A Comparison of Cloud based ERP Systems

Nakul Patel

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This document provides a comparison of the various cloud-based service offerings for ERP software based on the data collected

from various internet sources. Soft-wares, in this report, are compared on the basis of general features such as pricing, support,

etc. as well as on the basis of more specific features such as the supported modules and additional capabilities. In all, this

assignment compares 7 of the industry perceived best cloud based ERP systems (viz., Plex Online, NetSuite, Epicor, Infor, SAP

Business ByDesign, Microsoft Dynamics and Oracle) are described in detail towards the latter part of document.

Software Package Comparison for Cloud-based

ERP Systems

Prepared by:

Nakul Patel

1

CLOUD-BASED

ERP SOFTWARE

ANSWERING THE BIG WHY

CLOUD ERP

Cloud ERP is an approach to enterprise resource planning (ERP) that

makes use of cloud computing platforms and services to provide a

business with more flexible business process transformation.

Enterprise resource planning is an industry term for the broad set of

activities that helps a business manage the important parts of its

business such as purchasing and inventory management. ERP

applications can also include modules for the finance and human capital

management aspects of a business. An ERP system integrates internal

and external management information across the entire company,

assimilating accounting, manufacturing processes, sales, and customer

relationship management. ERP systems facilitate the flow of information

between all business functions inside and outside the organization.

In the cloud model, the software vendor houses and manages the

software and buyers pay a subscription price for the software - typically

on a monthly or annual basis. This removes the need for businesses to

host and maintain the software and data on their own servers. This

model is not to be confused with “web-enabled” software, which means

that the software is still installed on-site but the data is accessible online.

In both cases, system data can be accessed through an Internet

connection, enabling employees to remotely access their business data

through any device with online capabilities.

To some industry experts, the promise of cloud computing is that it will

provide an opportunity for business to completely transform how it uses

and pays for information technology. For example, cloud-sourcing

legacy ERP applications might eliminate the need for a business to

purchase the necessary server and storage hardware and maintain it on

site which, in turn, has the potential reduce operational expenditures

(OPEX). Other industry experts, however, point out that the problems

associated with ERP software deployments – such as integration

problems between ERP modules and a company’s legacy systems –

would simply transfer to the cloud.

THE

CLOUD

ERP

SCENARIO

The wheels of a cloud

based ERP system

have started turning

and it is expected that

by the year 2015

global expenditure on

cloud based ERP

systems will have

increased by 21%

according to research

carried out by

Forrester!

2

According to a Gartner Forecast from late 2011, the SaaS-delivered ERP market will grow at a 14.7%

compound annual growth rate until 2015. Manufacturing software vendors are moving their attention to

the cloud and the market is divided between 4 major SaaS ERP players: NetSuite Manufacturing, Epicor

Express for Manufacturing, Infor Industrial Manufacturing, and SAP Business ByDesign.

The hope is that ERP software developed specifically for cloud computing environments will include new

feature sets that were simply not possible using old technology. Until then, cloud ERP is seen as being

good for startup organizations and new business divisions within an existing company.

ADVANTAGES OF CLOUD-ERP

The most common benefits of the cloud-based ERP systems are as follows –

1. Minimized initial investment. On-site ERP solutions require purchasing, housing and

maintaining servers, then deploying, configuring, and maintaining the ERP software. The Cloud

ERP solution does not require a substantial initial investment. The process of implementing,

maintaining, and keeping the solution up to date is the responsibility of the solution provider.

2. Minimized technical staff implication. By eliminating the costs and complexities of installing

and integrating additional hardware to support the ERP, enterprises that use cloud-based

solutions don’t have to hire additional technical staff to support the application on an ongoing

basis.

3. Increase ROI of the ERP application investment. Cloud ERP solutions can easily be

implemented and integrated faster into the enterprise’s day-to-day activity.

4. Increased scalability. Cloud ERP systems are easily scalable to meet new business

requirements. This benefit is particularly useful for enterprises with specific seasonal activities

that need to quickly develop or integrate new functions to meet their business requirements.

5. Subscription benefits. First and foremost, since all SaaS services are offered on a subscription

basis, there are no unexpected costs. Customers know exactly how much the system will cost

them this month, next month and every other month which is a very appealing prospect especially

for smaller businesses whose funds tend to be considerably smaller. Even if the prices for the

SaaS system do increase, they don’t tend to increase by a great deal.

FIGURE 1: BENEFITS OF CLOUD BASED ERP

6. Faster implementation. Management and setup of an SaaS system are all the responsibility of

the vendor so there no real setup or installation process. Most parts of the system will come

preconfigured and ready to be setup integrate into your business. This results in a much faster

and simpler setup process which ultimately lead to a faster ROI since initial costs are lower.

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7. Lower initial costs. Since an SaaS system requires very little in the way peripherals and such

technology normally found in the average non cloud based ERP solution, the costs of running an

SaaS system are much lower as well. The only maintenance cost to the customer would be the

wage packet given to the employees using the software. What’s more, most ERP vendors allow

for additional users to easily be added into the SaaS system without the need for any additional

technology to be implemented so the system can expand easily if you ever need it to.

8. Fewer Responsibilities. Running an in house system means brings with it the added

responsibility of dealing with any problems that may occur such as on-site hardware implications,

software problems and network issues which makes troubleshooting an error somewhat difficult.

However, with an SaaS system all of this is the vendor’s responsibility so the customer does not

need to worry about any problems that may occur.

9. Focus on what you are best at. Possibly the major benefit of implementing any SaaS system is

the freedom that the customer benefits from since many of the responsibilities of running and

maintaining the system are given to the vendor so the customer can focus on doing what they do

best – selling the products and services they offer.

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A TYPICAL ERP

SOFTWARE

LOOKING CLOSELY AT ERP

MODULES

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems integrate internal and

external management information across an entire organization—

embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service,

customer relationship management, etc. ERP software integrates all

facets of an operation, including development, manufacturing, sales and

marketing. The purpose of ERP is to facilitate the flow of information

between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization

and manage the connections to outside stakeholders.

ERP software consists of many enterprise software modules that are

individually purchased, based on what best meets the specific needs

and technical capabilities of the organization. Each ERP module is

focused on one area of business processes, such as product

development or marketing. Some of the more common ERP modules

include those for product planning, material purchasing, inventory

control, distribution, accounting, marketing, finance and HR.

ERP SOFTWARE MODULES

Different ERP modules cover common functional areas. Organizations

implement the modules in ERP that are both economically and

technically feasible and profitable. We will describe some of the common

modules below.

COMMON

ERP

MODULES

Finance &

Accounting

Supply Chain

Manufacturing

Materials Mgmt.

Sales

Project Mgmt.

CRM

HRM

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FIGURE 2: ERP MODULES

Finance Module

All kind of organizations small scale, large scale organizations benefit from the implementation of ERP

financial module. The financial module is the core of many ERP software systems. It can gather financial

data from various functional departments, and generates valuable financial reports such general ledger,

trail balance, asbalance sheet and quarterly financial statements.

Production Module

In the process of evolution of manufacturing requirements planning (MRP) II into ERP, while vendors

have developed more robust software for production planning, consulting firms have accumulated vast

knowledge of implementing production planning module. Production planning optimizes the utilization of

manufacturing capacity, parts, components and material resources using historical production data and

sales forecasting.

HR Module

Human Resources is another widely implemented ERP module. HR module streamlines the management

of human resources and human capitals. HR modules routinely maintain a complete employee database

including contact information, salary details, attendance, performance evaluation and promotion of all

employees. Advanced HR module is integrated with knowledge management systems to optimally utilize

the expertise of all employees.

Purchasing Module

Purchase module streamline procurement of required raw materials. It automates the processes of

identifying potential suppliers, negotiating price, awarding purchase order to the supplier, and billing

processes. Purchase module is tightly integrated with the inventory control and production planning

modules. Purchasing module is often integrated with supply chain management software.

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Inventory Module

Inventory module facilitates processes of maintaining the appropriate level of stock in a warehouse. The

activities of inventory control involves in identifying inventory requirements, setting targets, providing

replenishment techniques and options, monitoring item usages, reconciling the inventory balances, and

reporting inventory status. Integration of inventory control module with sales, purchase, finance modules

allows ERP systems to generate vigilant executive level reports.

Sales and Marketing Module

Sales module implements functions of order placement, order scheduling, shipping and invoicing. Sales

module is closely integrated with organizations' ecommerce websites. Many ERP vendors offer online

store front as part of the sales module. ERP marketing module along with CRP supports lead generation,

direct mailing campaign and other marketing works. Scheduling of the promotion is possible using this.

CRM Module

Customers are the most integral part of the business. It is necessary for a company to manage

interactions with current and future customers. It aims at providing a 360 degree view of customer data.

It helps you to know your customer better and includes many features such as activities, history, related

contacts, addresses of your customers and their relations with your competitors. The flexible database

structures enables you whatever information you would like to keep on your customer and maintains such

information for your future reference. CRM module can also offer an effective customer complaint

management tool including repairs processing and document management.

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CLOUD-BASED

ERP OFFERINGS

KNOWING THE OPTIONS

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) concept is being clarified, and lessons

are being learned by manufacturing companies around the globe. New

vendors are offering various cloud-only ERP solutions for

manufacturing, while many traditional vendors have developed cloud or

SaaS versions of their existing applications, or new cloud systems that

parallel the older on-premise ones. Even more significantly,

manufacturers are giving cloud deployment serious consideration as

part of their IT strategy for the future.

CLOUD-ERP VENDORS

Some of the most common Cloud-ERP vendors are listed below –

Plex Systems

Plex Systems was the first software vendor to bring a cloud-based ERP

system to manufacturing software. The company got its start in the

automotive industry but recently expanded into food & beverage and

other segments.

Plex Online is well suited for a variety of manufacturing segments,

including automotive, electronics, industrial machinery and plastics, and

can support several manufacturing modes, including discrete, mixed

mode, process and make-to-order. It is a comprehensive web-based

solution that ties the whole enterprise together, including financials, to

give businesses a clear, complete snapshot of their company. It comes

with multi-language and multi-currency capabilities, and can handle

multiple locations, and is eminently scalable, so it grows as the business

grows.

NetSuite

NetSuite is a complete cloud-based ERP solution that integrates with

inventory, warehouse management, accounting, and customer

relationship management. Ideal for businesses managing production

orders and inventory restocking. In addition, the system supports

inventory for multiple different locations, assembly management

CLOUD

BASED

ERP – ARE

THESE

OPTIONS

ENOUGH?

Cloud ERP adoption is

sometimes a

controversial process,

more complex than it

originally appeared.

Some ERP vendors

have had to

discontinue their cloud

offerings. Cloud ERP

offerings are not yet

mature enough or

sufficiently diversified

to fully fit the entire

manufacturing

industry.

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requirements, bill of materials, work order management, diverse methods of measurement, bar coding

procedures, and other necessary business processes in the manufacturing industry. It can also integrate

shipping processes with mainstream carriers, such as FedEx.

Epicor

With extensive functionality for inventory, accounting, pre-production materials, and manufacturing

execution, Epicor delivers a fully integrated web-based software system. Ideal for manufacturers with $1

million+ in revenue.

Epicor provides its offering in three flavors –

Epicor ERP

Epicor Express

Epicor iVP

ORACLE

Using the Oracle Technology Foundation, JD Edwards' ERP software is scalable and versatile to meet

the needs of a wide variety of vertical markets. Supports multiple languages and currencies. Available as

on-premise and web-based.

It offers applications for accounts payable, accounts receivable, advanced cost accounting, expense

management, financial management and compliance, fixed asset accounting, and a general ledger. The

system can support multiple languages and currencies.

Infor

Infor provides an extended ERP system for the Microsoft® platform that allows companies to

manufacture, sell, and service with speed and accuracy. It is a flexible, fully integrated, and easy to use

ERP suite that is widely deployed across many different types of industries from aerospace to biomedical,

capital equipment, precision tools and more.

Infor has two editions of offerings in –

Infor Syteline

Infor Visual ERP

SAP

SAP newest Saas ERP software, Business ByDesign is a fully comprehensive integrated business

management package that is delivered On Demand through a “cloud” or Software as a Service (SaaS)

model. Business ByDesign is the only ERP software product that embeds SAP’s best practice business

process expertise and IP. This new software solution is designed to provide manufacuturing and

distribution SMEs (small and medium businesses) with the benefits of a large scale business application

without the need for a large IT department and/or an upfront licensing fee. With Business ByDesign,

SMEs now have access to the same SAP business process expertise that has helped many of the

world’s leading companies maintain their leading edge.

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Microsoft

Originally designed as a financial accounting system, Microsoft Dynamics GP was extended to serve as

a complete ERP suite. Also includes applications for managing HR, manufacturing planning, supply

chain, IT, and more.

Microsoft Dynamics GP has applications for financial management, human resources management,

manufacturing planning, supply chain management, field service, business intelligence, collaboration,

compliance, and IT management. The Advanced Management edition contains additional features not

found within the Business Essentials edition. There are also a la carte modules which can be purchased

separately, along with hundreds of third-party applications from Independent Software Vendors (ISVs)

which can be added to the system to fit additional needs.

QAD

QAD Enterprise Applications is a complete suite of software designed to support all of the key processes

of global manufacturers. The software is in use at over 5,500 sites worldwide. QAD Enterprise

Applications enables measurement and control of all key business processes, and utilizes industry

specific best practices to support companies, whether in a single plant or across an entire global

organization.

IQMS

IQMS, an innovator in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and creator of a truly single-source

software solution, provides manufacturers with all the functionality to efficiently manage and improve

business processes. The company's flagship product, EnterpriseIQ, intuitively combines real-time

manufacturing, accounting, and supply chain management into one database. IQMS provides business

and plant management software that allows manufacturers to run more effectively and more profitably.

Sage

Sage ERP X3 is designed for nearly size of company in need of an ERP solutions. Sage ERP X3 is

particularly strong in manufacturing and distribution with inventory control, supply chain management and

accounting functionality.

Sage ERP offers functionality for accounting, inventory control, material resource planning, shop floor

control, human resources, and supply chain management. The system is relatively unique for the

manufacturing and distribution software markets in its ability to offer the choice of multiple databases,

operating systems, and deployments (on-premise or web-based).

IFS

IFS has a solid, growing presence in the North American business software market. IFS North America

serves medium-size to large companies in a variety of key industries, including aerospace and defense,

industrial manufacturing, automotive, high-tech, construction, and process industries such as food and

beverage.

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TGI

TGI's Enterprise 21 ERP delivers fully-integrated sales order management, procurement, inventory

management, warehouse management, financial management, advanced planning, customer

relationship management (CRM), business intelligence, and manufacturing management software

functionality in a single ERP system.

Enterprise 21’s underlying system architecture is flexible and configurable by design, enabling

organizations to implement the system to meet their unique business process requirements. Offering a

broad scope of software functionality, Enterprise 21 ERP is highly scalable ERP solution that allows your

business to grow without the addition of additional modules, bolt-ons, or third-party software packages.

ProcessPro

ProcessPro Premier® is a fully-integrated ERP system incorporating “industry best practice” processes

from beginning sales order entry through manufacturing, inventory, and accounting.

ProcessPro Premier® is the only product of its kind that is based exclusively on the Microsoft Visual

Studio® suite and SQL server database. It offers the added advantage of Microsoft’s extensive research,

development, and testing in every package. Unlike other products that rely on proprietary languages and

databases, ProcessPro Premier® delivers a fully tested standard that is accepted around the world –

ensuring reliability, consistency, and a solid product future.

Vai

VAI provides flexible, fully integrated business software solutions that give companies of all sizes a true

market advantage. With VAI's Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application, S2K Enterprise

Management Software, you'll obtain reliable data that will streamline your business processes to make it

more competitive, responsive, and profitable. Our ERP application features industry-specific modules for

manufacturing, wholesale distribution, warehouse management, food, retail and e-business. VAI also

provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) option – featuring multi-tiered support in mindSHIFT

Technologies, Inc.’s 24x7x365 data center – for the S2K Distribution, S2K Manufacturing, S2K

Warehouse Management, S2K Food, S2K Retail, and S2K Service and Repair enterprise resource

planning (ERP) software solutions.

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COMPARATIVE

ANALYSIS OF

CLOUD-BASED

ERP OFFERINGS

(SAAS)

UNDERSTANDING THE OPTIONS

WHY SELECT

Once we have identified the options available to us in terms of ERP

offerings, next step is to select the right option. Whereas with the correct

ERP system (and there are an overwhelming amount to choose from),

a seamless flow of information is created between all business functions

inside the boundaries of the organization, along with connections to

outside stakeholders, selecting an inappropriate ERP package can

result in a plethora of problems.

The ill effects of wrong selection

An ERP system that is not a right fit tends to weigh down the entire

organization. There is the tendency on the part of people to generate

alternative manual approaches and work around ERP system

inefficiencies. This can compromise security and audit requirements and

have a debilitating effect on employee morale.

The financial consequence of selecting a wrong ERP is significant.

There are examples of manufacturers spending substantial amounts of

time and money on ERP implementations only to realize that a different

ERP system would have been a better fit.

The benefits of a right selection

On the brighter side, there are benefits of getting it right. We have

already discussed most of the benefits of an ERP system.

BASELINE

LIST FOR

CHOOSING

THE RIGHT

ERP

SOLUTION

Industry Fit

Core Strengths

Industry Norms

Vendor

Sustainability

Usability

1.

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When implemented effectively, ERP can improve alignment of processes with organizational strategy,

reduce costs and improve productivity. An Aberdeen group study estimated that best-in-class ERP

implementations reduced inventory by as much as 22% and operating costs by as much as 20%.

FIGURE 3: AFTER EFFECTS OF BAD ERP

FIGURE 4: BENEFITS OF ERP IMPLEMENTATION

Thus, it is very important to know the various aspects of the ERP offering you are going to choose. We

present the comparative analysis of different ERP systems in this chapter.

The comparison is done on the basis of primarily 4 criterion described below –

1. General – Under this we present the comparison on the basis of various aspects such as

pricing, subscription options, supported users, latest version available, supported platforms, etc.

2. Modules – We compare the modules offered in different cloud based ERP packages and also

compare the functionalities provided by each of the module.

3. Additional Capabilities – We also have a look at what additional modules & services are

supported by the ERP system in addition to the standard modules described previously in

Chapter 2.

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4. Service Support – We also compare the additional services provided by the vendor along with

the software offering, such as, support, implementation/deployment, training and any additional

proprietary services.

COMPARISON OF CLOUD BASED ERP (SAAS) OFFERINGS

General Data

Product Name Version Price Range

Financing Options

User Range

Multi-Site

Multi National

Architecture Database Platform

Server OS

SAAS

Plex Systems

Always Current

$5K + per month-

Subscription 20-1000+ Yes Yes SaaS

Multitenant SOA

MS SQL Server,

Progress, IBM DB2, Oracle,

ODBC Compliant, Pervasive, Sybase,

Cloud-Based (Saas),

Universal Compatibility, Quickbooks

Linux, Windows,

Unix, Novell

Netware, Solaris,

AIX, HP-UX,

Compatible With All

Yes

NetSuite

Always Current

$10K-100K

Subscription 10+unlimit

ed Yes Yes

SAAS, Multitenant

MS SQL Server,

Progress, IBM DB2, Other,

Oracle, Proprietary`, Cloud-Based

(Saas), Universal

Compatibility, Quickbooks

Mac OS, Windows,

Unix, Novell

Netware

Yes

Epicor ERP

9.05 $4K -500K

Lease, Owner

Financing, Lease to

own

1-1000+ Yes Yes SOA

MS SQL Server,

Progress, Cloud-Based

(Saas)

Linux, Windows,

Unix Yes

EnterpriseIQ 7.7

$20K-200,000K

Lease, Financing

5-Unlimited Yes yes SOA, .NET Oracle,

Cloud-Based (Saas)

Linux, Windows,

Unix Yes

Sage ERP X3

6.5 $2,600 /

User- 20-1000+ Yes Yes

MS SQL Server, Oracle,

Cloud-Based (Saas)

Linux, Windows,

Unix No

Infor VISUAL

6.5.4 $12K-100K

Lease, Owner

Financing, Lease to

own

5-500 Yes Yes SOA

MS SQL Server,



(Saas)

Linux, Windows,

Unix Yes

IFS Applications 8.0

8 300K-2M Lease, Owner

Financing 40-5000 Yes Yes SOA

Oracle, Cloud-Based

(Saas)

Linux, Windows, Solaris,

AIX, HP-UX

Yes

Enterprise 21 ERP

8.1 $30K-$750K

Lease, Interest

Free Financing

5-1000+ Yes English / Spanish

SOA

MS SQL Server,

Progress, IBM DB2, Oracle,

ODBC Compliant,

Cloud-Based (Saas)

Mac OS, Linux,

Windows, Unix

Yes

SAP Business ByDesign

Cloud and

Mobile Based

$150/user/mo-

Lease, Owner

Financing, Financing

10 to Unlimited

Yes US, UK, France,

Germany,

Model-driven "Cloud"

Cloud-Based (Saas),

Quickbooks Windows Yes

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(Always Current)

India,& China

ProcessPro® Premier

10.2 $100K-750K

Lease 5-1000 Yes Yes .NET,

ClientServer

MS SQL Server,

Cloud-Based (Saas)

Windows Yes

Epicor Express

9 $400-

$5K/Mo. Subscription Jan-50 Yes Yes

MS SQL Server,

Progress, Cloud-Based

(Saas), Quickbooks

Windows Yes

Infor Syteline

8.01.00 $25K-100K

Lease, Owner

Financing, Lease to

own

5-350 Yes Yes SOA

MS SQL Server,



(Saas)

Linux, Windows,

Unix Yes

Oracle E-Business Suite

Release 12

$12K-$350K

Lease, Financing

25-1000+ Yes yes SOA

MS SQL Server,



(Saas)

Mac OS, Linux,

Windows, Unix, Novell

Netware, Solaris,

AIX, HP-UX, i

Operating System

Yes

Microsoft Dynamics AX

AX (2012)

$20K-750K

Lease, Owner


5-1000 Yes Yes SOA, .NET

MS SQL Server, Oracle,

Cloud-Based (Saas)

Windows Yes

S2K 5.0.2 80K-150K

Lease, Financing

15+ Yes

Yes (UK, CA,

Caribbean)

SOA Power, Cloud-Based (Saas)

i Operating System

Yes

Microsoft Dynamics GP

2010 $10K-100K

Lease, Owner


25-500 Yes yes SOA, .NET

MS SQL Server, IBM DB2, Other,


(Saas)

Mac OS, Linux,

Windows, Unix, Novell

Netware

Yes

Epicor iVP

5.3 $3,000 per

user-

Lease, Owner

Financing 10+ Yes Yes SOA

IBM DB2, Other, ODBC

Compliant, Power, Cloud-Based (Saas)

i Operating System

Yes

QAD Enterprise Applications

2012.1 $250/User

- Subscription 10-20,000 Yes Yes SOA, DA

Progress, Oracle,

Cloud-Based (Saas)

Windows Yes

TABLE 1: GENERAL DATA

Modules Supported

MATERIALS MANAGEMENT MODULE Product Name

Modules

Plex Systems

Inventory Summary

Inventory Tracking

Bill of Materials

Bar Coding Job

Tracking System

Material Requirements

Planning

NetSuite

Multi-location Inventory for Distributor

Advanced Shipping

Bin Management

Order Promising

Real-Time Sustem

Return Materials

Authorization

Epicor ERP

Advanced Material Mgmt.

Bar Coding Handheld Material Handler

Interface

Material Movement

Prioritize Orders

Sales Order

Allocation

15

EnterpriseIQ

Inventory Control

Vendor Managed Inventory

Wireless Warehouse

Management System

Sage ERP X3

Inventory Control

Infor VISUAL

Enterprise Resource Planning

Product Lifecycle Mgmt

Quality Management


Inventory Forecasting

Inventory Planning

Enterprise 21 ERP

Inventory Management

Procurement Warehouse Management

System



MRP IC AWS Physical Inventory

Epicor Express

Material Management

Infor Syteline

Material Management Summary

Plant Maintenance



Warehouse Management


Inventory Controls

Manufacturing Material Planning

Warehouse Management

S2K

Master Production Schedule (MPS)

Material Requirement

Planning



Materials Requirement

Planning

Epicor iVP

Bar Code Labeling /

Serialization Purchasing


TABLE 2: MATERIALS MANAGEMENT MODULES

SALES ORDER MANAGEMENT MODULE Product Name

Modules

Plex Systems

Commission Tracking

Competitor Intelligence Database

Customer Orders

E D I Order Entry &

Tracking

Quote Tracking

Sales Order

NetSuite

Automated Order

Processing

Automated Payments

One Click Purchase Orders

Order Management

Procure-to-Pay

Purchasing

Real Time Order

Status

Self-Service Vendor Center

Shipping Integration

Streamlined

Receiving

Epicor ERP

Order Management

Sales Mgmt.

Overview

Demand Management

Electronic Data

Interchange

Estimate / Quote

Mgmt.

Storefront

EnterpriseIQ

Packing Slip &

Shipping Management

Quoting and

Estimating

Sales Orders

Sage ERP X3

Purchasing Management

RF Warehousing

Sales Monitoring

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Infor VISUAL

Sales Management


Coordinate Projects

Sales Sales

Quotes

Enterprise 21 ERP

Sales & Order

Management



Order Entry

Epicor Express

Estimating & Quoting

Order Management

Infor Syteline

Advanced Forcasting

Estimating / Quoting

Request for Quote


Oracle Partner

Management

Quoting Sales

Management

Sales Proposal


Sales & Marketing

Sales Management

S2K

Order Processing

Work Order Processing


Sales Configuration

Sales Forecasting

Epicor iVP

Customer Returns and

Credit Management

Estimating and

Quoting Invoicing

Lead Tracking

Order Processing

Sales

Forecasting and

Analysis

Warranty Management


TABLE 3: SALES ORDER MANAGEMENT MODULES

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MODULE Product Name

Modules

Plex Systems

Accounting

Overview

Accounts Receivabl

e / Accounts Payable

Costing

Expense Project

Tracking

Inventory Valuation

Multi-Company Financial

Consolidation

NetSuite

General Ledger,

Payables &

Receivables

Financial Summary

Advanced

Billing

Amortization

Schedules

Multi-currency

Transactions

Project Accounting

Revenue Recognition

Epicor ERP

General Ledger

Accounts Payable

Accounts

Receivable

Multi-Currancy / Company

Financial Mgmt

Overview

Tax Connect

Cash / Asset Mgmt

Global Engines

EnterpriseIQ

Financial Overview

General Ledger

Finanacial

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivabl

e

Electronic Data

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Reportin

g Interchange

(EDI)

Sage ERP X3

Business Intelligenc

e

Data Collection

Financial

Overview

Infor VISUAL

Financial Managem

ent

IFS Applicatio

ns 8.0

Accounts Payable & Receivabl

e

Budget Managem

ent

Cash Flow

Consolidate Accounts

Financial Summary

Fixed Assets

General Ledger

Enterprise 21 ERP

Financials

Overview

Financial Reports


Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivabl

e

Cash Flow

Financial Management

Financial Statement

s

Foreign Currency

ProcessPro®

Premier

Accounts Payable (AP)

Accounts Receivable (AR)

General Ledger (GL)

Project Accounting

Epicor Express

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivabl

e

General Ledger

Multi-Currency

Payroll

Infor Syteline

Financial Managem

ent

Oracle E-Business

Suite

General Ledger

Accounts Payable

Asset Tracking

Microsoft Dynamics

AX AR / AP

Dynamic AX

Financial Features

and Summary

Fixed Assets

General Ledger

International

Project Accounting

S2K Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivabl

e

Financial

Highlights

General Ledger

Microsoft Dynamics

GP

Business Intelligenc

e

Financial Managem

ent

Multicurrency

Online Reports

Epicor iVP Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivabl

e

Capital Assets

General Ledger

QAD Enterprise Applicatio

ns

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivabl

e

Banking / Cash Mgmt.

