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Creedmoor NC finishes complete ERP implementation in under 4 months!

As further evidence of its tremendous growth, C-MAC Industries acquired the Creedmoor manufacturing facility from Nortel in July of 1998.   This plant, previously a captive facility of Nortel, performs frame and system assembly of custom telecom equipment, including both make-to-order and make-to-stock products.   The North Carolina facility is near the Raleigh/Durham technology hub, is approximately 200,000 sq. ft. in size, employs 360 people, and is ISO 9001 registered.

C-MAC and Nortel corporate management set a very agressive schedule for completing the transition and for establishing autonomy in Creedmoor.   The project involved installing the Foresight Software MXP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which is used at all other C-MAC North American manufacturing sites.  



The challenges of the project:

  • Acquiring and installing new computer systems, terminals, and PC's.
  • Developing custom software to interface with the complex Nortel BOM and order systems.
  • Training the entire plant on the use of a new ERP system.
  • Hiring the appropriate corporate infrastructure to support an independent facility.
  • Installing specialized Nortel shop-floor software.

And all of this occurred at the height of Creedmoor's busiest time of the year!


The Strategy:

C-MAC and ACUMEN developed a unique "Rapid Implementation Strategy" to achieve the mission, by exploiting the expertise of the MXP system in C-MAC's Florida facility.   The West Palm Beach plant had formerly been a Nortel operation, and had already developed many of the processes and software enhancements needed to support the unique requirements of Nortel business.  
  • Most of the MXP training was given remotely by MXP prime users in Florida, thanks to the hard work and coordination of Jorge Diaz.
  • Nortel master files were electronically converted into their MXP equivalents, and after about four "test runs", performed flawlessly on the final conversion day.   Kudos are owed to WPB MIS staffers Dave Hullet and Patti Wilson.
  • EDI channels were configured and custom shipping documents were programmed, thanks to the hard work of WPB MIS staffer Doug English.
  • The Creedmoor staff, which joined the C-MAC family from Nortel, worked tirelessly to install the new servers, PC's, terminals, and telephone switch.   Copies of the custom Nortel shop floor software needed to manufacture the frames were installed and configured by the Creedmoor MIS team.   All of these tasks, and the countless other details, were orchestrated by Larry Clawson, Creedmoor''s Senior MIS Manager.


The Result?

Creedmoor began the final conversion on Thursday evening, and was live on the new MXP system by 8AM on Monday, October 26.   The project was completed on time, within budget, and with no plant downtime!

"I've never seen a project of this magnitude and complexity implemented in such a short time frame.   It was an outstanding example of a team effort.   We went live on October 25 at 11:59PM and everyone was holding their breath.   We began shipping product as soon as the first shift of manufacturing arrived the next morning.”
Rick Rollinson, Creedmoor General Manager


  This was a significant success, and thanks are due to
  • the Creedmoor MIS team, who had never even seen MXP before!
  • the WPB team, who made the success possible... while still keeping the Florida operation intact!
  • the dedicated and hardworking Nortel team ~ our success would have been impossible without them!
  • the ACUMEN programming team from Richmond and Montreal, and the ACUMEN Project Manager, Dave Credicott.


According to the "CHAOS" study and report by the Standish Group:
  • 53% of IT projects will overrun their initial cost estimate…almost 80% of these by more than 189%.
  • Challenged and impaired projects account for 84% of all IT projects…indicating only 16% are completed successfully.
Congratulations, team, you're in the Sweet Sixteen!

For further information about how C-MAC and ACUMEN formed a winning team,
contact Dave Hulett, C-MAC's Senior Manager of Corporate Information Systems.