Situation
Replacing
an aging enterprise resource planning/manufacturing resource planning (ERP/MRP)
system to stay competitive brings with it a host of questions. Will the system
have the necessary visibility into manufacturing processes, particularly costs?
Will it give customers and partners direct data exchange through the supply
chain? Many companies facing this decision are still running old-style character-based
terminal sessions, without the intuitive graphical user interface that the rest
of the world is using.
These
first-generation systems were good enough twenty years ago, when anything was
better than paper and pencil. But most lack a real relational database underneath
the applications, which leaves them stuck with rigid, proprietary data structures
that don't "talk" to any other software in the office. These packages have little,
if any, concept of open networking built into them, let alone the possibility
of interacting with suppliers and customers over the Internet. Until recently,
to benefit from that kind of functionality, you had to pay for one of the more
expensive midrange packages.
New,
alternative ERP systems are now appearing that offer the same full functionality
as the high-ticket packages from companies like SAP, Oracle and Microsoft, but
without the complexity, implementation headaches and costly licensing fees.
These alternative systems are changing the ERP/MRP equation, and with them has
come a new slate of questions that companies considering alternative IT resources
need to consider before they choose a vendor.
What are my choices?
It's
no secret that the big ERP/MRP packages are overpriced and overly complex. They
frequently entail months of implementation worries and disruption of current
operations, onerous software licensing schemes and forced upgrade paths. Fortunately,
thanks to the technology boom of the 1990s, there's a raft of alternatives from
smaller startups that draw on innovations like open architecture and open source.
Alternative manufacturing and supply chain software can help small entrepreneurial
manufacturers (SEMs) keep step properly with better-equipped competitors and
customers without spending through the roof. They make manufacturing operations
easier to manage at a fraction of the cost and complexity of standard packages.
Duane, do not break for each question.
What
should I expect from an alternative system?
Buyers
have every right to expect an alternative IT system to be a fully integrated
end-to-end ERP system and a true client/server application, fully Internet-ready.
With the right manufacturing software, for example, manufacturers can realize
substantial savings and efficiencies, including quicker inventory turns, more
efficient use of production equipment and floor personnel, higher repeat sales
through customer analytics, streamlined reporting procedures, and better use
of vendors and suppliers. Don't settle for software that locks the IT department
into one particular vendor strategy or technology platform.
Will I sacrifice essential features?
Some alternative systems pack more sophisticated functionality than others. Some vendors, for example, have merely grafted on weak manufacturing modules to a generalized accounting system, and it shows. Buyers need to be sure they're getting enterprise software that's powerful, flexible and affordable. Solid manufacturing software, for example, should include modules for inventory management, product definition and costing, master scheduling and MRP, capacity planning, work order management, purchase order management, sales order management, shipping and receiving, and sales analysis. Some systems include their own native accounting functionality; others interface with popular third-party accounting programs.
Is
it flexible and compatible enough to integrate with my other internal systems?
Any
ERP system you're considering should interface seamlessly to all your front-office
systems over a local network or the Internet, and should comply with industry
standard technologies such as ODBC (open database connectivity). Some alternative
systems run on low-cost yet fully capable open-source alternatives such as the
Linux operating system and the PostgreSQL database. This can bring lower total
cost of ownership and let you sidestep forced upgrades and costly licensing
structures typical of closed, proprietary packages. Some systems even provide
customers with the underlying source code of the application itself, which affords
the customer the ultimate in flexibility.
What are the licensing terms?
Many don't pause to think about it, but when you buy software, you're not actually buying a product, and that goes for pricey ERP/MRP software, too. Instead, you're buying a license to use it often only for a limited amount of time, and under certain conditions. Most vendors have some kind of per-user (or per-seat) pricing policy, and technical support offerings also track the number of users of the system. Some price their product piece-by-piece, module-by-module which is often a recipe for buying an incomplete solution.
One
alternative approach that is gaining in popularity is an annual subscription
model which avoids a big up-front license fee, and encourages a long-term
partnership between the software vendor, any solutions providers that might
be involved in the installation and support, and the customer. Some vendors'
licensing policies incorporate elements of both the open source and proprietary
software worlds, making their source code freely available, and encouraging
contributions from qualified solution partners. Such an approach can help ensure
companies own the keys to the engine that drives their business.
About
The Author
Ned
Lilly is president and CEO of OpenMFG, a company he
co-founded that provides software and services to the manufacturing sector.