Founded in 1988 by former IBM employees,
Michael Ellis and Dee Sondergard, Information Systems International,
Inc., has focused on providing IBM, Infor (formerly MAPICS) XA-based and
other ERP implementation solutions and consulting services to the
manufacturing community. Its location just outside Chicago has allowed
ISI to expand its services to both national and international
manufacturers.
By the late 1980’s material
requirements planning, or MRP, which had been embraced by the
manufacturing community as a simple method for calculating what
materials were required, in what quantities, and at what time, was
rapidly being replaced MRP II, which added capacity planning, scheduling
and shop floor control to the materials management functions of MRP. ISI
saw a growing need in the manufacturing community for expertise that
could provide a broader scope of overall manufacturing operations
without existing bias. To provide this level of expertise, ISI built a
staff of qualified consultants who could help clients leverage their
existing IT investments while adapting to new technologies at a pace
that was consistent with their business plans.
In the 1990’s the landscape of
manufacturing was showing signs of rapid change. The concern over Y2K
and its affect on all systems was becoming a forefront issue for both IT
and management. At the same time, foreign competition was forcing even
the largest of US manufacturers to examine all aspects of their business
and seek ways to reduce costs, embrace new technologies and improve
overall customer satisfaction. The concept of ERP which broadened the
scope of MRP by addressing the overall resources of the enterprise, not
simply the manufacturing process component was placing an even greater
demand on the available internal resources of most companies. ISI
continued to fulfill the need for expertise by partnering with select
vendors and developers to provide enhanced manufacturing and IT
solutions.
It was in the late 1990’s that ISI also
saw its biggest changes. ISI had built a successful consulting and
implementation business by focusing primarily on MAPICS XA, working with
small and mid-sized manufacturers within the regional territory of
northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Through their IBM Business
Partner relationship, ISI was contacted by a major manufacturer of
capital equipment for the paper processing industry with over forty
locations in fourteen countries. They had been operating on a legacy
system and had finally determined that the system was not Y2K compliant.
After reviewing numerous ERP systems, Beloit Corporation selected MAPICS
XA as the ERP system to move them into the 21st century and ISI as the
firm to lead the worldwide implementation project. Combining their own
resources and those of several business partners, ISI successfully lead
the project to implement what was at that time the largest
implementation in the history of MAPICS.
