How To Combine ERP With CRM

A number of companies wish to use ERP as a method that can simply allow them to integrate the existing elements of their business. However, this will only improve one aspect of your organization. To truly be effective, it may be necessary to combine the benefits of ERP with those of CRM, which stands for Customer Relationship Management.

It is important to realize that CRM is a concept that stretches far beyond the technical limitations of ERP. Depending on the size of a company, they may already be dealing with a sizeable number of vendors, and as can be expected, each vendor will promot the benefits of their product.

If a company wants to succeed, they must decide if the solution suits their needs. The vendor will tell you anything you want to hear in order to gain your business. Smart companies will need to look beyond this. There are a number of ways you can tell whether or not a CRM system is useful for your organization. In most cases, the decision should be dependent on your goals. If your company demands efficiency, combining CRM with ERP may be a great way for you to succeed. It should also be noted that some companies may not find the combination of CRM with ERP to be very effective. If your company wants to effectively integrate your data and resources, you will want to look for reputable ERP vendors.

If the goal of a company is to avoid specific risks, it may be a good idea to look for a CRM system that is directly connected to an ERP vendor. The reason why I say this is because these institutions will see CRM solutions as being highly valuable. The reason why they are considered to be valuable is because they with deal with companies that are considered to be the primary drivers of competition. In addition to this, many will consider ERP vendors to be a safe option. The costs may also be lower. When CRM is properly combined with ERP, an infrastructure can be created that will allow a company to operate at a high level of efficiency.

It should be expected that the ERP vendors will make claims saying that their products offer the highest levels of integration. There are a number of methods a company can use to successfully leverage ERP with CRM. These methods will almost always lead to the organization becoming more effective. To do this successfully, it is first important to understand how the integration can have an effect on the value chain of the company. The value chain can be defined as the framework that will help a company find the activities that an organization will use to compete in the market. It is also important to understand how these activities will effect the overhead of the company.

When front office systems (CRM) are combined with back office systems(ERP), the organization will have structure that will allow their various processes to move quickly and efficiently. As you can see, the company would greatly improve, and there are a number of reason for this. When the integration is performed in a tight manner, a powerful view of CRM and ERP will greatly enhance the decision making process. While this may not always occur as planned, it is easy to see why combining these two elements can lead to a great deal of success.

It should be noted that a trade off may need to occur between the advantages of integration and those of functionality.

The option that a company chooses will be dependent on their goals. The goal of one company may differ from another. Perhaps one of the most impressive things about ERP is that the vendors are marketing their products towards clients who are on a budget. There are a number of reasons why this has occured. The ERP system allows a company to operate at a higher level, and the cost of implementation can be reduced. When the CRM is used, the customization needs of the back office system may be reduced. It should be noted that the cost of integratiom makes up about 60 percent of the CRM budget for the first 12 months.

Source: www.exforsys.com

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Oracle E-Business Suite: Software Factory Development Process

The Software Factory concept is based on a production line for systems from user requirements to software delivered. This production should be done without any direct communication between developers (production line workers) and users, system analysts and designers (customer side), based upon a scope, schedule, costs and quality standards.

A software development process is a fundamental piece to a software factory success, it considers all software development cycle and help project activities and resources management (plan and control).

Software Factory for Oracle E-Business Suite Projects uses a software development process based on AIM Advantage (Application Implementation Method). AIM Advantage is a proven, comprehensive method and toolkit to successfully guide implementation of an Oracle Applications solution. Developed and sold by Oracle Corporation, AIM is used by Oracle consultants, partners and customers when implementing Oracle Applications.

Talking about Oracle Applications extensions only, AIM offers templates and tools for all extensions development cycle, considering problem definitions phase, business requirements analysis, system analysis, design, build, test and transition to production environment. The activities executed can be categorized as follow:

• Project Management: project scope definition activities; version control; work, quality and risk plans; human resources organization, training and allocation, and so far;

• Business Requirements Mapping: based on specific business requirements and Oracle Applications functionalities gaps, customizations (extensions) will be planned and developed;

• Module Design and Build: activities to estimate, plan, design, build, test and document custom program modules (forms, reports, database, etc);

• Business System test: integrated approach to testing the quality of all application system elements;

• Performance Testing: these activities helps the project team define, build, and execute a performance test on specific system modules and configurations;

• Adoption and Learning: accelerates the implementation team’s ability to work together through organization-specific customizations learning.

Other important development process features are standards names for file structures, tables, fields, variables and others key elements used during development activity. This facilitates upgrades procedures and applications maintenance.

If you would like to see how an Oracle Applications customization would be using such a techniques you can contact us, we are able to work with you on your company specific needs with great results and quality with affordable costs.

Author: Sandro Marques

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List Of Top Accounting Software For Your Business

Simply put, accounting is the lifeline of a business. Accounting deals with summarizing, analyzing and reporting the financial data and information about a business. An accounting software records and processes the accounting transactions of a business within its functional modules. Financial statements consisting of the balance sheet, profit and loss account, and statement of changes in financial position can be easily prepared with an accounting software.

An accounting software is all about the various functional modules that it has. Some of them are- General ledger which takes care of the company's financial dealings; Accounts Payable where the company enters its bills and pays the money it owes; Accounts Receivable where money received is entered.

The different categories or types of accounting software are as follows:

a) Small business/personal accounting software which are mainly meant for home users. They are simple and inexpensive with simple functioning such as management of budgets.

b) Low end accounting software are for small business markets that are capable of serving a single national market. Such software are characterized by 'single entry' products.

c) Mid market accounting software are for companies with large businesses. These software are capable of serving the needs of multiple national accountancy standards and facilitate accounting in multiple currencies.

d) High end accounting software are complex and expensive business accounting software that are also known as Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP software.

However, you have to keep certain things in mind before buying an accounting software, like the prices of the software, its different features, its after-sales support and alike. Most of the accounting software include all the important accounting modules. The more specialized features a software has, the more expensive it becomes. Your software features must be compatible with your business. Also, the after-sales support is important like FAQ package, local service center and others.

There are a lot of top accounting software available in every category. So, it is not easy to select the best ones. Below are top five accounting software in every category.

A. Small business/personal accounting software:
1. ePeachtree (Best Software)
2. MYOB Plus for Windows (MYOB Software)
3. Peachtree Complete Accounting (Best Software)
4. QuickBooks Online (Intuit)
5. Small Business Manager (Microsoft)

B. Low-End Accounting Software:
1. BusinessVision 32 (Best Software)
2. MAS 90 & MAS 200 (Best Software)
3. QuickBooks Pro 2003 (Intuit)
4. ACCPAC Pro Series (ACCPAC International)
5. Vision Point 2000 (Best Software)

C. Middle-Market Accounting Software:
1. ACCPAC Advantage Series Corporate Edition (Best Software)
2. Great Plains (Microsoft) MAS 90 & MAS 200 (Best Software)
3. Navision (Microsoft)
4. SouthWare Excellence Series (SouthWare)
5. SYSPRO (SysproUSA)

D. High-end accounting ERP Market:
1. Axapta (Microsoft Software)
2. e-Business Suite (Oracle)
3. MAS 500 (Best Software).
4. Solomon (Microsoft)
5. ACCPAC Advantage Series Enterprise Edition (Best Software)

In compiling the above list, a variety of factors such as feedbacks from customers, scalability of the software, and after-sales support are used. Also, the different attributes for different categories have been considered like for ERP software, attributes such as manufacturing solution, supply chain solution and database solution. The above compilation may not be all inclusive and some people might choose to differ with it but it is almost near to perfect list.

