Free production control software for SMEs

Although the software will be provided free-of-charge, there are two provisos attached to this offer and Stone Technology says it is being completely open about the cost involved. New customers will be required to sign up for a two-day training programme at their premises and a one-year support contract, the former costing £750 and the latter £400, both prices excluding VAT. This covers Stone Technology’s set-up time and travel costs while, says the company's Mark Coleman, providing an inexperienced user with the necessary resource to obtain the maximum possible benefit from RedAnt. This, he insists, is a crucial point. “There is absolutely no advantage to either party in installing a production control system that fails to deliver the expected benefits to the user’s business. We want our customers to grow their companies and to become long-term, satisfied, users of RedAnt.” Although the RedAnt system makes a virtue of using straightforward terms rather than computer jargon, MrColeman insists it is a “fully-fledged alternative to other production control systems available in the UK”. Although aimed at smaller companies, RedAnt is a very capable system. RedAnt is a system ‘written by manufacturers for manufacturers’, and the company’s latest initiative continues the theme of ease-of-use combined with the lowest possible cost of installation and maintenance. RedAnt is in use at more than 40 UK sites.