qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwe rtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyu iopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopa sdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfg ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING hjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjkl ERP MODULES AND THEIR APPLICATIONS zxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxc 1/30/2012

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RICHA SHARMA (17) SUJATA KUMARI (23)
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ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING Introduction: Enterprise Resource Planning is a software for running a business. ERP was coined as an extension of the concept of manufacturing resource-planning (MRP) software, which automated the process of keeping a manufacturing line supplied with materials to meet incoming orders. ERP is a suite of applications including financials, manufacturing, human resources and other modules, that together automate the back-office business administration functions of an enterprise. Leading ERP vendors include SAP, Oracle, People soft and JD Edwards etc. Planning refers to the integration and extension of a business's operational IT systems, with the end goals of making information flow within (and beyond) a company more immediate and dynamic; increasing the usefulness and shelf life of information; eliminating redundancy and automating routine processes; and making information system components more flexible. Departmental boundaries generally become softer, accessibility of data is increased for partner companies and customers, and the company's ability to respond to the marketplace is generally enhanced. Enterprise Resource Planning is the latest high-end solution information technology has lent to business application. The ERP solutions seek to streamline and integrate operation processes and information flows in the company to synergies the resources of an organization namely men, material, money and machine through information. Initially implementation of an ERP package was possible only for very large Multi National Companies and Infrastructure Companies due to high cost involved. Today many companies in India have gone in for implementation of ERP and it is expected in the near future that 60% of the companies will be implementing one or the other ERP packages since this will become a must for gaining competitive advantage.

Definition ERP (Enterprise resource planning) can be defined as a software solution that addresses the enterprise needs taking the process view of the organization, to meet the organizational goals tightly integrating all functions of an enterprise. It is an industry term for the broad set of activities supported by multi-module application software that help a manufacturer or other business manage the all the parts of its business. ERP facilitates integration of company-wide information systems with the potential to go across companies.

COMPONENTS OF ERP Evolution of ERP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is the evolution of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) II. From business perspective, ERP has expanded from coordination of manufacturing processes to the integration of enterprise-wide backend processes. From technological aspect, ERP has evolved from legacy implementation to more flexible tiered client-server architecture

The Evolution of ERP From 1960s To 1990s

Timeline System 1960s Inventory Control

Description Inventory Management and control is the combination maintaining the appropriate level of stock in a warehouse. The activities of inventory management include identifying inventory requirements, setting targets, providing replenishment techniques and options, monitoring item usages, reconciling the

Management &of information technology and business processes of

1970s

Material Requirement

inventory balances, and reporting inventory status. Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) utilizes software applications MRP for scheduling schedules finished production for the the generates of

Planning (MRP) processes. production

operations and raw material purchases based on the requirements goods, structure of the production system, the current inventories levels and the lot sizing procedure for each 1980s operation. Manufacturing Manufacturing Requirements Planning or MRP utilizes Requirements II) 2000s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software applications for coordinating manufacturing inventory control to product distribution. Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP uses multimodule application software for improving the performance of the internal business processes. ERP systems often integrates business activities across functional departments, from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, fulfillment, to order tracking. ERP software systems may include application modules for supporting marketing, finance, accounting and human resources Planning (MRPprocesses, from product planning, parts purchasing,

ERP is a part of an evolutionary process that began with material requirements planning (MRP). MRP is a computer-based, time-phased system for planning and
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controlling the production and inventory function of a firm-from the purchase of materials to the shipment of finished goods. It begins with the aggregation of demand for finished goods from a number of sources (orders, forecasts, and safety stock). This results in a master production schedule (MPS) for finished goods. Using this MPS and a bill-of-material (a listing for all component parts that make up the finished goods), the MRP logic determines the gross requirements for all component parts and subassemblies. From an inventory status file, the MRP logic deducts the onhand inventory balance and all open orders to yield the net requirements for all parts. Then all requirements are offset by their lead times to provide a date by which an order must be released in order to avoid delaying the production of finished goods. From this MRP logic evolved manufacturing resource planning (MRP II). Before MRP II, many firms maintained a separate computer system within each functional department, which led to the overlap in storage of much of the firm's information in several different databases. In some cases, the firm did not even know how many different databases held certain information, making it difficult, if not impossible, to update it. This could also cause confusion throughout the firm if different units (such as engineering, production, sales, and accounting) held different values for the same variables. MRP II expands the role of MRP by linking together such functions as business planning, sales and operations planning, capacity requirements planning, and all related support functions. The output from these MRP II functions can be integrated into financial reports, such as the business plan, purchase-commitment report, shipping budget, and inventory projections. MRP II is capable of addressing operational planning in units or financial planning in dollars, and has a simulation capacity that allows its users to analyze the potential consequences of alternative decisions. The next step in the evolutionary process was enterprise resource planning (ERP), a term coined by the Gartner Group of Stamford, Connecticut. ERP extends the concept of the shared database to all functions within the firm. By entering information only once at the source and making it available to all employees, ERP enables each function to interact with one centralized database and server. Not only does this eliminate the need for different departments within the firm to re-enter the

same information over and over again into separate computer systems, but it also eliminates the incompatibility that was created by past practice.

FEATURES OF ERP ERP is a hybrid of many different types of software, incorporating many of the features available in other programs. ERP provides a way to keep track of materials, inventory, human resources, billing, and purchase orders. It is also useful for managing various types of orders, from mass-customized orders where daily or weekly shifts occur within the plant or multiple plants, to products that are made-tostock, made-to-order, or assembled-to-order. Higher-level ERPs employ design engineering and engineering change control modules. These modules facilitate the development of new product-engineering information and provide for modification of existing bills of material, allowing engineers to support working models of items and bills of material prior to their production releases. When ERP systems first appeared, they acted as the connection between front-office operations (e.g., sales and forecasting) and the day-to-day functions of manufacturing. As ERP technology has advanced, the systems have increasingly incorporated logistics and warehousing capabilities, further connecting them with the supply chain. Some ERP systems offer Internet functionality, which can provide realtime connectivity from suppliers to the end customer. The result of ERP use is more than an automation of existing processes-it is a significantly new way of doing business that enables a firm to respond to market changes more rapidly and efficiently. This can apply to service firms as well as manufacturers. Many ERP packages also let the user track and cost service products in the same way they compute the cost of making, storing, and shipping physical products. ERP implementation life cycle ERP lifecycle is in which highlights the different stages in implementation. There are different stages of the ERP implementation that are as give below:

 Pre evaluation screening Evaluation package Project planning Gap analysis Reengineering Team training Testing Post implementation 1. Pre evaluation screening Once the company has decided to go for the ERP system, the search for the package must start as there are hundreds of packages it is always better to do a through and detailed evaluation of a small number of packages, than doing analysis of dozens of packages. This stage will be useful in eliminating those packages that are not suitable for the business process. 2. Evaluation package This stage is considered an important phases of the ERP implementation, as the package that one selects will decide the success or failure of the project. Implementation of an ERP involves huge investments and it is not easy to switch between different packages, so the right thing is do it right the first time. Once the packages to be evaluated are identified, the company needs to develop selection criteria that permit the evaluation of all the available packages on the same scale.