Author: Ashish Jain

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Oracle E-Business Suite Outsourcing Notes

Oracle Applications, in the eve of Oracle Fusion, is very efficient platform for being supported remotely, sometimes referred as offshore, nearshore or outsourced. The majority of Oracle E-Business clients have basic set of modules, also referred as Oracle Financials. Let’s take a look at outsourcing options and pitfalls.

• Central Worldwide database. This is ideal scenario, however in real world Oracle EBusiness Suite might be spread over across several regional servers. In any case, web client interface provides “remote connection” to Oracle EBS users and administrators. Natural way to include Oracle consulting company into the same group

• Multinational Corporation. As its name reads – it deals with international business practice and has to tune Oracle Applications to local or regional specifics, often referred as localizations. Localization usually has two aspects: fiscal compliance and language support. As corporation penetrates to large country – fiscal compliance part of localization usually becomes the first priority. Very good example is Brazil. It has federal, state and local municipal taxation. For Brazil worldwide outsourcing partner has to coup with one of local Brazilian Oracle partners, who should implement and support Brazilian localization

• Reporting. This one of the most promising Oracle outsourcing directions. Report is very formalized by its nature and it is relatively simple to find “report designer”, who will create the report according to your specs and will ask clarification questions if needed. Majority of Oracle reporting tools: Oracle Reports, Oracle Discoverer, Oracle XML Publisher, RXi Report, FSG Reports, Business Intelligence System are good candidates

• Extension Development. Oracle customizations are often referred as extensions. Also extensions are compared with modifications, where modification is the change to standard Oracle EBS database and extension is preferred way to go

Author: Andrew Karasev

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com http://www.ronix-systems.de http://www.enterlogix.com.br ) - Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Navision, Axapta MS CRM, Oracle Financials and IBM Lotus Domino Partner, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Hospitality, Banking & Finance, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally.

We are serving USA Nationwide: CA, IL, NY, FL, AZ, CO, TX, WI, WA, MI, MA, MO, LA, NM, MN, Europe: Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Middle East (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, OAE, Bahrain), Asia: China, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, South & Central America: Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico

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Looking For ERP Software?

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is the software which operates the inner procedures of a business- management control, operational control and resources planning. It was developed after Management Resources Planning (MRP II) was developed, which was used to supervise the manufacturing procedures. SAP AG was the pioneer to develop ERP software. It is the biggest European software company, with head office in Walldorf, Germany.

SAP was established in the year 1972 by five ex- IBM engineers in Mannheim, Germany. In 1976, SAP GmbH was established; then, the next year, its headquarter was shifted to Walldorf. Since the annual general meeting of 2005, it was officially named SAP AG. In February 2007, Mr. Henning Kagermann’s contract was renewed and, extended till 2009 and, Mr. Shai Agassi was declared as the successor of Mr. Kagermann. SAP AG is the largest software corporation in Europe and, the third largest software company in the world. Its major competitor is the Oracle Corporation of USA.

SAP has numerous products mainly focusing on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). Major product of the company is SAP ERP. The name of its previous version is SAP R/3, which provides a clue of its functions. The R stands for Real-time data processing and, the 3 stands for 3-tier architecture; client, application server and, database. Other main products are: Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Business Information Warehouse (BW), Suppler Relationship Management (SRM), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS), Exchange Infrastructure (XI), SAP Knowledge Warehouse (KW) and, Enterprise Portal (EP).

SAP Implementation is the process that defines an entire system to execute SAP software in a company. It is a huge operation which causes a lot of change in a company. The entire procedure can take a few years as well. The changes that are made, are to reach higher goals, for example, improved information and, communication. For instance, Robert Bosch implemented R/3, the previous version of SAP ERP, which took him almost 10 years to execute. It shows that, SAP executing practice is really very difficult.

SAP claims that, taking SAP services is the right solution and, it maximizes a company’s success. They provide a wide selection of services, programs and, tools. For example, they provide SAP Active Global Support, SAP Business Process Outsourcing, SAP Consulting, SAP Custom Development, SAP Education, SAP Financing, SAP Managed Services, and SAP Ramp-up etc. With over 30 years of life span, this company supports over 36,000 consumers with 105,000 installations throughout 120 countries around the globe. Its special ecosystem comprises of 11,000 education and consulting employees, 6,000 support and service staff, 185,000 registered partner employees, 6 global support centers, 77 training centers, 9 custom development centers and 24/7 support.

As an ERP software company, SAP has started its success story from the very beginning. It has pioneered this area. The company has developed SAP Netweaver Platform, which permits them to gain more values and, respect from their consumers. It surely maximizes the profit of an organization.

Author: Gerald Aubin

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ERP Facts

While ERP is a solution that has a number of potential applications, there are many companies that have failed when trying to implement it. Understanding why these companies failed is an important factor in learning how to use effectively use Enterprise Resource Planning. It should first be noted that a number of ERP failures occured in 1999.

A number of companies tried to use this technology in a way that would allow them to fight Y2K. Many of the companies that are using ERP today have learned from the many failures that were prevalent in the past. Before I proceed further, it is first important to define the meaning of a ERP failure.

It is first important to note that there are certain degrees of failure within Enterprise Resource Planning. One degree of failure is not utilizing the ERP system. Another level of failure is when the ERP system is not properly used. A number of studies have indicated that only 6% out of 500 companies felt that there ERP systems were effective. This is a very dismal number, and this may cause some companies to avoid using the technology altogether. There are a number of things that can cause a company to fail when it is attempting to use Enterprise Resource Planning. The most common causes of failure are problems with external consultants, expectations that are not realistic, too much customization, and complexity of the ERP system.

There can be no doubt that ERP systems are very complex. In addition to their complexity, they are hard to utilize. When this is combined with the costs and the fact that most ERP systems take six months to get off the ground, some companies are discouraged from using them. This form of technology is heavily integrated. In order for it to work properly, it must have the support of the entire organization. A lot of companies will find that drastic changes will have to be made if the system is to be used successfully. A number of studies have demonstrated that the cost of any ERP system can be as large as $500 million. Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that the system will be successfully once a company has paid this amount.

In one prominent case, a well established company lost over $100 million on an ERP project after spending more than two years trying to get it developed. Depending on the assets and revenues of a company, failing to correctly implement this technology may lead to bankruptcy. Another common problem with ERP is external consultant disputes. A number of lawsuits have been filed, and it involves disputes that occured with consultants. One of the best ways to avoid this problem is to get documented information on the experience of consultant before you do business with them. Presenting stipulations to the consultant may be a great to avoid future disputes and legal problems.

Perhaps one of the most common causes of failure is improper training. When you consider the complexity of ERP solutions, it is crucially important to make sure your employees fully understand it. In addition to this, they must accept the system. In order for your employees to get the training they need, you must find skilled instructors who can train them. It is not enough to simply train employees on how to properly use the software. They must also be trained in the new ways of doing business. Remember, the implementation of an ERP system goes beyond technical issues. The business processes must be taken into consideration as well.

One form of risk that you will want to become familiar with is Process Risk. As the name suggests, this is a form of risk that a company will face will they are attempting to make significant changes in the way they carry out various processes and procedures. When a company attempts to implement ERP, they may find that the productivity of their employees will drop. This will be a result of them learning the new technology, and once it happens, revenues will fall. Many companies fail to calculate the difficulties involved with creating a new system, and once these difficulties are realized, the schedules falter and other problems occur.

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Oracle Analytic and Business Intelligence Applications

Oracle offers the industry's most comprehensive, market-leading set of analytic and business intelligence applications. Only Oracle delivers the full spectrum of analytic applications with capabilities such as corporate performance management, interactive dashboarding, and embedded analytic functionality for delivering insight pervasively across your enterprise. Open, pre-built, industry-specific business intelligence applications provide actionable intelligence for each business function and user role. These solutions are hot-pluggable into your existing operational systems.

