Diverse Manufacturing Businesses Handle Range of HR Challenges with Ultimate Software’s UltiPro

Ultimate Software (ULTI), a leading cloud provider of people management solutions, announced today that manufacturing customers Amphenol, Grande Cheese Company, and Blyth Inc. are addressing a range of HR-related business challenges with UltiPro’s workforce reporting and business intelligence, 24-7 access portal, and end-to-end functionality for human capital management (HCM).

Over the past several years, companies within the manufacturing industry have had to evolve to the highest levels of efficiencies and productivity to remain competitive. Just as these companies use technology to enhance their plant operations, leading manufacturers have increasingly embraced cloud HCM to optimize their people-management processes.

Manufacturers often face a wide range of specific HR and business challenges such as:
Handling a geographically dispersed workforce that may shift in size, including multiple business units, locations, products, and FEINs

Capturing and organizing data quickly for meaningful, accurate, and strategic workforce analytics
Building efficiencies while improving services to employees that work 24-7 and may not have access to desktop PCs
Providing integration with multiple internal technologies and systems that are used for non-HCM-related operations
Managing a multinational workforce

Amphenol Corporation
Before switching to Ultimate in 2008, Amphenol, one of the world’s leading producers of electronic and fiber optic connectors, cable, and interconnect systems, had been using a payroll service bureau but found new technologies were needed to optimize efficiencies and manage growth. HR leadership determined that the company needed to leverage a single solution for workforce analytics that could handle a decentralized payroll for approximately 3,600 U.S.-based employees. Today, with UltiPro, the company can provide remote teams with the autonomy to handle their own payroll and HR processes while giving Amphenol’s corporate office the ability to instantly generate companywide reports.

“We have 19 federal identification numbers that represent 19 U.S.-based subsidiaries of Amphenol Corporation, and 12 HR/payroll processing locations, with each location processing separate payrolls completely over the Web with UltiPro,” said Cassandra Lindsey-Williams, senior HRIS analyst at Amphenol Corporation. “With UltiPro, our remote payroll groups can operate independently, which is how we prefer to function, and other functional areas like accounting and finance can still access metrics needed to make business decisions.”

A growing enterprise, Amphenol adds new businesses every year. UltiPro has reduced the time needed to add employees into its HCM solution from several weeks to days, and new employees are integrated rapidly and seamlessly.

“With UltiPro, there has been a tremendous improvement in our ability to add new employees quickly and develop reports and business intelligence without having to complete time-consuming spreadsheets or having to deal with costly third-party vendors,” said Lindsey-Williams. “If needed, we could integrate new divisions into the solution over a weekend and have them all ready for payroll on Monday.”

Grande Cheese Company
Since going live on the UltiPro solution in 2009, Grande Cheese Company’s HR and payroll team has addressed a range of business challenges, such as capturing strategic workforce analytics, decreasing the number of questions and requests from Associates, and minimizing paper transactions to reduce costs. According to Amy Thomas, corporate social responsibility analyst at Grande Cheese Company, UltiPro is helping the HR and payroll teams more easily and quickly develop reports needed for compliance, executive decision-making, and HR analysis.

“UltiPro definitely has given our HR teams, managers, and executives more access to our people data,” said Thomas. “The solution’s reporting is easy and very simple to use, and we don’t have to manipulate manual data to get the metrics we need. Plus, we don’t have to rely on a third party’s schedule — we can quickly and easily complete what we need to do on our own. As a result, productivity and effectiveness have increased.”

When Grande Cheese Associates have payroll and HR questions, they can now log on to UltiPro for the answers they need using self-service access at their convenience. Associates can update their own personal data, apply for a job, make direct deposit changes, and more. Grande Cheese has found UltiPro’s 24-7 Web access for Associates and managers to be an effective tool to enhance services and build efficiencies for the unique needs of its workforce.
“With UltiPro, our Associates can access their information from kiosks or from home, and then make any changes or updates on their own,” said Lisa Luedtke, payroll administrator at Grande Cheese Company. “The accessibility for Associates is fantastic. About a year after we went live, our HR department surveyed our Associates, and we found they were very pleased with the control and convenience that UltiPro provides. Plus, our HR and payroll teams are now free from so much administrative work that used to take us away from larger business initiatives.”

“In addition, UltiPro automates so many processes that used to require thousands of pieces of paper every year,” said
Thomas. “Ultimate’s cloud technology is a great asset to our company — improving how we work, strengthening our overall business, and helping our Associates and our communities.”
Blyth Inc.

Accurate, point-in-time reporting is critical for manufacturing businesses to monitor costs and stay lean. In order to reach the company’s strategic objectives, Blyth Inc., a global manufacturer of home decorative and fragrance products, decided to leave the payroll service bureau it had been using and then selected UltiPro in 2004 as its single HCM system of record. Today, Blyth is achieving optimal HR operations, including the flexibility to build a range of tailored reports on its global workforce.

“UltiPro is so easy to use. Our international markets can input their own workforce information and access the solution whenever they need to,” said Michelle Tassinari, manager of corporate HRMS/payroll at Blyth Inc. “Now, our HR teams have a single go-to place for employee data. For example, when we need to answer a question about someone’s job history or compensation details, we can find it in seconds. Previously, we had hundreds of spreadsheets and systems that contained global employee information, so it was impossible to get an accurate, real-time picture of demographics for our international employees. With UltiPro, our visibility into our workforce has expanded and become much clearer. We’re very excited about how we have elevated our strategic capabilities with UltiPro.”

“Because our employees are embracing the ability to manage their own information with UltiPro, we’ve reduced the resources required on my team by 50%. We are much more productive and effective,” said Tassinari. “Our business units are excited to have critical information and insight that helps them better recruit and retain talent. Plus, our HR teams can quickly configure a report for our managers and then make the results immediately available.”

“Businesses in the manufacturing industry often face unique burdens when managing their HCM operations. With one centralized system of record for their workforce, these businesses can improve a range of efficiencies across their organizations,” said Greg Swick, chief sales officer at Ultimate. “UltiPro is cloud technology that people want to use — managers, employees, HR teams, and executives. Business benefits include fast time-to-live, scalability, and high user adoption. We’re very pleased that our flexible, easy-to-use cloud technology is delivering substantial business advantages to the manufacturing industry.”

About Ultimate Software
Ultimate is a leading cloud-based provider of people management solutions, with more than 10 million people records in the cloud. Built on the belief that people are the most important ingredient of any business, Ultimate's award-winning UltiPro delivers HR, payroll, and talent management solutions that seamlessly connect people with the information and resources they need to work more effectively. Founded in 1990, the company is headquartered in Weston, Florida, and has more than 1,600 professionals focused on developing the highest quality solutions and services. In 2013, Ultimate was ranked #9 on FORTUNE'S “100 Best Companies to Work For” list. Ultimate has more than 2,500 customers with employees in 115 countries, including Adobe Systems Incorporated, Culligan International, Major League Baseball, The New York Yankees Baseball Team, Pep Boys, and Texas Roadhouse. More information on Ultimate's products and services for people management can be found at www.ultimatesoftware.com.
UltiPro is a registered trademark of The Ultimate Software Group, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners.

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