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Orthopedic Implant Manufacturer Exactech Excises Obsolete Check
Processing System; Replaces it with MICR-Laser ACOM Solution
THE BACKGROUND
Exactech, Inc. got to be one of Forbes Magazines top 200
small companies by identifying a critical need in a growing
market, and then creating quality products that it could sell at
prices that would help its customers deal with relentlessly
increasing cost pressures. The market: the orthopedic surgery
community; the product: orthopedic implant devices (along
with related surgical instruments and biological products). The
ultimate users, of course, are people whose bones or joints
have deteriorated as a result of an injury or diseases such as
arthritis.
Headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, Exactech, Inc. was
founded in 1985 by Orthopedic Surgeon William Petty, M.D.
and Mrs. Petty, along with Gary Miller, Ph.D., a bioengineer.
Both Dr. Petty and Dr. Miller had held positions on the
University of Florida College of Medicine faculty, and both had
also served as consultants to several orthopedic companies.
Concerned about the rising costs of medical treatment, Dr.
Petty saw ways to make a difference in the orthopedic implant
industry while still responding to the need for medical cost
containment. Exactech is now a publicly traded company
(EXAC-NASDAQ) with annual revenues exceeding $40
million.
THE PROBLEM
Not long ago, Exactech needed to perform a surgery on one of
its key business systems. When Accounting Manager Randy
Kirkpatrick and Accounts Payable Representative Elizabeth
Flynn finally decided to replace their existing check printing
system, the driving motivations were speed, dependability and
labor saving.
“It was a time-consuming process,” says Kirkpatrick. “It
involved loading the tractor-feed forms into the dot matrix
printer, aligning the forms, running a few check forms and
logging the numbers of the test forms, spoiled forms and the
forms used in the check run. Then, came the post
processing.”
Post processing was purely a manual operation, with Flynn
manually separating the originals from the carbonless copies,
then sending them off to the executive suite for signing – a
necessary step, but one which was a serious intrusion on
management’s time.
Primary to the search for a new system was that it be
compatible with QAD Financials, the administrative and
management portion of QAD MFG/PRO, the enterprise
software solution for manufacturing. QAD, in turn operates in
concert with the company’s Progress master database
program.
THE SOLUTION
Attending QAD’s EXPLORE user conference in mid-2000,
Exactech representatives visited the ACOM exhibit booth,
outlined their problem and discovered a solution: ACOM’s
EZCheck Total Check Processing Solution (formerly known
as QuickCheck for Windows). EZCheck is the software
element of the solution and is compatible with all financial
management software packages. Residing on any
Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT/Millenium PC or server, it
enables the creation and electronic storage of check-form
templates that incorporate all of the company information,
graphics, payee information, sequential numbers, MICRencoded
lines, remittance advices, and it can even include
the authorized signature. When a check run or manual
check is needed, EZCheck accepts the financial data file
from QAD Financials and merges the data with the
electronically stored check-form template. Finally, it spools
the check file out to the MICR-enhanced laser printer, and
using blank safety-check stock, it generates the finished
checks.
Use of blank safety-check stock eliminates the need for preprinting,
inventory and tracking check forms, as well as
eliminating the need for special handling and supervision at
the time of the check run. ACOM'S blank safety-check stock
is engineered and manufactured to incorporate physical
security features, such as watermarks and brownstains, that
are imbedded into the paper, making it much more resistant
to forgery and check fraud.
THE IMPLEMENTATION
Exactech has updated its cumbersome accounts-payable
check-processing procedure with a new automated MICRlaser
check-processing system from ACOM Solutions, Inc.Now, says Kirkpatrick, instead of producing each month’s
300-plus accounts payable checks on a noisy dot matrix
printer, using three-part pre-printed forms, the company runs
its checks quickly and quietly on a 17-page-per-minute Xerox
DocuPrint N17 MICR-enhanced laser printer solution from
ACOM.
Besides the basic system (EZCheck software and a Xerox
DocuPrint N17 MICR-enhanced Network Laser Printer),
Kirkpatrick also purchased Secure-A-Font Card. The Secure-A-Font Card is a PCMCIA card that stores secure company
information, including logos, the executive signature, and
MICR font; it can be inserted at the time of the print run and
removed for secure storage after it is completed.
“We had looked at a number of check processing solutions,
but we made the decision to change after we met ACOM at
the QAD MFG/PRO user conference,” Kirkpatrick says. “It
was important to us that ACOM was a QAD business
partner...in fact it made the difference, since we felt that we
would not encounter any compatibility problems.”
Once the purchase decision was made, Kirkpatrick sent
ACOM a sample of the check the company had been using
with the QAD MFG/PRO direct output. ACOM designed a
new check based on the data from the QAD MFG/PRO file
and sent a copy of the customized software to Gainesville.
Since both are experienced professionals in computer-based
accounting applications, Kirkpatrick and Flynn opted for
installation guidance and training by telephone versus on-site
installation support, which is also available to those who need
it.
Prior to cutover, minor complications were quickly solved by
QAD and ACOM technical support staff, and the Exactech
went live with the new solution in early 2001 with no
problems.
“Everyone was very helpful,” Kirkpatrick says. “We simply had
to make sure the output file was correct, that the text file
conformed precisely to the layout, and the remarks section
didn’t overflow. We now have a much more attractive check
that is far easier to work with. For copies, we simply load
colored paper into the MICR laser printer at the conclusion of
the check run and print it again. It is a dual-mode unit, so we
can change out the MICR toner with regular toner, since the
copies don’t require the security measures.”
SUCCESS
Kirkpatrick believes that his check processing hard costs are
about equal to those of the previous system, but that the real
payoff is in conservation of staff and executive time.
“The savings are apparent, even quick back-of-the-envelope
analysis tells us that the system costs are easily justified by
time savings alone,” he says. Flynn concurs, noting that she used to spend 8-10 hours on
each payables run, and now spends two-three hours.
“The president and CFO used to dread the sight of me when I
would show up with a stack of checks to be signed,” she says. “They are thrilled that they can use that check-signing time to
do more important things.”
As for Flynn, she’s happy too. Just try separating and sorting
300-400 three-part forms manually, and see how many paper
cuts you end up with...
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