Visibility Corporation (www.visibility.com) is a leading developer and supplier of business software solutions designed for the unique needs of project-based, engineer-to-order and to-order manufacturers. Visibility's Enterprise Application solutions help midsize manufacturers of complex products operate their businesses effectively. Visibility has an extensive customer base throughout North America and Europe and has the strongest representation of ERP among complex manufacturers.


Manufacturing Journalist Thomas R. Cutler profiled ETO Automation in the current issue of Automation.com. The full feature can be read at http://www.automation.com/sitepages/pid2636.php. According to Cutler, "Engineer-to-Order (ETO) product designers face challenges to provide "mass customization" of their products better, faster, and cheaper than their competitors. An ETO automation system allows many or all portions of the ETO process to be automated, thus providing quicker turnaround, lower engineering costs, and consistent adherence to product rules and standards."


According to Stephen Carson, Executive Vice President of Visibility Corporation, "The decision to invest in business process automation is significant and often part of a project-based manufacturers' lean initiative. ETO companies must consider the value of significantly reducing bidding, engineering, and manufacturing cycle times; reducing product rework; improving customer service and internal communication. There is additional value to the clients of ETO manufacturers when their product is designed precisely to meet customer requirements and is achieved with high quality and delivered on time and within budget."

Because of the potential risk in underbidding projects with thin margins, knowledge capture and reuse of historical information to fulfill customer-specific orders more accurately and efficiently. Technology solutions for the ETO market must address sales, engineering, and manufacturing to bring the automation process to the point of sale.

Carson noted that, "In addition to engineering automation, effective ETO technology solutions drives engineering innovation as well as integration with the entire enterprise, allowing manufacturers to develop new features and add to their product offerings."

Creating the foundation for continuous improvement and following lean principles Russ Rousseau, of The Jervis B. Webb Company based in Farmington Hills, Michigan noted, "As an ETO Manufacturing and Engineering Company we found substantial improvements and cost savings were gained by working with systems such as VISIBILITY ERP that are focused on the distinctive requirements of the engineering intensive product manufacturer. It has added substantial value, less non applicable overhead and has enabled us to be highly effective."

With nearly 50% of ETO sales now based globally, the capacity to operate in a web-based ERP environment becomes more critical. ETO companies build unique products designed to customer specifications. Each product requires a unique set of item numbers, bills of material, and routings. Estimates and quotations are required to win business. Products are complex with long lead times, typically months or even years.

VISIBILITY.net is an integrated ERP solution and more. Offering unparalleled functionality and integrated workflow, this browser-based solution cost effectively delivers the power of .NET-based Web services for use with either a Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle(r) database. Conducting business any place, any time, any where is a reality, deployable with unprecedented flexibility.