Oracle is the leader in business analytics and analytic applications

Oracle is the leading business analytics software vendor by revenue 1

• #1 in CRM analytic applications 2
  
• #1 in applications in North America 3
  
• Oracle is the only vendor to offer a truly best-of-breed, end-to-end business intelligence (BI) solution that spans data warehouse, ETL, BI platform, and analytic applications across all functional areas of the enterprise, as well as industry-specific solutions.
  

Oracle Differentiators Enable Customers to Realize Tangible Benefits:

• Only Oracle offers the full spectrum of analytic applications that include corporate performance management, interactive dashboarding, and embedded analytic functionality across your enterprise
  
• Only Oracle allows you to drill back directly to transaction systems to take corrective action
  
• Only Oracle provides BI applications at the lowest cost and complexity
  
• Only Oracle provides tight coupling of analytics and process execution to manage your business
  
• Only Oracle offers flexibility and accessibility of metrics across the organization so that users can make smarter decisions.
  

CUSTOMER RESULTS

• Implement Oracle Daily Business Intelligence in less than half the time and for less than one-third the cost of SAP BW (Source: Edison Group)
  
• Reduce month-end close from weeks to days to achieve best-in-class status against industry standards (Source: Multiple Customer Experiences)
  
• Consolidate direct and indirect spend from PeopleSoft, legacy, and SAP systems to save millions of dollars (Source: Multiple Customer Experiences).

Author: Jack Doran

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The Advantages and Disadvantages of ERP

There are a number of powerful advantages to Enterprise Resource Planning. It has been used to solve a number of problems that have plagued large organizations in the past. At the same time, it is not without a number of disadvantages. Being able to weigh the two will allow a company to decide if this solution will properly meet their needs.

It should first be noted that companies that fail to utilize systems such as ERP may find themselves using various software packages that may not function well with each other. In the long run, this could make the company less efficient than it should be.

There are a number of processes that a company may need to integrate together. One of these processes is called design engineering. When a company is in the process of designing a product, the process of actually creating it is just as important as the end result. ERP can be useful in helping a company find the best design process. Another area where ERP can be useful is order tracking. When a company receives orders for a product, being able to properly track the orders can allow the company to get detailed information on their customers and marketing strategies. If different software packages are being used, this data may not be consistent.

Perhaps one of the most important advantages of ERP is its accounting applications. It can integrate the cost, profit, and revenue information of sales that are made, and it can be presented in a granular way. Enterprise Resource Planning can also be responsible for altering how a product is manufactured. A dating structure can be set up which can allow the company to be informed of when their product should be updated. This is important, because it will allow the company to keep better track of their products, and it can allow the products themselves to be produced with a higher level of quality. Another area where ERP can be an indispensable tool is the area of security. It can protect a company against crimes such as embezzlement or industrial espionage.

However, with all the advantages that ERP offers, there are a number of disadvantages as well. Perhaps one of the biggest disadvantages to this technology is the cost. At this time, only large corporations can truly take advantage of the benefits that are offered by this technology. This leaves most small and medium sized businesses in the dark. A number of studies have shown that the biggest challenges companies will face when trying to implement ERP deals with investment. The employees must be continually trained on how to use it, and it is also important for companies to make sure the integrity of the data is protected.

ERP has a number of limitations. The success of the system is fully dependent on how the workers utilize it. This means they must be properly trained, and a number of companies have attempted to save money by reducing the cost of training. Even if a company has enough money to implement ERP, they may not be able to successfully use it if they do not have enough money to train their workers on the process of using it. One of the biggest problems with ERP is that it is hard to customize. Very few companies can effectively use ERP right out of the box. It must be modified to suit their needs, and this process can be both expensive and tedious. Even when a company does begin changing the system, they are limited in what they can do.

Most ERP vendors will not allow the structure of the software to be altered. One advantage to ERP is that making the necessary changes to use it may actually make a company less competitive in the market. In addition to the costs involved with implemented ERP and training workers to use it, the ERP vendors may charge additional license fees, putting a strain on companies that do not have enough resources to pay for them. The technical support of ERP departments has been questioned, and a number of problems could arise due to security, since corporate representatives must give sensitive information to the tech.

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How To Increase Profits With ERP

While the process of setting up ERP can be complex, the end results are relatively simple. The goal of a company who uses this system is to be more productive and efficient. By doing this, a company can improve its bottom line. However, many companies think that by simply jumping on the ERP bandwagon, they can gain an edge on their competition.

This is a misconception, and it has led to failure and disappointment for numerous organizations. It is important for companies to realize that ERP are tools that are designed to improve business processes. It is by no means a panacea. If you find that your ERP system is not successful, it is likely that your processes are to blame rather then the software itself.

If ERP systems are combined with high quality business processes, a company can see a great return on their investment. In order for this to occur, the ERP system must be implemented in conjunction with a BPO, or Business Process Optimization program. Most importantly, the future state of the system must be well defined. When this occurs, the goals of the company will be directly connected with those of the project. The business process will be altered in a way that will allow it to be efficient, and once this happens, the software can be correctly utilized. When the operation is done like this, the business process of the organizaion will prove, and they will see an improvement on their bottom line.

When a failure occurs with an ERP system, the company is quick to blame both the software and the vendor. However, this is a mistake. The reason I say this is because in most cases, the company did not have a strategic plan for implementing the software. Before you begin the process of building this software or finding a vendor, you must have a detailed plan of how it will be used. Not only must a company have a detailed plan on how they will use the system, but they must also be prepared for the changes that will occur because of its introduction. If your company has failed to successfully implement ERP, you will want to look at your own actions rather than those of the vendor. If you don't do this, you are likely that repeat the same mistake over again in the future.

Because of the costs involved with implementing ERP, a failure to do it correctly the first time can reduce the funding that a company has, and it can weaken their ability to invest in future projects. There is a very important concept discussed in this article that everyone reading it must understand. If you do not understand this central concept, you will not be successful with ERP or other technologies that are designed to increase the productivity of your business. The central concept is this: No matter how much technology a company purchases, it cannot move forward as an organization if the humans that comrpise that organization do not change.
The ERP projects that become successful are those that are viewed in a realistic manner. The business process that it is designed for must be efficient, and the ERP system must be designed to extend it. The employees of the company must be properly trained to use this software, and they must understand the need for it. When the workers are presented with a new technology, many of them will wander why it is needed. Remember, humans are resistant to change.
You must educate them on why the technology can improve the current procedures that they are using. Enterprise Resource Planning is a tool, and like any tool, it must reinforce the new methods of operation. When this is done, the system will become much more efficient.

The costs involved with ERP are extensive. If a company is not able to define in detail how the technology will be used, and if they are not able to successfully encourage their workers to use it, this creates a situation where the company could lose a great deal of money on worthless project. Once these challenges can be overcome, the company will be able to use ERP in a way that will allow them to increase their revenues.

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ERP Products Overview

Oracle E- Business Suite
Oracle E-Business Suite is the industry's only complete and integrated set of enterprise applications, working together seamlessly to streamline every area of your business—from sales, service, and marketing, through financials and human resources, to supply chain and manufacturing. Oracle E-Business Suite is your fastest path to high-quality enterprise intelligence, bringing your company a true 360-degree view of your finances, your customers, and your supply chains, so you can make faster, better decisions and grow profitability in a competitive marketplace.