3. Project planning This is the phase that designs the implementation process. It is in this phase that the details of how to go about the implementation are decided. Time schedules deadlines, etc for the project are arrived at. The plan is developed, roles are identified and responsibilities are assigned. It will also decide when to begin the

project, how to do it and it completion. A committee by the team leaders of each implementation group usually does such a planning. 4. Gap analysis This is considered the most crucial phase for the success of erp implementation. This is the process through which the companies create a complete model of where they are now, and in which direction will they opt in the future. It has been estimated that even the best packages will only meet 80% of the companys requirements. The remaining 20% presents problematic issues for the companys reengineering. 5. Reengineering It is in this phase that human factors are taken into consideration. While every implementation is going to involve a significant change in number of employees and their job responsibilities, as the process becomes more automated and efficient, it is best to treat ERP as an investment as well as cost cutting measure. 6. Team training Training is also an important phase in the implementation, which takes place along with the process of implementation. This is the phase where the company trains its employees to implement and later, run the system. Thus, it is vital for the company to choose the right employee who has the right attitude- people who are willing to change, learn new things and are not afraid of technology and a good functional knowledge.

7. Testing This is the phase where one tries to break the system. One has reached a point where the company is testing the real case scenarios. The system is configured and now you must come up with extreme cases like system overloads, multiple users logging on at the same time, users entering invalid data, hackers trying to access
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restricted areas and so on. This phase is performed to find the weak link so that it can be rectified before its implementation. 8. Post implementation One the implementation is over, the vendor and the hired consultants will go. To reap the fruit of the implementation it is very important that the system has wide acceptance. There should be enough employees who are trained to handle problems those crops up time to time. The system must be updated with the change in technology. The post implementation will need a different set of roles and skills than those with less integrated kind of systems. Benefits ERP software attempts to integrate business processes across departments into a single enterprise-wide information system. The major benefits of ERP are improved coordination across functional departments and increased efficiencies of doing business. The implementations of ERP systems help to facilitate day-to-day management as well. ERP software systems are originally and ambitiously designed to support resource-planning portion of strategic planning. In reality, resource planning has been the weakest link in ERP practice due to the complexity of strategic planning and lack of adequate integration of ERP with Decision Support Systems. Some of the benefits of ERP are: Single Point of Entry - Data only entered at the source of that data Everyone has the same data - Single source of truth Historical and authoritative data Immediate information Improved Visibility into all areas of the company Advantages The fundamental advantage of ERP is that integrating the myriad processes by which businesses operate saves time and expense. Decisions can be made more

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quickly and with fewer errors. Data becomes visible across the organization. Tasks that benefit from this integration include

Sales forecasting, which allows inventory optimization Order tracking, from acceptance through fulfilment Revenue tracking, from invoice through cash receipt Matching purchase orders (what was ordered), inventory receipts (what arrived), and costing (what the vendor invoiced)

ERP systems centralize business data, bringing the following benefits:

They eliminate the need to synchronize changes between multiple systems consolidation of finance, marketing and sales, human resource, and manufacturing applications

They enable standard product naming/coding. They provide a comprehensive enterprise view (no "islands of information"). They make realtime information available to management anywhere, any time to make proper decisions.

They protect sensitive data by consolidating multiple security systems into a single structure.

Disadvantages

Customization is problematic. Reengineering business processes to fit the ERP system may damage competitiveness and/or divert focus from other critical activities ERP can cost more than less integrated and/or less comprehensive solutions. High switching costs increase vendor negotiating power vis a vis support, maintenance and upgrade expenses. Overcoming resistance to sharing sensitive information between departments can divert management attention. Integration of truly independent businesses can create unnecessary dependencies. Extensive training requirements take resources from daily operations.

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The limitations of ERP have been recognized sparking new trends in ERP application development, the four significant developments being made in ERP are, creating a more flexible ERP, Web-Enable ERP, Interenterprise ERP and e-Business Suites, each of which will potential address the fallbacks of the current ERP. NEXT GENERATION ERP As century mark passed, vendors turned to additional value added solutions to make up for declining demand. ERP Vendors embraced e-commerce, advanced planning and scheduling (APS), Internet-based procurement, and Business Intelligence (BI), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to add to their existing offerings. The oversupply of these solutions has lead to some consolidation in the industry lead primarily by Oracle Inc. Oracle had acquired both PeopleSoft Software and Seibel CRM Software over the past few years as part of its long term strategy. Prior to being acquired by Oracle in 2005, PeopleSoft has acquired JD Edwards. Such consolidation has lead to vast improvements in potential offerings and uncertainty in the customer community in regards to investment and licensing costs. Oracle is still working towards a unified solution for its customer base in what is has termed as "Fusion" or its next generation ERP solution. Today, the major players in the ERP playing field for large and midsize enterprises are Oracle and SAP with Microsoft advancing in the midsize market with its next generation ERP solution coined "Microsoft Dynamics." A key component of the Next Generation ERP solution is the utilization of web based technologies and open standards. The use of the Internet and the Web to communicate, collaborate, and trade with customers and business partners is causing a fundamental shift in how companies define and manage their business processes. Organizations can no longer think of their business singularly; they must consider their trading partners and customers. As a result, they need systems that support e-businesses transactions.ERP systems leverage Internet technology and the component-based architectures of the newer software to open the purchasing function, simplifying participation in the purchasing process. In addition, Internet-based procurement benefits companies, allowing them to reduce costs by controlling purchasing habits, leveraging total spending power, and lowering the number of suppliers they must manage.
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1.