Budgeting Finanaci

al Overview

Financial Analysis

Governance, Risk &

Compliance

Management

Reporting

Multi-GAAP

TABLE 4: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT MODULES

18

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT MODULE

TABLE 5: PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT MODULES

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT MODULE Product Name

Modules

Plex Systems

Online Order &

Tracking

Online Tool

Release

Problem Control

Supplier Quality

Supply Chain

Overview

NetSuite

Supply Chain

Overview

Epicor ERP

Supply Chain Mgmt

Overview

Inventory Mgmt

Purchase Mgmt

Shipping &

Receiving

Sourcing

Supplier Relationship Mgmt.

Warehouse Mgmt

EnterpriseIQ

Capable to

Promise

Demand

Planning

Materials Ordering

Outsource

Central

Sage ERP X3

Infor VISUAL

Enterprise Asset Mgmt

Supply Chain Mgmt

Product Name

Plex Systems Barcode

Labeling

Capacity

Planning

Complex

Assembly

Labor & Time

Tracking Multi-Plants

Plant Floor Mobile

Access

PLC Machine

Integration

Preventative

Maintenance

Production

Scheduling

Overview

Shop Floor

Control

Statistical

Process Controls

NetSuite Advanced Multi-

location Inventory

Aseembly

Management

Work Order

Management

Epicor ERP Production Mgmt

Overview

Advanced

Production

Advanced Quality

Mgmt

Job

Management

Lean

Manufacturing

Manufacturing

Execution Systm.

Planning &

Scheduling

EnterpriseIQ

Bill of

Manufacture

(BOM)

Engineering

Change Order

Manufacturing &

Production

Reporting

Material &

Capacity

Requirements

Planning

Production

Overview

Quality

Management

Real Time

Monitoring

Sage ERP X3 Discrete

Manufacturing

Process

Manufacturing

Infor VISUAL

IFS Applications

8.0 Batch Process

Constraint-Based

Scheduling Costing Make to Order Make to Project

Multisite

Planning Shop Order

Enterprise 21 ERP Manufacturing

SAP Business

ByDesign

Production

Planning &

Scheduling

Project

Management

ProcessPro®

Premier

Advanced

Scheduler Formulation

Manufacturing (

BOM)

Quality Control (

QC) R & D

Security

Regulations

Standard

Reports

Epicor Express Bill of Materials Document

Management

Engineering

Change and

Revision Control

Job

Management Lean Production

Quality

Assurance Routing Scheduling

Shop Floor

Control

Infor Syteline Engineering Planning &

Scheduling

Production

Management Project Control Shop Floor Data Workflow

Oracle E-Business

Suite

Production

Scheduling Project Costing

Shop Floor

Management

Microsoft

Dynamics AX Bill of Materials Product Builder

Production Key

Features

S2K

Capacity

Requirements

Planning

Shop Floor

Control

Microsoft

Dynamics GP Bill of Materials

Manufacturing

Order Process

Quality

Assurance

Epicor iVP Bill of Materials Maintenance Production

Control Quality Control

Serial and Lot

Tracker

Shop Floor

Reporting

Work Order

Scheduler /

Repetitive

Scheduler

QAD Enterprise

Applications

Lean

Manufacturing

Manufacturing

Execution

Manufacturing

Overview

Manufacturing

Planning

Manufacturing

Scheduling

Product Data

Management

Product Data

Management

Quality

Management

Modules

19

IFS

Applications 8.0

Supply Chain

Enterprise 21 ERP

Material Requirem

ents Planning (MRP)

Distribution

Requirements

Planning (DRP)

SAP Busines

s ByDesig

n

Supplier Relations

hip Mgmt

Supply Chain Mgmt

ProcessPro®

Premier

Dock Scheduli

ng

Electronic Data

Interchange (EDI)

Master Production Scheduler

Purchase Orders (PO)

Epicor Express

Purchasing

Shipping &

Receiving

Supplier Mgmt

Infor Syteline

Shipping /

Receiving

Oracle E-

Business Suite

Supply Chain

Execution

Supply Chain

Planning

Microsoft

Dynamics AX

Supply Chain Key

Features

S2K Inventory Mgmt

Microsoft

Dynamics GP

Epicor iVP

EASY EBusiness Suite

EDI / Release Accounti

ng

QAD Enterpri

se Applicati

ons

Consignment

Demand Mgmt

Purchasing

Release Mgmt

Supply Chain

Overview

Supply Chain

Planning

Supply Chain

Portal

Transportation

Mgmt

Warehousing

TABLE 6: SCM MODULES

20

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT MODULE

TABLE 7: CRM MODULES

Product Name

Plex Systems Configurator

Pricing

Cost & Quote

Estimating

Customer Master

List

Customer

Relations

Summary

Field Service Opportunity

Tracking Quick Quoter Quote Tracking

NetSuite Incentive

Management Job and Project

Tracking

Partner

Relationship

Sales Order

Management

Self Service

Customer Portal Website

Epicor ERP

Customer

Relations

Overview

Campaign

Connect

Case

Management

Informatin

Worker

Lead / Opportunity

Mgmt Mobile Connect

Service

Management

EnterpriseIQ

Customer

Relationship

Management

(CRM)

Sage ERP X3 CRM

Infor VISUAL Customer

Relations Mgmt

IFS Applications

8.0 CRM Features

Customer

Services

Information

Shring Mobility Features

Enterprise 21 ERP

Customer

Relationship

Management

SAP Business

ByDesign

Customer

Relationship

Management

ProcessPro®

Premier CRM

Epicor Express Contact

Management

Lead &

Opportunity

Management

Marketing

Management

Infor Syteline

Customer

Relations

Management

Field Service

Management

Oracle E-Business

Suite

Microsoft

Dynamics AX

Marketing

Automation

Sales Force

Automation

S2K

Customer

Relationship

Management

Marketing

Automation

Remote Sales

Force Automation

Microsoft

Dynamics GP

Customer

Relationship

Mgmt

Epicor iVP

Customer

Relationship

Management

QAD Enterprise

Applications Configurator

Customer

Relationship

Management

Customer Self

Service

Demand

Management Pricing Sales Analysis Sales Orders

Sales Quotes &

Orders

Trade

Management

Modules

21

Additional Capabilities

TABLE 8: ADDITIONAL CAPABILITIES

Product Name

Plex Systems

Business

Intelligence

Computer

Aided Design

Document

Control System E-Commerce

Electronic Data

Interchange

Groupware

Communication

Human

Resources

Overview

SmartPlex

Mobile Access

NetSuite

Real Time

Dashboards Security

Epicor ERP

Compliance

Overview

Enterprise

Performance

Mgmt

Global Business

Mgmt

Human Capital

Mgmt Overview

Product Data

Mgmt

Service Mgmt.

Overview

EnterpriseIQ

Payroll

Processing

Work Force

Management

Sage ERP X3

Multi-Channel

Retail and Direct

Marketing

Wholesale

Distribution

Infor VISUAL

Human Capital

Mgmt

IFS Applications

8.0

Business

Analytics

Human

Resources

Enterprise 21

ERP

Business

Intelligence e-Commerce

Enterprise 21

Workbench

Designer

SAP Business

ByDesign

Business

Analytics and

Collaboration

Compliance

Management

Executive

Management

Human

Resource

Management

ProcessPro®

Premier

Business

Intelligence

Comprehensive

Lot Traceability

FDA

Compliance MSDS Multicurrency

Nutritional

Labeling

System

Manager

Epicor Express

Business

Intelligence

Infor Syteline

Human

Resources

Internationaliza

tion

Intuitive User

Interface

Multi-Site,

Multi-Plant

Quality Control

(Supplier)

Report &

Analysis

Sytline Data

Collection

Oracle E-

Business Suite

Human

Resources

Analytics iSupport

Microsoft

Dynamics AX Alert System

Business

Intelligence

Compliance

Management

Human

Resource

Service

Managment

S2K

(EDI) Electronic

Data

Interchange

Distribution

Management

e Business

Applications S2K Mobile

Microsoft

Dynamics GP

Epicor iVP

Easy e-

Business

Epicor

Analytics

Inventory

Control

System

Utilities

Time and

Attendance

QAD Enterprise

Applications Analytics

Enterprise

Asset

Management

Interoperability

Solutions

Modules

22

Service Support

TABLE 9: SERVICES SUPPORT

We will explore the individual modules of some of above mentioned ERP packages in coming chapters.

We will describe Plex Online, NetSuite, SAP Business ByDesign, Epicor, Microsoft Dynamics and

ORACLE in detail. For more information about the rest, references at the end of assignment can be

referred.

Product Name

Plex Systems Security

Training

Strategies

NetSuite Customer Care

NetSuite

Central

Site

Consultation

Epicor ERP

Business Process

Outsourcing

Hosting

Services

Learning &

Educational

Services

Managed

Services

Professional

Services Support

EnterpriseIQ

IQMS

EnterpriseIQ

Training

Programs

IQMS

Professional

Services and

Consulting

IQMS Technical

Support

Software

Updates and

Maintenance

Program

Sage ERP X3

Infor VISUAL

IFS Applications

8.0 Implementation Support Training

Enterprise 21

ERP

Direct Developer

Support

SAP Business

ByDesign

Built in Services

and Support

ProcessPro®

Premier ClientAdvantage

ProductAdvanta

ge™

Professional

Services

Epicor Express Implementation

Infor Syteline

Oracle E-

Business Suite

Support

Resources

Microsoft

Dynamics AX Support Options

S2K

Microsoft

Dynamics GP Support Options

Epicor iVP

Implementation

and Training

Services

System

Utilities

QAD Enterprise

Applications

QAD Service and

Support

Modules

23

PLEX ONLINE

PIONEERING CLOUD BASED ERP

SOLUTION

Plex Online (often referred to as Plex Online Software or Plex Online

Cloud ERP) is a software as a service (SaaS) or cloud application ERP

that attempts to manage and monitor the manufacturing process and

support the functions of production, inventory, shipping, supply-chain

management, quality, accounting, sales, and human resource

departments, in addition to the traditional ERP roles of

finance/accounting, procurement, human capital management, etc. With

Plex Online, Plex System accomplished notoriety as the first provider of

a complete SaaS ERP solution for manufacturing companies. Plex

Online is targeted towards manufacturing industries with rigorous

traceability, quality and food safety requirements, including automotive,

aerospace, food & beverage, and life sciences or medical

manufacturing.

Manufacturers needing a solid, reliable cloud-based ERP system that

encourages business growth and innovation should look to Plex Online,

an industry leader and 2011 CODiE Award-winner for Best Operations

Management Solution. Plex Online is ideal for companies using lean

manufacturing principles that are committed to high quality products,

extensive inventory control (including WIP) and cradle-to-grave

traceability.

Plex Online is well suited for a variety of manufacturing segments,

including automotive, electronics, industrial machinery and plastics, and

can support several manufacturing modes, including discrete, mixed

mode, process and make-to-order. It is a comprehensive web-based

solution that ties the whole enterprise together, including financials, to

give businesses a clear, complete snapshot of their company. It comes

with multi-language and multi-currency capabilities, and can handle

multiple locations, and is eminently scalable, so it grows as the business

grows.

This state-of-the-art ERP system is web-based, with inclusive scalable

pricing that supports an unlimited number of users, including both

customers and suppliers. Also, because it is hosted by Plex in a secure

environment, you don't have to worry about having a large IT staff or on-

premise upgrades. Every time a user logs in, they are working on the

PLEX

ADVANTAGE

Plex Systems was the

first software vendor to

bring a cloud-based

ERP system to

manufacturing

software. The

company got its start

in the automotive

industry but recently

expanded into food &

beverage and other

segments. Several IT

software bloggers

have written about

Plex’s ability to

provide a wide scope

of critical features for

manufacturers in a

SaaS model, where

larger ERP vendors

have not succeeded.

24

most updated version of the software. It's completely customizable, with the ability to implement features

on-demand, as you need them.

For companies looking for traceability, precise inventory management, regulation compliance and the

ability to secure key industry certifications, Plex Online is a robust, innovative, cloud-based solution.

The system must be accessed using a web browser, making its functions available from anywhere with

an Internet connection. The software is designed to provide managers and engineers with real-time

visibility to production data. While Plex Systems calls the SaaS solution "ERP", the software goes beyond

the traditional boundaries of ERP to include the following integrated functions:

Enterprise resource planning (ERP): Plex Online supports traditional ERP accounting functions,

including costing, accounts payables, accounts receivables, general ledger and financial statement

generation; human resources and payroll; internal activities related to launching new products,

conducting R&D projects and handling major engineering part revisions; and others.

Manufacturing execution system (MES) or manufacturing operations management (MOM): Plex

Online supports MES/MOM functions such as production (pull) scheduling and Kanban scheduling;

materials management; production control and process instructions; tool, production, scrap, and labor

tracking; traceability and part genealogy; and CAD integration. The software includes native support

for bar code labeling, wireless handheld devices, PLCs, weigh scales, packaging machines, and other

common manufacturing and shipping equipment.

Quality management systems (QMS): Plex Online can gather quality data such as reports on

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) data from electronic

gauges. It helps maintain compliance with quality standards including ISO 9000 and ISO 14000, QS-

9000, TS-16949, AS-9100, etc.

Customer relationship management (CRM): Plex Online supports sales and customer relationship

activities common in manufacturing industries, including quote tracking and order entry; release

accounting and shipment tracking; revenue reporting; and others.

Supply chain management software (SCMS): Plex Online supports supply chain management

functions such as electronic Kanban, online releases, EDI, electronic invoices and shipment

notifications, online supplier quality management, cross-company inventory traceability, cross-

company quality and production data, and others. EDI is integrated with customer orders, inventory,

bar code labeling, packaging, and shipping.

PLEX ONLINE – MODULES

We will now describe the modules supported by Plex Online. (For list of complete features & support,

refer the previous chapter).

Materials Management

Plex Online supports following modules under Materials Management –

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INVENTORY SUMMARY Plex Online provides a powerful and highly-detailed Inventory Tracking System ideal for tracking

containers, pieces and/or assemblies as they move through the manufacturing process on the shop floor.

The Plex Online Inventory Tracking system is designed to meet the detailed and rigorous needs of the

Production and Quality Departments as well as the Accounting Department.

Plex evolved in the manufacturing industry and has always been a manufacturing execution system.

Inventory Tracking is one of our primary focus areas and often noted as a major differentiator between

us and our competitors.

Benefits of Plex Online's Inventory Tracking System:

Simple, easy-to-use design for use by shop floor personnel

Real Time

Online

Tracks individual containers, pieces and/or assemblies

Full traceability and part genealogy

Built-in Bar Code Labeling & Reading

Built-in support for mobile/wireless handheld units

Built-in integration with weigh scales, packaging machines, and other equipment

INVENTORY TRACKING This Inventory module provides the ability to track individual containers or individual parts on the shop

floor. It is designed for manufacturing facilities, especially part manufacturers, tool shops and other

situations where detailed, real-time tracking is required. Each container or part is bar coded with a unique

serial number used for tracking and traceability. Each inventory record includes Serial No, Part Number,

Location, Status and other pertinent data. Inventory records can be seached and summarized for as

required to provide real-time inventory reports. The inventory module is the foundation for many other

modules, including Production Tracking, Heat/Lot Traceability, Tool Life Tracking, and Scheduling.

BILL OF MATERIALS This module defines the components that make up a part. Plex Online supports infinite levels of BOM. It

provides indented BOM, exploded BOM, drilldown BOM, and a variety of other methods for visualizing

and editing BOMs. Plex Online handles BOMs with just a few components, or many thousands.

BAR CODING Bar Code Labeling is a major strength area and product differentiator for Plex. Plex Online has built-in

support for printing, reading, and utilizing bar code labels throughout the manufacturing and business

process. Plex featues bar coding is an inherent part of our software design, rather than an afterthought

or add-on package.

Plex Online provides a huge, constantly updated library of pre-formatted bar code label formats from

Honda, GM, Ford, DCX, American Axle, and all the other OEMs and Tier 1 companies. Plex Online

26

supports AIAG, ODETTE, and a variety of other label standards. Plex Online can also be configured to

support any other label format you require, whether it's an obscure customer requirement or an internal

label.

Plex Online specializes in implementing bar coding systems that track containers and/or individual parts

on the factory floor using hand-held Pocket PCs. Containers or parts are scanned as they move around

the shop floor, providing a highly accurate, real-time inventory system

Additional Bar Coding Capabilities

Receiving Raw Materials and Components

Container tracking (used when there are many parts in a container)

Part tracking (used for larger, more complex/valuable assemblies)

Badges (for quick login, time and attendance, and labor tracking)

Machine/Asset Tracking

Locations

MRO Supply Crib Items

Gage Calibration

Tooling

Shipping Labels

JOB TRACKING SYSTEM This module is used to track Jobs and Work Orders within the manufacturing facility. It depends on the

situation, but usually a Job represents an instruction to the shop floor to produce a certain Quantity of a

certain Part Number by a certain Due Date. The Job Tracking system is the foundation for production

scheduling, and can be used for simple scheduling on its own. Highly integrated with Inventory, Customer

Orders, and several other modules. Nomenclature and specific requirements vary across facilities, and

can be fully accommodated: Jobs, Work Orders, Shop Orders, Shop Travelers, Releases, etc.

MATERIAL REQUIREMENTS PLANNING (MRP)

This module is used to analyze Customer Orders, Raw Material Inventory Levels, Minimum Restock Levels and Lead Times in order to recommend and create releases with suppliers. Similar to traditional Material Requirements Planning (MRP). For ordering raw material and component parts.

Sales Order Management

Following modules are supported under sales order management –

COMMISSION TRACKING

The Commission Tracking system provides a framework for setting up a Commission structure for sales people. The system automatically looks up, calculates and records commission when part shipments are made. Reports show the amount of commissions owed based on payment status of the associated customer invoice.

27

Commissions owed can be selected and used to generate accounts payable records, from which pay checks can then be cut via standard accounting module functionality.

COMPETITOR INTELLIGENCE DATABASE

This is a database of competitor intelligence, including a list of competitors, markets, personnel, capacity, strengths/weaknesses, and other marketing facts.

CUSTOMER ORDERS & RELEASES Easy to use Customer Order functions are used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for each order, such as Customer, Due Date, Part Numbers and Quantities. Also provides links to Job Tracking and Inventory in order to monitor the detailed status of an order

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE

Plex Online’s electronic data interchange (EDI) system is easy to use, highly automated, and reliable. Customers and suppliers seamlessly transmit and receive electronic documents, following industry standards. Advance shipment notices (ASNs) are created and transmitted automatically when shipments are made. Plex Online incorporates all AIAG standards, plus requirements of Honda, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, and other OEMs. Release Accounting A comprehensive Release Accounting solution fulfills all the requirements for dealing with automotive and other release-driven industries. Release Accounting provides a fully-integrated system that includes: EDI Log, General Shipping Log and Barcoding Library.

ORDER ENTRY & TRACKING

Plex’s cloud based automated order tracking software features are used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for each order, such as Customer, Due Date, Part Numbers and Quantities. Also provides links to Job Tracking and Inventory in order to monitor the detailed status of an order. Also available is Spot Buy Order Entry for quick entry of spot buy customer orders. This screen will create Order, Order Line, Price, Approved Ship to, and Release records.

QUOTE TRACKING

Manufacturers improve the ordering process with an easy-to-use mechanism for creating, printing, and tracking RFQ’s and Quotes with Plex Online. It also disables some other “automatic” emails used by non-workflow customers.

CUSTOMER ORDERS

The Customer Order module is used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for each order, such as Customer, Due Date, Part Numbers and Quantities. Also provides links to Job Tracking and Inventory in order to monitor the detailed status of an order.

28


Modules supported under financial management are –

ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW

Plex Online includes a complete Accounting System. One of the most powerful features of the Accounting System is its seamless integration with other parts of Plex Online. Supplier Receipts create AP records. Customer shipments create AR records. Your accounting staff can focus their effort on analysis and follow-up rather than data entry.

Accounts Payable

Data entry or system creation of supplier invoices in real-time. Active maintenance of outstanding payables and historical management. Payment processing including foreign currency translation.

Accounts Receivable

Data entry or system creation of Customer invoices including consolidated billing in real-time. Active maintenance of outstanding receivables and historical management. Deposit processing and ability to handle over/under payments.

Bank Reconciliation

Balancing of all accounting records against bank statement in real-time.

Budgeting

A module for setting up monthly and annual budgets for revenue and expense GL Accounts, and various reports for analyzing performance and variance to the budget.

Credit Checking

A module for summarizing the credit status of a customer.

Collections

In depth maintenance of Customer accounts. Detailed history of invoices, payments, communications, statements and letters.

Cross Company Integration

A set of features that allow one Plex Customer to seamlessly integrate with a different Plex Customer. This has been configured for container traceability and automatic release creation.

Employee Expense Tracking

A module for entry and management of employee expenses and reimbursement, such as travel and educational expenses.

Expense Project Tracking

This module is used by the Accounting and Purchasing departments to track expenses for a special project, such as a press rebuild, a building expansion, or a new R/D initiative. The Project is an auxiliary method for tracking and budgeting expenses, above and beyond the normal Chart of Accounts. Fully integrated with Accounting and Purchasing.

Financial Statements

29

Standard reports including; Balance Sheet, Income Statement, Cash Flow, Aging Schedules, Cash Disbursements/Requirements and more all in real-time.

General Ledger

Data entry or system creation of journal entries, including reversing entries in real-time.

Hours Tracking

A module for a professional services organization to track internal labor hours/costs.

Inventory Valuation - Standard Cost

Using the Part Cost Structure as its base, this module provides Inventory Valuation at Standard. The Valuation can be viewed as a detailed and/or summarized report, at the current moment in time or at any point in the past. This is ideal for those situations where the accounting department needs to know the inventory value at particular moments in time (at the beginning and end of the month, for example) in order to do its month end closing. This module also allows you to value inventory based on different Cost Models and to easily compare the results between the two.

Key Measurables

A flexible system for setting up, tracking and communicating company performance against a set of management-defined Key Measurables. Ideal for strategic management.

Multi-company Financial Consolidation

Financial reports, such as Income Statement and Balance Sheet, which combine results for two or more companies. Features include multiple levels of consolidation, intercompany eliminations, currency conversion, and multiple report formats.

Outside Collections Calling

This app downloads a list of customers indicated as open for outside collections with at least one invoice 45-89 days late. An outside collections firm with access to Plex will download this list for calling.

Receiving

The Receiving module is a simple-to-use interface for receiving goods into the company, which in turn creates a Receiving History Record, updates the Purchase Order, updates inventory, and creates an un-vouchered Accounts Payable entry (where applicable). Highly integrated with Supplier Module, Inventory, and Accounts Payable.

Requisitions

Module used by customers for approving items before adding them to Purchase Orders.

Strategic Planning

This modules provides a structure for developing, documenting, and sharing a detailed Strategic Plan for the company.

Workflow

A flexible, user-configurable module for designing and implementing Workflows. Workflow formalizes the flow of information/documents through a series of steps to fulfill a specific business process.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Data entry or system creation of supplier invoices in real-time. Active maintenance of outstanding payables and historical management. Payment processing including foreign currency translation.

30

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE

Data entry or system creation of Customer invoices including consolidated billing in real-time. Active maintenance of outstanding receivables and historical management. Deposit processing and ability to handle over/under payments.

COSTING

Plex Online tracks and records all physical events (receiving, production, inventory status changes, scrap, subcontract, shipping, etc.) on the shop floor, making it ideal for tracking cost.

Actual Costing

Advanced Standard Costing

Cost Setup

Inventory Valuation - Standard Cost

Job Costing

Part Cost Structure

EXPENSE PROJECT TRACKING

This module is used by the Accounting and Purchasing departments to track expenses for a special project, such as a press rebuild, a building expansion, or a new R/D initiative. The Project is an auxiliary method for tracking and budgeting expenses, above and beyond the normal Chart of Accounts. Fully integrated with Accounting and Purchasing

INVENTORY VALUATION - STANDARD COST

Using the Part Cost Structure as its base, this module provides Inventory Valuation at Standard. The Valuation can be viewed as a detailed and/or summarized report, at the current moment in time or at any point in the past. This is ideal for those situations where the accounting department needs to know the inventory value at particular moments in time (at the beginning and end of the month, for example) in order to do its month end closing. This module also allows you to value inventory based on different Cost Models and to easily compare the results between the two.

MULTI-COMPANY FINANCIAL CONSOLIDATION

Organizations that operate in a multi-company structure requiring consolidation of operations and financial positions often need additional time to create and publish need financial reports. Beyond the need to perform a month-end or year-end closing process for each individual business entity, the corporate accounting team needs to perform the same processes at the consolidating level of the organization. In Plex Online, the process of creating a consolidating structure for an organization is simple. An authorized user selects a name for a consolidation group, than assigns the individual entities/subsidiaries to the group. Within Plex, each entity is effectively its own operating company. Larger organizations that consolidate many entities/subsidiaries can design and build complex structures very quickly. Sub-groups can be created to house and report their own subsidiaries, and can be rolled up to a higher consolidation level. There is no limit to the depth of consolidation levels. Plex Online functionality automatically consolidates entities which have different base currencies. Currencies are translated based on period end spot rate (balance sheet current asset and current liability accounts), period average rate (profit & loss accounts) or using historical rates (long term assets, long term liabilities, and equity accounts). Financial statements at the consolidated level can be designed to report foreign currency gain/loss.

31

Consolidated statements within Plex Online are reported at a category level. The user has the option to view the consolidated numbers by themselves or to view the consolidated numbers along with each subsidiary published numbers and the eliminations. For data validity, when an accounting period is closed at the consolidated level, none of the reporting entities are allowed to enter or generate transactions for that period. When a consolidated fiscal year is closed, the fiscal year for all reporting entities is also closed.

Production Management

BARCODE LABELING

Track containers or individual parts on the factory floor using hand-held pocket PCs. Scan containers or parts as they move around the shop floor for highly accurate, real-time inventory data. The system provides a constantly updated library of pre-formatted barcode label formats supporting industry and OEM standards for most manufacturing industries. Plex Online supports other label formats.

