LightWorks Optics, Inc. helps partner companies zoom in on goals for complex optical systems. Projects range across the spectrum – from clarifying visions of the outer reaches of the solar system to the inner-workings of the human body. But when it came time for the Tustin, Calif.-based company to find a business information system that met their specific needs, the view became fuzzy … until they discovered Enhanced Systems and Services’ Finesse ERP solution.

LightWorks engineers collaborate with customers in defense, space and commercial sectors to create advanced integrated optical systems. Applications range from space-based telescopes and optical systems to airborne, ground and sea-based optics for the military and commercial optics for medical, microlithographics and testing. Each project is complex. Each project is different. And LightWorks’ involvement in each includes providing technical expertise and leadership from concept and design all the way through manufacturing and production; from developing prototypes to testing precision optical components.

“We had been working with islands of information contained in spreadsheets and individual databases,” says LightWorks President Dan Barber. To unite these islands of information, the growing company needed an integrated information system with readily available real-time data.

“We needed an enterprise-wide solution that fit our unique business model,” says Barber. “ESS was just that solution. Finesse was one of the few mid-market packages designed to meet the needs of an engineer-to-order, project-based business,” says Barber. “It was difficult to find a package with a project management solution that understands WBS, earned value and percent complete. Finesse was a close fit right out of the box.”

“The Finesse design is intuitive and a close match to the way we run our business,” says Barber. “And ESS understands the needs of DoD (Department of Defense) manufacturers. The fact that ESS delivers its source code with the software builds our faith in the product."

Members of LightWorks’ management team find Finesse’s flexibility a key reason the system works as seamlessly as it does within their complex operations. “The ability to deploy Finesse with a ‘phased’ approach, beginning with finance and ending with manufacturing, and at our own pace, simply lends itself to a more successful implementation,” says Barber. “It will allow us to transition into new processes with the least impact.” He feels the flexibility of Finesse will be critical in helping manage LightWorks’ highly specialized business as it grows, enabling the company to hone its focus on increased profits and value to its customers.