Thursday 29 September 2011

How ERP Evolved

 In my view, The ERP started evolving from the days when we started writing the software to manage the multiple aspects of the business. I would say any software which tend to take care of multiple aspects of the business is an ERP. It is an outcome of 40 years of trial and error. It has evolved as a strategic tool because of continuous improvement in the available techniques to manage business and the fast growth of information technology. I feel that the manufacturing industry contributed a lot for Evolution of ERP because they required the integrated software rather than any other industry.

Prior to 1960s, business had to rely on the traditional ways of inventory management to ensure smooth functioning of the organization. These theories are called classical inventory management of scientific inventory control methods. The most popularly known amongst them is EOQ (Economic Order Quantity).
In this method, each item in the stock is analyzed for its ordering cost and the inventory carrying cost. A trade off is established on a phased out expected demand of one year, and this way the most economic ordering quantity can be decided. This technique in principle is a deterministic way of managing inventory.

In 1960s, a new technique of Material Requirements Planning, popularly known as MRP, was evolved. This was a proactive manner of inventory management. This technique fundamentally explodes the end product demand obtained from the Master Production Schedule (MPS) for a specified product structure (which is taken from Bill of Material) into a detailed schedule of purchase orders or production orders, taking into account the inventory on hand. MRP is a simple logic but the magnitude of data involved in a realistic situation makes it computationally cumbersome. If undertaken manually, the entire process is highly time-consuming.
 
But MRP successfully demonstrated its effectiveness which led to the reduction of inventory, production, and delivery lead times by improving coordination and avoiding delays, thus making commitments more realistic. MRP proved to be a very good technique for managing inventory, but it did not take into account other resources of an organization. This gave birth to a modified MRP logic, popularly known as closed loop MRP. In this technique, the capacity of the organization to produce a particular product is also taken into account by incorporating a module called capacity requirements planning (CRP).
 
Later, the need was felt to integrate the financial resource with the manufacturing activities. From this evolved an integrated manufacturing management system called Manufacturng Resource Planning (MRP II).
 
Transition from MRPII to ERP happened during 1980-90.  The shortcomings of MRP II and the need to integrate new the various processes in the organization led to the development of a total integrated solution called ERP, 

There are many new age ERP packages which is a complete integrated solution which attempts  to integrate the transactions of the organization to produce the best possible plan. Today we see further development in the ERP concept which led to the birth of new industry based solutions and evolution web-based ERP, Further to this there are several other concepts which evolve around ERP, BPM- Business Process Management is a best example for this.

Now there are many many ERP Products available in the Market, the main competition is among the 2 big players, SAP and Oracle. modern day ERP grows by providing the solutions for different business areas such as Industry Specific Solutions, trading, CRM, SRM and so on.

Note : most of the above information was obtained  from many other sources in internet.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Introduction to ERP


Enterprise resource planning (ERP) integrates internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application. Its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders.

Origin of "ERP"
In 1990 Gartner Group first employed the acronym ERP as an extension of material requirements planning (MRP), later manufacturing resource planning and computer-integrated manufacturing. Without supplanting these terms, ERP came to represent a larger whole, reflecting the evolution of application integration beyond manufacturing. Not all ERP packages were developed from a manufacturing core. Vendors variously began with accounting, maintenance and human resources. By the mid–1990s ERP systems addressed all core functions of an enterprise. Beyond corporations, governments and non–profit organizations also began to employ ERP systems.
Expansion
ERP systems experienced rapid growth in the 1990s because the year 2000 problem and introduction of the Euro disrupted legacy systems. Many companies took this opportunity to replace such systems with ERP. This rapid growth in sales was followed by a slump in 1999 after these issues had been addressed.
ERP systems initially focused on automating back office functions that did not directly affect customers and the general public. Front office functions such as customer relationship management (CRM) dealt directly with customers, or e–business systems such as e–commerce, e–government, e–telecom, and e–finance, or supplier relationship management (SRM) became integrated later, when the Internet simplified communicating with external parties.
"ERP II" was coined in the early 2000s. It describes web–based software that allows both employees and partners (such as suppliers and customers) real–time access to the systems. "Enterprise application suite" is an alternate name for such systems
ERP software companies are part of an extremely competitive and complex market. In order to remain competitive and retain or grow market share, they must continually improve on a variety of fronts. Meeting their customers’ demands, creating and implementing new technologies, supporting customers, and fending off competition are just a few of the daily worries experienced by the ERP companies who are still going strong over 20 years into this market. The following paragraphs take a look at the biggest ERP software players in the market today.