Application software typically automates only departmental business processes. Oracle E-Business Suite is different; it automates all parts of your business. From developing, marketing, selling, ordering, planning, procuring, manufacturing, fulfilling, servicing, and maintaining, to handling finance, human resources, and project management—Oracle E-Business Suite provides a comprehensive and integrated offering. In the past, you had to choose between an integrated suite and “best of breed” for rich functionality. With Oracle, you can now have an integrated suite built on unified information architecture—with the functionality you need in each individual application. These applications connect business processes within and across departmental, geographical, and line-of-business domains. With Oracle E-Business Suite’s depth of product functionality and breadth of product offering, you can take your business further by automating processes across the enterprise.

Oracle E- Business Suite - Industry Applications
Oracle E-Business Suite 11i.10 offers over 2,100 new capabilities, half of which meet specific industry needs, including:
Financial Services: SOP documentation and auditing for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulations.
Healthcare: Medication administration, patient encounter-specific financial information, integrated patient care and operational intelligence.
Manufacturing/High Technology: Option-dependent sourcing, automated spare parts return and repair processing, international drop shipments, distribution planning.

SAP
What is SAP?
SAP (Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing) is the leading ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software package. SAP was the first to integrate a corporation's worldwide functions tightly into one application. SAP R/2 was released as the first version of their software in 1979. Its domination of the market occurred during the 1980s, expanding first throughout Europe (early 1980s) and then North America (1988). SAP R/3, an advanced, client-server based version of the popular R/2 product, was released in 1992 and sparked a stunning takeover of America's largest businesses — 44% of US companies were using it within five years of its expansion. In 1999, SAP introduced its newest major product upgrade. Named mySAP.com to emphasize its shift to an e- business focus, mySAP.com builds on the strengths of the SAP R/3 product in a fully Internet enabled architecture. MySAP.com also incorporates SAP's newest business applications for CRM, Supply Chain Management (SAP APO), and Data Warehousing (Business Information Warehouse or BW).

Prior to the introduction of mySAP.com, these applications had been incorporated as add-ons to SAP R/3 and were known as New Dimension products. Given below is a brief overview of both the products from SAP – SAP R/3 and mySAP.

SAP R/3 Overview
SAP R/3 is SAP's integrated software solution for client/server and distributed open systems. SAP's R/3 is the world's most-used standard business software for client/server computing. R/3 meets the needs of a customer from the small grocer with 3 users to the multi-billion dollar companies The software is highly customizable using SAP's proprietary programming language, ABAP/4. R/3 is scalable and highly suited for many types and sizes of organizations.

The R/3 architecture is comprised of application and database servers. The application servers house the software and the database servers handle document updates and master file databases. The system can support an unlimited number of servers and a variety of hardware configurations. For more information see SAP R/3 Architecture at SAP home page.

SAP R/3 is based on various hardware and software architectures, running on most types of UNIX, on Windows NT and OS/400. SAP R/3 runs on several databases Oracle, Adabas D, Informix, DB2 for UNIX, DB2/400, and Microsoft’s SQL Server 6.0. Since R/3 foundation, SAP has made significant development and installed thousands of R/3 systems.

For more visualization and complete Oracle Apps 11i tutorials, visit http://www.exforsys.com/content/category/17/260/342/.

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Oracle Corporation to Acquire Hyperion Solutions for 4.31 Times Revenue

The Deal: Oracle Corporation has announced an agreement to acquire Hyperion Solutions Corporation through a cash tender offer of $52 per share, or approximately $3.3 billion. The companies expect the deal to close in April 2007, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval.

Discussion: Hyperion Solutions develops and markets business intelligence software tools. Large corporations use Hyperion's applications to collect, distribute, and analyze data to identify sales trends, customer buying habits, and other business information. Hyperion software can be combined with other applications to manage supply chains and customer relationships.

Oracle Corporation provides a wide range of software tools for managing business data. Company products include databases and applications for customer relationship management, supply chain management, applications development, and data warehousing.

Oracle president Safra Catz stated that the acquisition of Hyperion would add at least one cent per share to Oracle's earnings in 2008 and at least four cents per share in 2009. The acquisition will also place Oracle in a stronger position to compete against business software rival SAP.

In recent years, Oracle has aggressively pursued acquisitions to enhance its product offerings. Previous acquisitions include PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems, and Portal Software.

Copyright NVST, Inc. Mar 12, 2007

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Brazil: ERP Selection Oracle, SAP, Microsoft

In the beginning of 21st century we can recognize the trend in international business. Multinational corporations are moving their manufacturing facilities and sales operations to Brazil. Typical scenario regional office is established in Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro and manufacturing facility in Salvador, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Manaus, etc. The first step in establishing controllable operations is ERP system implementation this formalizes the chain of command, decision making and management. In this small article we will give you Brazilian ERP market review for midsize and large business. We will compare Microsoft Business Solutions, Oracle, SAP as well as local ERP vendors: Microsiga and RM. Lets come to the topic:

Local versus International brand. We do not pretend to be the judge, just pluses and minuses. Local brand ERP has local market experience, tax, typical chart of accounts, payroll specifics implemented. They are probably very competitive if you are Brazilian business. However if you represent multinational company or corporation you should think about users experience for your international management team, IT centralized support and things like these.

SAP. If you are committed to SAP solution - SAP Business One is probably the system of choice it has transactions integration to SAP, CRM, MRP/Production, POP, SOP, HR, Multilanguage, multicurrency. SAP Business One is just localized for Brazilian ERP market, especially we should mention localized tax engine. SAP tested its localization with 7 pilot implementation in 2005. You should be looking for SAP Business One customization partner (who is licensed to develop customizations and integration in SAP Business One SDK). SAP Business One sits in Microsoft SQL Server and is written in C++ - it also has integration with MS Office on the level of COM objects.

Oracle. Oracle E-Business Suite, also known as Oracle Financials (as part of Oracle E-Business Suite) and Oracle Applications is natural choice if your Headquarters in Europe, USA, Australia or elsewhere is committed to Oracle platform. Oracle has long time presence in Brazil and is very good choice.

Microsoft Business Solutions Navision & Axapta. Microsoft is currently on the way of merging/integrating its applications this is known as Project Green, in September 2005 new marketing name was introduced- Microsoft Dynamics. Respectively Microsoft Navision and Axapta became Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Microsoft Dynamics AX. More traditional solution for Brazilian market is Navision. It has very strong position in both Europe (where it is recommended by Microsoft in all the countries, except UK where both Navision and Great Plains are in use) and USA- especially in manufacturing sector. Axapta, however is newer and respectively its design should be more geared toward new technological trends.

Author: Andrew Karasev

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A Recipe and Ingredients for ERP Failure

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system covers the techniques and concepts employed for the integrated management of businesses as a whole from the viewpoint of effective use of management resources, to improve the efficiency of an enterprise. They have many advantages both direct and indirect. The direct advantages include improved efficiency, information integration for better decision making, faster response time to customer queries etc. The indirect benefits include better corporate image, improved customer goodwill, customer satisfaction, and so on.

Many organizations and businesses in the world today as part of their strategic development plan, advocate for ERP solutions which would help to re-engineer their business processes in order to accomplish their long-term goals.

The ERP market is very competitive and fast growing market, which is attributed to three primary factors:
a) ERP vendors are continuing to expand market presence by offering new applications such as supply chain management (SCM), sales force automation, customer relationship management (CRM) and human resource.
b) To sustain their rapid growth, ERP vendors sell more licenses into their installed base.
c) While ERP originated in the manufacturing market, ERP usage has spread to nearly every type of enterprise including retail, utilities, the public sector and healthcare organizations.

Among the industry players include SAP (Systeme Anwendungen Produkte), Oracle, QAD, SSA, Jenzabar, Datatel, Peoplesoft, Baan, JD Edwards, Scala, Navision, Sungard just to mention but a few. Even within themselves they categorise each other into High-end and low-end range. In Kenya a cross section of companies are indeed on the warpath of undertaking or planning to invest in an ERP business solution. The future will see fierce battle for market share resorting to mergers and acquisition for strategic and competitive advantage.