Brief overview of various ERP modules & their features

There are many different types of ERP software designed to help companies streamline various business processes. While ERP software features vary from one vendor to the next, most of the core modules stay the same. Most ERP systems include supply chain software, manufacturing software, financial management software, project management software and human resource management software. Supply Chain Software Supply chain software is an ERP module designed to help companies manage its entire network of suppliers, production plants and even storage facilities and help reduce logistical errors by streamlining and centralizing a companys distribution strategy. Supply chain software typically includes inventory, order management, procurement, logistics, supply chain, return management and incentive management. Features and uses Supply chain softwares are robust, feature-rich technology softwares that enhance operations from end-to-end. Read on to learn more about the powerful capabilities of supply chain. Inventory Management With a supply chain package, companies can significantly improve the way they track and manage their supplies of raw materials and components needed for production, finished goods to satisfy open sales orders, and spare parts required for field service and support. This eliminates excess and waste, frees up valuable real estate for other important purposes, and minimizes related storage costs. Order Management A supply chain software can dramatically accelerate the execution of the entire order-to-delivery cycle by helping companies to more productively generate and track sales orders. Supply chain also enables the dynamic scheduling of supplier deliveries to more effectively meet demand, and more rapid creation of pricing and product configurations. Procurement All activities and tasks associated with sourcing, purchasing, and payables can be fully automated and streamlined across a companys entire supplier network with a supply chain software package. As a result, businesses can build stronger relationships with vendors, better assess and manage their performance, and improve negotiations to leverage volume or bulk discounts and other cost-cutting measures. Logistics As companies expand globally, their supply chains become more and more complex. This makes the coordination of the numerous warehouses and transportation
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channels involved quite a challenging endeavor without a supply chain software in place. With supply chain, businesses can improve on-time delivery performance and boost customer satisfaction by achieving complete visibility into how finished goods are stored and distributed, regardless of the number of facilities or partners that participate. Forecasting and Planning With a supply chain software, organizations can more accurately anticipate customer demand, and plan their procurement and production processes accordingly. As a result, they can avoid unnecessary purchases of raw-materials, eliminate manufacturing over-runs, and prevent the need to store excess finished goods, or slash prices to move products off of warehouse shelves. Return Management A supply chain software can simplify and accelerate the inspection and handling of defective or broken goods on both the buy and sell side of the business and automate the processing of claims with suppliers and distributors, as well as insurance companies. Many supply chain offerings also include add-on options or modules designed to enhance related activities. Through these features, support is provided for a variety of important processes such as contract management, product lifecycle management, capital asset management, and more. Manufacturing Software Manufacturing software is designed to help companies improve the end-to-end processes of designing and building a product. Manufacturing software modules include tools to help companies streamline product design and configuration processes, track and manage product components, automate a companys production scheduling, accelerate manufacturing processes and improve the overall quality of the products being produced. Feature and uses Manufacturing ERP systems deliver a broad range of features and functionality to improve all facets of product production. This article provides an overview of the key capabilities of todays most popular manufacturing ERP solutions. Manufacturers of all sizes, across all segments rely on manufacturing ERP software systems to streamline production and all associated operations, dramatically improving the way they design, build, store, test, sell, and distribute their products. With manufacturing ERP solutions, companies can gain a solid edge even in very competitive markets by leveraging advanced technology tools to deliver the highest quality products at the lowest possible costs in the timeliest manner. Engineering and Material Requirements Planning Manufacturing ERP systems significantly enhance all design-related activities, including engineering task management, blueprint drafting and drawing, configuration, bill of materials generation, and change control. This helps ensure that the plans and instructions the shop floor receives and relies on to build products exactly to specifications - are as thorough, detailed, and accurate as possible.
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Demand Planning and Forecasting The ability to keep on top of anticipated demand, and ensure there is enough supply to satisfy customer needs is a key advantage provided by todays manufacturing ERP software packages. Companies can better forecast orders, and set production schedules accordingly to meet sales requirements, minimize excess inventory and eliminate waste. Purchasing With a manufacturing ERP solution in place, companies can reduce costs by achieving economies of scale for all parts and components required for production. Additionally, they can more effectively satisfy demand by improving the way they source, track, and manage orders from the various vendors and suppliers they deal with. Production All operations involved in the actual building of a product are accelerated and improved with a manufacturing ERP system. For example, schedules can more efficiently set to ensure the correct staffing and output levels, production activities can analyzed and adjusted as needed to optimize efficiency, and problems and slowdowns in assembly lines can be immediately uncovered and addressed. Quality Control With a manufacturing ERP system software in place, companies can gain full insight into quality control procedures, and monitor in real-time the defects, returns, and other product issues that can negatively impact customer satisfaction and retention. So, where recurring problems exist can be instantly identified, and flawed product designs or production tasks can be corrected before they hinder sales and result in lost business and revenues. Inventory Management Manufacturing ERP solutions make it easier for organizations to manage all facets of inventory, including the components used in the production process, as well as the finished goods awaiting sale and/or shipment. With manufacturing ERP software, inventory can be more effectively allocated, stored, and tracked from end-to-end. Discrete vs. Process Additionally, since their procedures and activities vary so greatly, many manufacturing ERP vendors offer separate applications for discrete manufacturing, in which companies build various products based on orders, and process manufacturing, where the products created are undifferentiated, such as oil, salt, chemicals, etc. Financial Management Software Financial management software is an ERP software solution intended to help companies manage and increase efficiency of financial processes. Financial management software contains tools such as general ledger, cash management, accounts payable and account receivable to help companies manage their financial processes.

Feature and uses

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Todays financial management software packages are powerful, feature-rich solutions that provide a broad range of functionality. With financial management software, organizations have the tools they need to improve operations on a global scale, while facilitating full regulatory compliance.

5 Features to Look for in a Financial Management Package A financial management software solution can empower an organization to more effectively manage the increasingly complex and multi-faceted transactions and processes it is faced with due to globalization, mergers and acquisitions, changing market conditions, business expansion and diversification, and other critical events. Additionally, with financial management software packages, a company can realize full compliance with stringent financial information management and reporting guidelines such as BASEL II and Sarbanes Oxley. So, how does a financial management software system achieve all this, making global financial operations more efficient and productive than ever before? With a broad range of powerful features and capabilities such as 1. Automation and Management of End-to-End General Accounting Procedures Financial management software systems streamline and enhance all basic administrative financial processes from start to finish, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, cash flow management, purchasing, payroll, and general ledgers. 2. Support for Worldwide Financial Processes With a financial management software package, companies have the tools and technologies they need such as support for multiple currencies and conversions, languages, country-specific laws and guidelines, and multi-national transactions to better coordinate activities that span multiple departments and business units, and improve the execution and management of all financial tasks across all global locations. 3. Planning and Forecasting Companies who utilize financial management software solutions have a dramatically enhanced ability to leverage historical data to predict future financial activities such as trends and patterns in income, revenues, and expenses. Additionally, a financial management software system can allow an organization to understand how certain potential scenarios, such as market conditions, acquisitions, or the additional of new business units, can impact its financial status. This makes strategic planning more accurate and successful. 4. Cash Flow Management and Tracking Tracking income as it is recognized by disparate departments and business units, and monitoring how funds are spent across various divisions and locations, is faster, easier, and more accurate with a financial management software package. By streamlining consolidations, allocations, budgets, and other cash flow management tasks and activities across an entire enterprise, financial management software
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delivers a complete, unhindered, real-time view of cash flow status, as well as all related transactions. 5. Advanced Reporting and Analysis The ability to rapidly generate thorough, consistent, and highly accurate balance sheets, profit and loss statements, budget allocations, and other important financial reports is a key feature of todays most popular financial management software applications. Many financial management software packages also provide in-depth ad hoc analysis capabilities, so financial professionals can easily create custom reports to satisfy their own unique information needs. Additionally, many of the financial management software packages on the market today are built on powerful architectures that provide: Advanced security features to prevent unauthorized access to confidential financial data. Web-based access to eliminate cumbersome client/server implementations and maintenance, while ensuring anytime, anywhere access to vital financial information. Seamless integration with other business applications, to ensure rapid information sharing and full collaboration.