CAPACITY PLANNING

This module provides reports for analyzing the current and future load on production workcenters. Rough-cut capacity planning for long term planning Job Scheduling for job shops and mixed-mode plants Support for Make-to-Stock and Make-to-Order High volume and low volume

COMPLEX ASSEMBLY

Plex Online Cloud ERP offers enhanced functionality to support complex manufacturing in continuous process environments. Improve productivity and increase visibility into the shop floor through the use of programmable logic controllers (PLCs), assembly line support, line processing and online work steps by assembly stations. Generate unique routings and Bills of Material (BOM) based on option configurations. A comprehensive work instruction library dynamically builds work instructions with images and a control plan. Work instructions dynamically link to engineering changes, ensuring the information is always current.

LABOR & TIME TRACKING

Track both direct labor and indirect labor activity, including the employee, activity, machine, part, operation, project, date, time and hours. This module is fully integrated with the Timeclock screens, the control panel, tool manufacturing system, maintenance system and other modules.

MULTI-PLANTS

Today’s manufacturer demands a sophisticated network to track inventory, production, and

scheduling across multiple locations in different time zones and on different continents

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A single tenant may contain several buildings within a facility or several facilities in different locations. Typically, buildings within a facility are in close physical proximity to each other and part of the same financial entity. The separate buildings can house different functions within the manufacturing process, including warehouse capacity, back-office functions, or redundant manufacturing stations. Multi-plant manufacturers within a tenant can effectively leverage Plex Online to easily manage many details of resource planning:

Individuals can be assigned by building, limiting operator access to only required and appropriate information.

Inventory transactions such as viewing, adjustments, and shipping can be restricted by building for better control.

Inventory locations can be specified by building and locations within buildings, if desirable. Inter-plant shipments and receipts can be supported and tracked with barcoding and mobile

readers. Operators can track in-transit shipments between buildings in real time. Inventory minimums and maximums for purchased parts and supply items can be established on

a building-by-building basis.

PLANT FLOOR MOBILE ACCESS

Plant Floor Mobile Access applications allow you to use wireless handheld scanning devices exactly where and when you perform:

Critical inventory control and management functions including cycle count Shipping Receiving Supplies (MRO) management Tool tracking

PLC MACHINE INTEGRATION Most manufacturers have Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) on their machines and equipment to control and monitor production, but few have learned to take advantage of the raw data the PLC collects. The Plex Online PLC/machine integration module seamlessly links Plex Online information and your production machines to take full advantage of its PLC-equipped machines and better manage production.

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE

Plex Online’s comprehensive preventative maintenance module includes user-definable attributes, checklists, maintenance request and approval functionality, preventive maintenance, spare parts management, MRO, and more. Automatically schedule preventative maintenance by hours, days, or number of production hits or pieces produced. Plex Online allows the manufacturer to define specific machine parameters and to graph and review data over time for predictive maintenance.

SHOP FLOOR CONTROL

Plex Online provides an extremely strong Shop Floor Control System (also known as Manufacturing Execution System (MES)). Plex grew up in the manufacturing industry and has always been, first and foremost, a manufacturing execution system. This is one of our primary focus areas and often noted as a major differentiator between us and our competitors.

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Plex Online’s full MES solution includes job/production management, process instructions, production scheduling, ultra-detailed real-time inventory control, tool tracking, production tracking, traceability and part genealogy, labor tracking, PLC machine integration, and much more. Plex Online includes the following base requirements for an Manufacturing Execution System:

Simple, easy-to-use design for use by shop floor personnel Real Time Online Built-in Bar Code Labeling Built-in support for mobile/wireless handheld units Built-in integration with machine PLCs Built-in integration with weigh scales, packaging machines, and other equipment

STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROLS

Plex Online’s Statistical Process Control (SPC) module collects inspection data and conducts in-process SPCs. It also handles capability studies, dock audits, part layouts, final inspection sheets, PPAP inspections, and special user-defined checks. Perform all statistical calculations and print a variety of reports, such as histograms, averages and ranges, run charts and more. Fully integrated SPC links the Plex Online part specification, control plan and gage control modules

PRODUCTION SCHEDULING OVERVIEW Plex Online provides a variety of production scheduling modules and methodologies, from the simplest to the most complex. We apply these methods in combination as warranted by the manufacturing process, the operational constraints, and the manufacturer's scheduling vision.

Material Requirements Planning (MRP)

This module is used to analyze Customer Orders, Raw Material Inventory Levels, Minimum Restock Levels and Lead Times in order to recommend and create releases with suppliers. Similar to traditional Material Requirements Planning (MRP). For ordering raw material and component parts.

Production Requirements Planning (PRP)

Evaluates Customer Releases, current Inventory levels, and Min Inventory points, in order to recommend production. Ideal for high-volume, repetitive manufacturers.

Visual Sequence Board - Production Scheduling

A visual schedule board that displays the Production Runs scheduled into each Workcenter. Each Production Run includes Part No, Operation, Quantity, Raw Matl Availability, Tooling Availability, Due Date and Note. The Schedule Board represents the short term queue of production runs that are scheduled into the machine. A visual tool for human-assisted, drag & drop scheduling.

Advanced Production Scheduling (APS)

A comprehensive, ultra-detailed, and fully automatic Finite Scheduling system. Includes visual representations of jobs and workcenter loading. Finite Scheduling The most detailed and sophisticated form of computer-automated scheduling and optimization.

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Electronic Pull Scheduler

This module is used to analyze inventory levels, Minimum Restock Levels, Daily Pulls, and Lead Times in order to recommend and create production jobs and maintain required stock levels. Often used as an electronic pull system. A simple, but powerful min-based approach to lean scheduling.

Electronic Kanban Scheduling

The Kanban system can be used to augment or replace conventional scheduling. Based on the Toyota Production System, this methodology is especially useful for optimizing the production flow of a small number of high-volume, repetitive parts. A highly visual but virtual method for lean Kanban scheduling.

Card-based Kanban Scheduling

The Kanban system can be used to augment or replace conventional scheduling. Based on the Toyota Production System, this methodology is especially useful for optimizing the production flow of a small number of high-volume, repetitive parts. Uses Plex-printed, bar coded Scanban™ cards.

Supply Chain Management

ONLINE ORDER ENTRY & TRACKING The Order Tracking module is used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for

each order, such as Customer, Due Date, Part Numbers and Quantities. Also provides links to Job

Tracking and Inventory in order to monitor the detailed status of an order.

ONLINE TOOL RELEASES This module provides Web-based communication of releases to Tool Suppliers. Suppliers view the

online releases screen to see the releases that have been issued to them. They then commit or reject

those release dates/quantities. When they are ready to ship the tools, they use Plex to print out a bar

coded shipper ahead of time, which is then delivered and received with the tools. This module

facilitates a high-level of real-time communication with your tooling suppliers. This is a very fast and

simple way to replace the need for paper releases, EDI, and constant phone calls to the supplier. It also

streamlines your receiving process. Because the incoming shipper is bar coded and pre-received, the

receiving process is very fast and accurate.

PROBLEM CONTROL Plex Online enables the manufacturer to record, track, resolve and check statuses of problems across

its supply chain. The system includes forms for problem solving, corrective actions, supplier reporting

and resolutions, customer concerns and more.

It enables the company to assign to its suppliers one or more actions for containment, correction, and

problem prevention, and suppliers can respond to the issues in real time.

Plex Online includes an online cost recovery system to issue online chargebacks to suppliers when

problems are identified.

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SUPPLIER QUALITY MANAGEMENT This module provides the ability to manage supplier quality, including Supplier Status, Certification

Level, Problem History, Quality Performance and more. Often used with E-Communication, to allow

suppliers to review and interact with their performance over time. Integrated with Supplier Module,

Problem Control, Purchasing and Shipping/Receiving.

SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW

Because Plex Online is an Internet-based application, it provides a powerful suite of tools for Supply

Chain Management in all of its many forms. Plex Online connects the manufacturer with its customer

and suppliers through an online database of information, providing paperless, real-time communication

between trading partners. Our Supply Chain Management includes electronic kanban, online releases,

EDI, electronic invoices and shipment notifications, online supplier quality management, cross-

company inventory traceability, cross-company quality and production data, and much more.

Customer Module

This module establishes a master list of Customers, including various Ship To and Bill To addresses,

and maintains all customer-related data. A basic requirement for most systems.

Supplier List

This module establishes a master list of suppliers, and maintains all supplier-related data. A basic

requirement for most systems.

Online Order Entry & Tracking

The Order Tracking module is used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for



Online Order Inquiry

This module allows customers to login to the system and view the real-time status of orders.

Inventory Tracking

This Inventory module provides the ability to track individual containers or individual parts on the shop

floor. It is designed for manufacturing facilities, especially part manufacturers, tool shops and other

situations where detailed, real-time tracking is required. Each container or part is bar coded with a

unique serial number used for tracking and traceability. Each inventory record includes Serial No, Part

Number, Location, Status and other pertinent data. Inventory records can be seached and summarized

for as required to provide real-time inventory reports. The inventory module is the foundation for many

other modules, including Production Tracking, Heat/Lot Traceability, Tool Life Tracking, and

Scheduling.

Subcontract Shipping/Receiving

This module is used to ship inventory out to processors, track its processing, then receive it back in to

the building. Highly integrated with Inventory and Supplier Modules.

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Building List

This module establishes a master list of buildings, and maintains all supplier-related building data. A

basic requirement for most systems.

Traceability & Cross Company Integration

A set of features that allow one Plex Customer to seemlessly integrate with a diffent Plex Customer.

This has been configured for container tracability and automatic release creation.

Online Releases to Suppliers

This modules provides the ability to publish purchase orders and releases to suppliers via the Internet.

Suppliers login, commit to the delivery date, print bar codes, and handle other order fulfillment tasks.

This system provides highly-flexible, real-time, paperless, bi-directional communication between the

company and its suppliers. Highly integrated with Purchasing and Supplier Modules. We support

outbound 830's, outbound 850's, outbound 860's, inbound 856's. The inbound 856's load receipts in the

system to receive inventory against. The outbound 830's are releases provided to the suppliers. The

outbound 850's are purchase orders to the suppliers and 860's are purchase order changes.

Online Tool Releases

This module provides Web-based communication of releases to Tool Suppliers. Suppliers view the

online releases screen to see the releases that have been issued to them. They then commit or reject

those release dates/quantities. When they are ready to ship the tools, they use Plex to print out a bar

coded shipper ahead of time, which is then delivered and received with the tools. This module

facilitates a high-level of real-time communication with your tooling suppliers. This is a very fast and

simple way to replace the need for paper releases, EDI, and constant phone calls to the supplier. It also

streamlines your receiving process. Because the incoming shipper is bar coded and pre-received, the

receiving process is very fast and accurate.

Supplier Quality Management

This module provides the ability to manage supplier quality, including Supplier Status, Certification

Level, Problem History, Quality Performance and more. Often used with E-Communication, to allow

suppliers to review and interact with their performance over time. Integrated with Supplier Module,

Problem Control, Purchasing and Shipping/Receiving.

Online Supplier PPAP

A system for issuing and managing online requests for PPAP from suppliers. (PPAP = Production Part

Approval Process) A PPAP is a Production Part Approval Process, which was established by the AIAG

and is a QS/TS requirement. The system prints the final Part Submission Warrant (PSW) form.

Online Supplier Scorecard

The Plex Online Supplier Scorecard module is a flexible system for tracking supplier performance

against a set of key measurables, such as Quality, Delivery, Cost, and Technology.

Online Problem Control

Also known as Problem Reporting and Resolution (PR/R), Corrective Action, Customer Concern Log,

and a variety of other names. This module is used to record, track, follow-up on, resolve and report

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upon problems and concerns within the company. It includes forms for the 8-Disciplines of Problem

Solving, Corrective Action, Supplier PR/R, Customer Concern, and more. This module provides the

ability to assign one or more actions for Containment, Correction, and Prevention of problems. Problem

Control is a requirement of ISO/QS-9000. This system is often used in E-Communication, to assign

problems to suppliers, who then use the system online to respond to those problems.

Charge Back System / Online Cost Recovery

This module, which is usually used in conjunction with the Problem Control System, is used to issue

and track charge backs to suppliers when problems occur.

Online Document Control System

The Document Control module provides the ability to store, edit, track and view documents on line.

Includes full electronic approval and revision tracking system ideal for ISO/TS 16949. Supports many

file types, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, AutoCAD, PDF, HTML, and more. This module is usually

used to control the Quality Manual, Procedures and Work Instructions. It is also used for the Employee

Handbook, Supplier Handbook, and Technical Documentation.

EDI System

EDI stands for Electronic Data Interchange. The EDI module provides a base system for setting up,

sending and receiving EDI documents following industry standard formats and protocols. The EDI

system supports AIAG, X.12, EDIFACT, and all other EDI protocols. Plex personnel provide EDI

expertise to help you setup and test with your various trading partners.

Customer Relationship Management

PART CONFIGURATOR PRICING SYSTEM The Pricing System, a sub-module of the Part Configurator, provides a mechanism for setting up and

using highly-sophisticated, customized pricing structures for Order Entry and Estimating.

COST & QUOTE ESTIMATING Expanding on the Quote Tracking system, the Estimating features provide the ability to build up a detailed

cost estimate for producing a quoted part. Also included are price markup and commission calculations.

CUSTOMER MASTER LIST Easily establish a master list of customers, including various Ship To and Bill To addresses, and

maintains all customer-related data. This list serves as the basis for full CRM features.

Customer Relations Summary

Plex Online provides a full suite of tools for managing the sales process, from powerful Quote Tracking

and Order Entry modules, to Release Accounting and Shipment Tracking, to Revenue Reporting and

CRM.

By drawing upon is various modules, Plex provides Customer Relationship Management systems used

by corporations to establish strategies, manage day-to-day communication, and organize the

sales/service effort. The Plex Sales and CRM system can take many forms, depending on the specific

requirements.

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Customer Module

This module establishes a master list of Customers, including various Ship To and Bill To addresses, and

maintains all customer-related data. A basic requirement for most systems.

Tracking

The Opportunity Tracking Module is an essential tool for a Sales Department to manage and track their

sales opportunities. Each Opportunity is identified with a Customer, Description, Salesperson, $ Amount,

Expected Close, and so on. This is the primary module a sales department uses to organize its day to

day leads.

Contract Tracking

This module provides a central place to store and track contracts with outside third parties, such as

equipment providers, software maintenance, and so on. Automatic notification and reports when

contracts expire and/or require renewal.

Communication Log

A historical log of communication with contacts, customers and suppliers.

Quote Tracking

This module provides a mechanism for creating, printing, and tracking RFQ's and Quotes. It also disables

some other "automatic" emails used by non-workflow customers.

Estimating

Expanding on the Quote Traking system, the Estimating Module provides the ability to build up a detailed

cost estimate for producing a quoted part. Also includes price markup and commission calculations.

Weight Calculator

Calculates mass and weight of various shapes and material types. Especially useful for generating

quotes.

Quick Quoter

A quick and easy way to determine a new price based on the type, weight and price of all the existing

prices in the database. Instead of using cost to drive the price, it uses the current market as represented

in the current parts/prices.

Part Configurator Pricing System

The Pricing System, a sub-module of the Part Configurator, provides a mechanism for setting up and

using highly-sophisticated, customized pricing structures for Order Entry and Estimating.

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Order Entry & Tracking

The Order Tracking module is used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for each

order, such as Customer, Due Date, Part Numbers and Quantities. Also provides links to Job Tracking

and Inventory in order to monitor the detailed status of an order.

Customer Orders & Releases

The Customer Order module is used to enter, track, and fulfill customer orders. Key data is stored for



Spot Buy Order Entry

This is a screen for quick entry of spot buy customer orders. This screen will create Order, Order Line,

Price, Approved Ship to, and Release records.

Standard Price Module

Provides the ability to setup standard, cross-customer pricing based on quantity break levels and other

parameters.

Revenue Reporting

Provides various reports for analyzing and tracking revenue.

Customer Sales Forecast

Allows forecast data to be stored by period, and comparisons made between snapshot versions of the

forecast. Maintains Initial Sales and Manufacturing versions of the forecast and displays data by sales

dollars or manufacturing quantity respetively.

Customer Satisfaction Overview

This module provides an overview of Customer Satisfaction. Each Customer is dipslayed with a color-

coded Customer Satisfaction Level, Status Note, Account Manager Name, and so on.

Online Order Inquiry

This module allows customers to login to the system and view the real-time status of orders.

Customer Assignment

Assign employees to customer responsibility.

Field Service

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This module is used to track Field Service calls to customer locations. Service records inlcude Service

Date, Technician, Machine Serial No, Problem/Complaint Description, Resolution and all other pertinent

Data. Also tracks Spare Parts used and warranty status.

Commissions Tracking

The Commission Tracking system provides a framework for setting up a Commission structure for sales

people. The system automatically looks up, calculates and records commision when part shipments are

made. Reports show the amount of commissions owed based on payment status of the associated

customer invoice. Commissions owed can be selected and used to generate accounts payable records,

from which pay checks can then be cut via standard accounting module functionality.

Competitor Database

This is a database of competitor intelligence, including a list of competitors, markets, personnel, capacity,

strengths/weaknesses, and other marketing facts.

Mail List Manager

A system designed to manage a promotional literature for a Direct Mail campaign.

Sales Literature Request

The Sales Literature Request Module is used to Manage Customer Requests for Samples, Literature,

etc.

Special Price Request

A module, integrated into the CRM system, for tracking customer requests for special pricing.

Sales Force Coordination

This module provides the ability to track and coordinate the activities of a sales force.

FIELD SERVICE Easily track Field Service calls to customer locations. Service records include Service Date, Technician,

Machine Serial No, Problem/Complaint Description, Resolution and all other pertinent Data. The feature

also tracks Spare Parts used and warranty status.

OPPORTUNITY TRACKING The Opportunity Tracking Module is an essential tool for a Sales Department to manage and track their

sales opportunities. Each Opportunity is identified with a Customer, Description, Salesperson, $ Amount,

Expected Close, and so on. This is the primary module a sales department uses to organize its day to

day leads.

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QUICK QUOTER Plex’s quick quoter software is a quick and easy way to determine a new price based on the type, weight

and price of all the existing prices in the database. Instead of using cost to drive the price, it uses the

current market as represented in the current parts/prices.

To streamline the quote process, an integrated Weight Calculator calculates mass and weight of various

shapes and material types. Especially useful for generating quotes.

QUOTE TRACKING Manufacturers improve the ordering process with an easy-to-use mechanism for creating, printing, and

tracking RFQ’s and Quotes with Plex Online. It also disables some other “automatic” emails used by non-

workflow customers.

Human Resources Overview

Plex Online provides a complete Human Resources system. The foundation of the Plex HR system is

the Employee List, which stores all the pertinent information about each employee. The fully-integrated

Time and Attendance module feeds information to the cost tracking system, and supports the

downloading of hours data to payroll services. Here are some of the modules provided within the HR

subsystem:

EMPLOYEE LIST This module provides a master Employee List, including all employee data, such as Name, Address,

Phone, Department, Insurance Type, Gender, Marital Status, Tax Status, and all other HR data.

MANUFACTURING MASTERS This module is used to tie together and manage a long manufacturing process that involves a complex

interconnection of parts, routings, BOM and Multi-outs. For example, this will schedule the component

parts of an assembly.

POSITIONS & JOB DESCRIPTIONS A module for maintaining a master list of employee Positions (titles), along with their Job Descriptions,

Cost Rate, and other peritnent data.

VISUAL EMPLOYEE LIST The visual employee module gives you a view of an employee's photograph with a listing of their

department, position and assignment. With a link for the employee to include a personal message to the

company.

DISCIPLINE TRACKING SYSTEM A flexible module for setting up and managing employee discipline tracking systems (aka Point Systems).

EMPLOYEE RECORDS Employee Records is a sub-module to the employee list, you store records such as reviews, disciplinary

actions, key events for your employees.

INJURY TRACKING The injury-tracking module will keep a history on all injuries for active and inactive employees fulfilling

your needs for OSHA, workers comp. and internal time loss tracking.

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HEALTH/SAFETY INCIDENT TRACKING The Health/Safety Incident Tracking is used to track special events related to health, safety, and the

environment. The module is ideal for tracking Hazardous Material Spills and results from Safety

Walkthroughs. This is a sister module to the Injury Tracking system.

TRAINING TRACKING Training Tracking is used by those companies who are/goal ISO or QS certified to track employee

training.

SKILL MATRIX A module for setting up and maintaining a Skill Matrix. Employees are displayed down the left side of the

Matrix, and Skills are displayed across the top. User-definable colors, text and/or images are displayed

in each cell to indicate the skill level attained. Each Position is defined with a list of required skills.

GRIEVANCE LOG The Grievance Module is used to track union grievances (or other grievance issues). Each Grievance

record has a Description, Date, Article Violated, Resolution, Status, Grievance Type, Employee Involved,

Shop Steward and so on. Excellent module for tracking and documenting the grievance process.

EMPLOYEE EXPENSE TRACKING A module for entry and management of employee expenses and reimbursement, such as travel and

educational expenses.

DISCLOSURE LOG (HIPPA) A log of information disclosures. This module is configurable to different purposes, but is often used by

the HR Department to track Medical Record Disclosures for HIPPA compliance. This module can also be

used for tracking disclosures related to confidentiality agreements, legal proceedings, and so on.

EMPLOYEE SUGGESTION SYSTEM This module allows Employees to enter in Suggestions (Quality, Safety, Cost Savings, etc), and for

management to respond and maintain a status of those suggestions.

EMPLOYEE REVIEW PRIORITY LIST A list of employees, along with various HR/review data, sorted by Months Since Last Review, Hire Date,

and a variety of other options for helping to prioritize and schedule Employee Reviews.

BADGE PRINTING Prints users' ID badges, with optional barcode for quick log-in ability.

EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENTS Third-party (Supplier) reimbursements by employees.

WORK CALENDAR Visual calendar of scheduled and historical work shifts.

TIME & ATTENDANCE LABOR TRACKING This module is used to track the time and attendance of employees, and at the same time track labor

activity against specific parts, jobs, and operations. This is especially useful in job shop environments,

where accurate and real-time job costing is critical. Also useful for Activity Based Costing (ABC) in larger

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production facilities. This module also tracks Lateness, Vacation, Funeral Time and other special

attendance issues. Plex can configure this module with custom business rules in order to calculate

Regular, Overtime and Double Pay (including approvals by supervisors) which can then be exported and

sent to your payroll service (such as ADP, Paychecks, etc).

TIMECLOCK PAYROLL INTERFACE Functionality that processes the raw labor tracking data into a format suitable for weekly download to a

payroll package or service.

TEAM/GROUP SETUP A module for setting up a team or group, and defining its champion and members.

EMPLOYEE PRIORITY LISTS A simple-to-use tool for managing and communicating high level Priority Lists for employees. This

approach emphasizes ease-of-use and the flexibility of quick changes. For more advanced/detailed task

management, use the Activity Manager.

Additional Services

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TOOLS A suite of dynamic business intelligence tools in Plex Online provides the speed and flexibility

manufacturing enterprises need. Gather, compare, share and analyze data from the shop floor to the top

floor. Take advantage of these system-integrated tools – no extra programming required.

DOCUMENT CONTROL SYSTEM As part of Plex's cloud ERP software, the document control system module has the ability to store, edit,

distribute, and manage documents online. Plex Online document control system for managing documents

includes many features ideal for ISO, TS, QS, and other standards.

Document Imaging

Multiple Methods for Adding Files to the Control System

Online Supplier Management System Integration

Universal Attachment System (UAS) Integration

Workflow Module Integration

Electronic Approval System

Full Electronic Distribution

Revision Tracking System

User-Defined Champions and Groups

User-Defined Hierarchical Directory Structure

COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN CAD formats are managed and controlled through the Plex Online Drawing Management System /

Document Control System. Plex Online integrates with CAD software in a variety of ways.

Document Control System

CAD Integration

Universal Attachment System

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E-COMMERCE As a full-featured and comprehensive Internet-based application that interconnects manufacturers with

their suppliers and their customers, the Plex Online system fulfills the vision of an E-Commerce ERP

solution in all its many forms, ranging from online orders and shipping, to inventory tracking and online

supplier management.

ELECTRIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI) Plex Online provides a sophisticated EDI system that is easy to use, highly automatic, and extremely

reliable. Unlike our competitors who tack on third party EDI packages, we designed our EDI system to

be an inherent part of our information system. Plex Online provides seamless and automatic transmission

and receipt of electronic documents with customers and suppliers, following EDI standards set by Honda,

Toyota, GM, Ford, DaimlerChrysler, and other Tier 1 and OEMs. Customer Releases are retrieved and

processed automatically. Advanced Shipment Notices (ASN) are created and transmitted automatically

when shipments are made. This is EDI the way it was meant to be.

Plex Online's EDI supports the increasing demands of the industry. EDI is highly integrated with Customer

Orders, Inventory, Bar Code Labeling, Packaging, and Shipping.

GROUPWARE COMMUNICATION The Plex Online information system provides a shared, online database that all employees can draw

from to make decisions and perform their job functions.

Activity/Task Manager

Broadcast E-Mail

Bulletin Board

Calendar

Checklist System

Contact Management

Forum

In/Out Board

Issue Management

Key Measurables

Team/Group Setup

Visitor Log

Workflow

SMARTPLEX MOBILE ACCESS Intended for executive and managerial users, SmartPlex incorporates a PIN-enabled login screen

allowing fast, easy yet secure login from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

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SERVICES SUPPORT

Security

The Plex Online Data Vault has been hardened against security attacks both physical and virtual. From

our ironclad firewalls and automated security sniffers to our concrete walls and biometric control systems,

the Plex Online system has been designed from the ground up to provide the highest level of security.

We maintain a dedicated staff of security experts to protect your data. All our policies, procedures and

equipment have been designed around rigorous Type II SAS-70 certification.

Plex Online stores and protects data for the U.S. military's Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) as well as

an array of Tier 1 and Tier 2 Aerospace and Defense contractors. Our systems are used to track highly-

sensitive information on everything from F15 fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters, to the B2 Stealth

Bomber and the Space Shuttle.

Training Strategies

Plex takes a “just-in-time” approach to training. Training takes place when a person is ready to start

engaging daily with the system; for the core team that is day one of the Conference Room Pilot phase

and for others in the organization that is during phases two and three.

You might also describe Plex Online training as “a little at a time.” Hundreds of implementations have

taught the Plex team that the best approach to training is to do short training sessions and then have

employees return to their work. This allows them time to try-out what they have learned and to develop

ideas for process modifications and system optimization.

Training starts in a meeting format then continues with employees at their workstations by teleconference

and on-line. As employees begin to work with the system entering data they become increasingly familiar

with the various features of the software.

