SSA GT Beefs Up BPCS V8 Through Partnerships' Spree

Event Summary

SSA Global Technologies (SSA GT), the reincarnation of the erstwhile high-flying and subsequently bankrupt ERP vendor (see Another One Bites the Dust - SSA Gored to Death), Systems Software Associates (SSA), has been focusing its internal development and astute partnership striking and/or renewing activities to address collaborative commerce, e-procurement, customer relationship management (CRM), factory optimization and business intelligence (BI). The company also intends to increase these efforts in its traditional industry markets, including automotive supply, consumer electronics, consumer goods/food and beverage, pharmaceutical/chemical and general manufacturing.

This event note concerns the following recent announcements by SSA GT:

• OEM agreement with Logility

• Agreement with REALTime Data Collection Solutions

• OEM partnership with Applix

• OEM agreement with Digital Union

• Availability of BPCS enterprise Performance Analytics

• Continued support of BPCS versions CD (4.05), BPCS V6, and BPCS V8

• To provide backward compatibility to BPCS eCommerce, ERM and collaborative commerce solutions

These announcements are part of a new solution strategy for the BPCS product.

This is Part One of a two-part event note. Part Two will discuss the Market Impact of these announcements and make User Recommendations.

Agreement With Logility

On December 17, SSA GT announced an OEM agreement with Logility (NASDAQ: LGTY), a supplier of business-to-business (B2B) collaborative commerce solutions to optimize the supply chain. SSA GT will market and support the Logility Voyager Solutions suite as "BPCS Collaborative Commerce powered by Logility." The suite is designed to help SSA GT customers develop collaborative communities with internal and external business partners and more effectively manage supply chain operations.

Available today, BPCS Collaborative Commerce may provide the necessary tools that enable companies to balance, optimize, forecast and plan at a detailed level. Working in conjunction with the BPCS enterprise system, this new suite of products provides advanced planning and optimization in the areas of collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishment; demand, supply, inventory, transportation and factory optimization; and advanced warehouse management.

By implementing BPCS Collaborative Commerce, SSA GT customers might experience increased supply chain visibility, which helps improve flexibility and responsiveness to changes in demand and supply conditions, significantly reducing planning efforts and optimizing inventory investments. BPCS Collaborative Commerce is reportedly integrated with BPCS Version 8 and is available now through the SSA GT global sales organization.

On December 4, REALTime Data Collection Solutions, Inc. (RTDCS), a supplier of integrated data capture solutions, and SSA GT announced a formal agreement that allows SSA GT to offer RTDCS RT/CIM, a real-time data collection solution, to its clients worldwide. RT/CIM provides real-time, bi-directional data collection for the capture of inventory and labor transactions without lengthy set-up or development.

Since 1995, manufacturing and distribution companies throughout North America, Europe and parts of South America have reportedly utilized RTDCS RT/CIM with BPCS(R) (Business Planning and Control System) SSA GT's core ERP solution. RT/CIM is available for BPCS 4.05 CD and Version 6, and will soon be available for BPCS Version 8 and the Plant Maintenance software.
m.

REALTime Data Collection Solutions, Inc.

On December 4, REALTime Data Collection Solutions, Inc. (RTDCS), a supplier of integrated data capture solutions, and SSA GT announced a formal agreement that allows SSA GT to offer RTDCS RT/CIM, a real-time data collection solution, to its clients worldwide. RT/CIM provides real-time, bi-directional data collection for the capture of inventory and labor transactions without lengthy set-up or development.

Since 1995, manufacturing and distribution companies throughout North America, Europe and parts of South America have reportedly utilized RTDCS RT/CIM with BPCS(R) (Business Planning and Control System) SSA GT's core ERP solution. RT/CIM is available for BPCS 4.05 CD and Version 6, and will soon be available for BPCS Version 8 and the Plant Maintenance software.

OEM Partnership With Applix

On December 3, SSA GT and Applix (NASDAQ: APLX) announced an OEM partnership to deliver BPCS CRM, a sales, marketing, and service desk suite of applications that manage customer activities and marketing campaigns. With BPCS CRM, companies should be able to track and coordinate sales, marketing and customer service plans and activities; mine their relationship database to increase value to customers, partners and prospects; and achieve a streamlined, collaborative business environment.

BPCS CRM will be integrated with BPCS CD, V6.1 and V8. The solution is available in English, French, German, Japanese, Korean and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Specifically developed for mid-market companies, BPCS CRM will reportedly automate web-based marketing, sales, customer service, product quality assurance, and internal helpdesks. BPCS CRM is comprised of the following modules:

• BPCS CRM Sales - a comprehensive marketing and sales force automation (SFA) solution that enables companies to manage every phase of their sales cycle, from initial lead generation through qualification, closure, order fulfillment and follow-on (after) sales.

