We are pleased to announce our new ERP forums!
We will be adding forums as we go, but for now, there are forums dedicated to ERP, PLM, and CRM.
Please feel free to post your questions, answers, topics of concern, or other related topics. Please keep the discussions professional! We hope that these will become a valuable resource to you. We welcome your contributions to this knowledge base of ERP, CRM, and PLM information.
You can view them by going to Our ERP Forums
If you are considering a new ERP system, this is a must read:
The ABCs of ERP
By Christopher Koch
The ABCs of ERP – ERP Resource Center – CIO
Now that everyone is breathing a sigh of relief after RIM’s legal settlement:
Blackberry goes ERP
by Cliff Saran
Tuesday 7 March 2006
Research in Motion has given its Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) support for web services to enable wireless access to enterprise systems such as SAP.
The company’s aim with the 4.1 release of BES is to move Blackberry beyond push e-mail. It has introduced a development tool called MDS 4.1 to help businesses create links…Blackberry goes ERP
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/
Exforsys is a community of developers specializing in C, C++, C#, Java, J2EE, .NET, PeopleSoft, SAP, Siebel, Oracle Apps., Data warehousing, Oracle/SQL Server/DB2 and Testing. Please visit http://www.exforsys.com for more tutorials and for Interview questions http://www.geekinterview.com is an open database.
In association with Amazon.com, ERPandmore.com now has a complete bookstore to assist you in finding ERP, CRM, PLM, or other software/process books. To access this new store, please click on “books” at the top right of the page. We hope you find this to be a valuable part of the site.
As many companies are part of the global or domestic supply chain, they have their own reservations, which include cost challenge, quality as well as less rejection of the product apart from the tight deadline to cater to the need of the customers.
The panacea for the above problems is a right platform to utilise resources like man, material, machine and money intelligently and here comes the role of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
ERP helps how to effectively utilise all these resources to get the optimum result.
Once implemented, all departments can more easily share information and the workflow that takes place between departments can become much more automated, thus serving the customers much better way.
Handle your resources optimally, ERP is here – Newindpress.com
This ERP 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 Requirement 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/
Exforsys is a community of developers specializing in C, C++, C#, Java, J2EE, .NET, PeopleSoft, SAP, Siebel, Oracle Apps., Data warehousing, Oracle/SQL Server/DB2 and Testing. Please visit http://www.exforsys.com for more tutorials and for Interview questions http://www.geekinterview.com is an open database.
Chris Shaul
Today, many ERP vendors are offering Lean Manufacturing modules in their solutions. These modules propose to assist companies in their lean effort. The real question is to what degree will these modules be used. Can a traditional manufacturer going to a lean model utilize a lean software tool immediately? When implementing an ERP system, process redesign is a must. The change that must occur in order to support an ERP system can be tremendous. But can a company bite off and digest all of the changes? Which should be done first, lean or ERP? These are all some of the questions that a typical manufacturing manager who is about to embark on an ERP implementation might ask.
First, lets define a few things. Lean is the removal of waste within a process and the concept of pulling items to a demand. It is also known as the Toyota Production system as it was developed and refined by Toyota in Japan. ERP is a business process enabled by software tools. It is not a software project! ERP streamlines your information flow such that it parallels your process flow. ERP works to build product to a forecast and then execute a production plan and inventory purchases synchronized to meet the predicted and actual demand. Lean, on the other hand, uses a pull system to meet an actual customer requirement. Lean uses the philosophy of smaller batches and reduction in non-value-added activities to create a much shorter lead time, thus delivering faster to a customer. ERP does not by its’ nature drive efficiencies in the production process. It only provides planners with information on what is going on and allows them to plan faster. If the process is broken, then automating it with the use of ERP will only highlight the problems.
What is the answer? The answer for many is to implement lean as part of an ERP intiative. Some would say that it should be a predecessor to an ERP initiative. Lean purists will argue that you do not need MRP and MPS to drive the production. ERP folks will argue that MRP and MPS are essential to having parts in-house and suppliers coordinated with the production. The answer for most companies is a hybrid solution, where lean is driving waste from the production and supply chain process (although also in the above-the-shop-floor activities too), while ERP is being implemented, such that you are automating value added processes and not trying to replicated waste processes in your new system. MRP can be used to plan longer lead time items, or items with higher value, whereas a Kanban can be setup for the faster turning and less expensive items.
Working from the perspective of a hybrid model, lean principles and practices can be implemented just prior to the ERP initiative. Then during the ERP implementation, the lean concepts must be considered and utilized in the setup of the new system. Tools such as Value Stream Mapping can define areas for quick improvements. Then once those improvements are made, a process flow based on the future state model can be applied to the ERP system. For example, a production cell might be setup for a particular product line with kanban inventory control. This would change how you would define your production process in the ERP system. Better ERP systems can run in this hybrid mode of traditional MRP and modern Lean concepts. Some product lines might be more suited to the MRP/MPS method because of supply chain issues or because of the long lead times that are associated with the products. Other product lines might be easy to immediately switch to flow manufacturing. Because of this, you want a system that can handle both methods.
Using a hybrid model, you select and position the ERP system to work alongside your lean initiatives. By leaning out processes (above and below the shop floor), you are avoiding “automating the mess.” Doing so will shorten lead times, reduce inventory, reduce production costs, improve employee moral and streamline your ERP implementation. Be sure to choose an implementation partner that is familiar with lean and is able to work in a hybrid manner. What order should these two tranforming intiatives occur? It might be best to have the lean initiative lead the ERP intiative by a few months. Then begin to implement the system. But do not stop the lean transformation. That should now be an ongoing philosophy of continual improvement. Use it to your advantage during the ERP implementation. Doing so will only help you on go-live day.
References:
http://www.advancedmanufacturing.com/September00/informationtech.htm
http://www.lean-manufacturing-info.com
http://www.qad.com/company/newsroom/lean_value.html
http://www.mapics.com/software/EE/SyteLine/sl7-aps.asp
http://www.cmtc.com/
http://www.inventoryinc.com/complimentary.html
Chris Shaul is a Sr. IT Consultant and specializes about ERP selections and implementations.