Online training sessions by teleconference allow for flexibility in scheduling and the ability to immediately

access other Plex experts. This type of training also is effective because the software itself is online –

everyone can instantly see the result of transactions made from anywhere in the world. Lastly, it

encourages the customer team to take ownership of the system and not become dependent on the Plex

project manager. Plex’ approach to training is less onerous and formal than has been typical for new

system implementations traditionally. With more than 350 modules, no one person can hold

detailedmknowledge of every aspect of the Plex system, however many team members can develop an

extensive understanding of how to operate specific modules. Many employees of a manufacturing

enterprise can perform their entire jobs using only two or three screens of their module within the Plex

System.

Plex approaches training with this principle in mind. Employees learn some overall system principles and

then get right to work learning how to operate the system, as they work with the implementation team to

validate their function’s business processes. Training in the majority of modules requires an hour or less.

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INDUSTRY PERCEIVED #1 CLOUD

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NetSuite ERP is the world's most deployed cloud ERP solution. More

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According to Gartner,

NetSuite has been North

America's fastest

growing top 10 Financial

Management System in

North America from

2008-2010.

47

NETSUITE MODULES


ADVANCED, MULTI-LOCATION INVENTORY FOR DISTRIBUTORS NetSuite gives distributors advanced tools for accurate, cost-effective inventory management that drives

higher service levels for your customers. NetSuite supports your complex needs with multi-location

inventory, kits and assemblies, multiple units of measure, lot tracking, serialized inventory and specific

costing, matrix items and bar coding.

ORDER MANAGEMENT WITH ADVANCED SHIPPING Order management is the critical connection between front office CRM and back office ERP. NetSuite is

the only hosted application with integrated order management. Integrated shipping allows you to fulfill

order directly through pick, pack and ship or indirectly drop shiping items by automatically ordering and

shipping items from the vendor to your customer.

BIN MANAGEMENT Bin management capabilities improve inventory in the warehouse. Bin management allows for inventory

to be received at the warehouse and put-away into preferred bins within the rack system of the warehouse

for easy picking later during the order fulfillment process.

Demand-based Inventory Replenishment. Automatically adjusts for seasonal trends and ensures

stock on hand. Based on sales history and inventory reorder points, reorder levels can be dynamically

calculated, based on historical sales or seasonal demand. Average lead time, historical or seasonal-

based sales demand, and number of days' supply to stock are used to dynamically set reorder point and

preferred stock level for each item, on an ongoing basis so there will always be stock on hand but ordered

just-in-time.

ORDER PROMISING & INVENTORY COMMITMENT NetSuite gives Sales real-time visibility into inventory availability when quoting and creating orders—

increasing service levels with accurate order promising. Sales orders for inventory are automatically

committed from available stock. Back orders are automatically committed to fulfill as purchase orders are

received. In today, out today processing. Items can be manually reallocated inventory to different sales

orders if needed.

REAL-TIME SYSTEM The key to making good management decisions is by having current, accurate data. In today's

competitive, low margin business climate, you don't have the luxury of waiting on others to complete

updates, and have a clean cutoff before providing you with the information you really need now. With

NetSuite, you will have on your dashboard the key data you need and want to make those decisions.

Most importantly, you need to know if a process has been broken, so you are reacting before the situation

affects other aspects of your business, namely customer service and cash.

RETURNS MANAGEMENT IN ONE SYSTEM NetSuite efficiently manages the return process and provides full visibility to both you and your customers.

Either a customer service representative, or a customer logging into the Customer Center, can generate

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Return Management Authorization (RMA) forms and route them for approval so there are no more

headaches from returns.


AUTOMATED ORDER PROCESS Using NetSuite, companies can manage orders both inside and outside the organization more cost

effectively. Additionally, they can gain a 360-degree view of the customer, improving customer service

by giving employees real-time information about inventory, vendors and customers.

AUTOMATED PAYMENTS With proper receipt and purchase order matching, your Accounts Payable department can verify invoice

and approve for payment release. Payment can be made with a paper check, through online banking or

EFT.

ORDER MANAGEMENT Empower sales representatives with the first and only hosted solution that lets them create estimates and

orders with one click—enabling them to focus on making the sale, not processing the paperwork.

Give customers full visibility into their order status, boosting customer satisfaction and long-term

loyalty.

Mine centralized customer purchase histories for customer profitability analysis, strategic

marketing, and upsell and cross-sell potential.

Enable sales representatives to turn estimates into orders with just one click, saving time and

increasing efficiency.

Real-time order status gives everyone access to the same, up-to-date order information, including

when an order was placed, shipped, received and billed.

A single data repository captures and manages all orders and their histories, eliminating the

hassles and costs of managing disparate systems or databases.

COMPLETE PROCURE-TO-PAY PURCHASING NetSuite lets you move from manual, paper-based purchasing to lower cost, higher control automated

purchasing. NetSuite streamlines purchasing, saving you money that goes straight to your bottom line.

REAL-TIME ORDER STATUS Using NetSuite, which integrates all critical business data across departments, companies can at last

have real-time order status. Using the Real-time Dashboard, employees can access instant snapshots

of key performance indicators (KPIs), such as new sales orders or support cases. With the Real-time

Dashboard, you spend your time analyzing and acting on crucial order-related data—not gathering it. As

a result, you can accelerate and improve your business decisions.

Benefits:

• A single, powerful solution delivers real-time order status, enabling service and sales representatives

alike to resolve customer queries with one call.

• Real-time order updating ensures that each order moves through your front- and back-office with ease

and speed, providing the customer a timely, efficient delivery and leading to higher customer satisfaction.

49

• Full visibility into each stage of the order process means that you can confirm that orders have been

shipped, received and billed, streamlining the entire fulfillment cycle.

Features:

• Leverage over 45 pre-packaged KPIs, including forecast, pipeline, opportunities, new leads, orders,

prospects, cases, marketing campaigns and more. Or, create custom KPIs and add them to your

Dashboard.

• Quick look-up features allow you to locate customers based on name, purchase order number,

transaction number, or a host of other parameters.

• A single screen view delivers up-to-the-second status on each customer order.

• Status notifications alert employees to tasks that require their attention.

• Exception reporting enables you to track an order at any stage of the process, giving you insight into

whether an order is awaiting approval, remains overdue, or has been shipped but not yet billed to the

customer.

SELF-SERVICE VENDOR CENTER With the integrated Vendor Center, your company can provide your vendors with direct access to

information that is relevant to your partnership, including purchase orders, accounts payable data, and

other key documents.

FEDEX® SHIPPING INTEGRATION, UPS ONLINE® TOOLS, AND USPS INTEGRATION NetSuite's wholesale distribution software offers FedEx® Shipping Integration, UPS OnLine® Tools, and

USPS integration giving customers, suppliers and employees the ability to track packages anytime and

anywhere. This integrated offering also eliminates the problem of manually exchanging data between

separate order management, package tracking, shipping and customer service systems.

Benefits:

• Integration of FedEx® Shipping Integration, UPS OnLine® Tools, and USPS in NetSuite provides for

advanced shipping and receiving, and eliminates redundant, disparate business systems.

• Generating FedEx and UPS shipping labels within NetSuite wholesale distribution solution

dramatically reduces the time required to fulfill orders.

• By giving customers faster delivery, as well as full visibility into shipment status, you increase

customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Features:

• Create shipping items directly from the Real-time Dashboard, and set up FedEx® Shipping, UPS

OnLine®, and USPS shipping to all destinations (domestic or international) from within NetSuite.

• Select shipping preferences, validate addresses, and calculate rates and handling fees. Add this

information instantly to your customer's invoice.

• Do bulk fulfillment automatically by selecting the items to be fulfilled and printing the associated

labels. You can also include the shipping description on the printing label.

• Assign different steps of the fulfillment process (such as picking, packing and shipping) to different

people within the company.

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• Link tracking numbers to sales orders, invoices and customer records, providing employees with

complete visibility into shipping progress and delivery history from any transaction or customer

record.

• Customers can log into the 24/7 Self-Service Center and view all their information, such as order and

payment history, as well as shipment status.

STREAMLINED RECEIVING Upon receipt of your purchase order, your warehouse can view the open purchase order and either auto-

receive the material or receive by item or line number. Inventory levels will be auto-updated and customer

backorders will be automatically filled.


GENERAL LEDGER, ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE AND ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Gain full financial visibility into your payables and receivables with real-time access to outstanding

invoices and bills. And once customers receive your goods or services, you can quickly generate invoices

from sales orders with just one click, reducing paperwork and improving efficiency.

FINANCIALS SUMMARY Having access to key financials and reports is critical to your success. With NetSuite's financial

management services, you get comprehensive tools that allow you to control all your financial data and

processes. And since the financial management services in NetSuite financials are integrated with your

sales, support, shipping and receiving functions, you get real-time financial data directly from those

departments, enabling faster, smarter business decisions.

ADVANCED BILLING NetSuite's Advanced Billing feature makes contract billing faster, more convenient, and easier to manage.

Many businesses invoice customers for a sale over a range of time, or a contract term. For example, a

customer might commit to a one year membership billed monthly, or a three year service contract with

quarterly invoices. Keeping track of billing schedules and managing the invoicing process (knowing when

it is time to invoice, how much to invoice...) can be a major challenge for such companies, and having

the financial management services to do so effectively is critical to successfully managing your revenue

stream.

MULTI-CURRENCY TRANSACTIONS AND REPORTING Companies that have offices in other countries, or those that frequently do business with foreign

companies, must record and track transactions in foreign currencies. The automated currency revaluation

feature simplifies the period-end close process by generating adjusting journal entries to reflect exchange

rate fluctuations on any open accounts payable or receivable transactions. Plus, with NetSuite's financial

management capabilities you can price your items in multiple foreign currencies to ensure customers see

only current exchange rates and prices.

PROJECT ACCOUNTING NetSuite Advanced Project Accounting lets you manage your professional services organization more

effectively with integrated project/job tracking and reporting. With NetSuite, you can automate project/job

creation when specific services are sold, and automatically track percent complete and time budgeted

and spent on project tasks. Reports for utilization and backlog help you analyze your employees'

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workload and efficiency. Estimated job profitability reporting compares your projected loaded labor cost

on projects against expected billings.

REVENUE RECOGNITION NetSuite is the first hosted application to bring revenue recognition management to mid-size companies.

NetSuite's financial management services make it easier for companies to flexibly recognize revenue

according to customer contracts and to maintain accounting control within GAAP and other reporting

standards.


ADVANCED MULTI-LOCATION INVENTORY NetSuite gives manufacturers the advanced tools for accurate, cost-effective inventory management

across multiple sites that drive higher service levels for your customers. It provides support for high

volume SKU management along with advanced inventory management capabilities such as multiple

warehouse management, serialized inventory, bar coding and labels, lot and bin management,

expiration dating, pick, pack and ship fulfillment processes, drop-shipment and special orders, auto-

calculation of reorder points and preferred stock levels based on sales history, returns automation and

demand-driven replenishment.

Bin Management

Bin management capabilities improve inventory in the warehouse. Bin management allows for inventory

to be received at the warehouse and put-away into preferred bins within the rack system of the

warehouse for easy picking later during the order fulfillment process. Bin numbers are editable and you

can easily transfer items between bins at the same location without impacting your inventory value or

total quantity on hand.

Demand-based Inventory Replenishment

Automatically adjusts for seasonal trends and ensures stock on hand. Based on sales history and

inventory reorder points, reorder levels can be dynamically calculated, based on historical sales or

seasonal demand. Average lead time, historical or seasonal-based sales demand, and number of days'

supply to stock are used to dynamically set reorder point and preferred stock level for each item, on an

ongoing basis so there will always be stock on hand but ordered just-in-time.

Accurate Order Promising & Inventory Commitment

NetSuite gives your sales team real-time visibility into inventory availability when quoting and creating

orders increasing service levels with accurate order promising. Sales orders for inventory are

automatically committed from available stock. Back orders are automatically committed to fulfill as

purchase orders are received for in today-out today processing. Items can be manually reallocated

inventory to different sales orders if needed.

Order Management with Advanced Shipping

Order management is the critical connection between your front office and back office operations.

NetSuite is the only hosted application with integrated order management and integrated shipping that

allows you to fulfill orders directly through pick, pack and ship or indirectly drop shipping items by

automatically ordering and shipping items from the vendor to your customer.

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Integrated UPS® & FedEx® with Tracking

NetSuite also extends into the order fulfillment, packing and shipping processes of a warehouse. The

UPS™ or FedEx™ integration allows you to simply transmit your order information directly to UPS or

FedEx and instantly receive back the rate, tracking number, address verification and the ability to print

out shipping labels, to be shared among different individuals, teams and customers. You can even

improve the accuracy of inventory profitability by associating item costs with related expenses, to

calculate complete landed costs, factoring in expenses such as shipping or duty.

Returns Management in One System

NetSuite efficiently manages the return process and provides full visibility to both you and your

customers. A customer service representative or a customer logging into the Customer Center can

generate Return Management Authorization (RMA) forms and route them for approval so there are no

more headaches from returns.

ASSEMBLY MANAGEMENT Building on NetSuite's core strength in inventory and warehouse management, manufacturers use

assembly items to more effectively manage component quantities and multi-level assemblies.

Assemblies are closely tied with work orders and allow for multi-level assemblies to be built one level at

a time, or all at once.

And because demand for the assemblies is calculated based on sales, a separate queue shows you

when it is time to build more to stock. You will achieve unprecedented ability to dynamically manage

your stock and replenishment for both assemblies and their components.

WORK ORDER MANAGEMENT Work orders allow manufacturers to easy manage the build process for production work orders to

replenish standing inventory levels of finished goods or special order work orders built to exact

specifications for a particular customer.

NetSuite supports production work orders that track the assemblies that need to be built to increase

stock. Work orders are generated when the back-ordered quantity of an assembly reaches its assigned

build point, and a bill of materials (BOM) is generated to facilitate picking member items for the build.

When this work order is completed, the regular stock level of the assembly is increased and the

finished goods are committed to open sales orders.

Special order work orders track assemblies to be built for a particular sale. When assembly items are

sold and finished goods are not in stock but member items are, a work order is automatically added to

the work order creation queue.

NetSuite automatically calculates reorder points and preferred stock levels, allowing manufacturers to

more accurately determine the proper time and quantity when reordering components based on work

orders for those items.

Raw materials are committed to a work order as they become available; when the work order is ready

to be built, it will show up in your queue to generate an assembly build.

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SUPPLY CHAIN OVERVIEW A manufacturer / wholesale distributor has two critical business assets: inventory and accounts

receivable. Each asset translates directly into money earned —or money lost — in this highly competitive

industry. That's why the more accurate inventory information you have at your fingertips, the better

positioned your company is to improve turn-around time, save money, and satisfy customers.

NetSuite gives companies the visibility they need to track inventory effectively: where it is, where it has

been, and where it is headed. As a result, purchasing managers can use that data to make better, more

informed buying decisions. More importantly, your company will hold only the inventory it needs — no

more and no less.

NetSuite bin management capabilities improve inventory management in the warehouse. Bin

management allows for inventory to be received at the warehouse and put-away into preferred bins within

the rack system of the warehouse for easy picking later during the order fulfillment process.

Additionally, with real-time inventory status, your employees can track any piece of data that impacts

inventory, such as sales orders, transactions, quotes, adjustments and accounts payable, dramatically

improving visibility and sharpening competitive edge.


INCENTIVE MANAGEMENT At most companies, commissions are calculated using spreadsheets, or homegrown software. As a

result, sales people spend much of their time "shadowing" their compensation—double-checking the

company's figures to ensure they're getting their due. But by automating commission management, you

enable your sales force to focus on what really matters: closing the sale. Sales force automation not only

reduces needless paperwork, but it also gives you a simple, accurate way to maintain and track

commissions for your entire sales force. Commissions are visible to reps and their managers as KPIs on

their Dashboard so they know exactly where they stand for actual and projected commissions.

With NetSuite CRM+, you have the flexibility to schedule complex commission structures based on how

you do business. You can structure commissions in any number of ways—based on quantity, sale

amount, service sold, profitability of the product sold, or percent of quota that is reached. While many

other vendors force you to adjust your business to their software, NetSuite CRM+ tailors itself to your

specific business needs.

JOB AND PROJECT TRACKING For services companies, service delivery is at the heart of customer relationship management, yet project

management has been left out of most CRM vendors' solutions. Enter NetSuite. NetSuite CRM+ let's you

track projects and tie this directly to the customer record for real-time visibility.

That's why NetSuite CRM+ lets you manage multiple types of projects, including time and materials, fixed

price, and cost plus projects-all in real time. NetSuite CRM+ also organizes your tasks, calls and events,

linking them to specific projects and clients. Best of all, NetSuite CRM+ manages project and client data

in one, powerful and fully integrated system.

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PARTNER RELATIONSHIP A business is much more than its own four walls. To succeed today, businesses need to reach beyond

their walls and collaborate with partners, often extending key customer and sales data. Only then can

businesses work effectively with partners to manage the pipeline, process orders, track marketing activity

and forecast sales.

Meeting the needs of growing businesses, NetSuite's CRM+ solution provides the industry's first and only

partner relationship management application that lets you reach all your partners, while simultaneously

allowing you full control over every element of your sales and marketing process, including: marketing

campaigns, lead management and order processing.

SALES ORDER MANAGEMENT Order management can streamline your entire fulfillment process. Reducing paperwork for your sales

force, allowing them to focus their efforts on selling. It also ensures that customers get deliveries on time,

boosting customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty.

Everything in NetSuite CRM+ is built around customers and orders—reports, dashboards, and customer

intelligence all key off this tangible relationship with the customer, making it as easy to connect with them

over the Web as in person. This order management capability also allows sales people to work a deal

through the pipeline, right through to the actual close. So you can finally see booked orders in your

forecast, greatly increasing its reliability, predictability and accuracy.

With NetSuite CRM+, sales representatives can turn estimates into orders with just one click of a button,

significantly reducing their paperwork. Did you know that other CRM vendors' solutions don't include

order management? That means you can't complete the order and, importantly, you lose visibility into

customer order histories for inquiries and support—and for future marketing and sales customer

intelligence.

NetSuite CRM+'s order management system also gives everyone in organization access to the same,

up-to-date order information. Support representatives can view order statuses; sales representatives

know when to make follow-up calls; and customers can check order statuses in real time via the Customer

Center, or Web site.

SELF SERVICE CUSTOMER PORTAL Self-service customer support centers are fast becoming the channel of choice for customers. Opens a

self-service customer portal communication to your customers by giving them a way to post service

issues, place new orders, or view their order histories. Such a site lets you stay open for business 24/7,

around the world. Moreover, it delivers a high-quality, high-touch experience for customers while reducing

the cost of customer care to your company.

Customer self-service provides real-time, cross-channel views of all interactions for delivery of superior

customer service—whether the interaction occurred on the Web just seconds ago or with a sales rep in

person yesterday. In addition, customers can view outstanding quotes or orders and even request

returns. Most importantly, detailed order history allows an easy check of entitlement to service levels as

well as intelligent upsell/cross-sell offers, helping turn the call center into a profit center.

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WEBSITE NetSuite CRM+ integrates what has become the customer channel of choice, and a business's most

pervasive marketing vehicle, the company Web site

• Web hosting capabilities includes rich site builder tools that allow for dynamic content driven from

the CRM system, including an online product catalog, lead capture, and customer self-service.

• One-to-one publishing capabilities allow for personalized and targeted content to be delivered to

prospect or customer portals.

• Site Analytics adds rich integrated Web reporting that provide aggregate site metrics previously only

available through third party monitoring services, as well as unique visitor specific click-through and

page hit information invaluable to targeted sales and marketing follow up.

• Robust Intranet publishing capabilities are also included with specific audience controls that allow

content to be tailored to different departments or groups of individuals such as managers versus all

employees.


REAL TIME DASHBOARDS View Key Performance Indicators, up-to-date status and comparative data over your defined time periods

on all your manufacturing metrics from work orders, assemblies, BOM components, and finished goods

ordered and shipped. All your business data — customers, pipelines, orders, revenue to date and

forecasts are available at your fingertips.

With more than 30 out-of-the-box role-based Dashboards, NetSuite gives all users in the company a

custom dashboard that allows them to monitor everything in the business relevant to them. Finally,

"information at your fingertips" is a reality. See work orders and their status, assemblies to build or order,

as well as data trends in leads, opportunities, inventory utilization, service issues, expenses, and much

more. It's all managed with point-and-click content additions and drag-and-drop layout.

Key Performance Indicators

KPIs, with tailorable period comparisons and out-of-tolerance notifications, give you a real-time, at-a-

glance view of your company's performance.

Real-time Visibility

Real-time visibility to quotations, work orders, and support issues that have time sensitivity means critical

issues don't fall through the cracks.

Customized Reporting

You can easily create your own queries and save them for rapid, repeatable ad hoc reports that are

displayed right on your dashboard.

Group Calendaring

Calendars for individual and group scheduling allow you to see others' schedules and invite them to

meetings, assign tasks, and know their availability without exiting the program.

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RSS Content

You can see news bulletins and have direct access to outside content feeds from your choice of providers

on your dashboard.

Direct Drill-Down

Drill down allows instant access to greater detail and transaction management directly from the

Dashboard.

SECURITY Security and availability are the most critical elements in any system that contains your business data.

You need to assure your customers that their information is safe with you — and you need the assurance

that your company data is both secure and accessible with NetSuite. NetSuite has been developed and

implemented with multiple layers of data redundancy for comprehensive security and business continuity.

We embrace a three-part vision of security: availability, integrity, and confidentiality. Coupled with our

business practices, you can be assured that your data is accurate, accessible and secure.

Data Security

For many companies, the level of security and availability, disaster recovery, and back-up provided by a

software-as-a-service provider far exceeds that which they can provide themselves. NetSuite provides

multiple layers of data protection to ensure your business information security.

Availability

NetSuite's mission is to provide the access to your data that your company relies on, so you can rest

assured that your business can run continually in the face of unexpected outages or events.

SERVICES SUPPORT

NetSuite Central: Tools, templates and training

NetSuite Central is a one-stop knowledge center, full of useful resources to get you successfully started

on the right foot. These resources include:

Implementation templates and scripted best practices orient project team members to the proven

steps and methods used by NetSuite's own SuiteConsulting team.

E-learning modules provide an introductory learning environment for core NetSuite functionality

and address key areas such as basic navigation, sales force automation, marketing, support,

accounting and order processing.

Recorded customer Web seminars and new feature training sessions keep you well informed on

the newest features and best practices.

Extensive end-to-end process documentation provides a roadmap for getting maximum

productivity out of NetSuite.

Site Consultation

Applying deep industry expertise and the groundbreaking NetSuite One methodology, SuiteConsulting™

professional services help you implement and customize NetSuite for your unique requirements,

57

providing a platform from which you can dramatically improve and grow your business — while driving

costs out of your operations.

SuiteConsulting professionals have extensive expertise implementing NetSuite in many industries,

including software, professional services, wholesale distribution, retail, financial services and

manufacturing. Depending on your company size, budget and resources, SuiteConsulting has an

implementation approach that's right for you.

SHARED CONSULTING A Shared Consulting implementation is a cooperative, hands-on project, jointly managed by a NetSuite

Consulting team and you. If you have specific requirements — such as the need for customized business

processes, complex workflows, implementation of NetSuite advanced modules, integration with other

applications, or data conversion issues — a Shared Consulting Implementation is right for you

GUIDED CONSULTING Guided Consulting projects are designed specifically for organizations that can manage their own

deployments, yet still see the benefit in leveraging NetSuite's proven implementation methodology and

extensive track record. Guided Consulting projects are available at two levels of support based on the

degree of assistance you require and the depth and breadth of functionality you seek

NETSUITE ONE METHODOLOGY NetSuite uses a unique, proven methodology based on best practices gleaned from vast experience in

deploying NetSuite solutions to our customers. Called NetSuite One, this formal methodology is the very

first designed specifically for the requirements of mid-market, on-demand implementations

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EPICOR

ON WAY TO BECOMING #1

Epicor provides integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP),

customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management

(SCM), and human capital management (HCM) software solutions to the

midmarket and divisions of Global 1000 companies. Epicor provides

industry-specific business software solutions to thousands of companies

around the world. The next-generation business software solutions from

Epicor support manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and professional

service organizations worldwide.

Epicor Manufacturing is a fully integrated ERP solution with extensive

functionality for accounting, inventory control, pre-production materials

planning, and manufacturing execution (MES). The system is delivered

via true Service-Oriented Architecture, meaning that buyers can

purchase only the modules they need without being forced to buy other

modules that are part of the system. Epicor has gained strong market

share due to this SOA architecture and the system’s overall functional

breadth.

Epicor supports just about any discrete manufacturer with more than $1

million in annual revenue. Buyers looking for an especially robust system

will opt for the vendor’s additional modules for supply chain

management, product lifecycle management (PLM), business

performance management (BPM), customer relationship management

(CRM), and quality performance management (QPM). Epicor

Manufacturing is deployed on-premise with a single database, providing

one centralized location for all enterprise data. Epicor typically is not

used by process manufacturers looking to automate recipes, formulas,

or batches. Its focus remains on discrete firms.

We have always recommended Epicor to manufacturing firms due to the

system’s popularity, functional depth, and functional breadth.

Epicor has 3 ERP variants in cloud based format –

1. Epicor ERP

2. Epicor Express

3. Epicor iVP

In this chapter, we will describe the most comprehensive of above three,

i.e. Epicor ERP among the above mentioned three variants.

EPICOR

ADVANTAGE

Epicor's ERP software

solutions are helping

midmarket

organizations and

divisions and

subsidiaries of the

Global 1000 maximize

their most important

resources for

profitable growth, and

are available for a

number of industry

sectors including

manufacturing,

distribution, services,

hospitality and retail.

These solutions offer

deep industry-specific

functionality within

each of these sectors.

Read more about our

industry specific

solutions.

59

EPICOR MODULES

Materials Management Module

ADVANCED MATERIAL MANAGEMENT Advanced Material Management (AMM) enables businesses to produce electronic requests for

materials, dispatch those materials, and track inventory movements of all inventory including raw

materials and work in process. Using wireless terminals and bar coding technology you are able to track

inventory in real-time with complete control and visibility of raw materials and work in process as it travels

throughout the enterprise.

Bar Coding on Demand and Scanning

Print tags on demand enabling employees to properly label containers or to create custom labels (via

Seagull Scientific, Inc. BarTender®) to meet customer requirements. Eliminate data entry mistakes and

increase transaction speed by simply scanning a bar code tag to complete an entire transaction.

Handheld

Allows for the transaction of work either on a graphical touch screen station or via mobile Radio

Frequency (RF) enabled device.

Material Handler Interface

Use an online queue of raw material and WIP parts to manage requests to locate and deliver the right

parts to the correct resource at the appropriate time.

Material Movement

Different movement transactions are available for you to move a job to stock, move stocked material, or

perform different returns to a job or stock.

Prioritizing Orders

Lets you treat your best customers with the highest priority by automatically allocating inventory to the

highest priority orders first. Reserve or allocate materials from stock or directly from a linked job to make

certain that you ensure your highest priority customers the greatest care.

Reserving Inventory and Sales Order Allocation

Reserve specific parts in inventory for designated orders. Manage sales order allocations with greater

efficiency and create more effective picking and shipping.