Project Management Software Project management software is made to help companies manage projects more efficiently. Project management software routinely includes tools for costing, billing, time and expense management and activity management. Many project management ERP solutions include features that link the shop floor production directly to dashboard managers can access. Human Resources Management Software Human resources management software is designed to increase human resource efficiency by eliminating repetitive paperwork which also helps reduce the risk of costly errors. Human resource management ERP solutions usually include tools to help streamline payroll processes, training, time and attendance management and benefits management. ERP software is made to help businesses run smoothly. The type of features that an solution provides is dependent on what industry it is geared toward.

COMMON ERP MODULES Account receivable

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Accounts payable

General ledger Customer relation management (CRM) Bill of materials Purchasing Work order management Budgeting Report writing Order entry

Sales & marketing Material resource planning Inventory control Logistics Shop floor control Sales analysis Order entry e-commerce

Different types of ERP modules commonly used Functional Modules: 1. FI/CO (Finance & Controlling ) 2. HR (Human Resource) 3. PP (Production Planning) 4. MM (Material Management ) 5. SD (Sales & Distribution ) 6. PM (Plant Maintenance) 7. PS (Project System) 8. QM (Quality Management) 9. BIW (Business Information Warehousing)

New Dimension: 1. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) 2. SCM (Supply Chain Management) 3. SEM (Strategic Enhanced Management) 4. APO (Advanced Planner Optimizer) 5. EP (Enterprise Portal) 6. SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) 7. XI (Exchange Infrastructure)

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Techno-Functional Modules :1. ABAP + HR 2. ABAP + SD 3. BIW (Business Information Warehouse) Dual Modules :1. SD + CRM 2. PP + MM 3. FICO +SD 4. HR + SD 5. HR + CRM

2. Various types of ERP MODULES and the common ERP solutions provided by the software Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the latest high end software solution, Information Technology has lent to the world of business application. An ERP software solution seeks to streamline and integrate operations, processes and information flows in an enterprise, to synergize the resources of an organization namely men, material, money and machine. In other words, ERP systems integrate all data and processes of an organization into a unified system. A typical ERP will use multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to store data for the various system modules. Most organizations across the world have realized that in a rapidly changing business environment, it is impossible to create and maintain a custom designed software package which will cater to all their requirements and also be up-to-date. Realizing these requirements of organizations, companies have designed and developed ERP software, which offer an integrated software solution to all the functional processes in an organization. Although, in the initial stage ERP originated in the manufacturing environment, now ERP software solutions typically cover all basic business process/functions of any organization, regardless of the organization's business or charter. A typical ERP module include: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Financials, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resources, Warehouse Management and Decision Support System. These solutions are often incorrectly quoted as back office solutions indicating that customers and the general public are not directly involved. This is contrasted with front office systems like Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems that directly deal with customers, or ebusiness systems such as
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eCommerce, eGovernment, eTelecom, and eFinance, or Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) systems. In reality, ERP modules are cross-functional and enterprise wide software solutions. All functional departments that are involved in operations or production can be integrated in one system using it. In addition to manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and Information Technology, it also includes; accounting, human resources, marketing, and strategic management. There are many different flavors of ERP that serve businesses' varying procedure types. An ERP solution has numerous benefits depending on the type of business that it serves; these are business solutions and industry solutions. The industry solutions are designed for people who are working in specific industries, like finance, communications, education, healthcare to name a few.

Functional modules of ERP software ERP software is made up of many software modules. Each ERP software module mimics a major functional area of an organization. Common ERP modules include modules for product planning, parts and material purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, order tracking, finance, accounting, marketing, and HR. Organizations often selectively implement the ERP modules that are both economically and technically feasible. ERP Production Planning Module In the process of evolution of manufacturing requirements planning (MRP) II into ERP, while vendors have developed more robust software for production planning, consulting firms have accumulated vast knowledge of implementing production planning module. Production planning optimizes the utilization of manufacturing capacity, parts, components and material resources using historical production data and sales forecasting. ERP Purchasing Module Purchase module streamline procurement of required raw materials. It automates the processes of identifying potential suppliers, negotiating price, awarding purchase order to the supplier, and billing processes. Purchase module is tightly integrated
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with the inventory control and production planning modules. Purchasing module is often integrated with supply chain management software. ERP Inventory Control Module Inventory module facilitates processes of maintaining the appropriate level of stock in a warehouse. The activities of inventory control involves in identifying inventory requirements, setting targets, providing replenishment techniques and options, monitoring item usages, reconciling the inventory balances, and reporting inventory status. Integration of inventory control module with sales, purchase, finance modules allows ERP systems to generate vigilant executive level reports. ERP Sales Module Revenues from sales are live blood for commercial organizations. Sales module implements functions of order placement, order scheduling, shipping and invoicing. Sales module is closely integrated with organizations' ecommerce websites. Many ERP vendors offer online storefront as part of the sales module. ERP Market in Module ERP marketing module supports lead generation, direct mailing campaign and more. ERP Financial Module Both for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations benefit from the implementation of ERP financial module. The financial module is the core of many ERP software systems. It can gather financial data from various functional departments, and generates valuable financial reports such balance sheet, general ledger, trail balance, and quarterly financial statements. The entire concept of information technology is based on the premise that providing the right information, to the right people, at the right time can make a critical difference to the organization. The Finance modules of the most ERP systems provide financial functionality and analysis support to thousands of businesses in many countries across the globe. These ERP systems include not only financial application components, but also Human resources, Logistics, Business workflow and links to the internet. Investment Management: a. Investment Planning b. Budgeting c. Controlling
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d. Depreciation Forecast e. Simulation f. Calculation. Controlling a. Overhead Cost Controlling. b. Activity- Based Costing c. Product Cost Accounting d. Profitability Analysis. Treasury module Company can gain significant competitive advantage by efficiently managing the short, medium, and long-term payment flows and the resulting risk exposure. Tasks such as short-term monitoring and concentration of bank account balances, mediumterm planning, and forecasting of incoming and outgoing resources in accounts receivable and payable, to a long-term view of areas such as materials management and sales, underline the importance of integrating information from various company divisions. Cash Management The Cash Management subsystem allows us to analyze financial transactions for a given period. Cash Management also identifies, and records future developments for the purpose of financial budgeting. The companys payment transactions are grouped into cash holdings, cash inflows and cash outflows. The Cash Management provides information on the sources and uses of funds to secure liquidity in order to meet payment obligations when they become due. The Cash Management also monitors and controls incoming and outgoing payment flows, and supplies the data required for managing short term money market investments and borrowing. The Cash Management components thus ensures that all information relevant to liquidity is available to us for analysis, creating a basis for the necessary cash management decisions. Enterprise controlling Enterprise Controlling comprises of those functions that will optimize shareholder value, while meeting internal objectives for growth and investment. This modules usually include executive Information System , Business planning and Budgeting, Consolidation, and profit Centre Accounting. Executive information system The Executive Information System provides an overview of the critical information necessary to manage the organization.
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 This component integrates data from other ERP components, and non-ERP data sources both inside and outside the enterprise. Plant maintenance The achievement of world class performance demands delivery of quality products expeditiously and economically. Organizations simply cannot achieve excellence with unreliable equipment. The preventive Maintenance module provides an integrated solution for supporting the operational needs of an enterprise-wide system. The plant Maintenance module include an entire family of products covering all aspects of plant/equipment maintenance and becomes integral to the achievement of process improvement. Subsystems of plant maintenance a. Preventive Maintenance Control b. Equipment Tracking c. Component Tracking d. Plant Maintenance Calibration Tracking e. Plant Maintenance Warranty Claims Tracking

