Ultratec

About Ultratec

Inside ultratec’s people-first approach to upgrading QAD ERP

‍

Ultratec is a leading manufacturer of assistive communication technology for the deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Ultratec is best known for its proprietary captioned telephones, which use advanced voice recognition technology to provide real-time captions of phone conversations. The company’s products are widely recognized as the standard in text telecommunications and are used across the U.S. and internationally.

‍

In addition to its flagship products, Ultratec operates a contract electronics manufacturing division, Advanced Assembly, which supports both internal product lines and external customers. This dual role gives Ultratec deep expertise in product development, operational efficiency, and customer responsiveness.

‍

Ultratec’s mission extends beyond innovation and engineering. The company works closely with 911 systems, emergency services, public agencies, and advocacy organizations to improve accessibility nationwide.

‍

The company is a longtime QAD ERP customer and is using QAD Digital Learning to prepare its team for an upcoming system upgrade.

The Challenge

Getting Ultratec’s cross-functional team ready for an erp upgrade

‍

Ultratec is preparing for a significant upgrade to its QAD ERP system. With proprietary products and contract manufacturing operations to support, the team recognized the project as more than a technical transition – it also presented an opportunity to reevaluate how the system was being used and ensure every user was prepared to work efficiently in the new version.

‍

“I’m a big out-of-the-box solution person,” said Jeffrey Ocker, Director of Manufacturing Operations at Ultratec. “I’ve been through a number of ERP implementations in my career, and they want to drag the old stuff in. It’s very costly, hard to support and limits your ability to upgrade.”

‍

“What can we change in our process to better fit the tool? We need the ERP system to help us do our job efficiently and effectively,” said Ocker.

‍

Ultratec prioritized reducing non-standard configurations and aligning its internal processes with the system’s native capabilities. However, with users spread across functions like planning, purchasing, and program management—each with different workflows and expectations—it quickly became clear that training would be a significant undertaking.

‍

Some users relied heavily on manual workarounds, exporting data to spreadsheets and stitching together reports outside the system. Others were unsure what the ERP was fully capable of or how their current practices might need to change. At the same time, the company was trying to balance the depth of training with people’s time and roles.

‍

The team needed a way to prepare users at all levels efficiently, consistently and with a focus on the future. Without that, the upgrade risked becoming just another version change rather than a chance to strengthen how work got done.

‍

“Come the ERP upgrade, we’re ready and willing to make the transition with the support of QAD Digital Learning.”

The Solution

The solution also reduces the need for additional consulting time, increases accountability among Ultratec’s team and helps minimize customizations by aligning users with out-of-the-box functionality. “We own this – 80 percent of this application is ours. There’s no one but us to blame if we’re not proficient using the tool going forward,” explained Ocker. “We have a very vested interest in making sure we’re ready.”

‍

For other companies preparing for similar projects, the Ultratec team recommends starting early. “It’s important to do the training as early as possible so that you know what questions to ask,” concluded Kreeger.

‍

“QAD Digital Learning has helped us ease into what we’re going to do and will make the transition a little simpler because we’ve had this training.”

The Benefits

QAD digital learning helps ultratec build confidence and reduce risk

‍

QAD Digital Learning gave Ultratec a structured and scalable path forward to prepare its workforce for a critical ERP upgrade without overwhelming internal resources or disrupting daily work. Users could access training at their own pace, focus on the content most relevant to their roles and return to modules as needed to reinforce key concepts.

‍

“The content has been good,” said Groskopf. “The courses are relevant to the topics that QAD has them categorized as.”