BAR CODING ON DEMAND AND SCANNING Print tags on demand enabling employees to properly label containers or to create custom labels (via

Seagull Scientific, Inc. BarTender®) to meet customer requirements. Eliminate data entry mistakes and

increase transaction speed by simply scanning a bar code tag to complete an entire transaction.

HANDHELD Allows for the transaction of work either on a graphical touch screen station or via mobile Radio

Frequency (RF) enabled device

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MATERIAL HANDLER INTERFACE Use an online queue of raw material and WIP parts to manage requests to locate and deliver the right

parts to the correct resource at the appropriate time.

MATERIAL MOVEMENT Different movement transactions are available for you to move a job to stock, move stocked material, or

perform different returns to a job or stock.

PRIORITIZING ORDERS Lets you treat your best customers with the highest priority by automatically allocating inventory to the

highest priority orders first. Reserve or allocate materials from stock or directly from a linked job to make

certain that you ensure your highest priority customers the greatest care.

SALES ORDER ALLOCATION Reserve specific parts in inventory for designated orders. Manage sales order allocations with greater

efficiency and create more effective picking and shipping.


ORDER MANAGEMENT Order Management drives the Epicor system. From the time an order is entered, its progress is tracked

through final shipment, producing perfect order fulfillment on demand. With Order Management, all

orders and change orders will be effectively managed online, perfecting the order-to-delivery process for

maximum customer satisfaction.

EPICOR SALES MANAGEMENT Customers’ demands for choice and flexibility translate to real opportunity for companies that can respond

with agility and speed. Solutions that support your need for information about products, capabilities, and

customer information can offer measured advantage against competitors and ensure your company high

marks.

Not only are businesses today looking for price, quality, and delivery, they expect fast and accurate

responsiveness in all supplier interactions. Suppliers that can successfully demonstrate how easy it is to

do business with them—that they have the tools and systems in place to support complex processes,

products and services—are realizing real competitive advantages.

DEMAND MANAGEMENT In today’s climate of shorter lead times, more frequent orders of smaller quantities, and where meeting

customer demand secures your competitive edge, companies must find ways to anticipate changes in

customer demand. Epicor Demand Management responds to these business conditions and incorporates

the requirements of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) to help your company reduce lead time in the

office for planning and procurement, thus enabling you to respond on the production floor faster.

Demand Management offers the establishment of contracts that can be linked to sales orders and

releases. These contracts can be managed, and schedules produced, automatically with set periodicities

that match each customer’s unique shipping needs. Additionally, as change happens, the schedules can

be regenerated. If Advanced EDI is deployed, your customers’ electronic demand changes are brought

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in for review and acceptance. This is important for companies doing business in industries such as

automotive, aerospace and defense, and retail. Accountability of change and rapid flow of information to

the production floor, as a result of fully integrating EDI with your Epicor system, can elevate your supplier

status.

In addition, Demand Management not only looks at the demand side of EDI, but also focuses on the

fulfillment side with secure outbound Advanced Ship Notice (ASN) transactions that the customer

reconciles with each shipment. Through an inbound EDI document, the CUM (Cumulative) total value

and actual received quantity is then electronically sent back to you for reconciliation and potential

adjustment.

ELECTRONIC DATA INTERCHANGE (EDI) EDI is the traditional form of exchanging information electronically and is utilized by many suppliers to

manage their supply chains more efficiently. Epicor Advanced EDI, used with Demand Management,

provides a common interface for managing and exchanging large volumes of data. Demand Management

handles creation, analysis, scheduling, and reconciliation of cumulative releases from your customers.

You can use Demand Management without Advanced EDI and vice versa.

Epicor Advanced EDI functions are tightly integrated with the Demand Management module and facilitate

electronic communication of release and ASN information to and from your customers. Advanced EDI

offers direct integration with your Epicor data, reducing the turnaround time on schedule changes and

additions, and eliminating potential data entry errors. Epicor Professional Services are experienced in

making EDI work in various environments with various EDI suppliers, and can offer enhanced

functionality that is tailored to the EDI needs of your business.

ESTIMATE AND QUOTE MANAGEMENT Easily generate and track all customer or prospect requests for quotation (RFQs), from the time of receipt

until an order is placed. You can get quotations out more quickly and be more accurate with pricing and

lead times.

STOREFRONT New revenue opportunities and sales efficiencies are available to companies that successfully engage

customers through their website. By shortening the time from when an order is taken to the time of

shipment, you can create a competitive advantage. Opportunities to reach out to untapped markets also

drive companies to deliver e-commerce solutions—one more tool companies can deploy to demonstrate

how easy and open they are to do business with.

Epicor Storefront sits along extended portal technology to offer a fully functional extension to your website

that includes customer portal capabilities along with Epicor Sales Connect (sales portal) and web

configuration features.


GENERAL LEDGER Epicor General Ledger is the heart of Epicor Financial Management, processing and posting all

accounting transactions created throughout Epicor applications, as well as entries made directly within

the ledger. While it is seldom accessed outside of the accounting and tax departments, the General

Ledger's impact is felt throughout an entire enterprise. The information and controls which flow from the

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General Ledger system enable an organization to operate efficiently, comply with fiscal regulations,

underpin strong corporate governance, and drive enterprise performance. General Ledger provides the

accounting controls and system security necessary to help ensure the integrity of your company's

financial data.

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Accounts Payable (AP) allows you to enter supplier invoices for purchases that you make, then create

checks for the invoices you want to pay. The system can generate payments for all invoices due, those

for a particular supplier or only for specific invoices. If a supplier calls you to discuss an invoice, you will

have complete information at your fingertips and that history can be kept indefinitely.

Accounts Payable allows you to update both purchase orders in Purchase Management as well as actual

job costs. Adjustments are created if the purchase price does not match the invoiced price. With Accounts

Payable, you will know how much you owe and when it is due.

TAX CONNECT Sales tax is a government-required, compulsory activity. It doesn’t drive revenue and it doesn’t reduce

expenses. So any time or money spent on tax compliance is, by nature, non-profitable. There are more

than 12,500 United States and Canadian tax jurisdictions alone and the rates, rules, and boundaries

change relentlessly. Keeping up with all of the tax changes is an operational distraction and a drag on

the efficiency of your organization.

Epicor Tax Connect eliminates the tedious work and complexity of determining sales tax jurisdictions of

ship-to addresses, maintaining tax codes and rates, and dealing with jurisdiction-specific and commodity-

specific taxation rules. Tax Connect also provides for automated generation of sales tax returns and

currently supports the United States and Canada. Epicor Tax Connect is offered as a software-as-a-

service (SaaS), on-demand address validation, sales tax calculation, and sales tax reporting and returns

generation.

GLOBAL ENGINES Epicor Financial Management is built around a series of unique global engines, which in turn support the

global nature of business today, enabling effective operations in existing and new markets as necessary.

As your business is extended through a combination of organic growth, mergers and acquisitions it can

become challenged by complex and demanding global financial and regulatory burdens – demands that

you must adapt to instantaneously. At the heart of the Epicor solution, Epicor global engines are designed

to add accounting agility and flexibility to your business while simultaneously allowing you to meet the

local financial and legal compliance requirements of individual markets.

CASH/ASSET MANAGEMENT

Asset Management

Effective asset management is a critical business requirement. Fixed Assets helps you record, track and

depreciate your fixed assets for optimal utilization.

Cash Management

Improve cash management through the automatic handling and reporting of discounts available, payment

due dates and payment selection methods.

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MULTI-CURRENCY/ COMPANY MANAGEMENT Multi-Currency Management automates the process of both buying and selling in foreign currencies. With

tracking of default currencies as well as extensive exchange rate tables, manual transactions are

reduced. Lock transactions in at a specified rate with automatic gain or loss reporting, reducing the

guesswork from handling foreign transactions.

Multi-Company Management

Whether through acquisition or organic growth, more and more companies are wrestling with the

complexities of managing multiple business entities. Epicor understands that managing disparate

business units offers unique challenges and opportunities with respect to consolidation for tighter control

and reduced operational cost, enterprise wide visibility, inter-company supply chain management, and

financial consolidation. Epicor Multi-Company Management capabilities can assist your business in

consolidating operations such as procurement and accounts payable as well as offer enhanced tools to

improve operational visibility across companies.

Automation of inter-company financial transactions as well as financial recognition optimizes enterprise

performance to shorten lead times on key product lines. Additionally, from a financial perspective, multi-

company organizations may choose to not only report as individual entities but also consolidate multiple

currencies and report across business entities to a single consolidation company.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW The combination of a competitive, global environment and mandatory regulatory compliance makes

successfully managing your finances one of the biggest challenges you face. Epicor Financial

Management offers a refreshing new approach to business, a suite of accounting applications built for

the highly regulated post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act world, built around a series of “global engines” that support

effective financial management and control anywhere.

Epicor’s Financial Management software solutions deliver manufacturers the tools and functions

necessary for creating value through monitoring financial conditions and decision making. Easily monitor

and track invoicing, payments, asset management, payroll and benefits in order to cut costs and improve

cash flow. Epicor’s financial modules can assist you in boosting your bottom line-the definitive test of your

success and competitive advantage.

Epicor Financial Management tools include:

Global Engines

General Ledger

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Tax Connect

Credit Card Processing

Multi-Currency Management


Fixed Assets Management

Cash Management

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Epicor Financial Management is distinguished by its broad focus on managing processes and resources,

both within and across locations, companies and global boundaries.


PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW Whether you manufacture complex solutions or simple products, you need strong production control in

order to build a competitive advantage. As the global marketplace continues to shrink profit margins and

customers become more demanding, businesses are looking for agile solutions that can provide the

infrastructure they need to respond quickly and efficiently.

Epicor offers a comprehensive solution for make-to-order, mixed-mode, make-to-stock, engineer-to-

order, and configure–to-order manufacturers; including light assembly features for distribution

businesses. Modular in design, the production control suite of modules include Job Management, Lean

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Quality Assurance, and Advanced Quality

Management.

ADVANCED PRODUCTION Advanced Production deploys batching technology that enables users to group multiple parts or

operations together for key production processes. The result of this batching process is a single reporting

entity or job for simplified scheduling, tracking, and reporting of labor and materials on the plant floor.

The functionality of Advanced Production is available in the job planning and resource scheduling

functions within Epicor. Both planned and "on-the-fly" grouping provides powerful flexibility to end users.

Additionally, users can select to plan sequentially – one operation after another or concurrently -

operations to be complete at the same time for nested operations.

ADVANCED QUALITY MANAGEMENT Epicor Advanced Quality Management (AQM) is an extension of the Quality Assurance offering. AQM

provides the breadth and depth of details to not just find and fix problems faster, AQM allows you to

prevent issues from occurring. AQM manages the nitty-gritty details that make or break quality. From part

characteristics, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), and control plans to inspections plans – AQM

links key functions with best in class processes to assure error-proof quality. On the plant floor, AQM

manages document revisions and changes, work instructions, employee training and skills,

nonconformance and corrective actions, gages, equipment as well as a detailed statistical process control

(SPC) function.

With planning to production coverage for quality, AQM puts companies in a constant state of compliance.

AQM provides turnkey support for ISO, automotive (TS) aerospace (AS), and FDA (cGMP, 21CFR

Part11). With a single platform that meets key industry compliance needs from the bottom up, AQM drives

cost and time out of the quality and compliance functions while raising the bar of performance.

JOB MANAGEMENT Job Management is a comprehensive production control solution designed specifically for the planning,

routing, scheduling, costing, and tracking of products; including assembled, manufactured, and semi-

finished products. It includes innovative tools for better planning and costing with historical run analysis

that compares estimates to actuals on a run-by-run basis. With Epicor Job Management, users can more

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easily identify wasted processes and continuous improvement opportunities on the production floor for

maximized profitability.

LEAN MANUFACTURING With increased global competition and the demands of an online supply-chain, customers have more

influence than ever before. Customers are, demanding greater product flexibility, smaller, more frequent

deliveries and higher product quality, at a lower price.

Businesses are widening the scope and focus of lean principles to encompass all processes that

contribute to the bottom line. The true benefits of lean thinking will only be fully realized when the entire

enterprise adopts the lean ideology.

Specific functionality has been developed in Epicor for plant floor operations that are adopting

workorderless Kanban manufacturing strategies in part or fully to pull rather than push products through

the manufacturing process. Epicor Lean Manufacturing Kanban functionality supports this.

PLANNING AND SCHEDULING Whether you manufacture complex solutions or simple products, you need strong production control in

order to build a competitive advantage. As the global marketplace continues to shrink profit margins and

customers become more demanding, businesses are looking for agile solutions that can provide the

infrastructure they need to respond quickly and efficiently.

Epicor offers a comprehensive solution for make-to-order, mixed-mode, make-to-stock, engineer-to-

order, and configure–to-order manufacturers; including light assembly features for distribution

businesses. Modular in design, the production control suite of modules include Job Management, Lean

Manufacturing, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Quality Assurance, and Advanced Quality

Management.


SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OVERVIEW Linking the trading partners, process and systems that make up your supply chain has become the

differentiation you need to achieve industry leading performance. Removing processes that do not add

value and synchronizing processes within and outside a company enable you to meet customer demands

for lower cost and faster delivery. Epicor provides the most effective coordination from initial raw materials

to the ultimate consumption of the finished product by providing the visibility you need throughout your

value chain.

Epicor offers you a full range of Supply Chain Management (SCM) capabilities, built within a single

business platform, based on industry leading service-oriented architecture (SOA). Epicor SCM is a full

suite of enterprise application capabilities including purchase management, sourcing and procurement,

inventory management, advanced material management, and warehouse management, and is

complemented by order and demand management capabilities of Epicor Sales Management. Combined,

you have the solution needed to satisfy customers and customer demand in today’s increasingly global

market place.

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INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Inventory Management provides the key functions necessary to update and maintain raw materials, WIP,

and finished goods inventory quantities and costs. MRP creates inventory allocations for jobs entered

through Job Management or generated from Order Management. These allocations are relieved as

inventory items are issued to the job, or as purchase order receipts are posted.

Issued inventory reduces quantities on hand, which are continually replenished through the processing

of purchased or manufactured item receipts into inventory. Receipt processing provides a continual

update of inventory average and last costs for every item. A variety of screen inquiries provide

management analysis of MRP, shortage monitoring, reorder analysis, stock status, valuation, and critical

items.

PURCHASE MANAGEMENT Purchase Management handles purchase order writing and the tracking of supplier performance.

Detailed line items indicate planned receipts to inventory or a job, although their destination may be

changed at the time of actual receipt entry. Purchase order receipt processing updates suggested

supplier and detailed purchase history files, which provides continual reference to aid in making

purchasing decisions. With Purchase Management, you can reduce inventory levels, improve on-time

deliveries, enhance your cash flow, and increase your profit levels.

SHIPPING & RECEIVING Shipping and Receiving provides a central application within Epicor to monitor incoming and outgoing

items, whether they are shipments against an order, subcontract parts being sent to a supplier, raw

material being received from a purchase order to a job or into inventory, or filling an order from stock. All

activity relating to shipments and receipts can be performed and tracked. Online transaction processing

promotes efficiency and ease of use, while online editing promotes accuracy. With Shipping/Receiving,

a consistent interface processes all shipments and receipts in an efficient, accurate and cost-effective

manner.

SOURCING Strategic sourcing is the most important, value-added activity that procurement professionals perform for

their company. Doing it well requires a wide range of skills and subject matter expertise.

Sourcing by "old school" methods requires an inordinate amount of time gathering and comparing

offerings from multiple suppliers. Automating those tasks with Epicor Sourcing not only allows the

purchasing professional to focus more time and energy on strategic activities, it also provides for online

collaboration and fosters competition that amplifies the value of their work.

Electronic sourcing solutions give companies the tools they need to negotiate optimal agreements with

their suppliers and to provide the best value to the organization. Left to manual methods, organizations

can only afford to manage competitive bidding processes for a very small number of contracts.

SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) provides tools for buyers, procurement staff and purchasing

agents, or those providing quotes, to request quotes for raw materials or subcontract services from one

or multiple suppliers. Request for quotations (RFQs) are generated with one or more lines, each line

having the ability to request pricing from one or more suppliers.

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WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT Management of the supply chain requires robust logistics capabilities as part of the overall system.

Epicor’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) leverages Epicor SOA, mobile ID data collection, and

wireless communications to seamlessly link your warehouse with your order processing and

manufacturing operations to optimize your pick, pack, ship and receiving processes. With Epicor, your

warehouse becomes a key part of the supply chain.


EPICOR CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Customer relationship management (CRM) strategies are as important to business today as they have

ever been. We’ve designed Epicor CRM to help you stay ahead of the curve and successfully meet the

challenges that the market brings – helping you manage your entire customer lifecycle, from prospect to

cash to care effectively, improve operational efficiency and accelerate growth – both internally and

externally.

Modular in design, the Epicor CRM suite of modules includes Contact Management, Marketing

Management, Campaign Connect, Lead and Opportunity Management, Case Management, Sales

Connect and Mobile Connect. It can also be extended with Epicor Information Worker.

CAMPAIGN CONNECT Epicor CRM Campaign Connect is a comprehensive Web communication tool that helps you design and

distribute e-mail communications to customers, suppliers, and business partners as well as to internal

teams and departments. Whether developing a marketing campaign or creating a company statement to

business partners, Campaign Connect ensures your company is professional, takes advantage of its e-

mail marketing opportunities, properly responds to market requirements for opt-out controls, and

analyzes e-mail communication results for better effectiveness in the future.

LEAD AND OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT The primary goal of many businesses is to grow their revenue. Whether your growth will come through

attracting new customers or retaining existing ones, Epicor CRM can help you. With Epicor CRM Lead

and Opportunity Management you can proactively manage your sales territories and the entire life cycle

of all your opportunities. Lead and Opportunity Management enables you to convert more prospects to

customers, target the highest value opportunities and increase sales revenues.

Outfitting your sales team with advanced, easy-to-use software is not just smart; it’s a matter of survival.

Epicor CRM is equipped with the tools you need to find more prospects and quickly convert them to

satisfied customers. Your sales people can manage the complete prospect-to-customer lifecycle, give

accurate revenue forecasts to management and automate many administrative tasks. The bottom line?

Better qualified prospects, shorter sales cycles, reduced lead time, and higher revenues.

CASE MANAGEMENT Case management is an essential part of building better business. Improving the productivity and

effectiveness of your support center leads to increased customer satisfaction. Epicor CRM Case

Management delivers solutions that help you deliver first-rate service to your customers while controlling

costs. The result? A strong return on investment through happy customers who make additional

purchases and generate new business through referrals.

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From initial call to resolution and follow-up, Case Management provides a customer focused solution for

personalized, high quality service. This comprehensive one-stop solution enables your service team to

manage current case load and respond quickly to customers for industry leading customer satisfaction.

The case management workbench is equipped with time saving links to customer focused activities (e.g.,

new quotes, orders, RMA requests, or service calls). In addition, there is a search-driven knowledgebase

and case-driven workflow for standardizing case resolution.

Case Management is fully integrated with Field Service, part of Epicor Service Management, for easy

access to dispatching field activities and providing field service representatives access to online answer

books, existing customer field service calls, warranty information, and service contracts.

INFORMATION WORKER According to current industry surveys, desktop productivity tools are used by 95% of business workers,

with Microsoft Office as the standard for desktop applications. Epicor Information Worker (IW) provides

a secure, seamless interface to your Epicor CRM applications within Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Excel,

or Microsoft Word. Imagine the productivity and business visibility you will gain by using Epicor IW as an

interface for both traditional and non-traditional Epicor users.

Epicor IW is an innovative productivity tool that works seamlessly within a familiar Microsoft Office

environment to enable business users to get all the information they need, in context, in realtime when

they need it and where they want it. It does this by blurring the lines between enterprise software and

desktop productivity software to create a single immersive solution.

LEAD AND OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT The primary goal of many businesses is to grow their revenue. Whether your growth will come through

attracting new customers or retaining existing ones, Epicor CRM can help you. With Epicor CRM Lead

and Opportunity Management you can proactively manage your sales territories and the entire life cycle

of all your opportunities. Lead and Opportunity Management enables you to convert more prospects to

customers, target the highest value opportunities and increase sales revenues.

Outfitting your sales team with advanced, easy-to-use software is not just smart; it’s a matter of survival.

Epicor CRM is equipped with the tools you need to find more prospects and quickly convert them to

satisfied customers. Your sales people can manage the complete prospect-to-customer lifecycle, give

accurate revenue forecasts to management and automate many administrative tasks. The bottom line?

Better qualified prospects, shorter sales cycles, reduced lead time, and higher revenues.

MOBILE CONNECT Epicor CRM gives you control over your customer interactions: generating leads, developing

opportunities and monitoring orders. Epicor CRM functionality is available from anywhere in the world.

The Mobile Connect series incorporates a disconnected database, enabling you to work anywhere you

can take your laptop. Using the SonicMQ® messaging engine, mobileConnect is comprised of three

components: Sales mConnect, Sales Engineer mConnect and Hub mConnect. Epicor Mobile Connect

helps your sales representatives and sales engineers stay connected with their customers without

requiring network connections.

SERVICE MANAGEMENT Epicor Service Management optimizes customer service with timely response to customer requests and

puts knowledge in the hands of customer service personnel. Epicor understands that customers want

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rapid response service. From initial contact with the customer regarding an incident, to in the field

operations, to processing returns quickly and efficiently, Epicor Service Management provides the

visibility and accountability your business needs.

Human Capital Management

Epicor Human Capital Management (HCM) encompasses a range of solutions that help manage an

organization's most valued assets – its employees – in a strategic and coherent manner. Today’s HCM

solutions demonstrate the progression beyond the confines of the HR department, core payroll services

and human resource management systems (HRMS) to managing and developing talent and labor

resources on a global scale, both strategically and cost effectively. Epicor HCM delivers the necessary

software support for all employee-related functions whether distributed or centralized. This enables

organizations to manage a geographically dispersed workforce in a global manner, ensuring support for

various local payroll and legal reporting requirements.

PAYROLL Epicor Payroll handles the processing of all employees’ paychecks and provides necessary company

and US governmental reporting. Comprehensive employee information and memo fields allow you to

track employee personnel information, like performance reviews and outside training. Because payroll is

so tightly integrated with Job Management and Manufacturing Execution, you will normally only have to

review your payroll entries, make adjustments, print your checks, and then post. With Payroll, there is no

longer any need to have your payroll done with an outside service, when it is so easy to do yourself.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Epicor Human Resource Management (HR) is a comprehensive solution that streamlines your HR

processes. It efficiently administers applicant tracking, benefit programs, workforce training and

development, complex union dues calculations and benefits, and ever-changing governmental

regulations such as EEO, VETS, OSHA, and Affirmative Action Program reporting (AAP).

Online communication via your company’s intranet helps your employees stay up-to-date on their

benefits, training, and life event changes. An add-on module, Epicor Employee Self-Service is designed

for employee satisfaction as well as operational efficiency.

TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT The Training module is used to schedule courses and instructors as well as record training history,

reducing the pain of your next regulatory audit.

Any organization operating under the oversight of OSHA, EPA, FAA, FDA or similar federal or state

agencies is required by those agencies to provide specific training to certain employees on a recurring

basis, and to certify that the appropriate training took place. Records must be maintained of training taken

and when it was completed.

Training information is integrated with all other aspects of each employee, providing a complete picture

of an employee’s lifecycle. It includes both internal and external classes, instructors, course outlines, and

class scheduling – all captured and retained within the HCM database.

EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE Epicor Employee Self-Service places the responsibility for employee and manager updates on their

shoulders, freeing up the HR and payroll department personnel for more strategic activities.

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Epicor Employee Self-Service allows access by employees and managers from a kiosk, your intranet, or

the Internet. Both Manager and Employee Self-Service are designed to be extremely easy to use, so

even individuals with little or no computer skills can easily navigate through the system with minimal

effort.

EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE Your employees can make their own elections during open enrollment without assistance from HR

personnel. They can update addresses, emergency contacts, change dependents, and reprint their own

W-2. They can display check detail from history, print benefit statements, verify vacation as well as other

paid-time-off balances, and more.

MANAGER SELF-SERVICE Managers are able to view selected employee information, post requisitions, initiate pay changes,

reassign jobs, and approve time off. A manager can monitor training, upcoming reviews and produce

compensation reports covering only their employees. Furthermore Manager Self-Service falls under

Epicor HCM security control so a manager can only access those employees who report to them and see

just the data that you’ve approved.


COMPLIANCE OVERVIEW Effective Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) initiatives help companies and their employees stay

compliant, and ensure that employees at all levels of the organization are aware of the associated risks

of non-compliance.

Epicor GRC is delivered through a combination of embedded capabilities, modules and related services.

Compliance is at the heart of the design of our software and Epicor takes every effort to ensure that any

new functionality is consistent with published international standards and best practices. These include

published standards in corporate and financial governance such as international accounting standards

(IAS), international financial reporting standards (IFRS), and other generally accepted accounting

principles (GAAP) while also incorporating support for international trade standards such as restriction of

the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment (RoHS), Waste Electrical

and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Epicor GRC is designed to tackle these very requirements through a combination of capabilities covering:

Enterprise Performance Management, Security Management, Business Process Management, Financial

Governance, Global Trade Compliance, Environmental and Energy Management.

Enterprise Performance Management

Many of the requirements for effective GRC programs involve accelerated disclosure of information to

external entities. This requires companies to have better visibility of changes than they had in the past.

Epicor GRC incorporates the ability to infuse business insight through Epicor enterprise performance

management (EPM) – a solution that supports overall risk management objectives by keeping users

abreast of changes in the business.

Security Management

Epicor GRC provides comprehensive user and group security to restrict data and application accessibility

as needed. Security can be granted at user and group levels for all security objects including forms,

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fields, reports, menus, and method calls. Data tier security is also available for both tables and columns.

There is also an option to use Windows® Authentication to support a Windows single sign-on and

password policy.

Business Process Management

As the global regulatory environment grows ever more challenging for companies, it is becoming

increasingly important to have embedded controls in your enterprise application so that your users can

be more productive. Epicor GRC helps you move away from the management of day-to-day compliance

by leveraging technology and optimizing operational efficiency. Epicor Business Process Management

(BPM) in combination with Epicor Service Connect, allows you to identify risky processes to your

organization and to effectively mitigate risk through business-defined workflows.

Financial Governance

The current business environment is simultaneously complex and increasingly regulated, which can

challenge even the largest businesses to remain competitive in today’s global markets. This fact is

perhaps most important when it comes to financial control – which encompasses all aspects of the

financial health of the organization. Epicor GRC helps control this risk – effectively enabling users to

handle regulatory compliance and ultimately driving business performance by providing cross-

organizational financial visibility and control over financial reporting, planning and forecasting processes.

Global Trade Compliance

In order to conduct business globally, you need enterprise business software that enables compliance

with local laws, satisfies international security measures and meets the myriad of local and regional

documentation requirements. Epicor applications provide a comprehensive platform for managing these

trade compliance necessities.

