50 Years of Global Shop Solutions: A Conversation with Dusty Alexander CEO and President, Global Shop Solutions

Half a century is a rare milestone in enterprise software—particularly in a market defined by constant reinvention, shifting architectures, and evolving technology narratives. Yet while many ERP vendors have repeatedly repositioned themselves to align with industry trends, Global Shop Solutions has taken a markedly different path.

Since its founding in 1976, the company has remained singularly focused on manufacturing, building its ERP platform around the operational realities of the shop floor rather than the changing language of the software market. This consistency—across product strategy, ownership structure, and customer engagement—has become a defining characteristic of its long-term relevance.

In this cover story conversation, Dusty Alexander—who leads the family-owned company founded by his father—reflects on the principles that have guided Global Shop Solutions for 50 years. Drawing on decades of close engagement with manufacturers, he shares how the company has maintained its focus in a trend-driven industry and how emerging technologies such as AI are being applied as practical tools embedded directly into manufacturing workflows.

Q: Global Shop Solutions is celebrating an extraordinary milestone—50 years in the ERP industry. Looking back at the company’s journey since 1976, what do you see as the defining moments that shaped Global Shop Solutions into the company it is today?

A: When my dad started Global Shop Solutions in 1976, the idea was straightforward. He believed manufacturing software should work as one complete system instead of a bunch of disconnected programs that companies had to piece together. That philosophy really shaped everything that followed.

Over the years there have been several milestones. Expanding into new manufacturing industries early on helped us grow beyond our original focus of manufacturers in the oilfield and associated industries. Building our headquarters in The Woodlands marked a defining moment for us. It wasn’t just about constructing a building; it was about laying the foundation for a legacy. By planting our roots in the same community where we grew up, we were making a clear statement about our long-term commitment. We wanted our customers to know that we weren’t just passing through, we were here to stay, becoming a permanent fixture alongside them as they continued to grow. And when we started opening offices internationally, that was when we really began to see how similar manufacturers’ challenges are around the world.

But honestly, the biggest factor wasn’t one moment. The biggest defining moment for us doesn’t happen just once – it happens every day. It’s the daily decision to stay true to our guiding principles and remain laser-focused on one product and one industry: manufacturing.

We are committed to serving manufacturers and working to make our software one of the most valuable assets in our customers’ businesses. That consistency and discipline – staying true to who we are and what we believe – has allowed us to build deep, long-term relationships and achieve success alongside the customers we serve.

Q: Global Shop Solutions has remained a family-owned company for five decades, something quite rare in the enterprise software industry. How has this ownership structure influenced the company’s culture, long-term strategy, and relationships with manufacturing customers?

A: Being family-owned changes the way you think about the business.

My dad never built this company with the idea of selling it or chasing short-term results. The focus was always on building something that would last.

Because of that, we’ve been able to make decisions based on what’s best for our customers and employees over the long run. We don’t have any debt and invest heavily in product development, support and training because we know those things matter to the manufacturers who rely on our system every day.

It also creates a very personal connection with customers. I give customers my cell phone number because if someone is trusting our software to run their operation, I want them to know they can reach me if they need something. And they use it. Sometimes to say thank you, sometimes to say they need help and sometimes to just send me great things happening in their life. That level of accountability and personal touch is something my dad always believed in.

Q: Your father, Dick Alexander, founded Global Shop Solutions with a vision of simplifying manufacturing operations through software. What lessons from that founding philosophy still guide the company today?

A: One of the biggest lessons my dad taught me was that you have to truly understand and love your customers. He spent a lot of time on shop floors talking with manufacturers and learning how their businesses actually worked.

My dad has grit. At 89 he still comes to the office most days, in a suit, ready to contribute. You only do that when you love your customers and your business.

That mindset still guides how we build software today. The goal isn’t just to create a platform, it’s to solve real problems for people trying to run manufacturing operations every day.

He also believed strongly in thinking long term. He used to say that if you take care of your customers and your employees, the business will take care of itself. That philosophy is still very much part of how we operate. Last year I visited hundreds of our customers, taking 95 flights to see firsthand what we can do to make them more successful. Our entire Executive Leadership Team visits customers and it makes a difference. Grit wins.

Q: Manufacturing ERP has evolved dramatically over the past five decades—from on-premise systems to cloud platforms, mobile capabilities, and now AI-driven insights. How has Global Shop Solutions navigated these major technological shifts while staying true to its core mission?