There is much hype when the vendors are out to move their products, and will always sell and tell you about their success stories and how you will leapfrog into your vision. They never tell you of any failures of such ERP projects, and there seems to be no attention paid to lessons learnt from the famous FoxMeyer Corporation scenario, which lead to its bankruptcy and the lengthy legal battles in the courtrooms with their consultants thereafter. “My basic principle is that you don’t make decisions because they are easy, you don’t make them because they are cheap, you don’t make them because they are popular but you make them because they are right”- Theordore Hesburgh.

If not properly planned for, the investment may drive you out of business. The epicenter for the problems that rock the corporate world as far as ERP or in general IT project failure is concerned has remained the same over the years.

The following examples are typical of the projects that failed from statistics available from The Standish group CHAOS database
· The Hershey foods ERP system implementation failure lead to massive distribution problems and loss of 27% market
· The FoxMeyer drug ERP system implementation failure lead to the collapse of the entire company
· The IRS project on taxpayer compliance took over a decade to complete and cost the country unanticipated $50 billion
· The Oregon Department of Motor Vehicle conversion to new software took eight years to complete and public outcry eventually killed the entire project
· State of Florida welfare system was plagued with numerous computational errors and $260 million in overpayments
· AMR Corp, Budget Rent A Car, Hiltons Corporation, Marriott “ confirm” project crumbled having spend over $125 million over four years
· Snap-On Inc project to convert to a new order-entry costed the tools company $50 million in lost sales for the first half of 1998
· Greyhound Lines Inc. “Trips” reservation and bus-dispatch system” failed having spent $6 million
· Norfolk Southern Corp. “Systems integration with merger target Consolidated Rail Corp”. failed having lost more than $113 million in business
· Oxford Health Plans Inc. “New billing and claims-processing system based on Unix International and Oracle Corp. databases” resulted in hordes of doctors and patients angry about payment delays and errors.
· Universal Oil Products Project “ Software for estimating project costs and figuring engineering specifications” resulted in unusable systems

IT projects regularly fall short – and quite few are abandoned entirely. Many IT failures have to do with perceptions and expectations rather than absolute bankruptcy of purpose. Most of the so called failures are better classified as “discouraging successes” events wherein the major purpose is accomplished, but not without a good deal of frustration and inefficiency – and a sour taste in the mouth of many users.

Project risks
The FoxMeyer Corporation Delta III project had the following project risks
i) Environmental- the management had little or no control. They depended 100% on consultants and vendors who obscured them from gaining control. The focus of the project dramatically changed prompting the projects costs to escalate
ii) Execution- the project lacked skilled and knowledgeable personnel. FoxMeyer did not have the necessary skills in-house and was relying on Andersen consulting to implement SAP R/3 and integrate it with an automated warehouse system from Pinnacle. Over 50 consultants were inexperienced and their turnover was high.
iii) Scope- FoxMeyer was an early adopter of SAP R/3. After the project began, FoxMeyer signed a large contract to supply university health system consortium (UHC). This event exacerbated the need for the unprecedented volume of transactions on their HP servers which they could not cope
iv) Customer mandate – the commitment from the top management and users. This was not the case for some of the senior management. There was a morale problem among some of its warehouse workers. The pinnacle warehouse automation integrated with SAP R/3 threatened their jobs. With the closing of the three warehouses, the transition to the first automated warehouse was a disaster. Disgruntled workers damaged inventory, and orders were not filled, and mistakes occurred as the new system struggled with volumes of transactions

Project Factors
Factors that attribute to escalation of costs include but not restricted to
a) Project factors- there was a perception that continued investment could produce a large payoff. FoxMeyer expected a saving of $40 million annually.
b) Psychological factors- the consultants had prior history of success that encouraged them to continue the project. “we delivered an effective system, just as we have for thousands of other clients” (Computergram international 1998). This created the impression that the project would radically improve the company’s critical operations. FoxMeyer bit more that what it could chew but embarking on a fast track project with unskilled staff.
c) Social factors- the consulting company did not externally justify the project. De-escalating the project through abandonment would have meant bad publicity
d) Organization factors-The advocates for the project later were forced to resign because of the delays in realizing the projected savings. A change in management was needed in order to control the increasing costs – which was too late.

Recipe for failure
· When the management is not controlling the scope of the project especially when you expect the consultant to provide a magic bullet, is a recipe for failure.
· Changing the sails in midstream, by certain deliverables expected within a third of the documented times and volumes is a recipe for failure.
· By engaging in other corporate projects competing for the meager finances midway, is a recipe for failure
· By not having proper change management policies and procedures, is a recipe for failure
· By going for consultants without prior experience or ERP solutions in which you are the only company within your industry, could be a recipe for failure
· If you do not have a knowledge transfer inscribed in the consulting contract, is a recipe for failure
· If the vendor does not understand your business, is a recipe for failure
· If the project has no clear phases, deliverables and quality control components, is a recipe for failure
· If you have not re-engineered your business processes to be compatible with the capabilities of the technology, is a recipe for failure
· Having multiple vendors within the one project, is a recipe for failure
· Not having an external project audit committee, is a recipe for failure
· Not having a clear end-user training program to transfer skills to employees, is a recipe for failure
· Having the project run as a “one-man show”, is a recipe for failure
· Having the management over- committed (excessively ambitious, prompting unrealistic deadlines), is recipe for failure
· Team member not being accountable for actions, is recipe for failure
· Low morale within team, is recipe for failure
· Unclear statement of requirement, is a recipe for failure
· In no standard implementation methodology use, is a recipe for failure
· Inadequate requirements definition (current processes are not adequately
addressed), is a recipe for failure
· Poor ERP package selection (the package does not address the basic
business functions of the client), is a recipe for failure
· Inadequate resources employed by the client, is a recipe for failure
· Internal resistance to changing the 'old' processes, is a recipe for failure
· A poor fit between the software and users procedures, is a recipe for failure
· A bottom up approach is employed (the process is not viewed as a top
management priority), is a recipe for failure
· The client does not properly address and plan for the expenses involved, is a recipe for failure
· If any functional gaps have not been identified (GAP analysis), is a recipe for failure
· If the implementation does not take into account future technological convergence, is a recipe for failure


Conclusion
The lessons learnt from the failed ERP projects should be a wake-up call for corporations currently in ERP projects or contemplating to go that way. The lessons learnt can as well, serve as a harbinger for failure or bankruptcy by serving as the jetty for launching the rocket to propel you out of the business orbit. The experiences highlighted provide a litmus test on how to avoid ERP failure. There is one final aspect to be considered in any degree of project failure. All success is rooted in either luck or failure. If you begin with luck, you learn nothing but arrogance. However, if you begin with failure and learn to evaluate it, you also learn to succeed. Failure begets knowledge. Out of knowledge you gain wisdom, and it is with wisdom that you can become truly successful.


References
Alexis Leon, “ERP Demystified”, 2000
Judy E Scott, “The FoxMeyer Drugs Bankruptcy”, 2004
Kim watch “Future Watch”, 2000
Lloyd Rain “ IT Project Failures”, 2005
Computerworld “Top 10 Corporate Information Technology Failures”, 2000

Author: Ernest Madara

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ERP and ERP systems-A rising need of enterprises

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a strategic tool helping an organization to gain and edge over its competitors by helping in successfully integrating its key business operations, synchronizing, planning and optimizing the resources available in the existing extremely competitive environment.. Its use has a much broader scope in today's world rather than of just planning the use of the enterprise resources.

