New product
may solve
inventory glitch

AS ECONOMIC TIMES
toughen, manufacturers
remain flexibly viable by
keeping down inventory.
The ‘“‘just in time” principle
dictates that the production
process consumes material
as it arrives at the plant.

‘“*Henry Ford started it and
people went away from it by car-
rying more inventory. The Japa-
nese are doing it — they just went
back to the old ways of think-
ing,’’ said Paul Thomas, president
of AMT Research Inc. a North
Vancouver computer software
manufacturer and systems
engineering company.

LABOR AND MATERIALS

Thomas's company recently
launched a new software product
that is designed to integrate the
information required by a small
business manufacturer (of piece
items) to allow for the control and
flow of labor and materials.

Thomas designed the software
package, and he has been working
on it since 1987. In total, he says,
about 6,000 hours of development
time have been dedicated to the
project.

The program is designed to ad-
dress the needs of businesses rang-
ing in size from five employees to
100. The market for Thomas’s
product totals approximately
350,000 manufacturers throughout
North America.

The Operations Manager pro-
gram wil! track inventory records,
sales records, work orders, labor
content and purchase orders.

INTUITIVE DESIGN

“When you bring all of that
kind of stuff together, the system
gives you a complete materials re-
quirement plan,”’ Thomas said.

Thomas designed the program
to work intuitively with a menu
system that leads through a series
of staggered screens.

The program cperatcs on IBM
compatibles and is written in a
database language using Ashton-
Tate dBase file formats and
operates with DOS and OS/2

Michael

HIGH TECH

operating systems.
The entire program is contained
on two disks.

LOWER MAINLAND
INSTALLATIONS

Since the first package was sold
in September, the program has
been installed by [0 manufactur-
ing concerns throughout the
Lower Mainland.

Thomas points to pricing as one
competitive plus AMT Research is
playing up.

With four or five other systems
in the running for the same mar-
keting niche, Operations Manager
is sold as a single module.

Other systems sell for more and
require the purchase of 10 to 20
modules.

TAKE TIME TO
REMEMBER

THES JROYAL- CANADIAN LEGIO

Office Technology
Accelerated Program
Starts January 9

A unique opportunity to acquire the technical skills

demanded in today

’s office — in just six months.

* Business Records
® Machine Transcription
® Accounting Procedures
® Business English
® Work Practicum

Capilano College offers you:
- the finest training
- personalized instruction

- reasonable fees

-a beautiful campus

f you are upgrading your skills, starting or
changing careers, this program is for you.

CAPILANO
COLLEGE

Call 984-4959 new for more information.

2055 Purcell Way « North Vancouver ¢ B.C.

Sunday, November 11 , 1990 - North Shore News ~- 41

per ir dod
THE NORTH VANCOUVER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

and

EVANCIC PERRAULT ROBERTSON
Certified General Accounts

invite you to a

GST
SEMINAR

Wednesday, November 14, 1990
7:00 to 9:00 p.m.

The Chamber Offices
131 East 2nd Street
North Vancouver

SPACE LIMITED
RESERVE NOW
987-4488
$10.00

NEWS phate Mike Waketield
AMT RESEARCH Inc. president Pau! Thomas recently launched a
computer software program designed to manage the flow and
control of labor and materials for smatl manufacturing
businesses. The North Vancouver company was formed in 1986.

The “M” stands for Management

You've chosen a career in accounting
because you want to move up. Fine, but remember
one thing, In today’s competitive marketplace,
smart accountants manage.

That's why the new CMA Management
Accounting program for the ‘90s doesn't stop with
sharpening your accounting and financial skills. It
goes on where the other courses leave off —
providing the practical management training that

can take you all che way to the executive suite.

Ifyou're a business or commerce student, you
already have a head start toward your CMA. And if
you're working, you can qualify on your own time,
without losing a day’s income. For more information
ztbout your future as a CMA, don’t hesitate to call or
write the Socicty office.

Enrolment for the winter session closes
December 7, 1990.

nonneememes PHC Society of Management Accountaas of British Columbia
PO. Box 115-48, 1575 — 650 West Georgia Street Vancouver, B.C. VOB AW?
Velophone (00-1) 87-5891 of 1-800-663-9610 Fax (O01) OST-6O88