ERP HR Module HR (Human Resources) is another widely implemented ERP module. HR module streamlines the management of human resources and human capitals. HR modules routinely maintain a complete employee database including contact information, salary details, attendance, performance evaluation and promotion of all employees. Advanced HR module is integrated with knowledge management systems to optimally utilize the expertise of all employees. Quality management

Manage quality across multiple plants and distributed teams Improve decision-making with real-time, accurate engineering and product data Monitor supplier performance against industry benchmarks Increase customer satisfaction with shorter response times Establish and manage criteria to support industry standards and regulations Improve collaboration between employees, suppliers, and customers Reduce the cost of goods sold

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Computer-integrated Quality Management (CIQ) is more appropriate term in comparison to Computer-Aided Quality Management (CAQ), because an isolated CAQ system cannot carry out the comprehensive tasks of a quality management system. As a part of the Logistics applications, the Quality Management module handles the traditional tasks of: 1. Quality planning 2.Quality inspection 3. Quality Control. For example, it support quality management in procurement, product verification, quality documentation and in the processing of problems. The quality Management modules internal functions do not directly interact with the data or processes of other modules. The Quality Management module uses the systems integration to link the tasks of quality management with those of the other applications, such as materials management, production, sales/distribution and cost accounting. The Quality Management module is integrated with the master data and processes of the following applications: Materials management (purchasing, inventory management, warehouse management, material requirements planning). Production ( work scheduling, shop floor control) sales and distribution ( delivery, creation of quality certificates)

Material Management

The Material Management module optimizes all purchasing processes with workflow-driven processing functions, enables automated supplier evaluations, lower procurement and warehousing costs with accurate inventory and warehouse management and integrates invoice verification. The main modules of the Material Management module are:
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a. Pre-purchasing Activities b. Purchasing c. Vendor Evaluation d. Inventory Management e. Invoice Verification and Material Inspection

Inventory Management

Inventory Management system allows us to manage our stocks on a quantity and value basis, plan, enter and check any goods movements and carry out physical inventory. In the Inventory Management system, the physical stocks reflect all transactions resulting in a change in stock and thus, in updated inventory levels. The user can easily obtain an overview of the current stocks of any given material For each material, not only are the stocks in the warehouse shown, but also the stocks ordered but not yet delivered, reserved for production or for a customer, and the stocks in quantity inspection can be monitored.

Both the quantity and the value are updated automatically when entering a goods movement. Most Inventory Management systems support inventory methods like periodic inventory, Continuous Inventory, Inventory sampling and Cycle counting. Exchange infrastructure SAP Exchange Infrastructure (SAP XI) is SAP's enterprise application integration (EAI) software, a component of the NetWeaver product group used to facilitate the exchange of information among a company's internal software and systems and
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those of external parties. Like other NetWeaver components, SAP XI is compatible with software products of other companies. SAP calls XI an integration broker because it mediates between entities with varying requirements in terms of connectivity, format, and protocols. According to SAP, XI reduces integration costs by providing a common repository for interfaces. The central component of SAP XI is the SAP Integration Server, which facilitates interaction between diverse operating systems and applications across internal and external networked computer systems.

Supplier relationship management (SRM) Supplier relationship management (SRM) software enables businesses to manage the relationship between buyers and suppliers. Procurement personnel use SRM software to define replenishment strategies, manage contracts, evaluate supplier performance, and establish strategic sourcing relationships. Event management tools such as alerts and notifications help minimize inventory stock-outs and stockpiles. Collaborative planning tools enable managers to exchange order forecasts with vendors and maintain a supplier scorecard with historical data. Typically, supplier relationship management (SRM) software is integrated with a larger enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Supplier relationship management (SRM) software can also used with customer relationship management (CRM) software to speed order fulfillment. In this way, SRM software covers the buyside of the supply chain while CRM software covers the sell-side. Supplier relationship management (SRM) software is designed to assist businesses with each phase of the procurement cycle. First, buyers use SRM software to submit a request for proposal (RFP) or request for quotation (RFQ) to multiple vendors. Competitive bidding features and contract negotiation tools help companies select the best vendor for a project or product line. In many organizations, Web-based supplier relationship management (SRM) software is used to communicate with vendors in real-time. Using a web browser, a buyer can check the status of a shipment or the scheduled date of a delivery. For their part, suppliers can monitor stock levels to determine when the buyers inventories need replenishment. Collaborative tools allow buyers to share order forecasts with suppliers and identify potential bottlenecks
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based on historical analysis. Supplier relationship management (SRM) software enables businesses to select suppliers based on a variety of criteria. Buyers can compare vendors based on factors such as price, past performance, or a combination of both. The use of a weighted formula is especially important when a vendor with the lowest cost fails to deliver shipments on time, or delivers raw materials that often need to be scrapped. Supplier relationship management (SRM) software should reflect a procurement organizations business rules and reflect standards such as Six Sigma, a methodology that prevents defects in manufacturing and service-related processes. Business data warehousing Like most data warehouses, BW is a combination of databases and database management tools that are used to support management decision making. BW supplies the infrastructure typical of data warehouses, but also includes preconfigured data extractors, analysis and report tools, and business process models. Among the other features of BW are: Business Application Programming Interfaces (BAPIs) that enable connections to non-R/3 applications; preconfigured business content; an integrated OLAP processor; automated data extraction and loading routines; a metadata repository; administrative tools; multiple language support; and Business Explorer, a Web-based user interface. SAP Business Warehouse is an integral component of the company's mySAP Business Intelligence group of products. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) More than ever, in today's challenging business environment, best-run companies are staying focused on their most valuable assets their customers. Companies seek to retain their best customers and maximize the effectiveness of every customer interaction whether it's sales, service, or marketing. Unlike other CRM software, the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application, part of the SAP Business Suite, not only helps to address the short-term imperatives to reduce cost and increase the decision-making ability but can also help the company achieve differentiated capabilities in order to compete effectively over the long term SAP has helped best-run companies in more than 26 industries to achieve excellence in all aspects of customer relationship management.
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Key SAP CRM marketing capabilities include:

Marketing resource and brand management Campaign management Segmentation and list management Real-time offer management Loyalty management E-marketing

SAP CRM Solution enables to:

Align marketing resources to support organizational objectives Understand the returns on the marketing spend Accelerate marketing processes with increased visibility and control Drive customer demand with targeted marketing messages Identify and retain high-value customers with customer loyalty programs Establish a standard, streamlined marketing process with a central marketing platform

Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) is a set of software applications from the German-based software company SAP for supply chain management. According to SAP literature, Advanced Planner and Optimizer is designed to help a company improve production planning, pricing, scheduling, and product shipping. APO works by getting real-time updates from retailers about customer demand. The updates are used to create APO demand triggers that take into account many complex variables, such as the delivery schedule of raw materials and productions cycles, to forecast the right amount of product mix the company will need to meet future customer demands. APO can be integrated with the SAP R/3 and legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. APO consists of eight application levels: network design, demand planning, supply network planning, production planning and detailed scheduling, global availability, transportation planning and vehicle scheduling, and supply chain collaboration.

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Different types of ERP software packages & their features

Types of ERP SAP R/3, SAP B1, LN (BaaN), Microsoft Dynamics AX, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, JD Edwards, Oracle Financials, PeopleSoft. LN/BaaN It is software from Infor Global offers the breadth and depth of support for orderdriven, project-based discrete manufacturing. It increase user productivity, operational efficiency, better control of processes, better communication and collaboration, enhance performance and scalability, leverage IT infrastructure and information assets and reduce costs. LN is ideal for companies in make-to-stock, assemble-to-order, make-to-order, or engineer-to-order environments. CDC Software It is a provider of a variety of business management software and services. The companys products include applications for enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain management (SCM), manufacturing operations management, customer (CRM), and enterprise performance management. CDC Software Corporation also offers professional services, including software implementation, customer education, and training services. CDC Software Corporations products are used by more than 10,000 customers in the manufacturing, financial services, health care, home building, real estate, wholesale and retail distribution industries. The company also offers a range of services that includes implementation, project consulting, technical support and IT consulting. JD Edward Enterprise One is an integrated applications suite of comprehensive enterprise resource planning software from Oracle that combines business value, standardsbased technology, and deep industry experience into a business solution with a low total cost of ownership. PeopleSoft Enterprise applications are designed for the most complex business requirements. They provide comprehensive business and industry solutions, enabling organizations
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to significantly improve performance, seamlessly integrate Web services into heterogeneous application environments, and a broad choice of technology infrastructure Lawson Software It is an international software company with 4,000 customers in manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and services industries, such as healthcare, financial services, retail and public sector in 33 countries. Lawson provides software solutions designed to automate business processes, foster employee collaboration and deliver detailed analyses of results. Customers manage business processes through the functionality of Lawsons applications. Lawson products fall within two main lines: S3 and M3.

S3 Products

Applications in the S3 product line are designed to help customers staff, source and serve. These applications primarily target services industries that include: enterprise financial management, human resource management, supply chain management and business intelligence. Lawsons primary S3 industries include healthcare, retail, government, local, K-12 education and other industries. Human capital management product group includes global human resources, talent acquisition, local human resources, performance management, Absence Management, Personnel Administration, Benefits Administration, Financials and Accounts Payable.

M3 Products

Applications in the M3 product line provide solutions for customers that make, move and maintain goods or equipment. These applications primarily target assetintensive industries that include: manufacturing resource planning, enterprise asset management and customer/supplier relationship management. Lawsons primary M3 industries include fashion, food and beverage, distribution and other industries.

Industry Solutions

Lawson also provides pre-configured functionality that addresses the specific business needs of certain industries. Some of these industry-tailored applications include Surgical Instrument Management, Par and Cycle Counting, Receiving and Delivery, FashionProduct Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Grant Management.

User Experience Platform

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Lawson Smart Office is built using .NET Framework and Windows Presentation Foundation. It gives the user the advantage of a native Microsoft Windows application and aims to deliver a superior user experience.

Microsoft ERP Software Microsoft ERP software modules for back office functions are undergoing a rapid series of product evolutions, becoming increasingly streamlined and affordable to small business clients while simultaneously increasing in both capability and reliability. Microsoft ERP software, like similar modules offered by large providers like IFS, J.D. Edwards, and SAP, can help managers control back office operations like accounting, human resource management, customer relationship management and payroll. Also, like the applications provided by these other firms, Microsoft ERP software is designed to run on an integrated enterprise resource planning platform. ERP software systems have been a part of the business technology market landscape for the past two decades, but only recently have they become feasible and accessible to smaller and midsized business clients. At this point, Microsoft ERP software and similar products are available that can help smaller businesses find ways to cut costs, increase efficiency and gain a competitive edge that can help them stay afloat during the most challenging business climates. If you own or act as a technology manager for a business in this range, you may be considering the implementation of Microsoft ERP software or similar products to replace your current systems. If youre about to begin an investigation into the possibilities of ERP software systems, youll want to begin by conducting a complete diagnostic evaluation of your current modules to gain a full understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and workflows, obstacles to productivity. When youre ready to select the product suite or solution that works the best for you, youll want to online to explore product reviews and view online product demonstrations. Along the way, youll also want to gain a deeper understanding of what ERP systems are and how theyve evolved, so we can place our current capabilities into a context. The earliest ERP software systems were designed in the late 1980s in response to specific demand from the manufacturing sector. Operations managers were looking for ways to coordinate complex scheduling, assembly and other activities on factory shop floors, activities which often required the contributions of multiple departments. But at that point, most businesses were running their separate departments on isolated software systems that prevented employees from sharing applications and access to collective databases. This caused considerable productivity slowdowns and high error rates. But with integrated ERP systems in place, all departments could run the same set of standardized applications from a central server architecture that was typically owned and maintained by the company. The server could also be used to house databases and other documents that could be accessed by ay authorized user in the company and updated in real time.
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ERP systems were large and very expensive at that point, but the improvements they offered in efficiency and functionality made them very popular among the large businesses that could afford them. Even so, they remained out of reach for many years to smaller firms with restrictive technology budgets. Now the market landscape is changing, and demand is slowing at the high budget level. Providers are rapidly scaling their products in order to appeal to smaller business clients.

