solutions to numerous global health challenges. As a public company, PURE needed to remain compliant with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It also sought a way to produce its financials more rapidly because its growth would move the company into the category of an accelerated Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filer during 2008.

PURE had been relying significantly on legacy systems and spreadsheets for financial operations, but management saw a need to both integrate its data and find advanced technology for automating its processes to help manage the significant growth and increased complexity that the company anticipated.

The company evaluated a number of enterprise resource planning solutions to support its manufacturing and financial requirements, including FourthShift Edition for SAP Business One, before selecting Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0. “We chose Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 for multiple reasons,” said Michael L. Krall, CEO of PURE Bioscience, “including ease of use, the Microsoft look and feel that employees are accustomed to, the ability for the company to grow with the solution, the ability of the solution to handle process manufacturing, favorable scalable pricing for a medium-sized business, well-defined validation methodologies, speed to go live, and the ability to continue to meet our SEC reporting obligations as we transition out of the small-business reporting category.”

Working with PURE, Microsoft Gold Certified Partner Advanced Systems Integration Inc. of Lake Forest, Calif., will implement Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 Advanced Management Edition with additional source code that allows customization of proprietary processes and procedures that could not be met by any other solution.

“The ability to purchase and add modules, such as Production II or Shop Floor Control, in the future as we grow played an important part in our decision,” Krall said. “The new system will be integrated seamlessly with other Microsoft products that PURE has been using, including the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Windows XP Professional, SQL Server 2005 and Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition.”

“We expect Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 to enhance our ability to manage the anticipated growth in our bioscience technology across multiple industries and applications, both within the United States and internationally,” said Andrew J. Buckland, CFO at PURE Bioscience.

PURE Bioscience foresees the following benefits from its implementation of Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0:
• Support for growth. One of the primary objectives of the implementation is to provide PURE with a technology that will allow for management of considerable growth.
• Industry-specific requirements. In addition to financial-related regulatory compliance, Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 will support processes that enable PURE to meet regulatory reporting obligations to the U.S. EPA and to maintain its FDA Current Good Manufacturing Practices certification for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 ensures data integrity and transparency using security features while reporting variances and communicating material events.
• Improved reporting. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 will enable the company to produce statutory accounting and management information more rapidly than before, helping it to remain compliant with regulatory reporting while allowing management to make business decisions that are more timely and effective.
• Time savings. Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 will significantly shrink the time needed to produce financial reports, supporting the company’s needs for faster reporting as it becomes an accelerated SEC filer.
• Accuracy of data. Instead of relying on spreadsheets and multiple systems and processes, PURE will take advantage of the Microsoft Dynamics AX 4.0 capability to integrate many routines into one, eliminating repetitive data entry and thereby increasing accuracy.
• Better planning. Both business planning and resources planning are expected to improve with PURE’s new Microsoft technology.
• More efficient supply chain management. Previously, supply chain management was largely a manual process for PURE. Now it will be automated to a large extent, providing the company with the capability to support the larger and more complex manufacturing processes that it anticipates.

“PURE Bioscience is realizing the value that Microsoft Dynamics AX brings to businesses in helping them meet the specific needs of their own industries,” said Michael Park, corporate vice president for U.S. Dynamics Business at Microsoft. “As the manufacturing and regulatory environments become more complex, Microsoft technology is simplifying and integrating processes to enable businesses to accelerate their growth and fully employ their competitive advantages, while helping to ensure they remain compliant with government and industry regulations.”

About PURE Bioscience
PURE Bioscience (PURE) develops and markets technology-based bioscience products that provide non-toxic solutions to numerous global health challenges. Its proprietary high- efficacy/low toxicity bioscience technologies represent innovative advances in diverse markets and lead today’s global trend toward use of “green” products while providing competitive advantages in efficacy and safety.

About Advanced Systems Integration Inc.
Advanced Systems Integration, Inc.(ASi) is a Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics AX and Learning Solutions partner founded in 1991 that delivers comprehensive enterprise class applications that improve customer relations, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across supply chains and business operations. ASi also offers industry specific extensions integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX solution. Please visit the company’s web site at www.advancedsystemsintegration.com.

About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of financial, customer relationship and supply-chain management solutions that helps businesses work more effectively. Delivered through a network of channel partners providing specialized services, these integrated, adaptable business management solutions work like and with familiar Microsoft software to streamline processes across an entire business.

About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
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For more information, press only:
Liz Pandzich, Airfoil Public Relations, (248) 304-1444, pandzich@airfoilpr.com

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Getting the Most Out of your Annual Microsoft Dynamics AX Budget

Written By Jeff Onesto, Director of Business Development, ASi (Originally released on MSDynamicsWorld.com)


This week Gartner analysts released findings that U.S. economic factors have deteriorated to the point where they are advising organizations to start considering reductions in IT spending. Cutting IT can be a double-edge sword for those responsible for annual Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta) IT budgets for the simple reason that what is cut today can have a severe impact on where an organization lands tomorrow.

