CARPINTERIA, Calif. -- February 3, 2003 - QAD (NASDAQ: QADI), a leading provider of collaborative commerce solutions for global manufacturers, today announced that Handy & Harman, a diversified industrial manufacturer and subsidiary of WHX Corporation (NYSE: WHX), has selected the MFG/PRO eB2 Web-enabled suite of enterprise applications and QAD eQ, intelligent order management suite, to help ensure efficient and unified manufacturing operations. QAD's industry-leading applications will help ensure information and processes flow smoothly and efficiently across Handy & Harman's global manufacturing locations to deliver superior and consistent products and services to its customers.
Handy & Harman designs and produces specialty fasteners and connectors, electronic components, brazing materials, specialty wire, specialty tubing and tubing fabrications and precision electroplating for a wide range of industries including the aerospace, automotive, construction, electronics, medical, gas and water distribution, semiconductor and telecommunications markets. The acquisition of vertical businesses, as well as having geographically dispersed operations, led to Handy & Harman having duplicate and complex processes and supply chains.
President and CEO Robert LeBlanc outlined his vision of making Handy & Harman a "Great Company" by removing roadblocks, redundancies and delays in processes across the enterprise by providing real-time information to employees to increase the speed and quality of decisions and by improving the quality of service to customers. Handy & Harman chose QAD as its technology partner to help achieve this vision with QAD's domain expertise and the rich manufacturing functionality of its solutions. "Our supply chains have functions and trading partners in common, and operational efficiencies can be realized," said Mary Ann Confer, vice president of supply chain integration, Handy & Harman. "Through a very thorough competitive evaluation, QAD's enterprise applications were selected as the platform for integrating our businesses and building horizontal processes to benefit our customers and suppliers. We were also impressed by the excellent reputation QAD has among global multinational manufacturers."
Handy & Harman will use QAD solutions to provide consistent and focused service to customers worldwide. MFG/PRO eB2 will facilitate data continuity and operations such as accurate, coordinated fulfillment and invoicing across business units, geographies and currencies. And QAD eQ Sell-Side, a comprehensive sales order management and fulfillment application, will support multiple points of electronic order capture - such as for exchanges, websites or customer service centers - with sensitivity to the entire relationship with every customer including past orders, present order status, special requirements and credit information.
"Handy & Harman's decision to integrate operations across its business units demonstrates a commitment to a highly productive business environment and a cohesive work environment," said Pamela Lopker, QAD president and chairman of the board. "QAD enterprise software addresses the real-world requirements of individual production sites, while facilitating overall growth. Whether we're helping to manufacture fasteners or automobiles, pasta or electronics, QAD's solutions build on the latest thinking in manufacturing theory and draw upon our more than two decades' of experience helping global manufacturers streamline and automate their businesses."
Implementation of QAD solutions will begin at one of Handy & Harman's locations in the state of Indiana, with roll out to the rest of the company's 18 sites taking place over approximately 36 months.
"We expect ease of use and minimal training requirements will accelerate employee adoption of QAD applications in all our units," said Confer. "In addition to streamlining operations, the QAD suite of applications will make our employees' jobs easier, and that helps make our locations great places to work."