ATLANTA – March 24, 2003 – Ross Systems (NASDAQ: ROSS), a leading provider of enterprise software solutions for manufacturers, announced today that Hanson Brick & Tile, the largest brick manufacturer in North America, has licensed the iRenaissance ERP and SCM applications, as well as Customer Portal for customer relationship management. Hanson Brick & Tile will merge its business operations across the United States and Canada into one system using Ross Systems’ award-winning software.
Hanson Brick & Tile is consolidating its existing eight IT systems into one, aiming to drive efficiencies throughout its supply chain, increase profitability and improve customer service. The company will use Ross’ software for comprehensive enterprise-wide applications to: increase inventory utilization and reduce stock-outs, and create a centralized and more efficient way of managing sales orders.
After reviewing several software platforms, Hanson determined that Ross provided the most flexible and comprehensive end-to-end solution for its needs, according to Richard Manning, president of Hanson Brick & Tile.
“Hanson’s growth and acquisition strategy over the years has created a series of disparate systems running on varied platforms,” said Manning. “We wanted to standardize using one technology in order to increase visibility into our overall operations, improve efficiency, enhance customer service and inventory management and ultimately, reduce costs.”
In addition to Ross’ depth of technology expertise, Hanson was impressed with the company’s proven ability to address the industry-specific needs of natural products manufacturers that focus on building products. Ross’ iRenaissance suite is developed for companies like Hanson Brick & Tile so that minimal customization is required in order to achieve rapid implementation with business-based metrics in mind.
“Hanson Brick & Tile is planning to undertake a crucial and highly beneficial endeavor for any manufacturer – continent-wide standardization,” said J. Patrick Tinley, chairman and CEO of Ross Systems. “Ross is well equipped to help Hanson achieve its goals because we offer the complete package: deep domain expertise in natural products including ceramics, forestry products and other building materials; quick return on investment with no unnecessary overhead; and proven end-to-end solutions with low total cost of ownership.”
Hanson Brick & Tile will begin consolidating its platforms through a phased process in July 2003.