Process Manufacturing describes a manufacturing process whereby materials are blended, cooked, or mixed as opposed to assembled from discrete units. Some needs common to process manufacturing industries are:

* Formulas (or recipes) are ratios, not static bills of material * Split bill of material: several products can share one formula, yet have different packaging * Flexibility with units of measure * Stringent quality control, with recall ability * Lot grading / attribute tracking and calculation

Escape Velocity Systems (EVS) (www.evs-sw.com) recently announced that process (formula based) manufacturing operations are increasingly focused on technology solutions that will help meet regulatory and compliance issues. According to EVS President Evan Garber, "What process manufacturers want, O2 (the EVS manufacturing software solution) was designed to meeting the regulatory and compliance issues facing our customers. From customer specifications and formula engineering / costing to production, quality control, regulatory reporting and security, EVS present a complete system for managing the entire business cycle. O2 has the tools necessary to eliminate the "islands of data" that many companies find exist in formulation, quality control, planning and production departments, and to make the entire enterprise visible to those who are making daily critical decisions and responsible for issues from BioTerrorism to HACCP."

Key features of O2 Process Manufacturing include:

* Enterprise level formula, lab, production and MSDS / Compliance reporting system * Dynamically generate compliance (SARA, HAPS, MSDS) reporting * Catch weight (dual unit of measure) functionality enabled throughout O2 and MAS500 inventory / distribution * Full featured formula manufacturing software with lot attributes, QC control and more * Formula and production batch security * Unlimited nutritional and chemical lot attributes with calculations and formula rollups * Screen level customizability using MAS500 Customizer * Seamless MRP integration * 21 CFR 11b Auditing and Security * Full featured Quality Control with test batteries and multiple readings per test

Escape Velocity Systems (EVS) was formed in 2001 to combine specific industry knowledge related to process manufacturing, distribution, and ERP implementations with cutting edge software development. The company focus is to create tools that enable mid-market enterprises to achieve their goals, focusing on lean processes and ROI.

The term escape velocity refers to the speed that is necessary for an object to overcome gravity and soar into space. EVS provides direct applications for businesses looking for a catalyst, not just a software package. Process manufacturers require the best software solution coupled with industry experience that will accelerate the velocity with which they race towards their goals. The gravity of status-quo opposes aggressive, cutting edge organizations as they strive towards high quality and short lead time delivery while reducing inventories and operating costs.

Escape Velocity Systems www.evs-sw.com Evan Garber President solutions@evs-sw.com 303.494.1765 x114

About the Author

Professional Marketing Firm for the Manufacturing Community and Manufacturing Journalist to most manufacturing magazines