TOP Players in ERP Market
You can’t talk about ERP software companies without mentioning SAP. They have the number one share of the ERP market at this time with customers in well over 100 countries. They also have CRM solutions and SCM solutions that are known for their high quality. SAP is also priced at the top end of the market. Their solutions definitely cover a range of industries and although they were once tightly focused on fortune 500 companies, they have recently begun to scale down their solutions to fit mid-sized and small companies.

Oracle is a giant when it comes to ERP software companies. They are known for their database and hardware solutions and tend to priced at the top end of the market. Some of the tasks their products perform include customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM) and financial management. Their solutions are known for offering great flexibility with cutting edge technology, and they claim to have the number one share of the CRM market and the number 2 share of the ERP market. Oracle has acquired some of the large ERP Player in the market like People Soft, Siebel etc.

Microsoft is probably the most recognizable name of the ERP software companies, but here they are not necessarily the biggest. Like all ERP software companies, Microsoft has acquired smaller ERP companies through the years in order to boost their ERP offerings. They have traditionally offered solutions for mid to small sized companies and are therefore moderately to low priced.

Infor is an ERP company that has over 70,000 customers in 100 countries. They offer a variety of ERP solutions over a broad range of industries. With products that encompass the public and private sector, CRM, ERP, finances and expenses, HR functions, SCM, and performance management, it is no wonder that they are the 3rd biggest player of ERP software companies. Like Microsoft, they typically compete in the moderately to low priced product range.

Epicor is a company with a long history of solid products. Their presence in over 150 countries with 20,000 customers is a testament to their solutions. They focus on ERP software and retail software. Over 400 of the world’s leading retailers use Epicor’s solutions. They seem to be in a growth stage at this point with several recent acquisitions of smaller companies. They are also known for good after sales support and have moderate to low priced products.

Getting to know these big ERP software companies is a great way of getting to know what solutions are out there for your company. Don’t forget that there are also a number of other smaller, innovative and reputable companies out there. Take your time, do your research and figure out your needs

Monday 26 September 2011

Introduction To SAP

Introduction
     SAP is the number one among the several ERP Vendors in the World. SAP is the world's largest business software company. It operates in four geographic regions: EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), AMERICA (United States and Canada), LAC (Latin America and Caribbean), and APJ (Asia Pacific and Japan), which represents Japan, Australia, India, and parts of Asia. In addition, SAP operates a network of 115 subsidiaries, and has R&D (Research & Development) facilities around the globe in Germany, India, the US, Canada, France, Brazil, Turkey, China, Hungary, Israel, Ireland and Bulgaria.

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 mid size companies and small businesses.


Who Founded SAP.

SAP was founded in June 1972 as Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung ("System Analysis and Program Development") by five former IBM engineers in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg (Dietmar Hopp, Klaus Tschira,Hans-Werner Hector, Hasso Plattner, and Claus Wellenreuther).

Products,

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 real-time – even though it is not a real-time solution. The number 3 related to the 3-tier architecture: database, application server and client (SAP GUI). R/2, which ran on Mainframe architecture, was the predecessor of R/3.

SAP product are consider excellent but not perfect.  The main problems with software product is that it can never be perfect.

SAP ECC 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 product-related 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
Advantages of SAP 
The main advantage of using SAP as your company ERP system is that SAP have a very high level of integration among its individual applications which guarantee consistency of data throughout the system and the company itself.


SAP is a table drive customization software.  It allows businesses to make rapid changes in their business requirements with a common set of programs.  User-exits are provided for business to add in additional source code.  Tools such as screen variants are provided to let you set fields attributes whether to hide, display and make them mandatory fields.


