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Special technology report ERP


Getting better connected


Manufacturing & Logistics IT spoke to a number of key spokespeople within the ERP vendor, systems integrator and process management community about the current functionality state of the art within this technology vertical, together with some of the exterior forces that are influencing these developments.


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ike any technology vertical within the manufacturing and logistics IT space, the functionality of Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions is being constantly changed and adapted, both to better leverage a particular ERP vendor’s USPs, as well as to better fit the current business and operational requirements of the target end- user base – and let’s not forget the need to keep up with a raft of changing legislation related to things such as standards, quality control and the environment. The basics of an ERP system may remain largely the same; ie. to provide the automated, integrated means of accessing and adding to the flow of business- critical data across the whole enterprise and its business stakeholder network – everything from manufacturing, orders, finance & accounting and more.


But where are the key developments to be witnesses in early 2011, and how are both the vendors active R&D departments – and the end users’ changing requirements – steering these changes? Kevin Bull, product manager at Columbus IT, first focuses on user productivity. “Business pressures are


MANUFACTURING &LOGISTICS


IT March 2011


demanding that employees squeeze more and more productivity from their working day,” he said. “If the companies ERP system is able to deliver the user with the right information, easily and effectively, allowing it be manipulated and presented, the business becomes better positioned to react to change and opportunities. Modern ERP systems need to be intuitive and easy to adapt and easy to deploy, they need to be able to seamlessly share data with desktop tools.”





ERP systems need to include tools that allow business process documentation to be generated and held in a central resource and linked to system processes.” – Kevin Bull, product manager, Columbus IT.


Bull also homes in on compliance management. He has observes that compliance has become an increasing burden in many businesses; both from a legislative, environmental and quality management perspective. “ERP systems


need to include tools that allow business process


documentation to be generated and held in a central resource and linked to system processes,” said Bull. Furthermore, he comments that the ERP system needs to be able to provide strong auditing tools


Kevin Bull, product manager


and workbenches to allow auditors to confirm that business practices are being adhered to. “Tools that can allow effective management of compliance practices and an ability to perform auditing in a cost-effective manner deliver real business benefit; no more so than in specialist industries with heavy compliance burdens – chemicals and REACH regulations being a prime example.”


Measuring the true cost Bull then tackles cost of ownership. “As modern ERP systems provide broader business coverage, and as they become


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