Oracle Software Oracle software products designed to be run on a fully integrated ERP business solution are rapidly evolving, becoming more affordable to smaller and smaller businesses while expanding in back and front office management capabilities. The reasons for this evolution are rooted in market landscape shifts related to the arrival of the new millennium, changes in the manufacturing sector, and new innovations that appear on the business technology market year after year. Like many back office enterprise resource planning modules, Oracle software products can be used to control functions like accounting, human resource management, and payroll and customer relationship management. If youre a small to midsized business owner or a technology manager for a smaller company or start-up, you may be considering the addition of Oracle software or similar products to your back office management tool kit. These products may be able to help you move your business forward by providing the cost cutting measures and competitive edge you need to stay ahead and afloat during the current challenging business climate. Oracle Corporation's E-Business Suite (also known as Applications/Apps or EBSuite/EBS) consists of a collection of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and supply-chain management (SCM) computer applications either developed by or acquired by Oracle. The software utilizes Oracle's core Oracle relational database management system technology. Contains several product lines, including:

Oracle CRM Oracle Financials Oracle HRMS Oracle Mobile Supply Chain Applications Oracle Order Management Oracle Procurement Oracle Project Portfolio Management Oracle Quotes Oracle Transportation Management Oracle Warehouse Management Systems Oracle Inventory Oracle Enterprise Asset Management

Each product comprises several modules, each separately licensed.

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Significant technologies incorporated into the applications include the Oracle database technologies, (engines for RDBMS, PL/SQL, Java, .NET, HTML and XML), the "technology stack" (Oracle Forms Server, Oracle Reports Server, Apache Web Server, Oracle Discoverer, Jinitiator and Sun's Java). Infor ERP Software Review This article will look at a popular enterprise resource planning (ERP) system produced by the Infor Company. An Infor ERP software review is a great way to be introduced to a product you may be unfamiliar with. With the broad range of ERP choices in the market today, it is important to conduct a thorough search of all that is available. An ERP system will provide a company with numerous benefits. The first reason a company may want to implement ERP is to simply become more efficient. But beyond this, ERP has proven to increase visibility into a companys operations ultimately giving them the power to find and correct weaknesses and create new and improved ways of executing business processes. At the end of the day, many companies find that an effective implementation and use of enterprise resource planning provides them a competitive advantage as well. But enough about ERPs amazing advantageslets get this Infor ERP software review so you can begin learning. Infor Global Solutions is a large company based in America but serving markets around the globe. With more than 70,000 customers and over 8000 employees they are well equipped to stay on the cutting of technology and human capital. Infor has customers in a broad range of industries. From aerospace and high tech companies to retailers and manufacturers, Infors ERP systems are widely utilized. They offer a full range of ERP solutions. Their ERP software alone is promoted as simple to implement and without the need for pricy customizations. They also have a broad range of flexibility allowing modules to be added as the need arises. An Infor ERP software review finds that the ERP software, like many others in the industry, is comprised of many separate modules or parts. It is not necessary to use all of these modules. Some advantages of Infors software include the ability to easily integrate with Microsofts tools, a good user interface, the ability to easily customize the software, core automation is available for various manufacturing departments, the ability to handle complex operations and a lower overall price point as compared to the other major ERP players. Some claim that Infors software is not as secure as their competitors and that they dont actually cover as many areas of ERP as other solutions. Our Infor ERP software review cannot verify these claims firsthand but can point out that Infor has been steadily growing and chipping away at the market shares of the two big ERP playersOracle and SAP. Many customers of these larger firms have found more flexibility with the Infor ERP solution. You organization will have to judge for itself regarding what ERP solution and company is the best fit. Remember to do your research and consult an expert in choosing your ERP software solution. Epicor Software Epicor software designed to be run on an integrated enterprise resource planning system can help business managers control back and front office functionalities like never before. Business owners and technology managers, especially those who
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control decision making functions for smaller and midsized businesses, are increasingly taking advantage of Epicor software and other integrated ERP applications. These products provided by Epicor software and other developers can handle back office management tools like accounting, human resource management, customer relationship management and payroll. Employees at that time could not run standardized applications and they could not share access to databases that could have been used to control overlapping functions. This slowed productivity and made complex tasks more difficult, like scheduling, assembly, ordering, and warehousing. But once integrated ERP systems were implemented, employees across the company could run the same software programs and they could also share access to documents that could be updated in real time. Even though early ERP systems were very expensive, and also cumbersome and unreliable, they provided high returns to the large businesses that could afford them, and they quickly became popular among enterprise level businesses and other organizations, including government offices and university systems. ERP systems improved communication, productivity, and efficiency. But they remained out of reach for many years to smaller businesses with more restrictive technology budgets and lower tolerance for risk. It was only after the arrival of the new millennium that the market landscape for ERP systems began to shift. At that point, the demand for new systems that reached a peak during the last years of the 1990s began to cool. Market saturation set in and the rate of new implementations began to slow. At that point, developers began an ongoing effort to scale products and services meet the needs of the smaller business clients they had once been able to ignore. ERP options and software applications are now more available to these small budget clients than they have ever been before. SAP AG It a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, BadenWrttemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software, yet has come under criticism for charging prospective employees the cost of interview phone calls. The company's best known products are its enterprise resource planning application (SAP ERP), SAP Business Objects software, and most recently, Sybase mobile products and in-memory computing appliance SAP HANA. SAP is the world's largest business software company and the third-highest revenue independent software provider (as of 2007). SAP focuses on six industry sectors: process industries, discrete industries, consumer industries, service industries, financial services, and public services. It offers more than 25 industry solution portfolios for large enterprises and more than 550 micro-vertical solutions for midsize companies and small businesses. SAP's products focus on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The company's main product is SAP ERP. The current version is SAP ERP 6.0 and is part of the SAP Business Suite. Its previous name was R/3. The "R" of SAP R/3 stood for realtime even though it is not a real-time solution. The number 3 related to the 3-tier
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architecture: database, application server and client (SAPgui). R/2, which ran on a Mainframe architecture, was the predecessor of R/3. Before R/2 came System RF, later dubbed R/1. SAP ERP is one of five enterprise applications in SAP's Business Suite. The other four applications are: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) helps companies acquire and retain customers, gain marketing and customer insight Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) helps manufacturers with productrelated information Supply Chain Management (SCM) helps companies with the process of resourcing its manufacturing and service processes Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) enables companies to procure from suppliers