• BPCS CRM Service - a customer service and support module for managing globally distributed customers and partners and their Service Level Agreements (SLAs).

• BPCS CRM Helpdesk - an enterprise-wide incident (call) management system that enables IT groups to assist internal staff with their requests and schedules and coordinates training courses for internal staff and maintains profiles on skill levels.

OEM Agreement With Digital Union

SOctober 29, SSA GT and Digital Union, a UK-based e-business solutions provider for small to medium-sized enterprises, announced an OEM agreement that allows SSA GT to offer its clients BPCS eProcurement, powered by Digital Union.

This solution, the first in a series of e-commerce solutions offered by SSA GT, should give SSA GT clients the ability to positively impact their bottom line by lowering transaction costs while increasing productivity in purchase order processing and strategic sourcing. BPCS eProcurement solution is centered on Digital Union's ezMarket, a solution that extends a company's capabilities by facilitating the management of procurement approval procedures and the generation and tracking of purchase orders until goods are received.

Built using IBM WebSphere Commerce Suite, this solution reportedly offers a low-risk entry into complete on-line procurement by reducing the time and costs of developing a comprehensive, interactive solution for managing both sales and purchases. BPCS eProcurement initially focuses on maintenance, repair and operations (MRO), procurement and strategic sourcing. SSA GT currently plans to add functionality to address entry level and direct material procurement next year.

BPCS Enterprise Performance Analytics

On October 8, SSA GT announced the availability of BPCS Enterprise Performance Analytics (EPAs), a series of analytic applications that provide a foundation for business performance measurement. Sales Analysis, the first product available in this series, enables businesses to analyze all aspects of sales from effectiveness of sales and distribution organizations to product and customer performance. Leveraging Cognos e-Applications, the Sales Analysis solution quickly converts raw data into meaningful sales information. The solution is comprised of fifty-two pre-defined reports and five multi-dimensional cubes that include the following areas: sales, orders, distribution, promotions and forecasts.

Sales Analysis is part of the Cognos e-Applications Business Performance Management Foundation (BPM). This is a suite of analytical applications based on a common foundation allowing organizations to implement the solution that meets their immediate departmental requirements and then incrementally employ the solution across the entire enterprise. SSA GT and Cognos will also offer applications in the following areas: General Ledger Analysis, Accounts Receivable Analysis, Accounts Payable Analysis, Inventory Analysis and Procurement Analysis. Once available, these products will supposedly include pre-configured reports for generating key performance indicators (KPIs) and business critical analyses. Each product will pull information from the existing BPCS database to a SQL Server platform.

New Solution Strategy for BPCS Product

PThe above initiatives stem from September, when at its Global Client Forum, SSA GT unveiled its new solution strategy for BPCS product. As part of this vision, the company announced the availability of cross-functional enhancements that would allow current clients to apply new e-business technologies. The new enhancements to BPCS would include:

• BPCS eCommerce - A series of applications focused on order processing, material buying and selling, and material order fulfillment. These solutions, which include eSales and eProcurement, should allow companies to reduce operational costs, improve productivity, and simplify internal processes.

• BPCS Collaborative Commerce - A series of business-to-business (B2B) collaborative commerce solutions that are designed to optimize supply chain operations and assist in effectively developing collaborative communities with business partners.

• BPCS Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) - A series of solutions that provide organizations extended enterprise reach through service and sales force automation (SFA) functions. ERM is a critical component in the extended supply chain and allows clients to efficiently and effectively manage customers and partners.

• BPCS Business Intelligence (Enterprise Performance Analytics) - A series of analytic applications, powered by Cognos, that provide a foundation for business performance measurement.

• Core Enhancements - A Web Client for BPCS Versions 6, 8 and CD and BPCS XML processor allows clients to send and receive XML messages in Open Application Group (OAG) standards. Vertical enhancements to core product establishes phase one harmonization that enables mid-market large and global clients to implement upgrades in a time frame that meets business needs.

Continued Support of Earlier Versions of BPCS

OSSA GT pledged to continue to support BPCS versions CD (4.05), BPCS V6 and BPCS V8 and to provide backward compatibility to BPCS eCommerce, ERM and collaborative commerce solutions. In addition to the new solutions, SSA GT has incorporated an interoperability technology to ensure that solution interface management, data conversion, and data transportation is seamless. This technology should provide a standardized framework and avoid the need to utilize custom programming. The IBM Websphere toolset is utilized extensively by SSA GT for interoperability and eCommerce solution deployment.

This concludes Part One of a two-part Event Note. Part Two will discuss the Market Impact of these announcements and make User Recommendations.