Environmental and Energy Management

As the world continues to analyze energy availability and the long-term effects of climate change,

businesses too are turning their attention to areas of opportunity – reduction of carbon emissions, energy

conservation and supply chain sustainability. Companies will look to IT and software solutions to help

them find opportunities to be better stewards of the environment and extend the tangible benefits of

corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the extended supply chain. Some of the more notable areas

that corporations are placing emphasis on when deciding on a path to good environmental and energy

management surround strategic sourcing and procurement, logistics, lean manufacturing, and

virtualization.

EPICOR ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT The pace of business continues to accelerate. To keep up, your organization must move rapidly with

precision and agility, reducing reaction time and optimizing performance. You can’t afford to miss an

opportunity or delay a necessary course adjustment. Today’s information workers what decision support

in real-time, and they want it deployed in the tools they already use, day in and day out. Epicor Enterprise

Performance Management (EPM) is an end-to-end solution that removes the barriers to better business

insight through a combination of intuitive user experiences, user driven key performance indicators (KPI),

and pre-packaged analytics that have real meaning to the business. Epicor EPM leverages the advanced

analytic capabilities of the Microsoft platform and incorporates modern Web 2.0 concepts for

unprecedented ease of use and ultimately business results.

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Trackers and Dashboards

Built directly into all Epicor applications, Epicor Dashboards permit the combination of multiple different

capabilities such as inquiries, ad-hoc reports, workbenches, graphical analyses, tactical business

intelligence, alerts and business monitoring – all in a single dashboard. They provide a robust one-stop

interface that replaces traditional menu systems with personalized role- or context based views and links

into core transactions of the system. In addition, they put the visual indicators and functions you use the

most right at your fingertips. Tooled with unique flexibility, Dashboards enables users to develop their

own workbenches using a series of online views of information such as a tracker. From a tracker, “open

with” technology is deployed to drill into any part of the system, whether it is to enter a new order, modify

an existing one, or update a customer record.

The power of Epicor Dashboards is in how they enable users to specify how they work and tailor their

workspace to fit their needs. The power of the Dashboard is in its ability to act much like the instrument

cluster of your car. The Dashboard is used to provide real-time exception-driven indicator flags which

alert you to possible problems in your business. From these business activity indicators, you will be able

to easily drill down to appropriate parts of the system to see more information. Through integration with

the Internet, Dashboards can merge Epicor application and external data as one to help drive your daily

activities. From monitoring your employee intranet site to live access to industry-related Web sites, each

Dashboard contains the information you and your employees need to more proactively run your business.

Management Reporter

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Management Reporter is an advanced financial reporting application

designed to enable information workers to take control of their business by analyzing feature rich and

intuitive reports. Offered in conjunction with Epicor Financial Management, it delivers a purpose-built

environment for financial and accounting personnel to create, maintain, deploy and view boardroom

quality financial statements. Users can easily monitor the health of the business and quickly understand

what’s happening at any point in time.

Management reporting plays a key role in performance management. Displaying business results,

performing variance analysis, comparing projections and consolidating data from disparate general

ledgers provides business users with the business insight they need to make timely and relevant

decisions. Accurate and auditable reporting is also essential to regulatory compliance.

Management Reporter is a part of Microsoft PerformancePoint Server, which is built on the powerful

Microsoft SQL Server® platform, and helps you to provide accurate reporting in real time, from a centrally

managed source. With Management Reporter, financial data can be combined from multiple financial

models or general ledger companies and consolidated into a single report, giving your business users

financial visibility into disperse operations.

Budget, Planning and Forecasting

For those companies that need advanced analytics such as budgeting and planning or advanced

forecasting, Epicor offers Microsoft PerformancePoint Server. This platform is particularly flexible,

scalable and can easily handle very large implementations across multiple installations, as well as

managing mixed content from multiple sources.

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Many organizations needs to have more control over their budget process or want to be able to test

various business scenarios before they are actually deployed internally. At the same time they also want

to have an easy and flexible environment that most people are familiar with to reduce education and

environments that needs extra support. Microsoft Performance Point Server uses Microsoft SQL Server,

Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server to create a very powerful

platform for advanced and collaborative Budget Planning and Forecasting, even for very large

organizations.

Performance Point Server

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint™ Server is a comprehensive performance management solution that

allows organizations to formulate strategy, drive execution and more effectively monitor performance

through integrated monitoring, analytics, and planning capabilities. It provides all of the functionality that

is needed for performance management including scorecards, dashboards, management reporting,

analytics, planning, budgeting, forecasting, and consolidation. The application reaches all employees,

across all business functions (finance, operations, marketing, sales, and human resources).

Operational Data Store and Data Warehousing

Your Epicor next-generation enterprise applications offer far reaching business functionality that spans

literally hundreds of business processes, backed by an ever growing transactional database of

information. Business performance is based not just on how these applications help run day to day

processes but by how they support greater business insight – from historical reporting to advanced

analysis. At the same time, although your Epicor applications are optimized for transaction processing,

ad-hoc inquiries and scheduling, a more advanced solution is required for when reporting and inquiry

volumes increase and for longer term performance analysis.

Epicor Replication Server

Epicor Replication efficiently replicates all database transactions from one or more production companies

and application server to a single or multiple separate ODS environments. Replication Server is designed

to offload processing from the main application server in support of enterprise performance management

requirements and supports offline reporting, offline access to archived as well as live data, offline ad hoc

queries (including those from Epicor Portal/Information Worker), offload of external system processing

(Mobile Connect, Sales Connect, etc), cloud based services, aggregated database holding records from

multiple companies across multiple servers, and data transfer for additional business intelligence.

Through Replication Server, your business holds the keys to a massively scalable environment that

grows as your business does through effective load balancing of essential business processes.

Epicor Cube Connect

Epicor databases often store millions of business transactions. This huge amount of business data can

provide valuable insights into your business and give you information that is immediately actionable – if

you know how to get to it.

OLAP is the preferred way of extracting meaningful information from large datasets, because it provides

intuitive analysis and makes it easier to find trends, patterns, ratios, and quantities in transactional data.

OLAP is built on multidimensional data structures called cubes, which traditionally need to be custom

designed for each set of transaction data. In addition, designing a cube is not a trivial task: it requires

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considerable knowledge of the structure of the source database. Once the cube has been created, there

is no easy way to deploy it to other Epicor installations.

GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Managing disparate business units offers unique challenges and opportunities with respect to centralized

or distributed operational control, enterprise-wide visibility, inter-company supply chain management, and

financial consolidation. To support the needs of today’s increasingly distributed business; Epicor offers

robust global business functionality within its design.

Alongside comprehensive multi-company functionality is end-to-end multi-site managementwhich

provides companies with multiple facilities, flexible options when setting up operations. Some companies

may prefer to run most business functions centralized within the same company but at multiple facilities,

or they may run completely separate company entities with the ability to consolidate financial information

at month or quarter-end. However you choose to define your business, Epicor supports transactional

functions between systems and entities including inter-company transactions such as inter-company

orders, transfer orders, and shipments between plants and warehouses. Epicor facilitates these

scenarios within a single application that is flexible enough to grow with you as you expand your business.

Epicor Global Business Management offers organizations the essential tools needed to create and

maintain a single version of the truth.


Epicor understands that managing disparate business units offers unique challenges and opportunities

with respect to consolidation for tighter control and reduced operational cost, enterprise wide visibility,

inter-company supply chain management, and financial consolidation. Epicor Multi-Company

Management capabilities can assist your business in consolidating operations such as procurement and

accounts payable as well as offer enhanced tools to improve operational visibility across companies.

Automation of inter-company financial transactions as well as financial recognition optimizes enterprise

performance to shorten lead times on key product lines. Additionally, from a financial perspective, multi-

company organizations may choose to not only report as individual entities but also consolidate multiple

currencies and report across business entities to a single consolidation company.

Underpinning this functionality is a complete technology framework to support global enterprises that is

scalable, offers choice in deployment, and includes a set of productivity enhancing tools designed for

global business operations.

Global Multi-site Management

Best-In-Class enterprises are outpacing their competitors today with new initiatives to drive out

redundancies in corporate operations. Maximizing the use of internal supply chain resources can be a

key differentiator. Supply chains demand synchronization of production with distribution and logistics.

This is most effectively accomplished with a single system providing visibility and consolidation of

resources in multiple facilities. Companies may also prefer to run business functions centralized with

separate production and distribution functions, or they may run them separately with the ability to

consolidate financials at month- or quarter-end. Epicor supports both scenarios within one application.

Multi-Site Management provides support for centralized accounting and purchasing, while allowing

separation of production and distribution facilities.

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Financial consolidation through Epicor Multi-Company Management is only one way that Epicor Multi-

Site Management helps businesses achieve their goals. For example, manufacturing and distribution

organizations can leverage the planning and scheduling efficiencies with Epicor’s robust multi-plant

functionality. Not only are manufacturers and distributors looking for new tools to oversee multi-plant and

warehouse operations, they are also looking to maximize the use of existing resources.

Multi-lingual Data Management

Corporate growth and expansion inevitably leads to new markets and new geographies. Epicor Multi-

Lingual Management, alongside Epicor Global Configurable Engines facilitates this growth, with resource

that can manage your business wherever you take it, or it takes you, with support for country-specific

requirements around tax, currency and languages. For example, an organization that is headquartered

in one country can deploy applications in the native language for that country. When a satellite office in

another country needs to add users that require another language, the only difference for the user is the

language. All corporate processes that the headquarters have deployed are unchanged and no local

language customizations are required at either location.

Master Data Management

As organizations grow, decentralize, or make acquisitions, the potential for multiple, inconsistent versions

of the same data in different parts of the company can cause real problems with the quality, reconciliation

and potential redundancy of data. The recent emphasis on regulatory compliance, the advent of Service-

Oriented Architecture (SOA), and mergers and acquisitions has made the creation, stewardship and

maintenance of accurate and complete master data a business imperative. Epicor Master Data

Management (MDM) can help to ensure that your multi-company and multi-site data meets regulatory

requirements and also provides the consistency needed for real-time distributed operations, leading to

greater customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and business performance.

PRODUCT DATA MANAGEMENT Epicor Product Data Management (PDM) serves as a central knowledge repository for process and

product history, and promotes integration and data exchange among all enterprise users who interact

with products—including project managers, engineers, salespeople, buyers, and quality assurance

representatives.

Epicor offers a solution for manufacturers that manages the powerful information traditionally contained

in engineering documents, plant floor routings, change orders, sales orders and quality documentation

within a single solution that is easily shared across the enterprise.Promoting collaboration throughout the

value chain, Epicor PDM provides a complete end-to-end solution to manage all aspects of a product’s

lifecycle, enabling enterprises to control the enormous amount of electronic documents that they produce.

Bill of Materials

Epicor supports traditional BOM management with single-level part formats that recognizes the materials

and components required to build end parts. In addition, Epicor introduces multi-level BOM management

that incorporates not only single-level components and material requirements, but also internal and

external routing steps for complete end assembly visibility, planning, scheduling, and costing. Epicor

introduces visual engineering technology with indented tree structures and drag-and-drop BOM

management.

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Routings

Detailed routings facilitate planning, scheduling and costing of products more efficiently. Everything

needed to produce a product is managed in one central location.

Managing changes to routings is simplified. Changes are automatically communicated to the plant floor

execution system and operators have online visibility of the latest routing production notes as well as

standards and resource requirements

Engineering Change and Revision Controll

Achieve control and consistency in your engineering change and revision process. Engineering Change

and Revision Control is designed to enable engineering change management, multiple revision control

of products, engineering workflow management, and offers detailed cost analysis of products during the

engineering process.

Product Lifecycle Management

Epicor Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) serves as a central knowledge repository for process and

product history, and promotes integration and data exchange among all enterprise users who interact

with a product. Epicor PLM manages all documentation associated with a product throughout its entire

product lifecycle, and includes full integration with more than 12 computer aided design (CAD) systems.

Epicor PLM is particularly useful for companies that:

Design what they manufacture

Want visibility into, and standardized methodologies around, work flow

Use CAD systems

Use drawings to produce a quote or an order

Epicor PLM provides an electronic vault where documents can be securely stored and where access and

versioning can be tightly controlled. The type of sophisticated document management that PLM offers is

critical for those organizations that need excellent audit tracking and control of all documents across the

enterprise. PLM also provides advanced document search and retrieval functionality. Increase your

productivity by more efficiently managing the product life cycle—from design to end-of-life.

Product Costing

As a manufacturer, you consistently monitor product cost and analyze profitability as a way to pass on

cost savings to customers while staying competitive. Epicor offers the flexibility and accuracy that

manufacturers need to analyze their product cost on a customer-by-customer, part-by-part, and job-by-

job basis.

Product Configuration

Product Configuration enables on-the-fly configuration of highly customizable and dimensional products

via a straightforward question and answer evaluation. Product Configuration can be accessed from quote

entry, order entry, and job entry. It is Web-enabled, and is also available to disconnected users employing

Epicor Mobile Connect.

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SERVICE MANAGEMENT SUITE

Epicor Service Management

Epicor Service Management optimizes customer service with timely response to customer requests and

puts knowledge in the hands of customer service personnel. Epicor understands that customers want

rapid response service. From initial contact with the customer regarding an incident, to in the field

operations, to processing returns quickly and efficiently, Epicor Service Management provides the

visibility and accountability your business needs.

Contract Management

Epicor Contract Management used in conjunction with Epicor Field Service ensures the timely and

accurate execution of service contracts. Additionally, this solution holds the historical activities against

the contract to better meet customer expectations.

Field Service

Epicor Field Service is designed for people who install, repair or service offsite or at the plant or depot.

You can centralize all processes related to the dispatching of technicians and cost reporting of service

calls in the field. This application supports drop shipment of service parts directly to the customer site.

The application is set up for a single interface, so a dispatcher can track all stages of each service call

with just a few mouse clicks.

Case Management

Case management is an essential part of building better business. Improving the productivity and

effectiveness of your support center leads to increased customer satisfaction. Epicor CRM Case

Management delivers solutions that help you deliver first-rate service to your customers while controlling

costs.

From initial call to resolution and follow-up, Case Management provides a customer focused solution for

personalized, high quality service. This comprehensive one-stop solution enables your service team to

manage current case load and respond quickly to customers for industry leading customer satisfaction.

The case management workbench is equipped with time saving links to customer focused activities (e.g.,

new quotes, orders, RMA requests, or service calls). In addition, there is a search-driven knowledgebase

and case-driven workflow for standardizing case resolution.

Case Management is fully integrated with Field Service, part of Epicor Service Management, for easy

access to dispatching field activities and providing field service representatives access to online answer

books, existing customer field service calls, warranty information, and service contracts.

Return Material Authorization

Enhanced return processing offers enterprise-wide tracking of pending returns and disposition of these

parts by unique returned material authorization (RMA) number. Enter information about returns, and

transfer that information to the different groups that may need to take action (e.g., inspection, billing and

order processing). Armed with full notes capabilities and document management functionality, tracing the

steps of a returned part for requirements certifications is inherent in the system.

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SERVICES SUPPORT

Business Process Outsourcing Services

Epicor Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services offer customers a way to effect business

transformation through transition and on-going task management of non-value added processes. As a

natural progression from Epicor managed services, Epicor BPO customers do not just free themselves

to focus on their core business; they gain time and resources to maximize new opportunities. At Epicor,

business process outsourcing is far more than a cost-saving mechanism, it is a key business tool to

manage cost, gain access to skilled resources when needed, and helps drive value into the business.

Today, Epicor cannot only provide you with robust business applications for operational and financial

needs such as accounts payable, we can manage a payables process on your behalf. With operations

in Bratislava, Slovakia; Monterey, Mexico; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Epicor provides a global

outsourcing opportunity.

Hosting Services

Epicor hosting services provide the first step towards the end-to-end management of your mission-critical

IT environment so you can focus on strategic growth. For many Epicor customers, IT infrastructure

performance, availability, and cost are no less important than the business applications that they support,

but often become a focus that inhibits business improvement when they should be supporting growth.

Backed by Navisite, a world leader offering a broad portfolio of Web-hosting and co-location options with

24x7x365 data centers, Epicor is able to provide a cost-effective and efficient hosting solution combining

software, infrastructure and services. From a single dedicated server, to server farms, Epicor hosting

services IT experts take care of data back-up and disaster recovery, ensure continuity and complete

security, and provide complete un-interrupted access to your business applications and the infrastructure

they require.

Learning & Educational Services

The most important investment you can make to ensure the success of your business software solution.

Today, Epicor offers extensive and comprehensive educational content designed to suit your specific

learning needs. From online courses and virtual classrooms to scheduled training center content and

custom onsite programs, Epicor learning and education services are there to help you succeed at your

chosen pace and in the most convenient manner. Alongside cost-effective self-service tools, there are

encompassing Premier education plans, and even specialized course work materials to assist with

upgrade planning and success.

Managed Services

Epicor managed services offers a unique value-add to Epicor customers, providing total peace of mind

by ensuring that your business systems and processes stay up and running and operating at peak levels

at all times. Alongside application hosting services, Epicor managed services deliver complete application

portfolio management, and enhance normal support and maintenance offerings with comprehensive

release and application infrastructure management and administration - backed by full service desk

access and underlying service level protection. Complete reliability, high availability, reduced risk, total

service.

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Professional Services

Epicor professional services maintains a team of more than 500 highly skilled, and tenured consultants

whose unmatched experience in delivering industry solutions that span manufacturing, distribution, retail

and hospitality, and services is backed by a proven track record of successful delivery around the world.

Our professional services teams offer local know-how and global outlook so as to ensure tangible results

for our customers anywhere in the world - always with a focus on your profitable growth.

Support

Today, Epicor offers encompassing round the clock Support Services through a network of worldwide

support centers located in Irvine and San Diego, California; Louisville, Kentucky; Portland, Oregon;

Minneapolis, Minnesota; Orlando, Florida; Newburgh, New York; Monterrey, México; Bracknell, UK;

Budapest, Hungary; Stockholm, Sweden, Espoo, Finland; Rome, Italy; Bucharest, Romania; Moscow,

Russia; Sydney, Australia; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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INFOR

GETTING ALL ATTENTION, FOR

ALL THE RIGHT REASONS

Infor’s main enterprise resource planning (ERP) products include Infor10

ERP Enterprise, Lawson M3 ERP Enterprise, Infor10 ERP Business,

Infor10 ERP Express and Infor10 ERP Process Business. At first glance

the products look similar with each offering common ERP capabilities.

But upon closer inspection, you’ll notice the products offer unique

functionality for different industries and manufacturers. For example,

Infor10 ERP Process Business is designed for process manufacturers

such as chemical, food and beverage and pharmaceutical

manufacturers. Meanwhile, Infor10 ERP Express is aimed at discrete

manufacturers such as aerospace and defense, automotive and

machinery manufacturers

In addition to common ERP applications, Infor offers enterprise asset

management (EAM) software for organizations that need to track

financial and maintenance information of assets and buildings. They

offer four EAM products: Infor10 EAM Enterprise, Infor10 EAM Asset

Sustainability, Infor10 EAM Business and Infor10 EAM (MP2). With the

exception of the Sustainability product, each one is aimed at a specific

size of organization. For example, Infor10 EAM Enterprise is targeted at

large enterprises. According to Infor, it is used by more than 60% of the

Fortune 500. Meanwhile Infor10 EAM Business is targeted towards

small- and mid-sized organizations. EAM Asset Sustainability is unique

because of its capabilities to track the energy-efficiency and

environmental impact of buildings.

Infor provides its cloud offerings in three flavors –

1. Infor VISUAL

2. Infor Syteline

3. Infor Adage

All of the above has a varying support for different features and one will

always have to choose after careful understanding of business

requirements and close examination of above options. Although, none

of these is comprehensive version of all, we will discuss Infor VISUAL in

this chapter.

INFOR

ADVANTAGE

Through an aggressive

acquisition strategy, Infor

has emerged as one of

the largest providers of

enterprise software.

They offer a full set of

applications ranging

from enterprise resource

planning (ERP) to

enterprise asset

management (EAM) to

product lifecycle

management to

workforce management.

The company has

acquired roughly 30

software companies in

its short history, giving it

a strong portfolio of

products with many high-

profile customers.

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Infor VISUAL software is a flexible, fully integrated, and easy to use ERP suite that is widely deployed

across many different types of industries from aerospace to biomedical, capital equipment, precision tools

and more. Infor VISUAL is a scaleable solution with powerful technology to deliver real-time information,

streamline operations, increase profitability and customer satisfaction. With state of the art advanced

planning and scheduling, quality management, customer relationship management, time and attendance,

business intelligence and warehouse management system capabilities built in, Infor VISUAL appeals to

manufacturers and distributors with a combination of affordability, depth of functionality and ease of use.

INFOR – SUPPORTED MODULES


ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING In today's world of globalization and price pressures, it's imperative that your enterprise resource planning

systems offer business-specific solutions with industry experience built in. This is true whether you

produce goods made from distinct parts and components such as automobiles, electronics, and

machinery or goods made by blending ingredients such as foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and

chemicals.

As an ERP software vendor, Infor offers a variety of ERP solutions that help companies in a wide

spectrum of subsectors automate, plan, collaborate, and execute according to their unique business

requirements. Built on an open, flexible, service-oriented architecture (SOA) with modern, web-based

user interfaces, our scalable ERP solutions never lock you in to one mode of operating. Instead, they

offer a breadth of functionality that enables you to automate key manufacturing and financial processes,

meet fluctuating customer demand and compliance requirements, and collaborate internally as well as

externally across your supply chain-all at a low total cost of ownership. Lean manufacturing capabilities

are built in to our ERP solutions to minimize waste and increase quality and productivity; strong

aftermarket service capabilities expedite service management.

With multiple deployment and buying options for Infor ERP, including SaaS, manufacturers can choose

the model that meets their specific requirements.

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT Successful new products are the lifeblood of your company’s growth and profitability. The success of

60% of most new products is determined in the product development phase, including 80% of costs and

90% of regulatory risks. Supplier collaboration early on can improve your product’s capabilities, as well

as minimize costs and time to market.

Infor PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) helps your business maximize profit by optimizing every stage

of your product’s life from portfolio management to product development to ongoing maintenance and

retirement. It integrates product information from design and engineering with sourcing, compliance,

suppliers, and supply chains to speed product development, ensure quality, and mitigate regulatory risks.

Infor PLM helps to:

Improve product innovation

Drive revenue growth with successful new product introductions

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Boost new product profitability by up to 10%

Reduce time to market by up to 50%

Improve on-time product launches by up to 98%, including regulated industries

QUALITY MANAGEMENT In today's global market, quality is king as manufacturers face increased competition for customers. The

pressure to reduce time and error makes it imperative that companies establish and maintain quality

assurance criteria that fully support industry regulations. To remain competitive, manufacturers need to

optimize their engineering and product lifecycles-and leverage supply chains-to bring superior products

to market on time and on budget.

For order-driven manufacturers looking to balance productivity, quality assurance, customer satisfaction,

and profitability, Infor delivers a solution for fully integrated, robust, scalable automated quality

management designed to fit their specific industry requirements. Our solution integrates all logistic and

quality management processes, enabling manufacturers to improve operational performance and

leverage their supply chains to attain superior quality-and exceed customer expectations.

Infor ERP's quality management solutions:

Manage quality across multiple plants and distributed teams

Improve decision-making with real-time, accurate engineering and product data

Monitor supplier performance against industry benchmarks

Increase customer satisfaction with shorter response times

Establish and manage criteria to support industry standards and regulations

Improve collaboration between employees, suppliers, and customers

Reduce the cost of goods sold

Ideal for makers of complex products, the quality management components of Infor ERP help companies

improve quality levels and take corrective action when necessary. They allow you to streamline business

processes by automating associated concept, design, pre-production, production, and post-production

activities, and by facilitating the collection, analysis, and control of key data. You'll get support for cost-

effective decision-making with pre-production process analyses, including performance and capability

indices. You'll also improve response times; increase customer satisfaction by maintaining accessible,

detailed customer histories; and monitor and manage communications with customers and suppliers to

improve all supply chain relationships. And through better process management, you'll prevent and

reduce failure-increasing your profit margins.


SALES MANAGEMENT To remain competitive, companies must coordinate sales efforts across the entire customer lifecycle

pulling cross-organization customer intelligence into the sales process, helping sales representatives

become “trusted advisors,” and making appropriate, targeted offers to customers.

Infor’s CRM sales solution optimizes customer interaction time and gives salespeople the tools they need

to be successful. It puts customer intelligence and guided processes in the hands of field sales, telesales,

and account representatives and prepares them for calls and closing sales with quick access to consistent

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and accurate customer information. It simplifies the ordering process as well as the configuration of

complex products.

Infor’s CRM sales software helps:

Increase sales productivity

Shorten sales cycles and increase sales revenue

Achieve more frequent orders and higher order values

Streamline the quote-to-order process

Reduce product configuration and pricing errors

The sales component of Infor CRM centralizes data from across the enterprise, giving your sales team

quick access to consistent, accurate customer information including the entire scope of each customer’s

previous interactions with the organization at all stages of the sales cycle. The following are included:

Sales manages the entire sales cycle with lead routing and prioritization, contact management,

opportunity and pipeline management, call scripting, and mobile access.

Configuration allows you to meet every customer's need with the ability to pick the right product from a

catalog, perform mass customization of complex products, and manage engineer-to-order and make-to-

order configurations.


FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Enterprising finance and accounting organizations help drive company performance by efficiently

handling a multitude of daily transactions, sharing valuable information hidden in transactional data, and

adapting processes fluidly as business conditions and regulatory environments change.

Infor FMS (Financial Management System) enables companies to integrate and streamline local and

multinational financial resource management processes from end to end. By doing so, they achieve a

reliable, apples-to-apples view of financial performance across the entire enterprise, as well as the

flexibility and control necessary for adapting to the demands of even the most challenging business

environment.

Infor FMS corporate multinational financial management solution helps to:

Reduce transaction costs

Shorten process cycle times

Achieve data consistency

Enforce global financial standards and processes

Improve financial transparency

For more than 30 years, Infor’s dependable multinational financial management solutions have helped

organizations leverage the value of their existing financial resource management technology systems

and platforms, extending them with the user-friendly features and rich functionality necessary to maximize

productivity and performance. Infor FMS solutions include:

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Financial Accounting —general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, purchasing,

inventory, and fixed assets applications.

Project Accounting —asset management and project tracking applications.

Expense Management —expense report, travel plan, payment request, and time capture

applications.


ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT An effective enterprise asset management solution for monitoring and managing the deployment,

performance, and maintenance of company assets may be the single most important tool for preventing

operational surprises and uncovering hidden profits.

Infor EAM (Enterprise Asset Management) enables manufacturers, distributors, and services

organizations to save time and money by optimizing maintenance resources, improving equipment and

staff productivity, increasing inventory efficiency, and strengthening their ability to collect on warranty-

related claims. Infor EAM software includes reporting tools that enable better decision-making to help

improve future asset performance management and profitability.

