M1

2004 Consensus Software Awards

Product Description

M1 by B&G™ is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software system designed for small to medium manufacturers including job shops, custom and mixed mode manufacturers and make to order manufacturers. M1 by B&G™ provides total integration and automation from quoting through invoicing and unlike other systems M1 allows the manufacturer to simply and easily customize the system to suit their unique business processes maintaining their competitive edge. Developed for Microsoft SQL Server and with a Microsoft Outlook, look and feel, M1 is an intuitive and user friendly system packed with innovative and powerful tools.

At the heart of the systems architecture is the concept of seamlessness - the ability to drag, point and click from module to module without awkward transition points or file conversion. M1 is a modular system so a manufacturer only has to purchase the modules that suit their business right now and as they grow they can add new features and functionality when they are required. M1 has even been designed for the smallest organization where one person can do all tasks, no departmenatlised task orientation, and yet the design still is suited to medium and larger sized companies, M1 is capable of handling true small to medium operations.

M1's range of advanced productivity tools; graphs, calendars, explorers, wizards, drill downs, power search, shortcuts and smart screen technology provides management intelligence data at a click of a button and the automation of tasks to increase user efficiency. M1 Design studio even lets you add new fields, customise any input form and report, giving companies the ability to make the system work for their business without changing any of their business processes.

M1 has been designed so there is no long and drawn-out expensive implementation cycle, the implementation tools coupled with the intuitive and familiar look and feel mean a company can be live and enjoying the benefits of the system within weeks.

Sample screen shots

Figure 1.1  Pie Chart	Figure 1.4 Organisation Explorer	Figure 1.5 Drill Down report

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Innovation

The Innovation in the functionality of M1 is what stands the system apart from the other products on the market today. Bowen & Groves have focused the design of the system on delivering a system where the user can be more efficient and productive, and this is achieved by focusing the depth of functionality on the simplest tasks, whereas other systems take the most amount of time for simple and routine functions.

Smart Screen Technology – The traditional design for systems is to operate in a resolution of 800x600 pixels and function with multiple screens. M1 is designed to operate in a resolution of 1024x768 pixels and automatically condenses the screen to only display to a user those fields that they actually require to carry-out the operation. No need like other systems to tab through the useless fields that are not required to be entered M1 will not display the sections that you don’t require based on the function that you are performing. For example if you are creating a purchase order you have two types, either a job purchase or an inventory purchase, when you create the inventory purchase you don’t need the fields that link to the job so M1 will collapse that section of the data and the user will only see the fields that are required for an inventory purchase. M1 smart screens can even be customised through M1 Design Studio, so this technology can even be defined by the user based on their unique requirements. This intelligent automation of expanding and collapsing fields based on a users operational requirements means ease of use and efficient operation.

Navigation Innovation - Unlike other systems where a user needs to search for relevant data, M1 has been designed with a state of the art navigation tree so every possible piece of data a user would require can be selected from the tree without having to search and open dozens of windows. For example call up an organisation and you can now view contacts, locations, attachments, leads, quotes, sales orders, jobs, pricing, aging accounts and more.

Search Power - Most systems allow you to search on one or two criteria's not M1 you can have as many filters as you like.

No double entry - Wizards have been designed throughout the system to pull data through, so enter a quote to a prospect once and you can pull that data with the click of a button into a sales order, job, shipment and invoice.

Integration - M1 integrates with everyday word processing, spreadsheet and email functions so M1 will create follow up and appointments in your email or fax quotes directly from your PC, you can even mail merge.

Design Studio - The most significant and innovative feature of M1 is that you can design M1 to suit your business, unlike other systems where you fit the system, this means a companies competitive advantage in their unique processes can be maintained. M1 Design Studio allows a user to make the software work for them, you can add new fields, change any input form, including moving objects around, you can customize any report, and all of this is maintained with every new upgrade.

Hundreds more innovations have been added to M1 to make the system user friendly and efficient including such things as; advanced productivity tools such as calendars, wizards, graphs, drill down reports, explorers, approvals & warnings, start page daily summary and best of all the M1 assistant with the implementation checklist which minimises a companies implementation cycle and cost.

Sample screenshots

Figure 2.1 Smart Screen – Job	Figure 2.2 – Smart Screen Inventory	Figure 2.3 - Navigation

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Performance

The key foundations of excellence principles of Bowen & Groves and M1 are; understanding customer requirements, listening to customers, industry knowledge, technical knowledge, support and professionalism. An ERP system is simply not just about innovative design, it is the package of innovative design, strength in ongoing development coupled with excellence in support and professional services.

