Online Tracking and Inventory System Gets a Boost

OUTSOURCING NEWS

Device makers are demanding more from online enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. And outsourcers are responding with systems to enhance customer functions.

Millstone Medical Outsourcing, for example, recently launched a new version of its four-year-old ERP. According to the company, the new system has broader customization, improved functionality, and more-robust processing than the original.

The impetus for the new version is simple, says Millstone's vice president of sales, Jonathan Tillman. “Our customers are looking for ways to more effectively manage their processes and inventory,” he says. “We work hard to provide our customers with the flexibility and traceability they need.”

One specific function that most customers had asked for was real-time visibility from the Internet. Tillman says device makers want to be able to track a product when it is received, through processing, when it arrives at the warehouse, and as it is shipped.

In addition, Tillman notes that for the upgrade, Millstone decided to offer a wider range of customer reports and to improve the processing system.

The company reports that 50% of its customers use the new ERP system. The system is subscription based, enabling customers to avoid the up-front costs and challenges associated with developing an in-house tracking tool.

In other news, Millstone has signed agreements with several medical device companies to help with tasks from start-up to aftermarket processes. The start-up services include inspection, cleaning, packaging, distribution, and Internet-accessible inventory control. Aesculap Implant Systems Inc., Doctors Research Group Inc., and DVO Extremity Solutions will be using Millstone's cleanroom for sterile packaging. Millstone has 4000 sq ft of Class 10,000 cleanroom operating space that has a particulate-monitoring system with sensors over each workstation.

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