Organizations (especially those which are borderless) face many difficulties in quickly making out the information required. The integration of the business processes improves coordination between bodies, streamlines workflows and processes and benefits them in terms of retaining and satisfying customers by delivering their orders "just-in-time" and keeping them well informed about their orders' current status rather than keeping them waiting for just a small piece of information. ERP has the effect of making an enterprise more time-sensitive. Another benefit is of better marketing opportunities. ERP penetrates one segment after the other and addresses solutions to many debacles existing in an enterprise.

Different ERP systems have been made to facilitate organizations in Enterprise Resource Planning. Leading ERP giants making ERP systems are Microsoft, Oracle, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards, SAP AG etc. These systems link the order, inventory, sales, purchase, manufacturing, supply chain and warehouse management modules in an enterprise for better, fast and accurate information availability to every single person which is its 'primary objective' because every single operation and action taken at any place by any person depends on consistent and updated information availability. Whatever a person needs can be immediately accessed by him subject to the delegated authority. ERP function has thus helped individuals.

They also enhance management decision making by making future projections about sales during a certain period of a certain product. Management would then be able to make decisions whether to increase/decrease production of that particular product which in turn would help save resources from being wasted which could be used for other purposes e.g for making other products. They also help managers make decisions about introducing some new value added features to an existing 'hot-demand' product to enhance sales further. This is how product quality is also enhanced. Inventory costs reduction must be given a great importance in every organization. ERP helps reduce inventory costs by better planning and forecasting of requirements. ERP system helps getting higher return on investments (ROI) in a fast manner.

While there are absolute benefits, an ERP system also poses significant challenges in the areas of information security and business continuity planning. Above mentioned things point to a very critical step, the right choice of an ERP for your enterprise! Off all the ERP systems exiting in the market, all seem to be performing the same function but the one best suiting your requirements needs to be picked up in order to achieve required results. The choice depends upon the structure and type of the organization e.g financial, manufacturing etc. This is why some organizations experience higher benefits as compared to others because they've made the right choice and are able to make the right use of their system.

To summarize, ERP has a great importance and ERP systems have become the biggest need of today's organizations to survive. They provide tremendous benefits provided the Critical Success Factors of ERP system implementation are kept in mind.

Author: S.Ali Ammar

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What Employers Seek In Oracle Candidates

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of high tech computer jobs open for those with Oracle expertise. The highly reputable and popular Oracle products are used by firms in every part of the globe. As a result, experts who can walk in the door ready to start work on Oracle and keep the applications running efficiently are in great demand.

Knowing what employers are looking for when they seek to hire for high tech Oracle computer jobs helps students or would-be students and job candidates prepare their skills. So, let's take a look at a few of these Oracle jobs available now.

In Phoenix Arizona, for example, we found 58 Oracle related high tech computer job openings. Positions included Windows Administrator II and III, business analyst and Oracle developer, database management senior specialist for Oracle 10g, Oracle DBA and senior Oracle DBA, business applications analyst, clinical applications support, Cerner PathNet support analyst, Oracle / Java developer, and database manager, among many others.

The high tech Windows administrator computer jobs were both senior level position in a OneNeck Windows administration group. Requirements were ability to administrate a medium to large environment of Windows server without supervision. The primary focus of these positions was work on projects directed by the firm's customer management team.

The employer seeking the business analyst and Oracle developer wants someone with high tech computer knowledge whose job skills include writing functional specifications, analysis of programming activities and excellent team and communication capabilities. The candidate for this Oracle job should have a strong technical background including business analysis. Development of Crystal reports experience is a plus as well. This employer specifies that the firm does not seek DBAs.

A senior level data base management position including 10g RAC specialization requires two years of Oracle 9g RAC experience and five years of Oracle DBA. This is not a full time permanent position, but rather a contract position for one month, with responsibility for decision making critical to the database architecture, as well as the control and deployment processes to implement and maintain 10G databases using RAC.

Oracle DBA jobs at the senior level are abundant, full time and contract. One, a six-month contract position that might be extended to as long as one year, is a three-day week job. The work will be at two locations fifty miles apart, working with data services of the firm's clients.

A more entry-level Oracle DBA computer job is as part of a high tech team environment that supports engineering and MIS groups within the firm. This employee will focus her or his efforts on product and service support both internal and external. The specific functions of this high tech Oracle computer jobs include maintaining the database as well as its applications. Requirements include technical expertise and user interface capabilities. User support will be a part of the job tasks too. Knowledge to qualify for this Oracle job include Oracle database in a Sun environment. At least two years experience with Oracle DBA is a must.

Additionally, this employer is looking for someone with excellent communication skills, autonomy, top-notch phone skills and vendor troubleshooting capability.

To land the advertised Oracle applications business analyst position, the candidate would need experience with Oracle applications and Order management.

For the highly specialized clinical applications support job in the medical field, the candidate would need to be an registered nurse who also has clinical application support training as well as Cerner clinical applications help desk proficiency.

A global provider of business solutions and information technology is seeking a Cerner PathNet support analyst to support the clinical departments' business needs for project execution and enhancement. Application support and maintenance is the primary job task. Problem resolution will include system functions, operations, reporting, input and output, and general operations. This analyst will install patches, install vendor fixes to problems, create ad hoc reports and extraction of data and on call troubleshooting and system support.

The person who lands this high tech Oracle computer job will have knowledge of service operations in an acute care environment, experience in clinical applications support, as well as Cerner Classic PathNet and hospital acute care experience.

Familiarity with Cerner Millennium Lab application, Oracle database tools and VMS or AIX operating systems are plusses. Strong problem solving and analytical skills as well as effective communication skills both written and verbal are required.

Author: Kevin Heath

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7 Ways To Fail In An Erp Selection

The best way to fail at an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is to choose the wrong software up front. Choosing software without following some basic guidelines is a sure-fire method for disaster. Probably the worst thing that someone has done (that we know of), was to buy their ERP software at a tradeshow, thinking it would be the cheap and easy way to solve their problems. They ended up spending more than they expected in finding ways to force the software into their business.

Below are some ways that will set you on the path to fail at your choice. In other words, they are ways that you can insure that you will choose the wrong system for your company.

1. Choose ERP software without understanding your requirements. - First, you should ensure that you are getting the best fit for your company by documenting your requirements. The requirements should cover the strategic, reporting, functional, and technical aspects of what your company requires to run the business. Choosing software without these documented and without using them as a benchmark to compare the software against is a strategy for problems.

2. Select ERP software without paying attention to business processes. - There are certain ways that you run your business. Not all of them are rocket science, but there are certain things that make your company unique and successful. Choosing software without understanding how things flow in your company will create big problems in the implementation when the software processes information contrary to how you run your business.

3. Choose ERP software because your Friend/Neighbor/Relative is using it successfully at their firm. - Another nightmare scenario that has actually occurred is that decision makers have purchased software because their ____ (fill in the blank) has used it and it worked great at that company. That company is not your company. On the surface they may seem similar, but just because one company is running well on the ERP system does not mean that yours will. You may have a special process for getting your goods out the door. The software may not support that method. Perhaps there is some information that you must have because of financial, regulatory, or supply chain requirements. The other company may not have that issue. Perhaps you need to track lot numbers and the _____'s company does not. There are too many business issues that can create havoc in an information system, if the system is not carefully matched to the requirements (see #1).

4. Not having the ERP vendor prove that it will support your business processes. - ERP vendors have one goal. Sell you software. Do they care if it fits, can successfully operate your business, or even if it will be a huge burden on your staff? Not really. In fact, if you buy software that requires a lot of care and feeding because it is not a good fit, then the vendor is the one who supports it and makes a handsome flow of income off your company. Get the vendor to demonstrate that it meets your requirements and can transact information in a method that is aligned with your business processes.

