LillyWorks Debuts New Manufacturing Management App, Launches Partner Recruitment Effort

Manufacturing application developer LillyWorks is stepping up its efforts to recruit solution providers who are looking for ways to stand out in the crowded ERP software market.

LillyWorks develops ERP applications geared toward small and midsize manufacturing companies. The company, based in Hampton, N.H., works with a half-dozen channel partners but is looking to add as many as a dozen more as it expands its product line.

The family-owned company recently unveiled Protected Flow Manufacturing (PFM), a cloud-based application that make-to-order manufacturers can use to manage their businesses and schedule custom manufacturing jobs. PFM works with LillyWorks' own ERP applications, as well as ERP software from other vendors including Microsoft, Sage, Infor and Epicor.

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"We're actively looking for partners to represent the product," said Mark Lilly, a LillyWorks partner who is responsible for the company's sales and marketing operations. "We're looking for partners that help manufacturing companies that struggle with shop floor scheduling and on-time delivery."

The new PFM application is designed to help manufacturers "deliver product on time, improve or reduce manufacturing lead times, and provide a better way to reduce and manage the work-in-process," Lilly said. PFM improves shop floor planning and prioritizes work for resource capacity and material availability based on bill of material, production routing, available capacity and inventory data.

The software company's goal is to recruit partners to sell its ERP applications, the PFM software, or the two in combination, Lilly said.

Many small and midsize manufacturers are unfamiliar with manufacturing and inventory management best practices, said Lorie Adams, owner and president of CloudMFG, a Marengo, Ill.-based solution provider that has partnered with LillyWorks for several years and resells the vendor's applications.

The opportunity for partners like herself, in addition to software sales and implementation services, is to bring expertise in those practices to small manufacturers, she said.

Being able to offer the PFM application as an add-on to ERP applications can help partners stand out in the crowded ERP market, said Adams.

"All ERP systems have the same basic functionality," she said. "We've got PFM and no one else does. That is our critical differentiator."

LillyWorks' channel program provides three levels of incentives for partners, based on their level of involvement in a sales deal. Simple referrals get a 10 percent finder's fee. Partners earn more at the second level for doing more of the pre-sales work before bringing LillyWorks in to close a deal, and earn still more for managing the entire sales process.

Partners at the top two levels generally also handle application planning, implementation and user training chores.

CloudMFG's Adams praised LillyWorks for its collateral marketing materials for partners and the lead generation assistance it provides.