Richard and Sherrie Mertes founded Data Specialists, Inc. (DSI) in 1982. DSI is a privately held second generation company specializing in dairy and food ERP Software for the past 29 years. Richard Mertes is Chairman of the Board and Sherrie Mertes is Chief Executive Officer.
Ryan Mertes, a graduate of Arizona State University, is a Certified Public Accountant that joined the firm in 1999 after working for a large CPA firm specializing in auditing and consulting with software companies. Ryan gained his experience in Phoenix, Denver and Australia. His background has helped grow the company and in 2008 he became President of Data Specialists. Ryan specializes in consulting, project management and is very instrumental in the future of the company and the direction of the software and services offered by DSI. Our growth requires our meeting the challenges of our clients, their need for timely information to stay competitive and profitable and up-to-date with their software systems.
Aaron Mertes, joined the firm in 2005 and is involved in product development. His degree is in Information Technology. Prior to joining the family business he managed a manufacturing company which assists us in our development of our manufacturing suite of products. He has firsthand experience as to some of the information that is required to manage an effective manufacturing operation.
In 1982 Data Specialists became involved in the dairy industry with a specific cheese manufacturer who had a need for a Producer/Patron Payroll, an automated Laboratory Collection module and an Order/Management system. The need for additional manufacturing modules were identified and they were designed, developed specific to the dairy industry. We were the preferred vendor IBM recommended for the dairy and food industries and were the selected firm to provide the development and support of these products. Today our products meet the needs for fluid milk, cheese, cultured products, ice cream, yogurt, powdered products, puddings, orange juice, liquid sugars and many dairy and food products. This was a critical turning point for Data Specialists as we went from a custom software organization to dairy and food specialists and today our business is 100% dairy and food. Our commitment to these industries is obvious by our growth and also by our continued investment in research and development, our staff and development. We pride ourselves on being the only software organization that focuses on these industries only.
We began our development on the IBM System 36, rewrote the software to the IBM AS 400 and the software is now reengineered, designed and rewritten for the SQL platform. Today most of our client base has installed the SQL version, a testament to the value of our continued investment into the products.
We have also expanded the modules we have developed, sell and support. We identified a need for real time information thus, the release of our Dairy Tracker Bar Code module and our integration to plant floor equipment such as Allen Bradley, Rockwell, Tetra Pak and others. This gives us a total solution from intake through manufacturing and distribution with total traceability of all products produced. We have engineers who designed and developed the software and are familiar with plant floor operations. Whether you are small, medium or a large company we can offer these products as an affordable solution.
Our newest and one of our most exciting is our Dairy & Food Tracker™ Actual Costing Module. It is unique as it tracks standard, manufactured (last cost) and actual costs (recosting). Which takes into account what you actually paid per unit once all month-end costs are known including the published FMO utilities, labor, etc. Clients wanted to know “What is the true cost of my produced unit or batch in the current accounting period”. After the milk cost broadcasted, actual utility bills, actual labor, etc. this module will recost and provide an actual cost. This is a powerful tool. It provides actual costs to validate efficiencies and assists with accurate pricing. It answers the question of, “Are we making money based on today’s markets?” Our software modules also interface to other financials applications. We sell and support Microsoft Great Plains but also interface to other ERP systems.
We have expanded our services to include mass balance plant audits, yield optimization consulting, new plant construction and business process planning. We also now help design and implement plant floor integration systems to make real-time information a reality. This has developed into another division within DSI. Our niche markets allow us to stay focused, make our software meet the unique nuances of the industry and have our staff bring industry specific knowledge to development, deployment and future direction of the Dairy and Food Tracker™ Software. We strive to bring value to our clients and increase their return on investment as quickly as possible. We often hear “At least we don’t have to educate you to the dairy industry,” something that is typically an additional time consuming cost to you, the client.