This is what makes ERP system and SAP in particular so flexible.  The table driven customization are driving the program functionality instead of those old fashioned hard-coded programs.  Therefore, new and changed business requirements can be quickly implemented and tested in the system.


Many other business application software have seen this table driven customization advantage and are now changing their application software based on this table customizing concept.


Architecture of SAP R/3  system
The SAP R/3 System architecture consists of three layers:  Presentation, Application, and Data Storage. The following diagram illustrates the function served by each layer and how the layers work together:



Presentation 
This is where users of the SAP R/3 System will submit input to the SAP R/3 System for the processing of business transactions. It is also where the output from these transactions appears as output fields, reports, tables and spread sheets.
On the desktop level, R/3 offers a user-friendly graphical interface called SAP GUI. The system also integrates alternative interfaces for optimum compliance with your requirements. This includes integrating common PC applications. Information exchange is also carried out through the Internet, Kiosk touch screen systems and telephone applications.

Application
 An application is a logically independent component residing at the host operating system level within the SAP R/3 client/server environment. This component is represented by an application server in the SAP R/3 network. After a user initiates a request at the presentation level, logic is invoked to service and process that information. The application logic modules can reside on one centralized host machine or be distributed over several physical host machines within a particular SAP R/3 network. Typically, the update and en queue processes reside on the database server in the application layer. In most cases, the message, spool and gateway processes will also reside on the database server.

The database server may also be referred to as the “central server”. On the application level, R/3 offers sophisticated mechanisms to optimally use high-performance system
resources. The system implements interconnections between various applications so that they are practical from a business perspective. R/3 closes the gap between the exacting concept of a business transaction and transactions from a data processing perspective.

Data Storage
 On the database level, R/3 exclusively uses relational database systems by various manufacturers. R/3 is able to utilize the most advanced features of each database vendor’s product. In other words, it is not constrained by the lack of features in any individual database engine. Instead, it is able to fully use a supplier-specific implementation without jeopardizing it’s own portability.


SAP Modules:




Complete SAP Modules:

1.    SAP Basis
1.1.           Security (BC - SEC)
1.2.           Application Link Enabling (ALE)
1.3.           Remote Function Calls (RFC)
1.4.           Object Linking and Embedding (OLE)
1.5.           Common Program Interface Communications (CPI-C)
1.6.           Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
1.7.           Customizing (BC-CUS)
1.8.           ABAP Programming and Runtime Environment (BC - ABA)
1.9.           Client Server Technology (BC - CST)
1.10.       Network Integration (BC - NET)
1.11.       Basis Services/ Communication Interfaces (BC - SRV)
1.12.       Computing Center Management System (BC - CCM)
1.13.       Upgrade General (BC - UPG)
1.14.       Change and Transport System (BC - CTS)
1.15.       Operating System Platform(BC - OP)
1.16.       Database Interface, database platforms (BC - DB)
1.17.       Front End Services (BC - FES)
1.18.       ABAP Workbench (BC - DWB)
1.19.       Documentation and Translation Tools (BC - DOC)
1.20.       Controls and Control Framework (BC - CI) 
1.21.       Business Management (BC - BMT)
1.22.       Middleware (BC - MID)
1.23.       Computer Aided Test Tool (BC - CAT)
1.24.       Ready to Run R/3 (BC - BRR)
1.25.       Authorisations System Monitoring with CCMS Workload Alert Monitor

2.    ABAP/4 Programming
2.1             ABAP Workbench
2.2             Menu Painter
2.3             Screen Painter
2.4             Data Dictionary
2.5             SAP Script
2.6             Business Workflow (BC - WF)
2.7             ALE
2.8             EDI
2.9             Business Connector
2.10         Business Server Pages
2.11         Internet Application Server
2.12         Mercator Report Painter
2.13         ALV reporting
2.14         Report writer
2.15         Dialog Programming
2.16         Repository Information System
2.17         ABAP 00
2.18         IDOCS
2.19         LSMW
2.20         Smartforms
2.21         EBP
2.22         ASAP methodology
2.23         ABAP Query