Infor’s enterprise asset management software helps to:

Increase labor efficiency and reduce overtime

Implement effective equipment-based maintenance schedules to reduce downtime

Manage work order processes to ensure on-time delivery

Reduce maintenance-related inventory levels for increased savings

Model various scenarios to determine optimum asset levels and drive decision making

Track information to improve the ability to collect on warranty claims

The Infor EAM software solution is much more than computerized maintenance management software

(CMMS), which captures only standard transaction maintenance metrics. Infor’s asset performance

management solution enables enterprising companies to create a more comprehensive vision by also

capturing and consolidating metrics from a variety of operational and financial systems. The result is

improved visibility into not only current performance, but also into likely future performance.

Infor EAM software has been helping enterprising companies worldwide, including more than 60 percent

of the Fortune 500, for over 20 years. Backed by domain experts who understand the enterprise asset

management and maintenance requirements of today’s competitive businesses, Infor EAM software

solutions address:

Maintenance —deploy resources for maximum effectiveness.

Inventory—optimize inventory and purchasing to save money.

Uptime—forecast likely failure points and the causes to improve uptime.

Reliability/Risk Management —predict and take action on reliability issues to prevent problems.

Strategic Planning—increase visibility into asset performance management to better align these

resources with corporate goals.

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SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Operating a chaos-tolerant supply chain in a world of increasing uncertainty is an impossible mission

unless you have business-specific SCM software that helps you manage complexity and increase your

profitability, competitiveness, and growth.

Infor SCM (Supply Chain Management) meets the challenge with specialized functionality that takes into

account the different supply chain perspectives and unique business challenges of manufacturers,

retailers, and transportation and logistics service providers. By partnering with Infor, you're assured of

having comprehensive SCM solutions delivered by a single vendor, with best practices and low total cost

of ownership built in, that match all of your business priorities from network design/order inception to

delivery-from concept to customer.

Infor's supply chain logistics and inventory management software solutions can:

Reduce supply chain operational costs for increased profitability

Improve customer service to enhance competitiveness

Manage growth and expansion to improve revenues and market share

Become supply chain leaders

Infor Supply Chain Management is a global solution with implementations at over 1,600 customer sites

in 40 countries. Backed by domain experts who know supply chain management and the challenges you

face, our supply chain planning and execution solutions comprise the following key components:

Strategic Netware Design —modeling and optimization tools for determining the most effective

number, location, size, and capacity of facilities to meet customer service goals; time-phased

tactical planning for determining where and when to make, buy, store, and move product through

the network.

Demand Planning —forecasting tools, web-based collaboration interface, and sales and

operations reporting and metrics that help companies predict and shape customer demand with

greater accuracy.

Distribution Planning —inventory analysis and time-variable stock target calculations for

ensuring the optimal balance between service levels and inventory investment; synchronized

replenishment plans for all network points right back to manufacturing and supplier sources for

better visibility.

Manufacturing Planning —constraint-based advanced planning system for engineering,

assembly, and repetitive manufacturing environments; similar tools for process manufacturers.

Production Scheduling —finite capacity scheduling for engineering, assembly, and repetitive

environments, as well as batch-process production facilities.

Transportation and Logistics Planning —transportation planning, transportation procurement,

route planning, transportation management, small parcel shipping, and international trade

logistics for global, multi-modal operations.

Warehouse Management System—end-to-end fulfillment and distribution including inventory,

labor, and work and task management, as well as cross-docking, value-added services, yard

management, multiple inventory ownership and billing/invoicing, and voice-directed distribution.

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RFID—comprehensive RFID-enablement framework delivering business value through process

optimization for manufacturers and other companies, as well as compliance solutions for retail,

pharmaceuticals, the US Department of Defense, and others.

Event Management —proactive, real-time exception management technology for detecting

conditional change anywhere in the supply chain and communicating it instantly for resolution.

Customer Relations Management

CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANAGEMENT Leading customer-focused companies view every customer interaction as an opportunity to make a

new offer, improve retention, increase revenue, build loyalty, or strengthen their brand. Infor CRM

(Customer Relationship Management) helps companies optimize customer relationships by integrating

marketing, sales, and service. By providing a full 360-degree view of customers, the system enables a

consistent and continuous customer dialogue based on real-time information. With this advanced CRM

solution set, you can make the most of every interaction with every customer across every channel or

touch point. As a result, you gain true customer insight, along with the ability to act on that insight.

Infor's CRM software system can:

Run campaigns that align with your customers' preferences

Tightly integrate marketing across all inbound and outbound channels

Increase sales productivity by providing customer insight

Manage marketing and sales resources more efficiently

Turn contact centers into profit centers

Infor's CRM solution provides the tools your company needs to engage customers in a multi-channel,

closed-loop dialogue that nurtures their loyalty to your products and services and improves your

bottom-line results. Infor CRM is comprised of the following key components:

Marketing—delivers inbound and outbound marketing capabilities that streamline the campaign

process and create real-time customer profiles which can be analyzed to identify high-impact

offers at the moment of customer interaction.

Sales —provides sales force automation and opportunity management capabilities that facilitate

customer conversations by driving intelligence into every customer interaction.

Service —serves as the foundation for personalized contact center operations, giving customer

service representatives a unified view of customers across all existing systems and empowering

them to shorten call times and resolve issues on the first call. Powerful real-time analytics drive

personalized, customer-focused processes and offers, turning customer interactions into

revenue opportunities across emails, phone calls, and web inquiries.

Human Capital Management

HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT One of a company’s biggest ongoing investments is in its people. Managed properly, this asset can be

the source of innovation and growth, competitive advantage, and future leadership.

The Infor HCM (Human Capital Management) system helps enterprising businesses optimize the entire

recruit-to-retire process. With this human resource management system, you can attract and retain a

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qualified workforce, effectively schedule your workforce, access and share vital workforce information

safely and securely, adapt workforce processes as your company grows and changes, provide self-

service capabilities to employees and managers, and enable effective decision-making relative to your

workforce.

The Infor Human Capital Management system helps to:

Improve competitiveness by hiring, retaining, and empowering the best people

Make informed decisions by gaining visibility into and control over workforce performance

Save money and time by streamlining workforce-related processes, including scheduling and

time and attendance

Achieve goals by aligning staffing practices with corporate strategy

Profit from more effective and efficient global operations

Infor HCM is a web-enabled human capital management system that is used by enterprising companies

around the globe to turn human resources into competitive advantage. This HR software

accommodates multiple languages, currencies, banks, tax definitions, benefits, security configurations,

and platforms, and includes the following key components:

Resource Management — encompasses the spectrum of resource management processes

including human resources, benefits administration, flexible spending accounts, compensation,

and payroll.

Workforce Management — cost-effectively addresses complex workforce management

challenges with support for scheduling, time and attendance, absence, planning, and

performance.

Talent Management — introduces best-practice workforce development capabilities related to

learning management, employee performance management, recruitment, competency

management, and succession planning.

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SAP BUSINSS

BYDESIGN

GETTING BETTER CONSISTENTLY

SAP Business ByDesign is a software as a service (SaaS) enterprise

resource planning (ERP) system. Acknowledging the increasing

adoption of SaaS solutions, especially in the middle market, SAP made

the bold decision to develop an entirely new code base to target the

SaaS opportunity. With Business ByDesign now generally available and

in use by a wide range of customers, SAP is aggressively expanding the

product’s feature set.

SAP newest Saas ERP software, Business ByDesign is a fully

comprehensive integrated business management package that is

delivered On Demand through a “cloud” or Software as a Service (SaaS)

model. Business ByDesign is the only ERP software product that

embeds SAP’s best practice business process expertise and IP. This

new software solution is designed to provide manufacuturing and

distribution SMEs (small and medium businesses) with the benefits of a

large scale business application without the need for a large IT

department and/or an upfront licensing fee. With Business ByDesign,

SMEs now have access to the same SAP business process expertise

that has helped many of the world’s leading companies maintain their

leading edge.

SAP Business ByDesign is designed to serve all the key needs of a

business. The system offers applications for customer relationship

management (CRM), financial management, project management,

supply chain management, supplier relationship management, human

resources, executive management dashboards, and compliance. The

financial management capabilities of SAP Business ByDesign include

general ledger, fixed asset management, inventory valuation, and

management accounting.

SAP Business ByDesign is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) package,

accessed over the Internet on a web browser. SAP manages all of the

hosting, maintenance and upgrades of the system. Set-up and

configuration takes between four and eight weeks. SAP Business

ByDesign is designed to scale with young businesses as they grow into

mid-size enterprises.

SAP

BUSINESS

BYDESIGN

ADVANTAGE

In 2003, exactly 10

years after SAP R/3

was first introduced,

SAP decided to go for

new architecture,

which was called

"Ether" and then later

"Enterprise SOA."

SAP spent four years

in R&D developing

Business ByDesign as

a new foundation for

SAP's ERP software.

89

The SAP Business ByDesign™ solution is business management software delivered on demand and

fully managed by SAP. Because it is an on-demand solution, there are no upgrades to manage, no

maintenance, and no up-front capital costs. It is managed, monitored, and maintained by SAP experts in

worldclass hosted data centers, which means you don’t have to invest time and money in any additional

IT resources to build or support it. SAP Business ByDesign is the best fit for companies that want the

benefits of a large-scale business management solution without a large IT infrastructure

SAP Business ByDesign’s intuitive software is easy to learn and easy to use. SAP Business ByDesign

features simplified navigation, interactive graphics, and tight integration with Microsoft Office. The rich,

intuitive user experience helps speed adoption and increase productivity. And, with built-in support for

mobile computing, you gain secure access to your business processes – anytime, anywhere, on any

device.

BUSINESS BYDESIGN – SUPPORTED MODULES


ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Keeping control over outstanding payments and receivables can be a difficult task and one that is often

understood only by accounting professionals. The focus of the solution is to reduce complexity and

increase transparency by automating the processing of payments and due-payment clearing. This

speeds up processing and increases your cash flow. You can support your company’s policies by defining

your own payment block reasons, deduction types, and grouping or clearing strategies for payments.

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Make sure that your outstanding receivables are up to date by sending dunning letters or reminders to

customers with overdue payment items, requesting payment of the outstanding amount. Flexible dunning

functionality in the solution helps you optimize your cash flow with a streamlined dunning process. You

can decide to initiate the dunning process, or you may opt to let the software trigger the process by using

the automatic scheduling function.

CASH FLOW Optimizing a company’s cash flow is the core duty of a cash manager, who is also responsible for

managing statements for house bank accounts. The solution helps your cash manager in these activities

with functions that support uploading, processing, and monitoring house bank statements. Additional

functionality enables cash managers to analyze financial transactions and identify future trends by

creating periodic liquidity forecasts.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT With SAP Business ByDesign’s Financial Management module, SMEs can get a single, up-to-date view

of their financial condition by integrating core business processes with financials. The SAP Business

ByDesign solution lets SMEs keep track of payables and receivables, payment and liquidity, inventory

and fixed assets, taxes and expenses, and compliance and reporting. The solution enables SMEs to

streamline period-end closing and make better-informed financial decisions every day of the year.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS When creating financial statements, you want to meet legal requirements with the least possible effort

as this is not a value-add activity. The solution enables you to reduce the time to close books and create

financial statements by streamlining the process, making use of functionality such as the “closing cockpit.”

You can save time when performing the reporting part of the process because the solution provides a

comprehensive set of GAAP-compliant reports that you can adapt to your company’s requirements.

FOREIGN CURRENCY Perform foreign currency remeasurement for your open receivables and payables items by using a built-

in framework. The solution also supports converting balances held in foreign currencies, such as bank

accounts or petty cash locations, at a key date. You can schedule the remeasurement jobs to run

periodically and in the background, thereby minimizing the need for manual intervention while supporting

legal compliance.


PRODUCTION PLANNING & SCHEDULING You can plan, execute, and continuously monitor projects of all types and sizes, including cost collectors.

You can create an overall project structure, set up a detailed project plan and schedule, search for and

assign appropriate project staff, and procure the goods and services needed to carry out the project. You

can choose from several interactive graphical views, depending on the activities you need to perform.

For example, you can use network diagrams to plan process-oriented projects, while Gantt charts help

you visualize a project’s schedule and task dependencies.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT The most important pillar of success for project based companies is the excellence by which they deliver

service engagements. With SAP Business ByDesign’s Project Management module, professional

services firm have the capabilities they need to improve project efficiency: The solution enables project

managers to plan and track projects through graphical tools such as Gantt charts and network diagrams;

project teams have can work together more easily through shared information and workflow-driven task

management. In addition, the solution enables up-to-the-minute project data to be shared with the rest

of your company for easy tracking of costs, purchases, and employee and contractor hours.


SUPPLIER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT SAP Business ByDesign’s Supplier Relationship Management module enables SME’s to strengthen their

relationships with suppliers, improve their procurement processes to reduce costs, and turn their supplier

base into a competitive advantage. The SAP Business ByDesign solution helps SME’s identify and

efficiently source from the best suppliers for materials and services. The solution enables SME’s to

integrate their procurement processes with other functional areas (e.g. manufacturing), thereby bringing

all the data needed for effective negotiations and strong supplier relationships. It provides built in

analytics so SMEs can gain the insights they need to find savings opportunities and it automates all

procurement processes so that can easily stay on top of changing data. The solution uses exception

based management to give procurement staff the bandwidth they need to focus on activities that drive

the most value.

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SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT SAP Business ByDesign’s Supply Chain Management module enables SMEs to make excellence in

supply chain management a key cornerstone of their success. The solution is provides SMEs with the

tools to capture product requirements and ensure that these inform not only product design but also

supply chain design. The solution allows SMEs to configure a supply chain that works best for them, and

then to establish plans that will help them best match supply to forecasted demand. The solution provides

all the capabilities required to execute on plans efficiently to source raw materials, manufacture and

distribute products most efficiently to meet demand.


CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT With SAP Business ByDesign CRM, SMEs can get comprehensive, flexible support for customer

relationship management processes that span marketing, sales, and service activities. The SAP

Business ByDesign solution helps SMEs exploit the right opportunities and maximize customer

satisfaction and revenue. The solution includes centralized operational data that is integrated with other

business areas to let SMEs speed their sales cycles, bring in revenue faster, and control costs.


BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND COLLABORATION SAP Business ByDesign includes rich business intelligence and analytics capabilities to help SMEs gain

more and better insight into the performance of their business and respond appropriately to changing

market conditions. The SAP Business ByDesign solution enables SME employees to run reports

whenever they need to, create what-if analyses, drill down into granular details, and generate easy to

understand graphics. The solution includes reporting functionality that enables SMEs to find ways to save

money or reveal additional revenue potential.

The solution also allows SMEs to collaborate, communicate, and exchange information both within the

company and between the company and its business partners. The SAP Business ByDesign solution

enables SMEs to integrate desktop applications, instant messaging, and its telephone system with the

business applications within the solution. The solution also allows SMEs to leverage external Web

services to complement their own business data. With the solution, SMEs also have the ability to find

information they need quickly and easily by searching through company data and documents using new

enterprise search technology.

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT The SAP Business ByDesign solution is designed to empower management with more control over their

business and the ability to make better decisions. With the SAP Business ByDesign solution, managers

can easily get a 360 degree view of business performance and can access the organizational information

they need to steer the company. Management dashboards provide real-time, customized analytics and

allow managers to accurately track the most important aspects of the business.

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SAP Business ByDesign’s HR module helps SMEs ensure they can leverage and maximize the potential

of their most important asset most effectively – their employees. With the SAP Business ByDesign

solution, employees get personalized business portals tailored to their job functions, and self-service

features to streamline execution of daily tasks. The solution enables SMEs to adapt HR services to

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changing business needs by adding, enhancing, and automating processes, including workloads,

personnel, and payroll.

COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT With SAP Business ByDesign’s Compliance Management module, SMEs can keep up-to-date and

compliant with changing laws and regulations. The SAP Business ByDesign solution comes

preconfigured for a customer’s accounting practices, applicable tax structures, and relevant labor

legislation. Frequent and automatic updates help ensure that each customer’s financial books and

government reporting continue to meet regulatory standards. Additionally, the solution enables SMEs to

implement a wide range of built-in controls across the company, such as data entry controls, plausibility

checks, and automated workflows, to prevent unauthorized data access and modification.

SERVICES SUPPORT

Built in Services and Support

SAP Business ByDesign is designed to simplify IT with built-in IT services, automated maintenance and

support, and a quality-assured service model. The SAP Business ByDesign solution is connected to

SAP experts who monitor and maintain each customer’s on-demand system. The solution includes

automatic health checks to continuously monitor and manage system performance as well as built in

safeguards to ensure the integrity, safety, and security of every customer’s invaluable company data.

The SAP Business ByDesign solution can be personalized by fine-tuning and adapting it at any time

using the built-in business configuration functionality. In addition, built-in learning and help provide 24/7

access to resources and the SAP Business ByDesign community, enabling SME customers to get

knowledge and help whenever they need it.

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ORACLE

RELYING ON TRIAD & TRUSTED

Oracle provides a complete and integrated system for optimized

management of enterprise-wide performance. Oracle provides the

complete cloud based enterprise solution in two very popular packages.


With E Business Suite, businesses can achieve excellent management

practices which drive competitive advantage and leverage their

operational ROI.

Agile—Provides Information Integration from financial

performance management, business intelligence, and

transactional applications

Smart—Enables advanced integration that improves agility and

lowers costs of ownership

Aligned—Drives pervasive intelligence across the enterprise by

unifying financial, strategic, and operational management

processes

Oracle JD Edwards EntrepriseOne

Oracles's JD Edwards EnterpriseOne is an integrated applications suite

of comprehensive enterprise resource planning software that combines

business value, standards-based technology, and deep industry

experience into a business solution with a low total cost of ownership.

Integrated, business-driven applications supports a wide variety of

business processes with one common database for a single source of

information. JD Edwards EnterpriseOne uses the Oracle Technology

Foundation, a package of integrated software products that allow

implementation and maintenance of system applications.

While both the flavors of Oracle Solutions are equally popular, we will be

discussin Oracle e-Business Suite in this chapter.

ORACLE E-

BUSINESS

SUITE

ADVANTAGE

Oracle is the software

leader in Enterprise

Performance

Management (EPM),

unifying Business

Intelligence and

Performance

Management (BI),

while supporting

complex strategic,

financial and

operational

management

processes.

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ORACLE E-BUSINESS SUITE ERP MODULES


INVENTORY MANAGEMENT With Oracle Inventory Management you can improve inventory visibility, reduce inventory levels and

control inventory operations. All of your material in each line of business and stage of the inventory

lifecycle can be tracked in a single system. Increased transparency will reduce the need for local buffer

stocks, and inventory will be located where it previously wasn't known to exist.

Oracle Inventory Management is part of the Oracle Logistics solution and integrates seamlessly with

other Supply Chain Management applications, including Oracle Warehouse Management, Oracle Order

Management, Procurement, Discrete and Process Manufacturing, and Oracle Financials.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Improve Global Inventory Visibility

Oracle Inventory Management allows you to consolidate your disparate inventory tracking and

control systems into a single, global inventory management solution for material in every stage of

the product or production lifecycle as well as for your different business types. For manufacturers

and distributors, this visibility is not limited to current state balances but also includes global track

and trace information including inventory source and where-used analysis.

Reduce Inventory Levels

Oracle Inventory Management gives you a variety of tools to reduce your inventory levels. The

more accurate your inventory levels and efficient your replenishment, the less safety stock you

need to hold. The more proactive your exception management, the more readily you can respond

to shortages, quality issues and backorders before costly expediting is required.

Control Multi-Mode Inventory Operations

Whether you are running manufacturing centers, distribution centers, service depots, spare parts

warehouses or other types of parts storage facilities, Oracle Inventory Management provides the

multi-mode inventory capability that helps you control all your inventory operations.

Comprehensive material and transaction attributes capture gives inventory managers and

operators flexible visibility into material aging, qualitative characteristics, material status.

ORACLE WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT

Adapt to Volatility and Innovation

Your complex warehouse operations must adapt quickly and easily to changes. Your company is

constantly innovating—and as your business model rapidly changes, the expectations for warehouses

change, too. Whether because a customer radically increases their order volume to accelerate their

inventory velocity, or your business decides to ship products with the longest remaining shelf life to their

best customers, your Warehouse Management Solution must quickly respond.

Oracle's Warehouse Management Solution delivers adaptive customer processes enabling your

organization to make logistics a source of competitive differentiation.

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Converge Multiple Supply Chain Processes

Warehouses increasingly perform more and more functions—assembly, manufacturing, repair. They are

part of extended supply chain processes including transportation management, procurement,

manufacturing, order management, spare parts and repair operations, asset management, and

maintenance.

Oracle's Warehouse Management Solution pre-integrates with the processes and applications driving

these functions in your company. As a result, you get optimized execution of materials handling

transactions on mobile and traditional terminals.

Scale in Complexity from Small to Large Operations

Customers demand the goods they want, when they want them, in perfect condition—and to their unique

specifications. Warehouses must handle more items, with greater velocity, in increasingly complex

orders. To address these challenges, businesses need a robust and scalable solution. They need a

solution that will help them to optimize their operations—no matter how large or small.

Oracle's Warehouse Management Solution offers a broad range of materials management functionality

from the most basic to the most advanced. No matter how big or small, you will improve inventory

accuracy and labor productivity while reducing overall warehousing and distribution costs.


ORACLE PARTNER MANAGEMENT Oracle's Partner Management solution enables companies to extend their business processes to work

collaboratively with distribution channel partners. Oracle Partner Management efficiently manages the

entire partner lifecycle—from recruiting and managing partners through marketing, channel sales and

performance measurement. Partner Management gives you the tools and processes you need to sell

more through partners and strengthen relationships while lowering partnership costs.


Align sales efforts across channels

Align sales efforts with collaborative partner flows

Reduce partner management costs

Reduce costs with distributed partner functionality

Monitor and improve channel performance

Monitor performance with dashboards and key metrics

ORACLE QUOTING Oracle Quoting is an automated sales quote generation application that enables the easy, consistent and

secure creation and management of customer quotes across all customer interaction channels, such as

field sales, telesales, e-commerce and business partners. Sales representatives using Oracle Quoting

can submit a quote as an order, perform manual price overrides or create new customer information.


Increase Sales: Boost sales effectiveness and reduce sales cycle time by automating the quoting

and approval process.

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Reduce Costly Errors: Provide Sales Reps self-service access to relevant information stored

throughout the enterprise, including pricing campaigns and inventory levels.

Enable Collaborative Selling: Quotes can be created and then shared across multiple channels

from field sales reps to call center agents and web storefronts for collaborative selling.

ORACLE SALES Oracle Sales provides a comprehensive solution for planning, managing and optimizing activities across

all sales channels. Automate the entire sales cycle, including account and contact management,

opportunity management, forecasting and pipeline analysis, and order management. Business benefits

include increased visibility into the sales cycle, increased sales revenues, and long-term, profitable

customer relationships.


Share Critical Information over the Internet – Provide managers and sales reps instant access

to critical information via Sales Portal Homepage.

Deliver Complete View of Customer – Provide comprehensive customer information, such as

products installed, outstanding service requests, payment histories, key contacts, open

opportunities, and quotes and orders.

Provide Task and Schedule Management – Provide the tools for reps to manage daily activities.

Synchronize with company-wide calendars to drive awareness of upcoming campaigns and

events.

Manage Leads – Automate, manage, and track generation of leads. Evaluate and distribute leads

in real time using flexible, rule-based business logic. Manage and track lead follow-up.

Support Global Sales – Gain multi-language, multi-currency capabilities. Create virtual global

teams by sharing leads, opportunities, quotes, contacts, notes, tasks, and more.

ORACLE PROPOSALS Oracle Proposals is a sales application that enables users to dynamically generate proposals based on

templates. It drives sales effectiveness by accurately automating the labor-intensive proposal process.

Oracle Proposals allows users to create customer presentable proposals using standard, approved

content. Users can personalize their proposal structure, sequence, look, and feel, all before generating

a dynamic proposal and e-mailing it to their customers. With Oracle Proposals, you can shorten sales

cycle length by drastically reducing the time taken to generate proposals, eliminate errors in proposals,

and enforce use of approved content.


Increase Sales Effectiveness: Boost sales force productivity by reducing the time taken to create

proposals from days to hours.

Increase Accuracy: Improve business process compliance and project consistent, professional

image by enforcing use of standard and approved content in proposals.

Lower Costs: Reduce costs and improve your competitive edge by creating professional,

accurate proposals in less time.

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ORACLE PRODUCTION SCHEDULING Oracle® Production Scheduling, designed for schedulers by schedulers, enables you to take control of

your production scheduling problem, and helps you to maximize shop floor throughput while optimizing

resource investment. You can optimize the usage of your critical resources, calculate realistic and

feasible schedules that the shop floor can execute, and easily determine the schedule that best meets

your objectives. In addition, you can leverage the out-of-the-box integration with the Oracle E-Business

Suite (discrete, process, and lot-based manufacturing) to implement quickly and obtain immediate value.


Maximize throughput of bottleneck resources: Simultaneously consider capacity and calendar

constraints on machines, crews and tools with automatic floating bottleneck detection to optimally

schedule your shop floor. Create feasible schedules using sequence dependent setup

minimization and campaign run optimization.

Improve shop floor performance: Schedulers can minimize the effect of unplanned downtime,

easily identify exceptions, and use a powerful drag-and-drop scheduling workbench to quickly

adjust schedules.

Quickly determine the best production schedule: Fast easy simulation enables your

schedules to quickly compare scenarios and key performance indicators before deciding which

schedule to release for execution. Planners can also review both planned and actual production

orders to make their decisions.

Implement quickly by leveraging out-of-the-box integration: Production Scheduling is fully

integrated with the Oracle E-Business Suite, enabling you to start quickly by leveraging existing

setup. It supports discrete, process, and lot-based manufacturing without the need for extensive

configuration

PROJECT COSTING Oracle Project Costing provides a completely integrated cost management solution for all projects and

activities across your enterprise, with the ability to cross currency and organizational boundaries. Line

managers are empowered with timely, detailed cost information to monitor project performance in a

format that optimizes their productivity—while financial managers track the total cost of running the

business.

Monitor Project Performance

Utilize timely, integrated cost information to assure project execution meets expectations.

Capitalize on Global Opportunities

Link dispersed project teams to meet work demands.

Drive Enterprise Profitability

Enable activity-based and project-based management capabilities to improve cost performance.

Evaluate Expenditures

Compare expenditures to forecasts, budgets, and revenue to track progress and profitability

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ORACLE SHOP FLOOR MANAGEMENT Oracle Shop Floor Management enables comprehensive, real-time management of shop floor activities,

including complex lot transactions, dynamic routing, end-to-end genealogy of products, and modeling

and tracking of operation yield costs. A single repository of shop floor information helps ensure the

continuum between planning, scheduling, and execution.

Manage Complex Lot Transactions

Split or merge lots. Update lot name, product, routing, and quantity. Enable bonus lot creation.

Track Lot Genealogy

Track products back to raw materials. Enable backward or forward genealogy "surfing."

Enable Dynamic Routing

Determine routing dynamically, depending on process needs or resource availability. Gain ability to jump

to any operation.

