Austin Business Journal
October 28, 1999

Factory Logic Named Finalist for KPMG High Tech Award

By Carrie Critchfield

Specific requests can make manufacturing a nightmare. It's called customization, and in today's manufacturing world, it's expected

So when Factory Logic Software, Inc. - a finalist in the Startup Standout category-developed software to streamline customization and make meeting these kinds of demands faster and easier, it took the industry by storm.

Factory Logic, headquartered in Austin and founded by Richard Lebovitz and Henry Perez in 1998, considers itself an international expert in mass customization and flexible manufacturing. Its flagship software, called Streamline, provides the backbone that allows companies to individually manufacture products that cater to the specific demands of consumers.

The software product takes e-commerce ordering directly to the factory. This means factory operations are managed in real time to achieve the shortest manufacturing lead time possible. There is little or no use for keeping inventory or trying to predict what the fickle customers of today are going to want tomorrow. Their orders, as they order them, are fed to the factory. This saves on inventory costs and cuts down on costly misjudgments-whether it be overestimating or underestimating demand.

"We're moving to a made-to-order way of manufacturing," says Lebovitz, CEO of Factory Logic. "There weren't any tools to help companies do that. We wanted to give them the capability to communicate directly with the factory."

Instead of guessing, the goal of the Streamline technology is to control the factory itself to make products in such a short time there's no need to premanufacture the product, Lebovitz says. Instead of taking four to six weeks, manufacturing could take four days, saving millions in inventory costs.

Unilever Corp.'s Elizabeth Arden cosmetics operation is a user of Factory Logic's Streamline software. Being a promotion-oriented company, Elizabeth Arden was often charged with predicting-or guessing-what products would sell and when.

This meant keeping a large supply of products on hand. And with more custom options in fragrances, colognes and lipsticks, it was becoming harder to predict. The company was finding that everyone wanted something different, Lebovitz explains. Streamline helped the company take the guesswork out of its sales and save inventory costs.

"I believe Factory Logic has developed exactly what our manufacturing operations need - a competitive edge for the 21st Century" says John McCook, a senior vice president with Elizabeth Arden

Factory Logic's primary target market consists of traditional manufacturers as well as companies that are selling products through catalogues.

Another avenue Factory Logic is exploring is e-commerce companies that have no backbone to handle manufacturing. Factory Logic wants to be the company that provides the software to get products made, Lebovitz says

"People want software solutions that are quick to implement", he explains. "There is a lot of money being spent to try to manage these problems. We actually solve the problems."

Factory Logic is planning to release additional modules in November and December that will enhance the link between factories and customers

Rapid deployment remains Factory Logic's market niche. The Streamline software can be up and running in 45 to 60 days.

"Anybody can give you a custom product if given enough time and money" Lebovitz says. "You can get exactly what you will want but it will cost you. [With Streamline] you're now ale to get things immediately."