In our second installment of our three-part series on “Why now is the best time to migrate to Deltek Costpoint,” we discussed the technology behind GCS Premier and the greater reporting and customization offered by switching to Costpoint.
Previous Post: Why now is the best time to migrate to Deltek Costpoint – Part 2 Insight
Now, we will discuss our final benefit gained by switching from GCS to Costpoint - Manufacturing
GCS Premier has a pre-built material management module that consists of requisitions, purchasing, receiving, sales order, inventory, and a bill of materials. However, the functionality within these modules is not nearly as vast, capable, or customizable as the modules available in Costpoint. Additionally, the workflow within GCS is very narrow and extremely limited. Costpoint has also released new modules within project manufacturing which greatly further enhance the product.
The decision to switch from GCS to Costpoint comes down to determining the manufacturing requirements of your business and which product can best accommodate those needs. Organizations with "light" manufacturing can generally get away with staying on GCS. But, if your company anticipates more production type activities or already has an increased the volume of manufacturing-to-order or assemble-to-order items, then Costpoint will likely be the better fit and will continue to grow with your company.
Additionally, Costpoint offers enhanced project manufacturing which makes it easy to propose, design, plan, purchase, track and manufacture products for engineer-to-order or make-to-order projects. It features systems compliance, cost reporting and serial & lot number tracing.
Another benefit of making the switch to Costpoint is the ability to utilize a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) which provides online documentation, work instructions and routing information for complex project manufacturing environments. Costpoint can also interface with TIPQA, MAXIMO, and RFGen.
Other areas where GCS and Costpoint vary are related to the complexities. We usually look at the complexities of the account structure, organizational structure, project structure, and indirect rate structure. While GCS can handle some variation in each of these areas, Costpoint allows the user to design these areas without any restriction.
Finally, we encourage companies to look at the total cost of ownership for both products. The cost of both models should be analyzed over a 5 year period, factoring in the IT requirements and costs for each product. While the upfront cost of switching to Costpoint can seem overwhelming for a small to mid-size company, the long-term benefits of choosing Costpoint over staying on an unsupported GCS is that you get a solution that will grow with your business. Again, it’s critical to take the company’s short and long-term goals and growth plan into consideration when choosing which solution is the best fit.
As long time users of both GCS and Costpoint, we believe that each product can meet the needs of your business. Sadly, there is not a checklist to tell companies whether to stay on GCS Premier or switch over to Costpoint. But, if a company feels that they are fine foregoing support, fine with basic reporting, and ok with standard manufacturing modules then stay on GCS. But, if you are looking for a solution that can grow with your company, offers more flexibility, and customization then there is no better solution then Costpoint. We advise you to look carefully at your future goals to see if there are factors there that may help make the decision a little clearer.
This concludes our three-part series on “Why now is the best time to migrate to Deltek Costpoint.” If you have any other questions or would like to discuss GCS or Costpoint further, please contact us.