Roger Meloy
Manufacturing ERP for ETOs profiled in Machine Design Magazine.
Month: January 2006
The ERP Software Market – What’s It All About?
Veronica Fredriksen
This DeveloperEye.com market study gives an overview of the ERP applications market, the key players as well as the benefits and obstacles with implementation of an ERP solution.
London, UK (PRWEB) March 31, 2005 — In general, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software attempts to integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer system that can serve all those different departments’ particular needs.
ERP combines all departments within an organisation (HR, Manufacturing) together into a single, integrated software program that runs off a single database. In turn, the various departments can more easily share information and communicate with each other.
When one department finishes with an order, it is automatically routed via the ERP system to the next department. To find out where the order is at any point, you need only log in to the ERP system and track it down.
Segments within the ERP software Market
The ERP applications market falls into three primary segments by customer size: Enterprises, Mid-Market and Small Companies. The major ERP application vendors to each segment group is illustrated below:
Market Segment ERP Vendors
Enterprises:
SAP, Oracle/PeopleSoft
Upper Mid-Market:
Microsoft, Lawson, SSA Global, Geac, SAP, Oracle/PeopleSoft
Lower Mid-Market: Microsoft, Epicor, Exacta, Sage, NetSuite, SPA BusinessOne
Small Companies: Sage, Intuit, ACCPAC, NetSuite
Key Players
SAP is the market leader in the ERP applications market. SAP and Oracle have been in intense competition for customers in recent years. After Oracle’s acquisition of PeopleSoft, they are now ranked as the second leader of the ERP software market. SAP is holding the leadership within vertical sectors such as Government, Financial Services, Healthcare and Education across the European countries.
When looking at the leading ERP vendors for the European countries, SAP is the market leader in Germany, Spain and Italy. Oracle, on the other hand, has a strong market leadership in certain segments within the UK and France.
Most industry analysts are watching i2 Technologies, Siebel Systems, Broadvision, Ariba and CommerceOne as ERP solution providers that would like to have their share of the market.
In addition, there are also predictions that the ERP battle amongst ERP solution providers will move rapidly to the mid-market as Microsoft begins to actively compete with vendors such as SAP and Oracle for market share.
Benefits of implementation of ERP solutions
Integrate financial information – To avoid receiving conflicting information from the Finance-, HR- or Manufacturing Department, the ERP system creates a single version of the truth that cannot be questioned because everyone is using the same system.
Integrate customer order information – ERP systems can become the place where the customer order lives from the time a customer service representative receives it until the loading dock ships the merchandise and finance sends an invoice. By having this information in one software system, organisations can keep track of orders more easily, and coordinate manufacturing, inventory and shipping among many different locations at the same time.
Standardize and speed up manufacturing processes –
Standardizing a company’s processes using a single, integrated computer system can save time, increase productivity and reduce head count.
Reduce inventory – ERP helps the business process flow more smoothly, and it improves visibility of the order fulfilment process inside the company. In turn, this may lead to reduced inventories of the stuff used to make products (work-in-progress inventory).
Standardize HR information – Especially in companies with multiple business units, HR may not have a unified, simple method for tracking employees’ time and communicating with them about benefits and services.
ERP software challenges
·There is often a gap between package functionality and business needs
·ERP environments are costly to maintain
·ERP Implementation is costly and time consuming
·Larger companies typically have multiple ERP packages and vendors
·Integration of systems is complex
·Companies Are Simplifying Their ERP Environments
About DeveloperEye.com
DeveloperEye.com is the premiere online resource for the European application development and IT infrastructure communities. Localized news and events information coupled with technical articles, informed editorial and market studies make the portal and its associated offerings make Developer.Eye.com the ideal multilingual information resource center. For further information, please visit www.DeveloperEye.com.
2005 Review of the Year: Enterprise software – vnunet.com
Oracle/SAP duopoly in the enterprise software space heats up the competiton
Tom Sanders in California, vnunet.com 30 Dec 2005
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As Oracle continued its buying spree in the enterprise software space, the vendor exchanged some carefully aimed punches with SAP.
The most visible confrontation occurred early in 2005. SAP unfolded a $496m plan in February to acquire Retek, a maker of enterprise software for retail clients.
Oracle quickly responded and in March launched …
2005 Review of the Year: Enterprise software – vnunet.com
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Overview
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) Overview covers What is ERP, Brief history of ERP, Why is it necessary, Market Leaders and the future of ERP. What is ERP? Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP is an industry term for integrated, multi-module application software packages that are designed to serve and support multiple business functions. An ERP system can include software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, transportation and human resources. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry, ERP implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary software written by or for one customer. ERP modules may be able to interface with an organizations own software with varying degrees of effort, and, depending on the software, ERP modules may be alterable via the vendors proprietary tools as well as proprietary or standard programming languages.
Brief History of ERP The focus of manufacturing systems in the 1960s was on Inventory control. Most of the software packages then (usually customized) were designed to handle inventory based on traditional inventory concepts. In the 1970s the focus shifted to MRP (Material Requirements Planning) systems that translated the Master Schedule built for the end items into time-phased net requirements for the sub-assemblies, components and raw materials planning and procurement.
In the 1980s the concept of MRP II (Manufacturing Resources Planning) evolved which was an extension of MRP to shop floor and Distribution management activities. In the early 1990s, MRP II was further extended to cover areas like Engineering, Finance, Human Resources, Projects Management etc i.e. the complete gamut of activities within any business enterprise. Hence, the term ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) was coined.
Why is it Necessary? By becoming the integrated information solution across the entire organization, ERP systems allow companies to better understand their business. With ERP software, companies can standardize business processes and more easily enact best practices. By creating more efficient processes, companies can concentrate their efforts on serving their customers and maximizing profit.
Market Leaders The top five ERP vendors, SAP, Oracle Corporation, Peoplesoft, Inc. (now Oracle Corp.), JD Edwards & Company, and Baan International, account for 64 percent of total ERP market revenue. These vendors continue to play a major role in shaping the landscape of new target markets, with expanded product functionality, and higher penetration rates. SAP dominates the $6.7 billion ERP applications market in Europe with 39% market share. Oracle and PeopleSoft come second and third respectively, followed by SAGE Group and Microsoft Business Solutions.
The Future of ERP Industry analysts expect that every major manufacturing company will buy the software, which ranges in cost — with maintenance and training — from hundreds of thousands of dollars for a small company to millions for a large company. AMR Research of Boston says consolidation among the major players will continue and intensify. ERP vendors are expected to put more effort into e-commerce, CRM and SCM initiatives, with leaders redirecting between 50% and 75% of their R&D budget to these projects.
According to Gartner research group, the rapid evolution of ERP has already lead to a new corporate must-have, ERP II, which is supposed to help businesses gain more competitive edge in the future. The major difference is that ERP II involves collaborative commerce, which enables business partners from multiple companies to exchange information posted on eCommerce exchanges.
In the next tutorial we will talk about popular ERP Products and the Modules and Application related to them.
For more visualization of this article along with the screen shots and more visit with step by step instructions, http://www.exforsys.com/content/category/17/260/342/
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