Technology:

MAS 500 is the only three-time winner of the Microsoft Industry Solution Award for Sage Technology Integration for many reasons. First, MAS 500 was built and optimized exclusively for the Microsoft environment. MAS 500's front end was built in the standard development environment of Visual Basic and utilizes a granular COM (Component Object Model) architecture, providing a rich framework for reusable code. A variety of customization tools are provided that allow organizations to modify MAS 500 applications to their specific requirements or build brand new applications and easily upgrade as new releases become available.

MAS 500 runs exclusively on the SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 platforms, incorporating more than 3000 stored procedures and delivering superior performance benchmarks. Database-enforced security and referential integrity, implemented through SQL triggers, provides the appropriate level of system security while ensuring data accuracy.

Finally, application programming interfaces (APIs), delivered as SQL stored procedures, provide high performance integration to MAS 500 with full validation allowing organizations to seamlessly integrate their mission critical, line of business applications to the back office.

User Interface:

MAS 500 incorporates a Microsoft-centric user interface that promotes a short learning curve for those familiar with other Microsoft applications. The Launchpad, MAS 500's menu system, was modeled after the Microsoft Office Shortcut bar and allows users to quickly and easily access any back office function. Other features include a tab interface design, tool tips and VCR buttons.

The Navigator, a powerful search engine, facilitates easy access to all MAS 500 data by allowing the user to define search criteria without having any knowledge of SQL or the underlying data structure.

MAS 500's robust online help includes field-level "what's this" help as well as common procedures help for each module (e.g., "How do I close a general ledger period?"). In addition, step-by-step instructions are provided for every process within the application and include a shortcut for launching the task directly from the help file.

MAS 500 contains extensive right mouse click functionality throughout the software, enabling users to drill up and drill down to related information and source documents through a context sensitive menu. Users can also move laterally or "drill around" within any form to access master file information allowing "add on the fly" functionality.

Productivity Tools:

MAS 500 Office provides seamless integration to Microsoft Office applications, leveraging OLE/ActiveX technology. A variety of templates are shipped with the software (i.e., budget spreadsheets with Excel, Word documents for AR correspondence, MAPI-compliant and e-mail notifications) and users can create their own templates without any programming expertise. Any Windows application file can be attached to a master file or transaction record providing an "electronic file cabinet" for storing critical information.

Distribution:

MAS 500's distribution suite contains some of the most sophisticated functionality seen in a middle market application. Order processing features place emphasis on line item flexibility, including line item ship-to, drop-ship, and inventory visibility across warehouses. A robust pricing matrix facilitates pricing by product, product line, customer, customer group and contract, with discounts available by quantity, weight, and volume.

Customer credit limit information can checked during the initial order, automatically placing orders on hold pending security event override.

At the core of MAS 500's inventory management system is it's robust replenishment capability. MAS 500 replenishment uses an inventory calendar to record the number of business days by period allowing more accurate forecasting by calculating demand per day rather than per period. Replenishment rules are defined at a product line or item level, including formulas placing weighted averages on prior and future demand, lead times, and safety stock. Analysis reports are available with the ability to generate purchase orders directly from suggested orders and approved target and emergency orders.

Manufacturing:

MAS 500 Manufacturing includes an integrated MAS 500 Planning & Scheduling system. This is a rules-based, drag-and-drop scheduling engine completely integrated with MRP, Inventory Management, Purchase Order, and Sales Order.

MAS 500 engineering features allow viewing of CAD drawings at the header or operation detail level and provide an import function for bringing in a Bill of Material from popular design programs such as AutoCAD.

The MRP system uses forecasted demand from the powerful replenishment module providing much more accurate material plans by calculating demand per business day as opposed to demand by month.

Complete handling of co-products is supported (when more than one different product is produced per production order - e.g., a left and right fender per hit on a stamping machine). This feature is important for companies who require disassembly, co-products, by-products, and blind manufacturing.

The manufacturing system supports standard, average, actual, FIFO, and LIFO costing methods. The MRP system allows users to have multiple material plans for different product lines, different facilities, and thousands of MRP variations based on selected criteria. The MRP system is both intuitive and fast. Users can schedule not only to the work center but also to the specific machine. They can also finitely schedule tooling requirements.

The manufacturing system handles outsourced operations within the Routing and Bill of Material. These outside process costs correctly affect the total cost of production. Outsourced operations can also be scheduled to an outside work center.

The configurator not only configures materials for a Sales Order, but it also configures the Routing and the Bill of Materials for manufacturing.

Data flows seamlessly from Estimates to Quotes to Sales Orders to Routings and Work Orders, and to MRP and Scheduling without duplicate data entry.

Reporting:

Crystal Reports 8.0 is shipped with System Manager. All standard reports and business forms (i.e., checks, invoices, sales orders, etc.) have been developed using Crystal and .RPT files are delivered with the application for easy report modification. Runtime parameters are provided for all reports allowing users to define sort and selection criteria without modifying report source code. Stored procedures are used to extract report data providing enhanced report performance.

Web functionality:

MAS 500 Web Reports provides an out-of-the-box solution for remote access to all standard Crystal Reports. Browser-based reports are secured by user, security group and company and selection criteria can be defined prior to report generation.

ECustomer provides an out-of-the-box business-to-business e-commerce solution. ECustomer in fully integrated with Accounts Receivable, Sales Order and Inventory Management and provides order entry, transaction inquiry and customer self service features. ECustomer provides Single-Screen Procurement™, an interface unlike any other mid-market application. Single-Screen Procurement™ provides a customizable interface that promotes fast and efficient order processing by allowing the user to view catalog, catalog item list, item detail and shopping cart information on a single page.

Version 6.0, available in June 2001, will introduce eSalesforce, a web-based salesperson's portal integrated to MAS 500 and SalesLogix. Salespeople can track and convert opportunities stored in SalesLogix to orders in MAS 500, with item and pricing visibility from the Back Office. SalesLogix prospects are easily converted into customers, including credit application workflow and processing. The customizable eSalesforce module allows salespeople to view information related to prospecting activities, opportunities, recent order, recent shipments, customer summary and salesperson summary.

eExecutive, also available in June 2001, will utilize the latest Microsoft Digital Dashboard technology to provide executives with a customizable view of the MAS 500 data that they need to run their business. In addition, the Microsoft Digital Dashboard enables the busy executive to see other desktop applications such as e-mail and calendars, as well as information from other web sites (i.e., weather or stock tickers). The MAS 500 data views will include sales, product, and customer analyses.

Customization Capabilities:

MAS 500's development tools provide a robust suite of development products for MAS 500 applications. The product suite consists of three components:

• Customizer allows end users to customize existing forms. Customization options include: modifying existing controls, adding new controls and adding procedural code using VBScript or JScript with access rules controlled by site, company, security group or user.
• Application Framework includes Visual Basic controls, tools and utilities that together form the infrastructure on which MAS 500 is built. Application Wizards provide a rapid application development environment by allowing developers to step through options for automatic form and Visual Basic code generation.
• Source Code is available by module and provides the ability to extensively customize the MAS 500 application code base.