A: Technology has changed tremendously since the company started. We’ve gone from early on-premise systems to cloud deployments, mobile access, advanced analytics and now artificial intelligence.

But through all those changes, the mission has stayed the same: to use new technology in ways that genuinely help manufacturers run better businesses.

Today, manufacturers are being asked to do more with less. They need to get more output from their people, more productivity from their machines and more value from every piece of technology in their stack. Walk through a modern shop floor and you don’t see large groups of people like you once did. Instead, you see machines, monitors, tablets and highly automated processes – often with equipment running unattended for long stretches. That shift is redefining how manufacturing operates.

Our role is to enable that reality. We build the systems that allow manufacturers to operate more efficiently, connect their operations and make smarter decisions in real time.

And we’re able to do that because of how we work with our customers. We love the customer. We show up. We walk their shop floors, visit their facilities and see firsthand how their businesses run.

And when they call, we answer the phone. That closeness keeps us grounded in what manufacturers actually need, and it’s what allows us to keep turning new technology into practical tools that help them succeed every day.

Q: Global Shop Solutions has built a strong reputation specifically within the manufacturing ERP space. Why has the company chosen to stay deeply focused on manufacturing rather than expanding broadly across multiple industries?

A: Manufacturing is incredibly complex. Every shop floor is different, every production process has its own challenges and there’s a lot at stake when something goes wrong.

Early on we made a conscious decision to stay focused on manufacturing instead of trying to expand into a bunch of different industries. That focus allowed us to really understand the problems manufacturers deal with every day.

When you spend decades working with the same industry, you start to see patterns and opportunities to improve operations. That depth of understanding is a big advantage for us.

Q: Over the past five decades, Global Shop Solutions has supported manufacturers through multiple waves of change—from globalization to digital transformation. From your perspective, what are the biggest challenges manufacturers face today, and how can ERP systems help them navigate this complexity?

A: Manufacturers are dealing with a lot right now. Skilled labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, rising material costs and constantly shifting customer expectations have made the environment tricky to navigate. Many companies are also operating with disconnected systems and manual processes that make it difficult to see what’s really happening across the operation.

One of the biggest challenges we hear about from manufacturers is visibility. If you don’t have accurate information about inventory levels, job status, machine capacity or costs, it becomes very difficult to plan production and make confident decisions. That’s where ERP becomes the backbone of the operation because it connects all those moving pieces into one system.

When manufacturers have real-time information across the shop floor, scheduling, inventory and financials, they can respond much faster to problems and opportunities. Instead of reacting after something goes wrong, they can identify issues earlier and adjust production, staffing or purchasing before they become bigger problems.

Q: The ERP market today is experiencing another transformation with artificial intelligence, automation, and intelligent decision-making systems. How do you see these technologies influencing the future of ERP for manufacturers?

A: Artificial intelligence is here and already changing the way ERP works for manufacturers. Many of our customers are seeing the benefits of moving away from manual processes – things like entering invoices, processing purchase orders or digging through reports to find answers – and replacing them with AI-powered automation that dramatically improves both speed and accuracy.

That’s exactly what we’re doing with our Genii platform. Genii is a new set of AI capabilities that live directly inside the ERP system and work with the same data, workflows and processes manufacturers already rely on. We’re currently seeing customers use tools like AI AP Automation, which scans invoices and moves the data directly into the system, and AI Sales Order Entry, which reads purchase orders and automatically populates order details. Those kinds of capabilities eliminate hours of manual data entry and significantly reduce the chance for errors.

But Genii goes far beyond automating data entry. It introduces a new way for manufacturers to interact with their ERP systems and operational data. Genii Extract helps pull information from documents and enter it directly into the system. Genii Chat allows users to ask natural-language questions – like why a job is late or where a delay occurred – and quickly receive answers from across the ERP. Genii Pulse continuously analyzes operational data to surface potential issues such as late jobs, variances or unassigned work before they become bigger problems. With Genii Build, users can even create custom dashboards, reports or modules simply by describing what they want in natural language. And Genii Assist assigns task-specific agents to interpret conversations – such as production meetings – and turn those discussions into actionable tasks inside the ERP.

What excites me the most is that these tools are already solving real problems for our customers.

This isn’t theoretical technology – it’s practical AI that’s embedded directly into the workflows manufacturers use every day.

