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94 SMT Magazine • April 2016 by Chris Eldred TELIGENTEMS The mantra of the electronics manufac- turing services (EMS) industry has long been build products faster, better and cheaper than your customers can do it. That drives a culture of working smarter and forces multiplying re- sources wherever possible. From an IT perspective, EMS companies have two choices: Select off-the-shelf systems and deal with support gaps if the systems don't provide all the tools needed to manage the busi- ness, or buy an off-the-shelf core system with the source code and create highly customized solutions to address any support gaps. TeligentEMS chose the latter route in its systems strategy, building proprietary tools around an Epicor ERP system. The advantages of this approach are threefold. First, developing internal proprietary systems was far less costly than purchasing specialty modules, additional systems or hiring outside consultants to mod- ify the system. Second, the internal develop- ment effort ensured that the systems were built around user input in terms of desired features and ease-of-use. Finally, the internal develop- ment effort helped ensure that systems could be easily modified as the market requirements changed. The systems development effort had three key goals: • Improve real-time management visibility in areas critical to the business • Provide associates with tools that make it easy to do their jobs • Automate data collection related to product quality and traceability to support mission critical customer needs • Make interfaces easy-to-use and collected data easy-to-understand Working Smarter Through a Proprietary Systems Strategy arTiclE CaSe STudy: