QAD Inc., a leading provider of enterprise systems for manufacturing, has launched its online ship under the moniker, eQ.
A set of business-to-business (B2B) software applications, eQ is being pitched as the connection between a company's Web site and its back-end enterprise systems. The software's role is to recognize how to deal with an incoming B2B transaction and pass it on to the appropriate ERP system in the company.
In talking to its customers, QAD found few that had made this kind of smooth connection between the Web's front end and the firm's back-end systems.
"Our research shows that only four percent of manufacturers' Internet sales systems are integrated to the back end," says David M. Myers, senior director of e-business operations at QAD in Carpinteria, Calif. "Most ERP systems are not designed for enabling manufacturers to use the Internet to take orders and handle sales. Our system has the integration to the back end."
One of the early users of QAD's eQ is AT&T Wireless, which is implementing the software to handle an anticipated surge of consumer orders for its home-based wireless devices now being offered in limited metropolitan markets.
"AT&T utilizes a complex network of independent distributors that places intense demands on any B2B replenishment solution," says Pam Lopker, president and chairman of QAD. "QAD eQ [enables] AT&T to adopt a highly collaborative business model that improves their ability to manage and service a large volume of personalized and organizational relationships.