3.    SAP FI (Financial Accounting)
3.1.           General Ledger Accounting (FI - GL)
3.2.           Special Ledger (FI - SL)
3.3.           Extended Ledger
3.4.           Accounts Payable (FI- AP)
3.5.           Accounts Receivable (FI - AR)
3.6.           Asset Accounting (FI - AA)
3.7.           Bank Accounting
3.8.           Funds Management (FI - FM)
3.9.           Travel Management (FI-TM)
3.10.       Consolidation

4.    SAP CO (Controlling)
4.1.           Cost Centre Accounting (CO - CCA)
4.2.           Overhead Cost Controlling (CO - OM)
4.3.           Activity Based Coding (CO - ABC)
4.4.           Product Cost Controlling (CO - PC)
4.5.           Profitability Analysis (CO - PA)
4.6.           Material Ledger (CO - ML)


5.    SAP EC (Enterprise Controlling)
5.1.           Consolidation (EC - CS)
5.2.           Executive Information System (EC-EIS)
5.3.           Profit Center Accounting (EC - PCA)
5.4.           Business Planning and Budgeting

6.    SAP TR (Treasury)
6.1.           Cash Management (TR - CM)
6.2.           Loans Management (TR - LM)
6.3.           Market Risk Management (TR - MRM)
6.4.           Treasury Management (TR - TM)
6.5.           Funds Management (TR - FM)
6.6.           Information System


7.    SAP IM (Investment Management)
7.1.           Investment Programmes
7.2.           Investment Measures (orders/products)
7.3.           Corporation Wide Budgeting
7.4.           Appropriation Requests
7.5.           Automatic Settlement of Fixed Assets
7.6.           Depreciation Forecast
7.7.           Information System


8.    SAP HR (Human Resource)
8.1.           Recruitment
8.2.           Personnel Administration
8.3.           Benefits Administration
8.4.           Compensation Management
8.5.           Personnel Development
8.6.           Organizational Management
8.7.           Travel Management
8.8.           Training and Events Management
8.9.           Personnel Planning
8.10.       Time Management
8.11.       Incentive


8.12.       Wages
8.13.       Workflow
8.14.       Payroll
8.15.       Internet Scenarios
8.16.       Information System


9.    SAP SD (Sales and Distribution)
9.1.           Master Data
9.2.           Sales
9.3.           Sales Support
9.4.           Sales Information System
9.5.           Billing
9.6.           Special Business Transactions
9.7.           Shipping
9.8.           Transportation
9.9.           Credit Control
9.10.       QM in SD
9.11.       Internet
9.12.       Foreign Trade
9.13.       Electronic Data Interchange


10.           SAP Logistics Information System
10.1.       Purchasing Information System
10.2.       Sales Information System
10.3.       Inventory Controlling
10.4.       Retail Information System
10.5.       Production Planning and Control Information System
10.6.       Plant Maintenance Information System
10.7.       Project Information System


11.           SAP MM (Materials Management)
11.1.       Purchasing
11.2.       Invoice Verification
11.3.       Logistics (General)
11.4.       Logistics Information System
11.5.       Inventory Management
11.6.       Inventory / Valuations
11.7.       Materials Planning
11.8.       Workflow
11.9.       External Services Management
11.10.  QM in MM
11.11.  Warehouse Management


12.           SAP PM (Plant Maintenance)
12.1.       Preventative Maintenance
12.2.       Maintenance Order Management
12.3.       Maintenance Projects
12.4.       Service Management
12.5.       Maintenance Planning
12.6.       Equipment and Technical Objects
12.7.       Structuring Technical Systems
12.8.       PM Processing
12.9.       Work Clearance Management
12.10.  Internet Scenarios
12.11.  Customising
12.12.  Information System


13.           SAP PP (Production Planning)
13.1.       Make to Order (CR)
13.2.       Make to Order (PIR)
13.3.       Repetitive Manufacturing
13.4.       PP for Process Industries (PP - PI)
13.5.       PP - Processes
13.6.       Sales and Operations Planning
13.7.       Capacity requirements
13.8.       Master Planning
13.9.       KANBAN
13.10.  Production Orders
13.11.  Product Cost Planning
13.12.  Plant Data Collection
13.13.  Assembly Orders
13.14.  Information System