Other major product offerings include: the Net Weaver platform, Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) solutions, Duet (joint offering with Microsoft), Performance Management solutions and RFID. SAP offers service-oriented architecture capabilities (calling it Enterprise SOA) in the form of web services that are wrapped around its applications. While its original products were typically used by Fortune 500 companies SAP now actively targets small and medium sized enterprises (SME) with its SAP Business One and SAP Business All-in-One. Supply Chain Management & Logistics SAP competitors are primarily in the Enterprise Resource Planning Software industry. SAP also competes in the Customer Relationship Management, Marketing & Sales Software, Manufacturing, Warehousing & Industrial Software, and Software sectors. SAP B1 (business one) software is also form SAP. It is made for SME (small and medium enterprise) segment to fulfil their requirement at lower cost. SAP B1 localization is quite good. It contains 15 core modules. Report module is discontinued in 2009 due to purchase of Business Object, XL Reporter and Crystal Reports 2008 Basic(One Free License per customer) SAP R/3 is the former name of the main enterprise resource planning software produced by SAP AG. It is an enterprise-wide information system designed to coordinate all the resources, information, and activities needed to complete business processes such as order fulfilment or billing. SAP R/3 was arranged into distinct functional modules, covering the typical functions in place in an organization. The most widely used modules were Financial s and Controlling (FICO),Human Resources (HR), Materials Management (MM), Sales & Distribution (SD), and Production Planning (PP) Each module handled specific business tasks on its own, but was linked to the others where applicable. For instance, an invoice from the billing transaction of Sales & Distribution would pass through to accounting, where it will appear in accounts receivable and cost of goods sold.

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SAP typically focused on best practice methodologies for driving its software processes, but more recently expanded into vertical markets. In these situations, SAP produced specialized modules (referred to as IS or Industry Specific) geared toward a particular market segment, such as utilities or retail. SAP based the architecture of R/3 on a three-tier client/server structure: 1. 2. 3. Presentation Server-good server(GUI) Application Server Database Server

SAP allows the IT supported processing of a multitude of tasks, accruing in a typical company or bank. SAP ERP is differing from R/3 mainly because it is based on SAP Net Weaver: core components can be implemented in ABAP and in Java and new functional areas are mostly no longer created as part of the previous ERP system, with closely interconnected constituents, but as self-contained components or even systems.

Comparison of five prominent ERP software packages

Epicor at Glance Long history of reputable products Over 20,000 customers, 140 countries, 30 languages In major growth mode Infor at Glance 3rd largest global ERP maker Over 70,000 customers Microsoft at Glance Over 83,000 ERP customers Strong SMB/midmarket solution Very strong partner channel Only sold through VAR channel Multiple ERP products 1 ERP road map questionable Oracle at Glance Over 37,000 application customers CRM market share leader ERP market share leader 30 year proven credibility New SOA architecture Deep software functionality Highly flexible Technology is
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SAP at Glance More than 35,000 customers, 120 countries CRM market share leader Built the client/server ERP market Definite ERP market share leader Very impressive distribution /SCM Several industry solutions

Several different ERP Reasonable VAR channel systems Several strong industry solutions Good after sales support MS/SQL/SOA technology Low to moderately priced Vertically focused ERP solutions Lean manufacturing capabilities Complex and discrete manufacturing Process

Manufacturing Strong distribution and SCM Low to moderately priced

Solutions often vary by global region MS/.Net/SQL technology Low to moderately priced

the Oracle stack Priced at the high end

Netweaver, SQL and a chasm of technologies Priced at the high end

Small Business ERP Leaders

Microsoft ERP has become very popular for SMB (small and midsize business) organizations. Since 2000, Microsoft has acquired Great Plains (who previously acquired Real World and Solomon) and Navision (who previously acquired Axapta). While Microsoft failed on the infamous Project Green integration which was to merge these solutions into an ERP powerhouse, the company does an impressive job at continuing to advance these solutions independently.

Middle Market ERP Leaders

Epicor offers strong ERP software functionality along with several impressive Industry solutions for Professional Services Automation (PSA), financial services, hospitality management, retail, distribution, manufacturing, pharma and not for profit. In a late 2007 analyst release report, Epicor was recognized by Aberdeen as achieving the lowest TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and total per user cost of software, services and maintenance for mid-size companies. In fact, the Epicor ERP solution came in at less than 50% of competing ERP products. The company's channel strategies are usually questionable which may necessitate more review for international buyers. Infor is a company that surprisingly few ERP software buyers are aware of. Largely based on an aggressive acquisition and roll-up strategy, Infor is the third largest ERP manufacturer - behind only SAP and Oracle. Infor is a vertically oriented software publisher with several different ERP software systems and particularly strong

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distribution, supply chain management (SCM), lean manufacturing, complex manufacturing and process manufacturing solutions.

Fortune 2000/ Enterprise ERP Leaders

SAP is the largest and most recognized Fortune 1000, Global 5000 and enterprise market share leader. The company has achieved its success due to its rich functionality and completeness of workflow integration in accounting and distribution software suites along with tightly integrated financials, manufacturing, human resource, payroll and customer relationship management software systems. Oracle is the world's second largest business applications maker - and is clearly out to take the lead role from SAP. Bolstered by its acquisitions of PeopleSoft (with JD Edwards) and Siebel Systems, Oracle has collected an impressive customer list and portfolio of intellectual property. Now the real work to keep those customers and integrate those products (project Fusion) is underway with results expected very soon. Oracle is also expected to acquire other ERP application from the market and has plan to integrate with rest of their own application in future to empower their application structure and seamless workflow integration for customers.

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Conclusion The growing information needs of an enterprise make it imperative to improve or replace old systems. Especially under the present business environment, where the globalization has been initiated, full convertibility is coined. Infrastructure projects are nearing completion, and it is expected that the whole business system will undergo a major shift. Implementation of ERP solutions is one of the largest drivers of growth in the consultancy business. The introduction of such a large and complex software like ERP, enables an organization to integrate their manufacturing, finance and marketing operations at all levels, is in itself a challenge, since it calls for technical and functional skills and a change in user mindsets.

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Bibliography 1. Enterprise resource planning by Alexis Leone 2. http://www.systrotech.am/erp/ERPOverview 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enterprise_resource_planning 4. http://www12.sap.com/solutions/business-suite/erp/index.epx

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