No, many developers claim that their software can be used in any kind of business, but the fact is that most systems were designed for a particular type of business model and then modified to accommodate other types.
This will mean that it will work well for the model it was originally designed for, but there will be compromises when used with other business models. You should therefore choose the solution which most closely matches your business type, and which provides you with the functionality you need. You should of course also plan not just for today's needs but for your needs in 5 to 10 years time.
In order to hook you in and get you to buy their solution, many vendors may lead you to believe that you don't require any IT staff to implement and maintain their ERP system. The truth of the matter is that all but the very simplest multi-user, mid range ERP systems will require at least one full time system administrator for the duration of the system implementation.
It is possible that if the number of users is relatively few (10 or less) then after implementation, System Administration can be a part time role for one of your staff with advanced computer skills.
It is a popular misconception that if your software is hosted by an ASP then you don't require any IT staff - Well unless it is a very basic system you do.
Probably 80% of a System Administrator's working time is taken up not physically maintaining or administrating the Server, but providing help, guidance and front line support to the internal system users.
This user support will be necessary if the server is physically located in your office or in the ASP's, and activities like providing user support, report customization and database management are still required.
Unless you have someone on site who can immediately look over the shoulder of a user encountering some difficulty, and provide them with instant help, you will have to rely very heavily on the ASP's support team to remotely provide you with answers.
This will definitely add in a delay factor which will at minimum involve a phone call where the user will need to explain to the support consultant, the problem they are seeing and provide a test scenario for the support consultant to attempt to replicate the problem being encountered.
No, unlike many of our competitor's ERP solutions which originated and were adapted from Accounting Systems, Visual Manufacturing was originally designed as a Manufacturing Information and Control system, not an accounting system.
Again, unlike many of our competitors, it is very clear from our product names which business they are addressing - we don't just have a elusive solution called Visual ERP, but instead - Visual Manufacturing, Visual Financials, Visual Quality etc., specific solutions designed for specific business tasks.
Visual Manufacturing is optimized for the '2Order' manufacturing sector, including assemble to order, design to order, configure to order, repair to order or a mixed-mode environment where the manufacturer partially produces to stock.
Furthermore, Visual Manufacturing is highly intuitive, easy to learn, easy to maintain and highly user friendly. That did not just happen by chance or as an afterthought, it was designed that way !
System implementation is jointly performed by a small core team of executive staff from your company (normally 5 or 6) and by one or more of our Business Consultants.
This joint effort combines the strengths and knowledge of your core implementation team who understand your business processes and unique company business policies, with our experienced Business Consultants who understand our software and how best to mould it to suit your business needs.
Because of the inherent design of any software code, it is inevitable that under certain circumstances an application does not perform as planned or expected and that it will have to be fixed. In addition, software is ever evolving in terms of additional functionality and also due to changing technologies and methodologies.
This means for example that a software application you bought five years ago written in the latest technology at that time, would be obsolete today if it were not continually developed.
Annual Maintenance is an optional charge that you can subscribe to, which helps ensure that the software you bought originally is kept up to date, and that you also enjoy the new features and functionality which have been incorporated since the original version you purchased.
Unfortunately, customization is rarely a one time affair. If you customize the application source code today to better match you business needs, then you will have to re-customize again every time the developer releases a program fix or new release.
This will inevitably result in additional costs and delays in you getting the latest software functionality and technology when they are released.
Try to choose the solution which out of the box will meet 80% of your business needs and try to compromise on the 20% non-fit requirements.
No, eCommerce works on top of ERP it is not a replacement for it. eCommerce is quite simply another way of entering transactions directly eliminating the need for any additional human interaction. It allows transactions to be entered outside the four walls of your office, from anywhere in the world.
eCommerce is the front and back ends of the business management process but it is not the business execution part in the middle !
eCommerce is currently of more advantage to high volume transaction businesses including internet retailers and distributors who potentially receive thousands of orders a day. It is however of less advantage to small and mid sized manufacturers who in contrast may receive very few daily orders !
There are typically 3 capital investment costs and an ongoing running cost or expense.
The three major capital costs are:
The ratio of percentages of the 3 capital costs may vary considerably from one system to another. Optional Software Maintenance is a running cost fee payable annually in order to help prevent obsolescence of your software.
MRP is an acronym for Material Requirements Planning and is where it all started. Broadly speaking, it is a planning technique employed by most MRPII and ERP systems which creates want dates for all the items in a parent Bill Of Materials (BOM) based on a fixed manufacturing lead time for the parent part. It is particularly well suited to the make to stock business or where the top level parent part manufacturing lead time is relatively short.
MRPII however, is not just material planning, but a full suite of software applications designed to manage the entire manufacturing process including Inventory Control, Sales Management, Shop Floor Control, Purchasing etc.
ERP is the third generation of manufacturing software suites and unlike MRPII includes an option for Financial Management integrated to the manufacturing functions available in MRPII.
Most traditional ERP and MRPII systems use MRP planning which is well suited to high volume, repetitive manufacturers where the lead time is relatively short and where orders are often received as forecasts.
An alternative to MRP planning however is Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) which is more suitable for the 'To Order' business sector, or where the parent part manufacturing lead time is relatively long.
No, Finite Capacity Scheduling is much more powerful. It will plan the start and end dates for each operation in the manufacturing process according to a finite (limited) supply of resources (machines and manpower). If a particular resource is not available or is fully loaded, then Finite Scheduling will dynamically move the operation to a point in time when there is available capacity on that resource.
Capacity Requirements Planning and Infinite Capacity Planning simply tells you how much capacity you REQUIRE in order to meet your customer delivery dates. It will not however plan the jobs according to how much capacity you have available.
Visual Manufacturing supports Finite Capacity Planning, Capacity Requirements Planning, Infinite Capacity Planning and Advanced Planning and Scheduling as standard features in it's core system.
Basically, unlike MRP planning, APS (Advanced Planning & Scheduling) breaks the manufacturing process into distinct operations, and attaches the BOM to each individual operation, rather than attaching the entire BOM to the top level parent part. The operations and the attached materials are then planned FINITELY according to the availability of Materials, Manpower and Machines.
Visual Manufacturing (VM) has employed APS as it's standard planning method since release 1.0 in 1992, 6 years before the acronym APS was even coigned !. In VM, MRP and AMP (Advanced Material Planning) are available as optional modules.
Whereas MRPII and ERP are designed to manage the Financial and Manufacturing activities within the four walls of the company, SCM also looks outside the four walls managing and tracing the supply of materials from the raw material, through the manufacturing of components, the consolidated assembly, the distribution channels right through to the consumer.
Infor Global Solutions offer a full suite of Supply Chain Management options which will allow you to select the functionality you need to manage your supply chain.