5. Choosing ERP software because it looks cool. - You may laugh at this one, but the user interface is a sexy selling point of many systems. Is a plain old green-screen as nice to work in as a really colorful Windows ™ screen? Probably not, but does the Windows™-based system really address your issues? Your goal should be aligning a perspective system with your business needs. If it comes with a cool interface great, if not, can you live with it?

6. Let the ERP vendor tell you what you need to be doing. - Related to number 4 above, having the ERP vendor guide you in your selection is a roadmap to hell. You need to guide them. Tell them what you want and expect. Too many times has a single vendor gained the trust and confidence of a decision maker and guided them to a particular system, without any concern for how close a match is it to the business requirements and processes.

7. Take the ERP vendor's first offer without negotiating. - You can generally negotiate with a vendor several times and get a more than fair price. But the key is to follow good negotiation tactics. Don't forget that most everything is negotiable. The software, the services, the maintenance, the timing, etc. In the ERP industry, the best time to buy software is at the quarter or year end according to the vendor's financial calendar.

The key thing to understand is that there is a path that can lead you to success and many routes to failure. Know thyself first. Understand your business and document it. It is not enough to think you know it. Talk to all levels of users and managers. Ensure that everyone's needs are defined and a priority is placed upon those needs. If you are not sure of selecting a major investment such as an ERP, then get outside help from a consultant who is non-biased towards systems and can guide you. Be careful of assistance from a company that has an SAP practice, or an Oracle practice, etc. They have internal motivation to help you choose their flavor of software.

Most importantly, understand that you need to drive the process. It is your selection and you need to live with the results. As any good project manager will tell you, start with the end in mind. What do you want the system to do for your company now and in seven years from now? Understand this and go forward in selecting your system.

Author: Chris Shaul

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Discrete Vs. Process In Erp

One of the saddest things is a manufacturer who chooses an ERP software system that does not a fit with what they do. For example, a chemical producer who selects and implements software designed for a type of company which manufactures solid objects such as furniture. There once was a company that provided consumer packaged goods to the convenience marketplace who selected fish disassembly software. These are obvious mismatches. But the specifics may not be clear.

There are two types of manufacturing. There is discrete manufacturing, or a company that assembles products from widgets. There is also process manufacturing, or companies that blend liquids. Process manufacturing companies process formulas or recipes. While the majority of manufacturing is discrete (automotive, aerospace, or anyone else who builds component parts), there are a select group of manufacturers who are process manufacturers. These include food processors, cosmetics, chemical producers, paints and coatings manufacturers, and anyone else who deal with liquid or batch produced products.

What makes process manufacturing different from discrete? Process manufacturing uses formulations or recipes. A discrete manufacturer uses Bills of Materials (BOMs). A discrete manufacturer assembles along a routing, whereas a process manufacturer blends in a batch.

There are companies who operate in both environments and are often called mixed mode manufacturers. These manufacturers need both a process and discrete manufacturing system.

So what sort of ERP system works with these types of manufacturing modes? This can only be answered by looking at the markets these software companies serve. There are certain products which are clearly process, such as BatchMaster Software or Ross Software. These software deal with formulations, batching, and the other specific issues around process manufacturing. There are other software systems that are clearly discrete such as DBA Software, Intuitive, or Made2manage. These handle Bills of Materials, Routings, and specific discrete requirements. These are all systems that serve their niche.

When you get into larger systems, there is not a clear cut solution as they operate in Mixed-Mode. For example QAD software can handle both discrete and process requirements. Others that can do the same are MS Dynamics AX, Deacom, Ramco, and of course the Tier 1 players SAP and Oracle.

So the real lesson is to understand what you do first before looking at software. Are you a processor of liquids, or do you assemble individual items to create an assembled product? Knowing this will go a long way to help you properly choose software that fits you like a glove.

Author: Chris Shaul

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ERP Software

ERP Software (Enterprise Resource Planning) often leads people to a lot of confusion. Which software is best and which ERP software will be the easiest to implement. The key to selecting ERP software systems is to understand your own requirements first. Document your specific requirements of what the ERP software should do for you. Do not only make a wish list, but include the things your current software does right. Many times people make the mistakes of selecting systems on what their system doesn't do currently, but then come to find out, all the things that the old system did well, the new ERP software does not do. Be comprehensive.

Next look at your business and determine the broader category of what you do. Are you a discrete manufacturer, a process manufacturer (using formulas or recipes), or are you a service based company? Is your company heavily retail with Point of Sale needs? ERP software is segmented by the various niches that a company can fall into. This makes it easier to narrow down the field of software to look at. Be sure to look at the size in sales and see what Tier of ERP software you might fit into. Tier 1 is for larger multinationals or companies with many diverse business units. Tier 2 is for the companies with one to many branches doing similar things. Tier 3 looks at smaller single site companies that do not have very complex processes.

For example. If you are work for a company with four manufacturing facilities, all making roughly the same sort of products, and your revenues are are under $250 million dollars, then you are a good candidate for a Tier 2 ERP software. The following is a sample list of some main ERP software vendors: (There is a more comprehensive list at http://www.erpandmore.com/erp-vendors.)

Tier 1 ERP Software

* SAP * Oracle * JD Edwards

Tier 2 ERP Software

* SSA ERP LN * Epicor Vantage * QAD * IFS * IBS * Microsoft Dynamics AX (or NV)

Tier 3 ERP Software

* Made-2-Manage * Microsoft Dynamics GP * Intuitive Software * Global Shop * DBA Software * Epicor Vista

Once you have narrowed down your criteria to which tier you fit into and then you can start investigating the focus niches of each of these systems. From that you can then compare your specific requirements to the functionality of each of the targeted the ERP systems. The selection process should be deliberate and there are many pitfalls.

Once you have a few ERP vendors that you are working with, you can then narrow it down to the 2 or 3 based on requirements to have them show you the system in detail. This detailed system review should be done completely based on the requirements and should show the daily processing of your business processes. Don't forget too that you are also looking at a vendor with whom you can work for the next few years. It is like a marriage and so you want to make sure that the partner you are selecting is one you can live with.

When you finally select the system, ensure that you do reference checks. The ERP software vendors will always give you favorable clients to contact. But remember that often what is unsaid is more important than what is said. If you visit the references, be sure to watch transactions being entered. Try to see how the people are using the system. Learn from their mistakes too! Find out what went right and wrong during their implementations. Often these lessons learned will help you in your implementation.

In summary, ERP Software is very complex and requires more time and diligence than people realize. When selecting, it can be overwhelming. As such, a third party may be able to assist you. Take a look at consultants who are unbiased and specialize in helping companies select systems. But if you choose to do it on your own, make sure that you have your baseline of requirements to lead you through. Focus on the business process and the business needs, not only on the look and feel of the software. If you keep coming back to the requirements, you will ultimately see which ERP Software works for you.

Author: Chris Shaul

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The Oracle Hacker's Handbook: Hacking and Defending ...

Passion or Madness: Now days, it has become a passion to learn about hacking and information security. Sometimes I do not understand that whether it is a passion or a kind of madness. This passion has resulted due to several news articles, media stories and the excitement showing hacking related thrills in films. But, on the other hand there is a fact also that very few peoples know anything in-depth about the topic of hacking and information security. So, I would suggest that without adequate knowledge please do not get mad behind passion. Sometimes this passion may become dangerous from the legal point of view. There is nothing wrong to gain expertise, but there is need to realize a fact about incorrect issues behind hacking. I will come to this topic in depth, later in the same chapter.

