Re: IBM i Foodservice Distribution Softyware

"Midrange-NonTech" <midrange-nontech-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote on
11/07/2014 01:00:05 PM:

----- Message from Jeff Crosby <jlcrosby@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> on Thu, 6
Nov 2014 13:45:21 -0500 -----

To:

"Non-Technical Discussion about the AS400 / iSeries" <midrange-
nontech@xxxxxxxxxxxx>

Subject:

IBM i Foodservice Distribution Softyware

The 3 of us in senior management positions here at Dilgard are all about
the same age and will all be retiring in 8-10 years at about the same
time. The Board of Directors has 'suggested' that we replace the custom

in

house software I have developed over the past 40 years with something

off

the shelf. The idea being it will be easier to find support as well as
making the company more valuable.

What IBM i (AS/400) ERP software packages are out there? Looking for

the

usual gamut of apps. A/R, A/P, Ordering, Billing, Inventory Control and
Management, GL, Warehouse, etc.

Thanks.

--
Jeff Crosby
VP Information Systems
UniPro FoodService/Dilgard
P.O. Box 13369
Ft. Wayne, IN 46868-3369
260-422-7531
www.dilgardfoods.com

The opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily the opinion of my
company. Unless I say so.

We run several modules from Infor/Infinium. Their support is good,
although the price keeps going up. (It's coming to the point where we'll
soon be spending as much on the annual support as we did on the initial
licensing. We may have to re-evaluate our options in the future.) I don't
always like the results of support, but I understand where Infor is coming
from. The support people are always willing to work with us and try to get
a workable solution.

Infor has grown into one of the largest software vendors out there. They
have very good IBM i (a.k.a., AS/400) support. They've grown by snatching
up other vendors. Unlike other organizations which have snatched up a
group of vendors, they continue to support and enhance the products they
acquire. They've also had a program to allow full credit of licensing
costs when switching between their various software lines.

From the limited exposure I've had, I would take a serious look at their

Lawson product line. I don't know if VAI has anything in the Food Services
Distribution area, but what I've seen from them also looks well-done. I've
also heard good things about Harris Data Systems.

I know years ago a large food services distributor in Great Falls, Montana
was reworking all their mainframe stuff to run on the AS/400. They felt
the competitive advantage of their custom written software was worth far
more than the cost of maintaining it. Your BOD may find that something to
think about before moving to something off the shelf.