M1's ongoing development is driven by the customer, all customers are encouraged to contribute their ideas for enhancements via direct communication with the support team, at the annual user conference or the M1 user group. We receive over 100 enhancement requests per quarter, these are real ideas for new features and new functionality. In September 2003 M1 version 3.0 was released and this included three new modules and over 370 additional enhancements to various modules, these are all the result of listening and responding to the customers.

The support system Bowen & Groves have put in place is absolutely world class, it is designed for enquiries to be handled quickly and efficiently. Support is provided in three ways; telephone, modem dial-in or internet (BGSupportnet). Telephone support is provided via a toll free telephone hotline, there is no automated phone system that places a customer in a queue, a real person answers the call and can respond directly, 90% of calls are solved within 10 minutes. All calls received are logged and after a call is closed, a fax or email is automatically sent to the caller to ensure that they are satisfied that the call is closed and it requests the caller to rate their satisfaction level. In the past three months we took 2635 calls and our average service rating was 9.1 (out of 10). The BGSupportNet is an interactive support system where a customer can log on to the internet, review open and closed calls, support contracts, log on new calls or look at the knowledgebase.

So what do the customers have to say; 

"Sometimes working with M1 can be so much fun that I have to shout WOO-HOO!" 
Glenn Burgos, President, BFG Marine Inc.

"Response time to questions = A+, Quality of help = A+, Program Functionality = A+, Perceived direction M1 is heading = A+"
John McGee, President, Galaxy Brazing

"I'm still amazed and overjoyed with the capabilities M1 has given us."
Tom Brenk, Brenk Brothers inc.

"M1 and the staff at B&G are absolutely AMAZING"
Steve Von Zabern, Von Zabern Surgical

Sample screenshots

Figure 3.1  BGSupportNet	Figure 3.2   Call Search	Figure 3.3  Hints & Tips

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Potential

M1 by B&G has been developed in Australia by Bowen & Groves Pty Ltd an Australian company. M1 was launched in April of 2000 at National Manufacturers Week and in 3 ½ years we now have more than 300 customers spanning five countries.

Whilst M1 was launched in Australia first the design of the system was developed to suit the international marketplace with specific focus on meeting the needs of the USA/Canada and UK small to medium manufacturers.

In October of 2000 M1 was launched in the USA and now accounts for more than 60% of our customers - 183 in total.

M1's development was focused on meeting the needs of small to medium manufacturers as well as meeting their future needs as they grow, unlike our many competitors in the small to medium segment, they are solely focused on meeting a small companies immediate needs but don't have the functionality to support their growth and thus as they grow they will have to change their ERP system or add additional systems that are not integrated.

M1 provides the opportunity to add functionality that is fully integrated to the system at any time, for example a manufacturer may just wish to start of with basic production and financials but later have the need for CRM, advanced production including revision control and serial numbering, payroll, point of sale or even internet based tracking and shopping.

M1 is truly a global product that has potential beyond just Australia and the USA, every country has small to medium jobshops, and custom and mixed mode manufacturers that need a system that makes manufacturing easier.

Sample screen shots

Figure 0.1  Cash Flow Calendar	Figure 0.2  M1 Assistant	Figure 0.3 Start Page

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Other information the judges should know

Bowen & Groves was established in 1992 with the specific focus to provide quality software business solutions to the Manufacturing Industry.

Our Mission

To Provide World Class ERP solutions to small to medium size manufacturers backed up by superior support and to increase our customers profitability and competitiveness by aligning solutions to their needs.

Our Core Values

In everything we do to be honest, fair and open.
To treat people with respect.
To provide business value to our customers.
To be professional in all that we do.
To provide recognition where it is due.
To be an understanding organisation.
To be ethical in all our dealings.

History

1992 Company founded
1993 Sole distributorship for SMP-81
1995 Company growth of over 200%
1995 Attained 50 customer level
1996 Awarded distributorship for Tier 3 ERP System
1996 First Tier 3 customer installed
1997 Awarded distributorship for Tier 2 ERP System
1997 First Tier 2 customer installed for 5 companies
1998 Continuous growth of over 100% maintained
1999 Development Division Established
2000 First M1 customer installed
2000 First USA office opened
2002 150th M1 customer installed 
2003 UK Operation opened
2003 250th customer installed 
2004 300th Customer installed

Content2004Copyright©Bowen & Groves Pty Ltd
Format2004Copyright©Consensus Pty Ltd

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