#PICAS GREENHOUSE SOFTWARE HOW TO RUN SBI#
#PICAS GREENHOUSE SOFTWARE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS TO#

Picas Greenhouse Software Software Developers To

And while a hard goods manufacturer can run extra shifts to meet unexpected orders, plants canвЂ™t be produced fast enough to meet an order that ships in two weeks.Pioneering growers have partnered with software developers to tailor these programs to meet their needs and offer them to other growers. Not so for living plants in the greenhouse world. For instance, if you produce a widget in March, the timing is the same if you produce it in April or May. But these systems designed for manufacturing do not mesh well with horticultural enterprises. Gro n Sell uses the PICAS (plant inventory control accounting software).ERP systems debuted 20 years ago in manufacturing industries as an extension of Material Requirements Planning/Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP).

Features include: real-time replenishment support mass-change of sales orders and work orders logistics interface to plan delivery routes and drop sequences electronic data interchange support cart analysis ISO week grow cycles facility capacity planning and item attributes (genus, color, variety, pot size, etc.).Another advantage is being part of the Sage family. Running a business with older, disjointed systems frequently results in inaccurate or delayed information.вЂ“ Getting the information out of these systems or doing simple reports is too complicated because these systems are not fully integrated or implemented.вЂ“ The current state of these systems has hampered industry growth and has limited growersвЂ™ abilities to be competitive in the marketplace.The goal of the Sage ERP MAS 500 is to provide a 360-degree view of the business. The financials are in a different system than the sales, inventory and production information, which is kept on paper or in Excel. We had to tweak the core tools for the uniqueness of grow times, machine capacities, carts, shelves and the needs of big box retailers.вЂќWorking with growers, Practical Software Solutions observed:вЂ“Systems are disjointed. вЂњSome problems growers have are not unlike other industriesвЂ“managing inventory, buying in raw materials and production plans.

If the government changes the 1099 form, Sage makes those changes. вЂњItвЂ™s so much more expensive for a small software company to keep up with changes. вЂњWeвЂ™re underpinned by a large organization and big support dollars,вЂќ Lafferty says. Sage ERP MAS 500 has more than 5,000 installations in the North America.

48 on our Top 100 Growers, YoungвЂ™s decided to upgrade because, вЂњWe had an increasing level of detail in the company we needed to keep up with, for instance, UPC codes by variety and by color and the order-entry piece,вЂќ he says. The last thing we want is a company running a system thatвЂ™s too big for them.вЂќBryan Young of YoungвЂ™s Plant Farm in Alabama led his organizationвЂ™s conversion to the Sage ERP MAS 500 system a year ago. A $1-2 million business is not a good fit. вЂњOur typical customer has $15 million in revenue.

Now everybody knows instantaneously and can get on the same page earlier.вЂќRetrieving information is so much more efficient, he adds. Before, we were still using Excel spreadsheets and it was hard for all the management positions to be on the same page. It helped us get a lot more organized.

Now we scan as we load the truck and know exactly what ships.вЂќWhat options are there for growing operations that arenвЂ™t as large? SBI Nursery Software in Oregon has been developing integrated software solutions for wholesale growers and retailers. вЂњBefore, we had a lot of errors and substitutions due to not getting the paperwork right. вЂњWe scan all our orders when we load the trucks,вЂќ Young says.

Picas Greenhouse Software How To Run SBI

Each day we are learning by test driving in their system and tweaking the real setup to keep improving it and preparing for the real go-live day on the new system.вЂќOnce growers make the conversion, they realize the benefits of improved inventory visibility to customers and sales representatives, which improves sales, as well as better inventory control, better planning and matching seasonal demand, Allison says.Timbuk Farms, a diversified grower-retailer in Ohio, converted to SBI software in 2009. вЂњThen we take copies of their setup and let them team play in a test copy without consequence. вЂњTraining and all steps in the implementation are driven by these two outlines: business process outline and how to run SBI to match that process,вЂќ Allison explains. Our production module is so efficient in data entry and control that one person can manage $10 million in production.вЂќSBI maps out the growerвЂ™s business process and then maps out how the grower will run the new software based on that process. It is often key in smaller operations to get more efficient in order to be able to grow. вЂњUsing production management to plan and execute the plan is much less labor than managing monster Excel sheets.

The businesses are still separate but together.вЂќThe biggest benefit has been time management. вЂњWe are three companies in one growing Christmas trees, seedling trees and wholesale liners for DГ¶mmen and needed a point of sale (POS) system for retail. вЂњWe needed a system that would cover a lot of different things,вЂќ says Logistics Manager Stacy Decker.

With the task manager, we know what weвЂ™re doing three weeks out instead of walking around and finding out about next weekвЂ™s jobs. ItвЂ™s so much easier to keep organized. вЂњWeвЂ™re not doing the same job three times in three systems.

Now, if itвЂ™s a вЂBlue WaveвЂ™ petunia, we can track exactly what we grow and sell and where it is in the greenhouse. Before, we just tracked quart annuals. вЂњWe can label and monitor by specific variety. Most of what is grown is sold at PetittiвЂ™s Garden Centers.вЂњWe wanted to be able to track everything we do with production, what we were throwing out, what we were shipping,вЂќ Casa VerdeвЂ™s business manager and tropical buyer Meg Vanderbilt says. While the garden centers are on a different POS system, customers will buy plants wholesale at the production facility. If we end up short for a presold order, we can work with our broker on substitutions.вЂќCasa Verde Growers, the production arm of PetittiвЂ™s Garden Centers in Ohio, installed SBI software a year ago.

Tags automatically ship to growers who order plugs, liners and cuttings. Our vision is connectivity.вЂќPicas also integrates with tag suppliers, Master Tag and John Henry, so growers donвЂ™t have to deal with tag inventory. Orders are generated without somebody typing. вЂњThis has helped growers not have to key enter orders. Now we can look back at the year and know exactly what was sold.вЂќInnovative Software Solutions, which developed the Picas program with Four Star Greenhouse and Glass Corner Greenhouse in Michigan 25 years ago, has been focused on integrating growersвЂ™ activities with all their vendorsвЂ™ and customersвЂ™ systems, so growers never have to leave Picas to transact business.вЂњEight years ago, we completed three broker integrations with Ball, MichellвЂ™s and Syngenta, and weвЂ™re working on four more,вЂќ says John Stallmer, president of Innovative Software Solutions.

She especially likes being able to offer real-time availability of finished plants for garden centers and landscapers. Picas also introduced a replenishment tool that allows growers to link with big box systems and see what is selling in the stores.Lisa Wenke Ambrosio has been using the Picas system for 12 years and canвЂ™t imagine life without it. Are they in full color or just cracking color? Does the customer need full color? Growers can pull the right grade for the right customer.

вЂњIn four years, our sales have more than doubled and weвЂ™ve managed the growth with fewer people,вЂќ OroвЂ™s Mike Fernandez says.