14.           SAP QM - Quality Management
14.1.       Planning
14.2.       Inspections
14.3.       Notifications
14.4.       Control
14.5.       Certificates
14.6.       Test Equipment Management
14.7.       QM-IS


15.           SAP BW (Business Warehousing)
15.1.       Data Warehousing
15.2.       BI Suite - Business Explorer
15.3.       BI Platform
15.4.       ODS Structures
15.5.       Development Technologies
15.6.       Info Cube
15.7.       Design Build

16.           SAP CS (Customer Service)
16.1.       Service Processing
16.2.       Controlling
16.3.       Service Contracts
16.4.       Workflow in Customer Service

17.           SAP SMB
17.1.       SAP SMB


18.           SAP CA (Cross Application Components)
18.1.       SAP Business Workflow
18.2.       Application Link Enabling (ALE)


19.           SAP PS (Project Systems)
19.1.       Basic Data
19.2.       Operational Structures
19.3.       Project Planning
19.4.       Approval
19.5.       Information System
19.6.       Project Execution and Integration
19.7.       Work Breakdown Structure


20.           mySAP SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
20.1.       Self Service Procurement
20.2.       Service Procurement
20.3.       Plan Driven Procurement
20.4.       Spend Analysis
20.5.       Strategic Sourcing
20.6.       Catalogue Content Management

21.           mySAP SEM
21.1.       Business Consolidation (SEM-BCS)
21.2.       Business Information Collection (SEM-BIC)
21.3.       Business Planning and Simulation (BW-BPS)
21.4.       Corporate Performance Monitor (SEM-CPM)
21.5.       Stakeholder Relationship Management (SEM-SRM)


22.           mySAP CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
22.1.       CRM Enterprise
22.2.       Field Applications
22.3.       Interaction Center
22.4.       E-Commerce
22.5.       Channel Management
22.6.       Industry Specific CRM


23.           mySAP Product Life Cycle Management
23.1.       Document Management
23.2.       Engineering Change Management
23.3.       Enterprise Content Management
23.4.       Classification
23.5.       Basic Data for Process Manufacturing

24.           SAP SCM (SAP Supply Chain Management)
24.1.       SCM Process and Business Scenarios
24.2.       SAP Forecasting and Replenishment
24.3.       SAP Advance Planning and Optimization (SAP - APO)
24.4.       SAP Inventory Collaboration Hub (SAP - OCH)
24.5.       SAP Event Management (SAP - EM)
24.6.       SCM Basis


25.           SAP Netweaver
25.1.       SAP Masterdata Management
25.2.       Information Integration
25.3.       Portal Content
25.4.       Process Integration
25.5.       Knowledge Management
25.6.       Life Cycle Management
25.7.       SAP Business Intelligence
25.8.       SAP Visual Composer
25.9.       People Integration
25.10.  Application Platform
25.11.  SAP Web Application Server
25.12.  SAP Business Information Warehouse
25.13.  SAP Solution Manager
25.14.  SAP Enterprise Portal
25.15.  SAP Mobile Engine
25.16.  Security


26.           SAP IS (Industry Solutions) / SAP for Industries
SAP has the following industries specific solutions:
26.1.       Aerospace & Defence
26.2.       Consumer Products
26.3.       Defence & Security
26.4.       Retail
26.5.       Insurance
26.6.       Mill Products
26.7.       Higher Education & Research
26.8.       Industrial Machinery & Components
26.9.       Logistics Service Providers
26.10.  Automotive
26.11.  Chemicals
26.12.  Pharmaceuticals
26.13.  Banking
26.14.  Telecoms
26.15.  Life Sciences
26.16.  Mining
26.17.  Public Sector
26.18.  Service Provider
26.19.  Media
26.20.  Healthcare
26.21.  Oil & Gas
26.22.  Utilities
26.23.  Postal Services