John Sprovieri // Chief Editor

With headquarters in Atlanta and manufacturing facilitates in the Dominican Republic, DAS Medical Holdings LLC is a contract manufacturer specializing in the design and manufacturing of single-use surgical robotic draping systems, equipment covers, and fluid control pouches. The company’s products are used by hospitals and medical facilities throughout North America. While some of its products are sold directly to hospitals, most of its inventory flows through OEM contracts with the equipment manufacturers themselves.

Founded in 2012 and now a subsidiary of UFP Technologies, DAS Medical began operations using QuickBooks for accounting. However, as the company experienced rapid and significant growth, it soon outgrew QuickBooks’ capabilities. It was ready for a full enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that could support manufacturing, inventory control, and material requirements planning (MRP).

“We knew we wanted a cloud ERP,” says Houston Lee, CFO for DAS Medical. “We’re a small and growing company with multiple locations and without a dedicated IT staff. So, having a hosted ERP solution is ideal.”

The company researched the major players in the cloud ERP market, including Acumatica Inc. in Bellevue, WA.

A colleague recommended Lee speak with the NexTec Group, citing the company’s considerable experience in the medical device industry. Based in Seattle, NexTec is one of North America’s largest and most experienced technology consulting firms, specializing in helping midsized companies implement ERP, customer relationship management, and business intelligence software. The company is a certified integrator for several ERP software systems, including Sage X3, Acumatica and Microsoft Dynamics.

“After learning about our operations, NexTec recommended we go with Acumatica,” says Lee. “Its manufacturing, inventory control and MRP capabilities are right in line with what we need. Our confidence in NexTec is what ultimately convinced us we were making the right decision.”

Rated highest in customer satisfaction for cloud core financial suites, Acumatica is a complete cloud ERP system for managing accounting, finance, projects, operations, distribution and inventory. Acumatica is accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any browser-enabled device.

A colleague recommended Lee speak with the NexTec Group, citing the company’s considerable experience in the medical device industry. Based in Seattle, NexTec is one of North America’s largest and most experienced technology consulting firms, specializing in helping midsized companies implement ERP, customer relationship management, and business intelligence software. The company is a certified integrator for several ERP software systems, including Sage X3, Acumatica and Microsoft Dynamics.

“After learning about our operations, NexTec recommended we go with Acumatica,” says Lee. “Its manufacturing, inventory control and MRP capabilities are right in line with what we need. Our confidence in NexTec is what ultimately convinced us we were making the right decision.”

Rated highest in customer satisfaction for cloud core financial suites, Acumatica is a complete cloud ERP system for managing accounting, finance, projects, operations, distribution and inventory. Acumatica is accessible anytime, anywhere, and on any browser-enabled device.

Unlimited Users

While DAS Medical was using QuickBooks, the company had to limit its access to the software to avoid paying the high cost of additional user licenses.

Acumatica does not charge for user licenses. Instead, customers only pay for their transaction volume—with generous limits—making it attractive for companies to extend the software to users throughout the organization.

“We love that with Acumatica, we can add as many users as we want without paying more,” says Lee. “That allows us to open the solution to more of our staff, both at our headquarters and in our manufacturing facility. So, they get quick access to the data they need on their own. We find that we’re adding new users frequently as we continue to realize how valuable the solution is.”

Acumatica is in full use in the company’s Atlanta headquarters and throughout its production facility in the Dominican Republic, where the software’s return on investment was both rapid and significant.

“We’ve been able to ramp up our production volume without adding additional overhead,” says Lee. “Thanks to automated workflows in Acumatica, we’ve increased efficiency and cut the time it takes to report on production activity by over 50 percent.”

Previously, the company tended to overstock critical components to ensure it didn’t run short. “We didn’t trust our inventory numbers before,” notes Lee. “But now, we’ve got confidence in our numbers and are able to keep our stock at optimal levels.”

With access to real-time production data, DAS Medical is able to respond quicker to customer inquiries, boosting service levels.

Financial Insight and Control

As CFO of DAS Medical, Lee appreciates the robust financial controls in Acumatica. “We have a small accounting department, so we value efficiency, but we also need robust financial controls including a solid audit trail. Acumatica provides that.”

In QuickBooks, company managers struggled to get the reports they needed. With Acumatica, DAS Medical has gained quick access to metrics and analytics that help it make strategic and timely business decisions—from cash flow predictions, to inventory stocking, to manufacturing planning.

Lee says he’s continually impressed with the team at NexTec. “They have remained focused on our business’s success from the start,” he says. “I don’t feel like they just sold us a product; they were building a long-term relationship. Even now, as we’ve been live almost a year, they continue to help us get the most value out of Acumatica—they’re with us every step of the way.”

When choosing cloud ERP software, engineers are well-advised to look beyond the product to the partner standing behind it, says Lee.

“Most cloud ERP systems offer a lot of the same features,” he concludes. “The truth is, we chose Acumatica primarily because we felt the most comfortable and confident with the NexTec team. Their knowledge of the product and our industry along with their willingness to learn our business made the difference

For more information on cloud ERP software, visit www.acumatica.com. For more information on software integration partners, click www.nextecgroup.com.