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

Read more ...

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.

Read more ...

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

Read more ...