This doesn’t mean executives can’t save money in their AX budgets. I have had the opportunity to work with many senior technology executives and have recommended a number of creative methods and practices for getting more from enterprise systems and partners. Following are just a few:

Review Shelfware Often
With Business Ready Licensing (BRL), Microsoft and most of the industry did away with Module Based Licensing (MBL). Many companies implement modules in logical phases and often forget about or assign less value to many of these non-implemented modules that I refer to as “Shelfware”. It may be worth a second look. One of the most overlooked modules in the Microsoft Dynamics AX Advanced Management Edition is Project 1. For mid-market organizations juggling capital projects this often ignored module can be easily implemented and will produce immediate and amazing value and insight into capital spending in the areas of R&D (innovation) and marketing.

Review VAR Performance
Microsoft requires each Microsoft Dynamics customer to be associated with one partner (VAR-value added reseller). Many customers do not know that a VAR can be changed without reason, 365 days a year. Just because you purchased from a particular partner does not mean you are locked to that partner indefinitely. Changing resellers has absolutely nothing to do with the renewal of annual software and should be reviewed often and separately. If you aren’t meeting with your Microsoft Dynamics AX partner routinely you are missing many opportunities. If your partner is NOT delivering value routinely consider working with one that does.

Review Software Enhancement Plans for Untapped Benefits
Microsoft offers customer software maintenance contracts starting at 16%. This plan provides customers with version upgrades/product updates i.e. service packs, tax updates, access to CustomerSource, Transformational Assurance, Transition Investment Credit, and System List Price Protection as well as access to publisher support plans. What many customers overlook is the benefit of unlimited, FREE, online training accessible from anywhere, available anytime at a self-directed pace.

Review Software for Automation Capabilities
Microsoft is delivering some great things around WWF (Windows Workflow Foundation) in the next version of Microsoft Dynamics AX (2009). An often overlooked way to do more with less is to automate with Workflow, enabling you to get more out of your systems. The most important aspects of any Workflow application are monitoring of required actions, escalation of overdue activities to various employees, managers and/or departments. Capture of data such as date, time, employee, and departmental response used within the defined process as well as assuring adherence to company defined processes can provide immediate value. Many directors have indicated that it is quite possible to receive additional funding for process automation projects when they can map them into larger enterprise-wide compliance initiatives such as Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and Quality Assurance.

Finally, when you look at your Microsoft Dynamics AX budget for next year or review for possible cuts, remember that not all costs are equal. Special attention should be paid to costs that can excel the organization’s capabilities in the areas of product development and human capital. Speed-to-market and knowledge are two assets that will position the company well when the economy starts to heat up again and opportunities in the marketplace increase.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

For Microsoft Dynamics AX Development, Offshore Winds May Be Blowing Onshore

Written By Jeff Onesto, Director of Business Development, ASi (Originally released on MSDynamicsWorld.com)


Thomas L. Friedman wrote about the transition toward globalization in the best-selling book “The World is Flat - A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century”. This widely accepted metaphor of visualizing worldwide commerce and competition with equal opportunity to local competition has started to receive criticism. It is easy to challenge the ‘level playing field’ view by asking:
•Why has 90% of the world’s phone, web traffic and investment remained local?
•Why do global companies hire local professionals to run foreign operations?
•Why are more and more call centers coming back to the States?

While we cannot deny that the Internet and other business and political developments have enabled borders to be crossed and have expanded many companies’ reach, there remains a clear preference by many—especially smaller and mid-size companies—for local support and competition. It is safe to assume that certain business elements can be effectively purchased or performed abroad, while others should not.

Looking at manufacturing in general, fierce competition, industry pressures and cheap overseas labor continue to lure many manufacturers into trade agreements and/or contract manufacturing offshore. Yet, almost every company struggles with on-time deliveries from their Asian or Latin America resources. Because of this, custom, make-to-order or engineered-to-order production typically remains in the U.S while lower margin, make-to-stock type-production has transitioned to overseas.
Yet as budgets tighten in today’s ERP market, we are already beginning to see an increase in offshore development for Microsoft Dynamics AX. But, is it the right fit?

I know there are always exceptions to the rule, but my experience has found that most mid-market companies lack the time, expertise, and resources to safely evaluate and take advantage of Offshore Development Centers (ODCs). Under no circumstances should mission-critical Microsoft Dynamics AX development, defined typically as functional design specs, development design specs and/or any quality control be outsourced.

If you do decide to consider this option, I strongly recommend that you carefully review the Microsoft Dynamics AX partner’s local track record first. If the partner has trouble performing locally, you need not look any further. Microsoft Dynamics AX partners who do not have reputable onshore delivery models have no business venturing into these complex offshore models until organizational capabilities have matured.

