Steel Cutters has received many survey requests and questionnaires from concerned customers, suppliers, investors, and others regarding our efforts to address the Year 2000 issue. More specifically, the problems associated with computers and/or other electronic equipment being unable to process dates, particularly after 1/1/2000. In response to these concerns Steel Cutters has issued this statement describing our program and its current status.
Our efforts to become Year 2000 compliant began in 1997 and we are addressing all aspects of our business environment, information technology, products, and manufacturing operations. Before describing our Year 2000 readiness plan, it is necessary to state the following. No company, including Steel Cutters, Inc., can control all aspects of achieving and maintaining Year 2000 readiness. For example, no company can guarantee that electronic data transmissions from third parties will not cause instances of data contamination in products or processes that will need to be addressed to minimize errors that could occur even in an environment that was previously Year 2000 ready. Consequently, it is misleading to expect a level of compliance beyond what is commercially reasonable, practical, or which is beyond our ability to control, and thus deliver.
We have carefully inspected our office automation, accounting/payroll, MRP, manufacturing, PBX, and security systems for Year 2000 compliance. We have ascertained that the following systems will have problems with 21st century dates: MRP and Accounting.
We are completely replacing our existing MRP system with a modern PC based system. We are planning to have this system tested and operational by March 1999. We have already completed the steps required to translate our existing databases to the new system, and development of our new system is on-schedule. Our software developers are aware of the Year 2000 problem, and assure us that we will be compliant.
We are currently evaluating accounting systems from various vendors. We will be making the decision to upgrade or completely replace our accounting system soon.
We will be implementing these new systems in parallel with our old systems in order to ensure that our service to our customers is not affected.
If there are any questions or concerns regarding Steel Cutters' Year 2000 readiness efforts or status, please contact us.