MAC-PAC Still Going Strong, TDCI Says

February 12, 2013 Alex Woodie

In 1997, the original developers of the MAC-PAC ERP system, Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) selected TDCI to take over responsibility and control of the IBM i-based ERP system. Fifteen years later, the product is still going strong, TDCI says.

MAC-PAC XE, as it’s now called, is a manufacturing-oriented ERP system that is currently used by 85 companies across the world, including Nissan Forklift, Ingersoll Rand, Watlow, Quaker Window and Door, AT Cross, and Steelcraft. Even Microsoft once used the software for its product packaging business.

The mature product, which supports i5/OS V5R4 through IBM i 7.1, includes core MRP functionality, as well as capabilities in planning, inventory control, shop floor control, distribution, purchasing, order processing, configuration, accounting, and EDI.

Over the years, TDCI says it’s made 800 enhancements to the MAC-PAC XE product, which is currently at version 12.4. The next release, version 12.5, is due out during the second quarter, and will bring reporting enhancements, better integration with TDCI’s other product (the BuyDesign Configurator), and other items that may be added after the MAC-PAC User Input Workshop in March.

“The MAC-PAC user community is a very important part of TDCI’s success,” TDCI president Bob Irwin says in a press release. “TDCI’s extended product management strategy has been based on the insights we gain from the successful manufacturing enterprises we have as clients.”

In addition to MAC-PAC XE, the Columbus, Ohio-based company sells the ByDesign Configurator, which is used by more than 500 companies in the make-to-order business, such as door and windows manufacturers (but no, not that Windows maker). TDCI has integrated BuyDesign with a variety of its customers’ ERP systems, including those from Infor, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics.

“We’re extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished during these 15 years,” says Rhonda DeMuth, TDCI founder and chairman. “But in all honesty, we all feel as though we’re just getting started. TDCI continues to invest in exciting new MAC-PAC XE developments and will be announcing new options for MAC-PAC XE users in 2013. What we’re really looking forward to is the next 15 years!”