Be Alert and Aware: Do you think that hacking is an expert level work? Do you think that information security and hacking are one and same things? If yes! Then you are absolutely wrong. Many children in the age group of 14-16 years are having sufficient knowledge to hack any website or collect important data facts from the internet. So, internet being the big source of information it's a child game to perform hacking related activities. Many hackers whose aim is to just earn money from you, they give seminars and workshops along with misguide you that, "learn hacking in an ethical way for a brilliant career". But, I am not going to explain in this way, to any of you. Instead, I would like to explain the fact in a positive way with a positive attitude. A teacher's task is to show right path to students and not misguide them for gaining their personal benefits. So I would suggest that instead of going for the knowledge of hacking, gain the knowledge by learning something, which is said to be an expert level job. And this expert level job is known as information security expertise in technical terms. Hope you might have understood the difference between hacking (not expert level job) and information security (expert level job) from this topic. So, be alert from such misguidance.

Other then passion, one more side of coin also exists. Many institutes and independent peoples call themselves hacker and/or information security experts. But the reality behind their expertise and skills gets displayed in front of non-technical peoples and the victims who undergo for training, courses, certifications, seminars and workshop with such types of self-claimed hackers or institutes, when such victims and non-technical peoples realize that they are not satisfied for which they have spent time and money. The actual reality behind fooling is that the peoples who undergo for such seminars, workshops, courses, etc. most probably undergo through a psychology that, "the person or institute from which we will receive knowledge during the training sessions is an expert or is providing quality education as he was published by media agencies or that it's a branded name in market for related subject talent or that he is an author of any book". I believe in practical, official and those tasks or actions for which evidence lies in front of my eyes. Thus, I am trying to explain to everyone that always be alert and aware, so that your hardly earned income does not get spend in such unnecessary waste of time.

I will give you my own example here! I have several articles about me in various newspapers and media agencies, but this doesn't mean that I am showing you the right path or that I am an expert. For example may be possible that I am a hacker, but this does not prove that I am an expert. So, expert level job is a totally different matter. The explanation about difference between hacking and expertise will come in next chapters So, first check out the level of my knowledge, how much practically I am able to prove my expertise, whether I am official & legal while undergoing for such tasks and finally the evidence part that whatever actions I undertake are proved right in front of eyes, instead of just talking theoretically. Always confirm yourself first, that you are learning with right person or institute or just wasting your time and money. May be possible that peoples might be receiving fees from you and in turn give you the knowledge of something(any other subject or topic about information technology field), which is not even single percent part of hacking or information security related topics. This happens most probably with non-technical peoples or fresher in information technology field.

False Publicity: Secondly, confirm that you are at least gaining the knowledge up to a level for which you have paid a particular amount. Don't just go behind false publicities before you confirm yourself and your inner feelings say that you are moving on right path. As concerns to book publishers, media agencies and films, I would like to confirm that none of them might be having full and fledge technical knowledge about information security field as concerns to my knowledge. It's similar to following examples on me:

A person comes and tells me that you are an expert please suggest me some medicines which can eradicate my serious disease of cancer. I am a technical professional and not a biological professional who is going to solve this problem. A person comes and tells me that suggest a good lawyer who can defend my case in court. Now tell me how do I give suggestion as to which lawyer can prove this person innocent in court of law. Thus, I can't do anything or have any knowledge about any field which is not my subject or area of work. Similarly, even media peoples, book publishers and film makers does not have adequate or complete knowledge and they believe the statement to be true which is explained to them by many misguiding self-claimed hackers and/or reputed institutes. So, these peoples are also not responsible for some of these kinds of activities published by them on any medium.

Language Troubling: There is one more part of cheating called use of useless and complicated language in order to misguide students and especially technically sound professionals. This is a very intelligent part of stunt used by many self claimed security peoples to misguide others. Usually when any self claimed hacker or institute doesn't know anything about complicated or expert level topic, and in such situation they want to include expert level topics in their study material without having any expert level knowledge; such peoples use very complicated words of English and prepare the contents in such a manner that it becomes very difficult to understand even for the persons who are fluent in English. A very complicated coding and useless technical terms are used in their study material, so that the victims cannot understand or claim against such self claimed hackers and so called specialized institutes, in a legal way. When any victim (user of such material) goes through such study materials and courses as well as certifications, they become helpless to understand such complicated and misguiding language, filled up of useless and non-understandable technical terms. Now, when they don't understand anything the common psychology of such victims understands that, "it's a part of expert level work and that's why they are unable to understand the matter or that he won't be able to complete this job successfully as he is not talented" and so on. In this way, the victims think themselves responsible for not understanding the expert level work. But they do not know that they have never been taught anything, which can be called an expert level education or job. This is what I am trying to explain you that it is not your fault, instead it is a stunt used by such self claimed hackers and institutes who tries to sell their services and materials by misguiding others with the help of language troubling. So here also there is a need to be aware and alert of any services or material offered by any self claimed hacker and specialized institutions. They just have an intention of earning a huge amount from you and do not have any feelings for the information security field, students or the nation in any way. This is the reason they use difficult word, complicated terms and technical coding in order misguide others so that no one knows about their level of their knowledge.

Finally: Thus, finally the topics should be very clear that

Don't get mad behind passion and be serious about legal activities. Be alert that you are receiving right knowledge for which you have paid. Be aware of what you are undergoing for is the right one for which you have paid and that too join after checking out. Be practical, official and believe only that which happens only in front of your eyes. You should have the guts to demand for evidence. Check the simplification of language used in the study material whether you can go through it and understand it or not, before purchasing any services or materials from self claimed hackers or so called expert level institutes which claims to be specialized in information security area. Try to understand the difference between a truth and a false, correct and incorrect, etc. by going in depth about every fact related to services, products or materials you are offered by any self claimed hacker or so called specialized institutes. Even if this is in my case, first check out with my study material, then get into the depth of my work background and then only purchase any services, products or material offered by me or on behalf of me. Don't get misguided behind media hype or false publicity of any person or institute without checking through it.

Author: Kalpesh Sharma

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Oracle Database Administration

Oracle Database Administrators are responsible for administering Oracle Database servers and the phenomenon is called Oracle Database Administration. Each oracle database requires at least one Database Administrator (DBA) to administer it as an Oracle database can be large and can have many users. The types of Oracle users and their roles and responsibilities vary from site to site. A small site can have one database administrator who administers the database for application developers and users. A very large site can find it necessary to divide the duties of a database administrator among several people, and among several areas of specialization.

A database administrator is held responsible for installing and upgrading the Oracle server and application tools. The DBA allocates the system storage and plans the future storage requirements for the database system. The responsibility of a DBA is to create primary database storage structure after designing an application and create primary objects once the application is designed. The DBA modifies the database structure according to the information given by the developers and enrolls users and maintain system security. The administrator ensures the compliance with the Oracle License Agreement and control and maintains user access to the database. The performance of the database is then monitored and optimized. The DBA plans for backup and recovery of database information, maintain archive data on tape, and take regular backups and restore the database. For troubleshooting, the DBA should contact the Oracle Corporation.

The fundamental task of Oracle Database Administrator is to evaluate the database server hardware. The evaluation should reveal the information about the number of disk drives available to Oracle and its databases, to ensure if any dedicated tape drives are available to Oracle and its databases, and inspect the memory available for running Oracle. The database administrator should install the Oracle database server software and other front-end tools and database applications that access the database. The database administrator plans the database for logical storage structure of the database, overall database design, and a backup strategy for the database. After the designing the database, the administrator should open and create the database for normal use. The database can be created at the installation time, using the Database Configuration Assistant. The DBA should take a backup of the database structure and carry out the backup strategy planned for the database. After the backup of the database structure, the administrator should enroll the system users of the database according to the Oracle license agreement. The other tasks of a DBA are to implement the database design, backup the fully functional database and tune database performance.

Author: Shakir A

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