Secondly, as a procurer of these services, I suggest you look closely at your own organization’s tolerance for risk and your internal available resources. Mid-market ODCs’ offerings do not have enough volume to warrant compliance or certifications with strict standards from Software Engineering Institute (SEI) such as Capability Maturity Model (CMM), International Standards Organization (ISO) or Six Sigma. This means that your company will most likely be responsible for managing the quality of these far-away resources. Any hourly price savings is quickly lost through only a small amount of project overruns or mis-steps.

Finally, make sure you review the components you are looking to outsource. Is this something that gives your organization a competitive advantage? And if so, is this something that you want your competition to have? With an open source code structure such as with Microsoft Dynamics AX, you can bet at least one disgruntled, underpaid offshore resource may be tempted to CUT/PASTE your code. And, any legal council will tell you that enforcing NDA’s internationally is expensive, and often more trouble than it’s worth.

In my eyes, the average volume of safe, non-critical Microsoft Dynamics AX customizations that can be shipped overseas for mid-market implementations of Microsoft Dynamics AX does not provide enough benefit via costs savings to outweigh the increased level of risk. If you want high quality, the answer probably begins and ends with your partner’s location, location, location!

Advanced Systems Integration to be a Gold Sponsor at Apparel’s Tech Conference West

Apparel’s Annual East-Coast Based Tech Conference Heads Out West in 2008


LAKE FOREST, CA – March 4, 2008 – Advanced Systems Integration, Inc. (ASi) a Microsoft Dynamics AX Gold Certified Business Solutions and Learning Solutions Partner is delighted to be a gold sponsor for Apparel’s first ever west coast Tech Conference West event. This annual must-attend event is historically held in New York in the fall. However, this year Apparel saw the opportunity build on the strength and success of the New York show by adding the west-coast event in the spring.

The one-day conference on April 2, 2008 will be held at the Orange County Campus of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM) in Irvine, CA. The event will feature a keynote technology presentation, technology vendor tabletop displays, more than a dozen educational sessions and a networking reception. Attendees will have the opportunity to gain technology and business insights across the total supply chain, from concept to consumer, with content addressing: Design and Product Development; Manufacturing; Information Technology; Sourcing, Logistics, Transportation; and Retailing.

Advanced Systems Integration will be presenting a 30 minute afternoon presentation on “How Apparel Companies Can Leverage Technology for Increased Visibility and Supply Chain Optimization”. ASi session description:
Successfully managing a complex and highly seasonal inventory is all about information and visibility. Whether it is a shortage in materials, product allocation or managing overseas production, the perfect Supply Chain Solution must be quick to implement, familiar to your employees, scalable, and provide real-time information at the touch of a button. In this 30-minute presentation, Advanced Systems Integration (ASi), a Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics AX Solution Partner, will introduce the Microsoft Dynamics AX (formerly Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta) platform and discuss why it is tailor made for rapidly growing fashion companies. ASi will present case studies related to supply chain visibility and optimization and demonstrate why using Microsoft technology is good but using the Microsoft Dynamics AX platform is better!

About ASi: Advanced Systems Integration, Inc. is a Gold Certified Microsoft Dynamics™ AX and Learning Solutions partner founded in 1991 that delivers comprehensive enterprise class applications that improve customer relations, enhance partner collaboration and create efficiencies across supply chains and business operations. ASi also offers industry specific extensions integrated with Microsoft Dynamics AX platform (formerly Microsoft Business Solutions Axapta). ASi uses its industry focus, enterprise software domain expertise and transparent agile implementation methodology to provide its clients an enterprise class solution that is implemented properly the first time. ASi is based in Lake Forest, CA and has sales offices in strategically located throughout the United States. Please visit the company’s web site at www.advancedsystemsintegration.com.

About Apparel: Apparel provides apparel and retail executives with information, research and strategic insight in a variety of formats in order to help them improve their business performance. Apparel magazine serves 18,0601 subscribers. Its targeted focus is Technology & Business Insight - From Concept to Consumer, which encompasses the market, retail intelligence, supply chain, sourcing and logistics, concept-to-spec and fiber-to-fabric. Apparel has proudly served the industry for more than 48 years. A commitment to editorial excellence and quality content for the benefit of the industry is the foundation of its value. http://www.apparelmag.com/

About Microsoft Dynamics AX: Microsoft Dynamics AX is an adaptable business management solution that enables companies and their workers to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics AX works like and with familiar Microsoft Office software, with comprehensive features that help automate and streamline business processes, and connect users with global customers, business partners and subsidiaries in a way that helps drive business success. http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/ax/default.mspx.

About Microsoft: Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. www.microsoft.com

For more information on this release, please contact:
Lisa Aschenbrenner
Marketing Manager
Advanced Systems Integration, Inc.
(949) 597-2170
lisaa@advancedsystemsintegration.com
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