A sit down with QuadraDot Solutions and their approach to data management.
Are you ready to master your data? So are the cutting-edge systems gurus at QuadraDot Solutions, the next must-follow mavens of the planning world. With over 20 years in database management, their small but mighty team is on a mission to simplify your work life. Not only is their software ready to tackle unruly spreadsheets, streamline inventory management, and whip your database into shape, but their seasoned consulting team is there to curate your company processes and system strategies. The best part? Their software is system agnostic and can work with any software or systems you currently have in place, allowing you the flexibility to maintain your current workflow with the bonus of a cloud-based hub.
We spoke with the charming Adam Troller, a Business Development Manager with QuadraDot Solutions to find out more about their approach to data management and how its revolutionizing the challenges of the supply chain process.
Seattle Metro: What inspired you to start QuadraDot Solutions?
Adam Troller: QuadraDot Solutions started off as a solution to a problem. We have team members with over 20 years of experience in process improvement, system implementations, finance, database management among many other areas and within various companies of all industries and sizes. Many of their projects consisted of cleaning up companies’ master data or creating new master data for new system implementations. Both of those were labor intensive processes that required massive spreadsheets or databases and did not provide quality data governance.
While they searched for third party solutions, there were very few solutions to help with Material Master data. Most “solutions” focused only on Vendor Masters or Customer Masters. Additionally, the few companies who had “solutions” were focused on targeting the big oil companies and would not even provide quotes for small and midsize companies.
As a result, QuadraDot Solutions decided to create a cloud-based software (Granite) to replace these complex databases and spreadsheets. This scalable software can be customized to meet a client’s specific needs which can then be integrated with any ERP or WMS software.
What is the team’s background?
Adam Troller: The team has a wide background. We have team members who have 20 plus years of experience alongside of recent college graduates. We have team members who focus on consulting services, project management, business intelligence, training, documentation, sales and marketing, IT and software development. We cross over into each other’s territories when we need to, and we work great as a team. I think our differences give us unique perspectives on ideas when we collaborate.
What are QuadraDot’s goals? And how does material master data benefit your clients?
Adam Troller: I would say our immediate goal is to create a software that will help our clients maximize the use of their master data. The main reason we care so much is because we understand the importance of master data and more specifically the material master data. These records are used across the organization and serve as inputs to all supply chain processes. Having good material master data will allow a company to increase efficiencies across their supply chain. That’s what we really want to do is create a business that helps other businesses. We want to be an industry leader and go to for Material Master Data.
What sets QuadraDot Solutions apart from competitors?
Adam Troller: A key differentiator in our software is that it will be able to be used with any existing software currently used by our clients. This agility will allow our software to be able to move with our clients as they grow and move from one resource planning software to the next. Our software will allow our customers to import their data from their existing spreadsheet or external system into our software. From there they will be able to create templates for materials and new material masters and then export it back into their system.
The fact that most companies will not take on clients until they have created a data structure themselves will work in our favor. We will work with companies at the very beginning of creating a data structure. Another key differentiator is the fact that our software can work with any existing ERP system so as a client grows and moves from system to system they will always be able to use us.
How do you envision the first year? The first five?
Adam Troller: We need to ensure we have credibility with our clients regarding our solutions. We want to leverage the reputation our team members have and continue to build a healthy client list for our software while continuing to provide exceptional consulting services. In the future I can see us creating additional software that focus on other master data.
How would you describe the clientele for QuadraDot Solutions?
Adam Troller: Our target audience is anyone who needs consistency with their data. Any business that buys something on a regular and repetitive basis. These businesses would need help establishing and enforcing a consistent governance strategy. Many businesses are aware they have a data problem. They might even know what they want their data to look like. However, many do not know where to start to create good material masters, let alone how do they keep it consistent. Key industries for us to target are Manufacturing, Warehousing, Automotive, Construction and Aerospace however there could be many more that need our service. The ideal candidate is a medium sized business that either makes or orders a large number of parts and has a bad naming structure for those parts.
What has been the most challenging aspect so far? And the most rewarding?
Adam Troller: We are putting in a lot of effort to make sure that we have a complete finished product that can help companies right away. After that we are looking ahead at ways we can keep our software on the cutting edge of the latest technology that is out there. It’s always changing and evolving but that is indicative of the industry and business in general. The moment you stop innovating is the second the market leaves you behind. We always want to aim for more than we can achieve at the current moment, but we must be sure to deliver a product that is ready and usable for our customer. We are not selling them short, we are giving them more than anyone else and are still focused on being light years ahead of everyone else. As far as the most rewarding part so far, I would say seeing all the hard work that everyone has been putting in finally coming to fruition. It is really exciting to see the ideas we have had about how to solve these data problems turn into a working application that we can use.
Please be sure to visit http://www.quadradot.com/ to learn more about what’s next or to schedule time to see how their exciting systems can benefit you!
