| Why Improve QAD? (or The Missing 5%) QAD is a well-designed and written software package with logical data structures and fairly complete ERP1 functionality. A typical installation meets 95% of the business requirements for many companies. Problem: The missing 5% is different from company to company, and while small, may be essential. So, instead of bloating QAD by anticipating and adding all these missing pieces, QAD makes it easy to add functionality. Supplemental reports, and screens to maintain supplemental data unique to your company or industry, are a few examples of the custom programming typically done to supply the missing functionality. Another major category is interface technology, to send and receive data from and to outside systems, E.G.: payroll and banking software, factory automation systems and machinery, web portals and EDI. Another category is manual effort reduction, such as a function to copy a purchase order, instead of manually re-entering a nearly identical P/O with hundreds of lines; or a module to capture factory floor activity with scanning terminals, instead of filling out forms for subsequent manual data entry. How is the missing 5% satisfied? First of all, QAD is written in an easily learned 4/GL (fourth generation) programming language called Progress. The Progress 4/GL is very efficient and is tightly coupled to the database, making it very easy to extract and link data. With a few hundred lines of logic/code it is possible to write most reports, interfaces, and maintenance screens. Compared to most other languages, it wins hands down in ease of use and simplicity. Secondly, a complete software infrastructure is included by QAD with subroutines for screen layouts, printer selection, etc. to streamline programming of custom menu functions with the same "look and feel". Finally, best practices are followed to minimize impact when installing new upgrades around these custom functions, keeping it simple to install new software releases as they are received from QAD. Unencrypted source code for most reports and a few maintenance functions is included with Mfg/Pro, providing many good programming examples for your IT staff. I usually recommend to my clients that they not buy additional unencrypted source code for maintenance functions as it is very expensive. Also it is wise to avoid the temptation of modifying these programs, making it extremely difficult to apply future upgrades. However it is understandble to purchase object code to study underlying processes, and (rarely) to modify maintenance programs when absolutely necessary, when the use of database triggers does not suffice.
1 ERP stands for "Enterprise Resource Planning" software. Think of it as the swiss-army knife of software for a manufacturing or distribution company, with many different modules covering all aspects of a business, E.G.: Accounting, Inventory Control, Customer Orders, Purchase Orders. All modules are interconnected with a common database to allow easy sharing of data among the different departments in a corporation.
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