By combining automation, real-time insights and intelligent assistance, AI-integrated ERP becomes a powerful tool for helping manufacturers make smarter decisions, operate more efficiently and stay competitive in a rapidly changing industry.

Q: As CEO, how do you balance innovation and modernization with maintaining the reliability and long-term stability that manufacturing companies depend on from their ERP systems?

A: Testing is critical in ERP because our customers run their entire operation through the system every day. Production schedules, inventory, accounting, shipping – if the ERP system isn’t stable, the whole business feels it.

So we approach innovation very responsibly. Before we release new capabilities, we spend a lot of time making sure they fit naturally into the way manufacturers actually work. The goal isn’t to chase every new technology trend – it’s to make sure anything we introduce genuinely improves the system without disrupting the reliability customers depend on.

One thing that helps is our long-term perspective as a company. Because we’re not under pressure to rush features out the door, we can take the time to develop, test and refine new capabilities the right way. That allows us to keep moving the technology forward while protecting the stability manufacturers rely on to run their businesses. And the success of our early AI features and Genii platform is evidence that this approach works.

Q: Global Shop Solutions has grown alongside many of its customers over the years. What have you learned from working so closely with manufacturers about how technology can truly support operational excellence?

A: One thing you learn very quickly when working with manufacturers is how practical they are. These are people solving problems every day – machines break, orders change, materials show up late – and they still find a way to keep production moving. There’s a lot of ingenuity on the shop floor.

Being around that environment for decades has shaped the way we think about software. Manufacturers don’t need technology that looks impressive in a demo – they need technology that actually helps them run their operation better. That means giving them clear visibility into what’s happening across the shop floor, inventory, scheduling and financials so they can make decisions quickly.

It’s also taught us the importance of staying close to the customer. Our team spends a lot of time listening to manufacturers, understanding their workflows and learning where the real bottlenecks are. When technology fits naturally into the way people already work, that’s when it starts driving real operational improvements.

Q: Reaching a 50-year milestone is a rare achievement in the software industry. What do you believe has been the key to Global Shop Solutions’ longevity and continued relevance?

A: When I think about the last 50 years, it really comes back to a few core principles that we’ve never moved away from. Our focus on manufacturers has allowed us to really understand the challenges they face and build software that solves those problems.

Another big part of it is the relationships we’ve built with our customers. Many of the manufacturers we work with today have been with us for decades, and we’ve grown alongside them. When you stay close to your customers and listen to what they need, it naturally shapes the direction of the product and the company.

And finally, we’ve always taken a long-term approach to the business. Software companies come and go, but when you stay consistent with your mission, invest in your people and keep improving the product year after year, that foundation gets stronger over time. Fifty years later, that consistency is what has allowed Global Shop Solutions to keep evolving while staying true to what we set out to do in the first place. The result is a company that customers trust and employees are proud to be part of.

Q: Looking ahead, what strategic priorities will shape the next chapter of Global Shop Solutions as manufacturing continues to evolve globally?

A: Manufacturing continues to evolve, and our job is to evolve right alongside our customers. A big part of that means continuing to invest in technologies like AI, automation and advanced analytics that help manufacturers run more efficient, connected operations. At the same time, we’re expanding training, services and support so customers can get even more value from the ERP system they rely on every day.

But the strategy behind all of that hasn’t really changed since my dad started the company. We’re still a family-owned business with no outside investment and no debt, which gives us the freedom to make long-term decisions instead of chasing short-term results. That allows us to keep reinvesting in the product, in our people and in the relationships we’ve built with customers over the years.

What I’m most proud of is the trust our customers have in our team. I’m on the road visiting customers or attending one of our in-person Game Day training events and frequently hear, “We love your people.” The team works closely with manufacturers every day, and that partnership is a big reason customers stay with us for so long. As we look ahead, the priority is simple: keep building technology that helps manufacturers succeed while staying true to the values that have guided the company for the last 50 years.

Q: Finally, when you think about Global Shop Solutions 50 years from now, what legacy would you hope the company continues to build within the global manufacturing community?

A: When I think about the future, I hope Global Shop Solutions continues to be known as a company that truly cares about its customers.

Manufacturers depend on our system to run their businesses, and that’s a responsibility we take seriously. My hope is that decades from now people will still see Global Shop Solutions as a company that listens to its customers, takes care of its employees and builds technology that makes manufacturing stronger.

That’s the legacy my dad started, and it’s something we’re proud to carry forward for another 50 years.