Integrate Planning and the Shop Floor

Support lot-based jobs and operation yields. Schedule orders with network routing. Gain CO-product

planning capabilities.

Gain Yield-Based Operational Costing

Accurately measure operation yield levels, yielded cost of products, and cost variance at operations.

Support standard costing methods.


SUPPLY CHAIN EXECUTION The Oracle E-Business Suite Supply Chain Execution family of applications supports the complete order

to cash business process, capturing demand from any channel, providing inbound and outbound

transportation management, and supporting large, complex distribution operations. A unified data model

provides a single, accurate view of the entire supply chain execution process, so you can plan, manage,

and control the flow and storage of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the

point of consumption in order to meet customer requirements. And when Oracle Supply Chain Execution

runs on Oracle technology, you speed implementation, optimize performance, streamline support, and

maximize return on your investment.

Seamless Integration, Complete Flexibility. Oracle Supply Chain Execution is part of the Oracle E-

Business Suite, integrating with other E-Business Suite applications, including Oracle Manufacturing and

Oracle Procurement, and leveraging technologies such as Oracle Sensor-Based Services. Implement

one or several application families — or implement the complete Oracle E-Business Suite for the fastest

way to high-quality enterprise information.

ADVANCED SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING With today's rapidly changing business conditions, you need a planning tool that surpasses the traditional

latency of disconnected planning processes or Excel planning spreadsheets. You can leverage Oracle®

Advanced Supply Chain Planning to be more responsive. You can perform simultaneous material and

capacity planning across multiple distribution and manufacturing facilities and time horizons in a single

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planning run, while at the same time accounting for the latest consensus forecast, sales orders,

production status, purchase orders, and inventory policy recommendations. You can choose to start

immediately with more advanced constrained and optimized planning, leveraging the out-of-the-box

optimization, or you can decide to get to that point gradually by starting with unconstrained planning.

Reduce Planning Cycle Time - Holistic Supply and Distribution Planning

Oracle® Advanced Supply Chain Planning enables you to run holistic plans that span long term

aggregate planning to short term detailed schedules, multiple manufacturing processes (lot based,

process, discrete, configure-to-order, and project based), and all organizations across a virtual supply

chain. As a single solution for distribution, supply chain, and manufacturing planning, it is based on one

supply chain model, one planning engine, and one setup. Its flexible configuration, however, enables you

to define different models that can co-exist (hub-and-spoke planning; single plan) and evolve as your

organization grows without requiring reimplementation. Extensive defaulting logic, paired with a

productivity enhancing UI and strong exception management, enables planners to quickly use the tool to

make their planning decisions.

Comprehensive Distribution Planning

Oracle® Advanced Supply Chain Planning offers comprehensive support for companies that focus more

on solving distribution and replenishment problems. Distribution planners can leverage a comprehensive

Distribution Planner Workbench that presents global visibility of material positions, automates allocations

and redistribution between regional and central distribution centers, with the ability to manually override,

consolidates individual shipments into optimal truckloads, highlights exceptions, and releases planning

recommendations for execution while taking into account kitting, end item substitution, date effective

sourcing, distribution, allocation rules, global forecasting, alternates (components, suppliers, facilities,

and ship methods), and supplier capacity constraints.

Increase planner productivity and reduce decision making latency

Planners can leverage robust exception management and root-cause analysis in combination with

graphical supply chain pegging to identify and resolve problems from end demand to the lowest level

component or resource requirements. Extensive use of workflow to enable process automation and

automated corrective action enables you to significantly reduce the non-value added costs of manual

activity. In addition, planners can leverage extensive personalization to tailor their workspace to their

needs. Combined with the powerful simulation and multi-planner collaboration capabilities, it enables

them to perform their planning tasks quickly and efficiently.


ORACLE HUMAN RESOURCES ANALYTICS Oracle Human Resources Analytics helps organizations improve overall workforce performance and

managerial effectiveness while reducing costs. With numerous key performance indicators, more than

85 reports, and four dashboards, Oracle Human Resources Analytics provides your human resources

(HR) professionals and front-line managers with the tools to gain up-to-the-minute insight into productivity

levels across your organization. The resulting benefits help reduce workforce costs, increase employee

productivity, effectively manage employee compensation, improve retention, and reduce voluntary

turnover.

10

0

Compensation

Understand how compensation impacts performance, ensure compensation is equitable and consistent

across roles, and align incentive compensation with objectives and company goals

HR Performance

Assess HR performance against recruitment and retention goals, monitor and improve employee

productivity, and assess compensation competitiveness to attract top talent

Retention

Understand drivers of employee turnover, proactively identify top performers who are likely being

recruited by competitors, and reduce recruiting and involuntary termination costs

Workforce Profile and Compliance

Reduce time and cost of compliance reporting, increase employee satisfaction and retention, and

manage overall profile and background of workforce

ISUPPORT Oracle iSupport enables you to provide a secure, self-service web portal that delivers self-service

functionality to customers and employees 24/7. Its sophisticated knowledge management system

provides the information needed to solve problems, manage product configurations, and track orders,

payments, shipments, returns, and contracts. The result: you improve customer satisfaction while driving

down service costs.

Provide Solutions via Knowledge Management

Enable users to conduct basic or advanced searches across multiple repositories. Tailor

knowledge base content to different user types. Track solution usefulness, then rank searches

accordingly.

Drive Sales

Provide notifications about special events, product upgrades, and contract renewals on customer

homepages.

Speed Resolution for Complex Issues

Capture all critical data upfront via an option to require customers to answer key questions online

before contacting an agent.

Empower Large Customers to Manage Their Own Users

Enable customers to designate employees as administrators of their own user communities.

Support Transactional Inquiries

Allow customers to access and search orders, invoices, payments, contracts, returns, and service

requests. Permit customers to initiate product returns.

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1

MICROSOFT

DYNAMICS

SOLID PLAYER, SOLID PARTNER

CHANNEL

Designed for midsize and larger companies, Microsoft Dynamics AX

(formerly Axapta) is a multiple language, and multiple currency

enterprise resource planning (ERP) software suite with core strengths in

manufacturing and e-business. Microsoft AX also is equipped with

strong capabilities for the wholesale and services industry sectors. Its

complete end to end scalability and flexibility enables and enhances

mid-sized and large multinational companies to take control of their

operations and continue to grow and to best take advantage of future

opportunities.

There are two versions of Microsoft Dynamics’ Cloud based offering –

1. Microsoft Dynamics GP (2010)

2. Microsoft Dynamics AX (2012)

We will be describing Microsoft Dynamics AX for the sake of recency

and new module addition & support.

Microsoft Dynamics AX is a unified ERP solution that:

Seamlessly integrates from front to back all of business activities.

Connects to and interacts with customers, vendor partners, and

employees. Keeping all "in the loop" of changes and new

opportunities

Provides powerful and comprehensive functionality to reduce

business setbacks and enhance the ability to see and take

advantage of future business opportunities on the horizon

Microsoft Dynamics AX also helps raise productivity bar by automating

most critical business operations and changing to mold into style and

type of business, helping to ensure the greatest relevant insight. By

creating a user experience modeled around roles and tasks and merged

with familiar productivity applications like Microsoft Office. With

integration between Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft SharePoint

technologies foster a culture of collaboration among customers, vendors

MICROSOFT

DYNAMICS

ADVANTAGE

Microsoft Dynamics

AX is the ERP solution

for enterprises that

provides a purpose-

built foundation across

five industries, along

with comprehensive,

core ERP functionality

for financial, human

resources and

operations

management. It

empowers people in

organization to

anticipate and

embrace change so

your business can

thrive.

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2

and employees. Through integration of customer relationships, financials and supply chain processes

internal and external efficiencies are realized which lower costs and increase performance and revenues.

Microsoft Dynamics AX includes applications for financial management, customer relationship

management, supply chain management, human resource management, project management and

analytics.

Manufacturing. Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP software can be tailored to support the exact needs of

manufacturing business while delivering a low total cost of ownership (TCO). It supports build-to-order,

engineer-to-order and build-to-forecast supply-chain models, across both discrete and batch-process

manufacturing modes. It’s particularly suits mixed-mode manufacturing environments, and since the

acquisition of the eBECS lean modules - you are now fully supported on lean journey.

Globalization. Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP software can help drive global business opportunities as it

supports high transaction rates and thousands of users across multiple sites. With built-in languages,

currencies and legal requirements for more than 30 countries, it can help you make the most of new

business opportunities, whether nationally or internationally

Financial Management. Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP software delivers a range of financial capabilities

that help company consolidate accounts with subsidiaries or distribution centers all over the globe. In

addition to this, employees can access accounting, reporting and detailed analysis at levels appropriate

to their job positions.

Customization. Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP software can be fully customized to help growing business

collaborate more effectively with customers, partners, employees and suppliers. With the MorphX

development environment, developers can make changes by designing, editing, compiling and

debugging, all within a single screen. This all-in-one solution can scale as company grows, too. Use the

functions you need now, and unlock additional capabilities as needs evolve and multiply.

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS AX – SUPPORTED MODULES


INVENTORY CONTROLS Logistics in Microsoft Dynamics AX gives you the flexibility to manage inventory and purchasing

according to your needs, with functionality to support forecasting, classifying, and tracking inventory and

the efficient creation and management of bills of material (BOM). The solution exchanges information

with many other functional areas in the solution including production, master planning, trade, finance,

and CRM, to help ensure a high degree of synergy between logistics and other key areas of your

business.

MANUFACTURING ELEMENTS

Finite and infinite capacity and materials planning

Job scheduling and sequencing

Resource management

Shop floor management

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Work order management with job costing

Product configuration

Quality management

Lean manufacturing

MATERIAL PLANNING By using the information within your company and associated supply chain, Master Planning can help

you optimize production, material planning, and scheduling. Finite material and capacity scheduling can

be performed at the same time so that available capacity, inventory levels, and purchase and

transportation lead times are taken into consideration in your production planning. This helps you plan

purchase, production, and transfer orders more reliably, which can help you optimize your production

flow and provide on-time delivery to your customers.

WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT Warehouse Management in Microsoft Dynamics AX gives you the flexibility and control to help you

optimize your warehouse processes according to your individual requirements. By improving your insight

into your inventory and warehouse management tools, you can be better equipped to increase customer

satisfaction and reduce your costs.


SALES & MARKETING

Sales force and marketing automation

Lead and opportunity management

Telemarketing and telesales

Sales management

Customer self-service portal

Document management

SALES MANAGEMENT Sales Management in Microsoft Dynamics AX is a window into the heart of your sales operations,

providing a detailed view of your sales pipeline. With this solution you can view and analyze the activities

and performance of individuals, teams and your entire sales organization, broken down by your choice

of registered values.

Are your sales teams going to reach their quotas? Why is one region outperforming another? Which

accounts are doing well? Sales Management offers you a set of easy-to-use tools that provide graphical

views of key sales-related information. Opportunity and pipeline management are made easier because

you can achieve an instant overview of your sales and marketing efforts.

Sales Management is closely integrated with the Sales and Marketing in Microsoft Dynamics AX module

to provide efficient collaboration between sales and marketing managers and their teams.

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AR / AP Accounts Receivable

Set up credit parameters and flexible payment terms, and handle prepayments and advanced

payments.

Preauthorize and authorize credit card payments for sales orders.

Calculate interest and generate collection letters

Accounts Payable

Use three-way matching with the ability to set up price variance tolerances.

Support flexible terms, including advanced payment schedules, promissory notes, and multiple

payments.

Use multiple invoice entry options, including separate handling of approved and unapproved

invoices, and matching invoices to physical deliveries.

Calculate interest and generate collection letters.

FIXED ASSETS

Implement transaction reversals, additional asset groups and attributes, and asset adjustment

reason codes.

Quickly update the replacement cost and insured value for selected fixed assets.

Order and receive fixed assets through purchase orders and inventory, and create a new fixed

asset when the packing slip or invoice is posted.

Forecast, monitor, and control the entire life cycle of your fixed assets

GENERAL LEDGER

Post financial information into multiple ledgers, enabling the business to maintain a separate set

of books for reporting purposes, such as tax.

Add flexible year-end procedures for distributing profits by financial dimensions.

Configure multiple and recurring journals with approval and workflow capability.

Book transactions across subsidiaries and eliminate intercompany transactions to consolidate

financials.

Create cash flow forecasts to anticipate cash requirements and liquidity.

INTERNATIONAL

Easily conduct business across geographic borders by supporting multiple languages and

currencies.

Adjust accounts payable, accounts receivable, and general ledger transactions to current

exchange rates.

Expand functionality to comply with country-specific regulations.

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PROJECT ACCOUNTING Project Accounting in Microsoft Dynamics AX is a complete and easy-to-use module that helps you

efficiently manage project accounting across your company with full financial overview and controls and

real-time integration into supply change management and other related modules.

KEY BENEFITS:

Help maintain tighter control of project accounting and drive efficiencies.

Improve cash flow management.

Help improve productivity.

Obtain strategic business insight.

Maintain tighter control of projects

Project Accounting can support the accounting needs of multiple project types such as time and materials

and internal projects such as cost and time projects. By enabling you to deconstruct a large, complex

project into manageable subprojects and providing easy-to-use graphical project family trees, Project

Accounting helps you rapidly identify and address delays and avoid cost overruns.

You can specify different properties for each project task, such as start or end date, capacity load, or the

relationship between tasks. You can also schedule tasks for work center groups or work centers. A Gantt

chart is provided to give you an overview of capacity load.

The solution helps you manage day-to-day administrative financial tasks and anticipate potential delays

by helping you and your employees estimate and record the completion percentage of activities. Your

employees can easily register their working hours on-site or remotely by using the Internet, providing you

with an always-updated view of employee hours spent on a project.


BILL OF MATERIALS

Create BOMs quickly and easily

The graphical BOM designer is a graphical suite used to create and manage BOMs based on Microsoft

drag-and-drop technology. The familiar, user-friendly environment makes it faster and easier to construct

BOMs using a graphical tree structure. The BOM designer displays all levels and components of the

BOM, and you can drag relevant items from the inventory table into the BOM.

The BOM designer also displays the route for the current BOM so you can drag items from the BOM into

the operations on the route where they are to be consumed. This helps to achieve more accurate lead

time calculations when scheduling production in Master Planning for Microsoft Dynamics AX.

Flexible management of BOMs

Logistics gives you an efficient and flexible means of managing BOMs to help ensure you get the most

accurate costing and materials requirements information.

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You can effectively manage 40 BOM levels and accurately calculate consumption of raw materials by

using formulas specific to each component. Price calculations, using cost price, can be performed for

each level of the BOM, giving you accurate and detailed pricing information, which is updated throughout

the solution. You can create multiple BOM versions to provide maximum flexibility, and you can use the

version date of each BOM to control the validity of different versions. You can access and reuse previous

BOM versions anytime.

PRODUCT BUILDER Microsoft AX Product Builder enables your employees, as well as your customers, to configure complex

products via a Microsoft Windows® client or over the Web.

Both your customers and your employees can use the Product Builder to configure customized products

and quickly obtain accurate pricing and delivery dates. Your employees can configure products using the

Product Builder within the Microsoft Axapta client. In combination with Microsoft Axapta Enterprise Portal,

your customers can configure products through your company Web site to match their unique needs.

With Microsoft Axapta Product Builder, your business is open to your customers 24/7.

The Product Builder enables you to create flexible product models which define each product’s

configurable options according to variables such as color, size and materials. Products can then be

configured which match your customers’ individual requirements based on the options provided in the

product models.

When the product has been configured, your customers receive up-to-date pricing and delivery

information based on their choices. Because Product Builder links to other modules within Microsoft

Axapta, updates to products, prices and lead times are automatically reflected throughout the solution

and on your company.


SUPPLY CHAIN KEY FEATURES

Demand forecasting

Intercompany trade

Inventory management

Distribution planning

Procurement management

Vendor self-service portal

Business-to-business trading partner integration

Multi-site warehouse management

Order handling with trade agreements

Item and lot number reservation and tracking

Order promising

RFID-enabled

Distribution planning

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MARKETING AUTOMATION Marketing Automation in Microsoft Dynamics AX gives you the necessary insight to create targeted,

personalized campaigns across all your company’s communication channels.

KEY BENEFITS:

Helps you take advantage of customer knowledge to increase the effectiveness of your marketing

activities.

Easily gather and use customer feedback to build more effective campaigns.

Helps you easily and credibly measure the profitability of campaigns.

Increase the effectiveness of marketing activities

The key to successful direct marketing is to give your contacts the information they need—how and when

they need it. Marketing Automation helps you easily identify the registered customers and prospects that

will respond favorably to your marketing campaigns. You can quickly plan and execute personalized

campaigns by using a campaign window that consolidates all the information and functionality needed to

communicate via direct sales, call centers, e-mail, fax, and the Internet.

Defining and selecting a campaign target group can be both the most difficult and the most important

phase of campaign planning. With Marketing Automation you can segment your target audience into

meaningful profiles to facilitate personalized campaigns targeted at specific customers’ needs. Selection

criteria are based on information stored in the Microsoft Dynamics AX database, and results can be

modified and filtered to meet your exact requirements. You can then save and reuse these selections for

future campaigns.

Campaigns are organized in a hierarchical structure, indicating relationships between different marketing

efforts. To keep the process as simple as possible, one employee has overall responsibility for each

campaign, but numerous employees can be assigned tasks within multiple campaigns.

Easily gather and use customer feedback

You can learn from your customers by using questionnaires in conjunction with your campaigns. Web-

based functionality helps you to interact easily with your customers over the Web, and Web integration

helps make it both faster and easier for customers to respond to your questionnaires. Marketing

Automation can also save Internet responses directly into the Microsoft Dynamics AX database, and this

information is instantly propagated to users.

SALES FORCE AUTOMATION Sales Force Automation in Microsoft Dynamics AX helps you manage your customer relations more

effectively by giving you the insight to help identify your customers’ needs and make optimal sales and

marketing decisions.

KEY BENEFITS:

• Customer and prospect-related data repository helps increase sales force productivity and

effectiveness.

• Easily identify and seize sales opportunities.

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• Companywide overview of all customer and prospect-related interactions, including correspondence,

phone logs, and auto-generated activities.

Increase sales force productivity and effectiveness

Sales Force Automation in Microsoft Dynamics AX is your sales organization’s toolbox, containing the

tools to organize contact information, track opportunities, manage accounts, and establish and monitor

the sales pipeline. Time previously wasted on manual, repetitive administrative tasks can be spent more

productively by taking care of customers and making sales.

By giving your sales teams insight into each of your customers’ needs and purchasing habits, Sales Force

Automation helps manage customer relationships more effectively. You can access and update all

customer, prospect, and vendor information through the business relations window. This presents all

information related to the sales flow, including outstanding sales orders, current offers, activities, forecast

data, and related documents. Using this real-time information, your sales staff can quickly identify up-

selling and cross-selling opportunities and predict future behavior, so you can attract and retain

customers with the highest lifetime value for your company.

A workbook containing day, week, and month planners gives your sales staff an instant overview of all

sales activities with to-do lists and activity details, and helps them work more efficiently. You can view

sales quotations and open orders, or check the calendar for your colleagues. You can also synchronize

appointments, tasks, and contact persons with Microsoft Office Outlook manually or automatically.

Make document handling easier with a document list containing all documents organized by contact

person, sales order, quotation or activity assigned to that business relation. E-mail messages sent from

the contact window of Sales Force Automation are automatically stored in the document management

system of Microsoft Dynamics AX. Documents can be dragged from Microsoft Dynamics AX to an Outlook

e-mail message.

Identify and act on sales opportunities

You can quickly view and manage the sales pipeline from opportunity management to win/loss and

SWOT analyses, helping you identify new opportunities, meet customer demands, and make confident

and accurate decisions based on real-time information.

The quotation functionality helps you make instant quotations based on customer buying history, price

simulations, stock availability, and delivery dates. If the contact receiving the quotation is not already a

customer, the system will automatically create a customer profile, making the information available to the

supply chain when the quotation is converted to a sales order. You can assign a different status to each

quotation, which helps you maintain a complete overview, and use win/loss and SWOT analysis to help

focus future sales efforts. Sales Force Automation can also analyze all sales against a budget or compare

a specific activity with a customer against the revenue of that customer.

When it is integrated with Enterprise Portal, your remote employees and salespeople on the road can

use Sales Force Automation to get contact data, produce quotations, and update company sales

information from remote locations via the Internet. You can even import sales

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prospect contact information from third-party database vendors to help identify opportunities and

proactively initiate contact with customers and prospects. The mailing feature helps you generate and

manage mailings of newsletters, product catalogs, and other material using a selection in the database.

Companywide insight into customers and prospects

Sales Force Automation is integrated with other modules in Microsoft Dynamics AX, giving customer-

facing employees and back-office staff real-time information from other relevant parts of the business, so

every employee can become a customer expert. For example, using Sales Force Automation, employees

can quickly and easily retrieve relevant customer information to help solve customer issues. However,

management can decide how much access each department or individual should have to company

business information. Also, the system can track every contact with the customer, and trace all

transactions.

Back-office staff can use information from the sales process to keep up with demand and limit excess

stocks. You can assign percentage probability values to sales quotations to help make more accurate

and timely sales forecasts. Data from other parts of the system can also be used to alert colleagues to

crucial customer-specific information, such as customers with poor payment records. Use the Note-It

function to insert short notes for other users regarding a business relation, contact person, or quotation.


ALERTS SYSTEM Alerts in Microsoft Dynamics AX helps drive workflow efficiency and empower people to keep a close,

accurate eye on what’s happening across your business. Rather than relying on random e-mail messages

or other on-the-fly processes, people across your organization can quickly and easily create alert rules

that deliver automatic notifications of changes and events that are critical to their jobs. For example, they

can receive notification when a customer record has been created or deleted, when a purchase order

has been open for more than a certain number of days, or when a job is marked as completed.

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND REPORTING • Standard, ad-hoc, and analytical reports with Microsoft® SQL Server® Reporting Services

• RoleTailored, predefi ned, multi-dimensional data cubes

• Dashboard views of key performance indicators (KPIs)

• Integration with Microsoft Office PerformancePointTM Server 2007

COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT • Easily track and manage compliance status and activities using Compliance Center.

• Automate compliance with corporate policies using workflows.

• Help ensure segregation of duties using reports related to access control and workflow.

• Configure the control environment using The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the

Treadway Commission (COSO) framework for internal controls.

• Use the integrated task recorder and document repository to store critical business processes and

controls

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT • Organizational and workforce management

• Recruitment and selection

• Employee development and performance

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• Skills mapping

• Training

• Expense management

• Employee self-service portal

SERVICE MANAGEMENT • Service orders and contracts

• Service calls and dispatching

• Repair management

• Service subscription

SERVICES SUPPORT

Support Options

Service plan benefits range from basic and self-support resources to personalized account management.

Support resources within tiered plans include support calls, unlimited online training, access to a technical

and support portal, access to upgrades and updates, varied levels of support calls, and more. When you

need personalized, one-to-one support, Microsoft Dynamics software support professionals can handle

most requests immediately. And when an on-the-spot solution isn't available, guaranteed response times

help to ensure customer issues are answered promptly.

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BEST CLOUD

BASED ERP

SYSTEMS OF

2012

DELIVERING THE PROMISE

If you are a regular observer of the latest trends and developments in

software technology including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERPs),

chances are you have noticed how some publications and websites

come up with their best lists on a regular basis. It has become the

standard in the industry to review and assess the different kinds of ERPs

that made available to the market. In fact there are some pundits that

see entertainment when ERP giants like Oracle and SAP are pitted

against each other. So, what was expected and how it turned out in year

2012 when it came to ERPs and the trend expected by companies and

the end users? The prime candidates which emerged are given on the

right (See the heading – Great Expectations). We will briefly describe

the expectations below.

SAP

A listing of the top ERP software is never complete without mentioning

SAP. The market is now flooded with up-and-coming ERP providers by

SAP managed to retain its role as an industry leader. The last estimate

is that this software supports more than 35,000 customers that can be

found in more than 100 countries. Surveys that are made yearly suggest

that this software takes a lead when it comes to market share. The

software solution from SAP tackles a wide range of concerns from

accounting to human resources.

Oracle

Oracle is direct competition of SAP and is intent on snaring the lead from

SAP. The latest moves of the software giant that include the acquisition

of PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems allowed for Oracle to position its

GREAT

EXPECTATIONS

At the beginning of

2012, anticipations

were made which

enterprise software

would be industry’s

prime choice for cloud

based ERP

implementations. The

hopes were riding high

on following ERP

systems:

SAP Business

ByDesign

Oracle

Microsoft

Dynamics

Epicor

Infor

Let’s find out if they

stood up to the

promise.

11

2

software well. This software is known for the flexibility it offers to customers.

Microsoft

This is another solid player when it comes to ERP and serves more than 80,000 customers. This ERP

provider offers its end users with the Customer Relations Management software and the business

solutions tools that can help facilitate the flow of communications from one business to the next or from

a business to its captive consumers. If SAP is high end, then Microsoft ERP is packaged just a few levels

below when it comes to cost.

Epicor

Though Epicor may lack the shine that comes with the Oracle, SAP and Microsoft brands, still this ERP

provider delivers when it comes to software that truly works. This software is best known for solutions

when it comes to professional services automation, retail, distribution, manufacturing and even hospital

operations. One of the best advantages in owning the software from Epicor is that this is considered for

its lower total cost of ownership or TCO which can be important for businesses.

Infor

Your ERP software need not be famous for it to work for your business. Just take the case of Infor.

Though not well know, the software provided by the vendor is considered one of the best. Its software is

deemed best for many warehousing processes and in supply chain management.

There are hundreds of vendors out there but you can be sure that only a few mattered for many

companies. What are listed here are the common brands that get to rank consistently well.

RESULTS

When looked at results, it’s nice to find out that the all five of predicted winners maintained their ranks in

Top ERP Service Providers of 2012, although the orders were little unexpected. Here are the top 5 coud-

based ERP service providers of 2012 –

1. Epicor

Epicor currently supports over 20,000 customers in 150 countries. The software they offer is

designed not only to organise, but also to inspire ideas and innovation within your company. All

innovation and improvement is focused on the end goal of improving profitability and the customer

experience which your company offers. With an excellent track record of post-sale support, this

reasonably price ERP solution offers companies the chance to renovate their entire management

systems to create a more profitable business.

2. Infor

Infor is the third most used ERP solution in the world. With over 70,000 customers this is a far

reaching company with a huge influence on the market of ERP solutions. Infor offers a huge range

of ERP solutions which are tailored to fit particular needs; from Workforce Management to

Customer Relations Management. All ERP systems provided by Infor are vertically focused and

priced moderately for the services provided by the software. Infor currently offers services to over

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1,100 government agencies, over 7,000 machinery manufacturers, and over 3,000 financial

service groups.

3. Microsoft

Microsoft is a trusted software provider at all levels and the same can be said for their ERP

solutions. With over 83,000 customers, Microsoft are a well and truly tested company with a very

strong partnership channel. Microsoft offers Customer Relationship Management and Business

Solutions software which concentrate on improving communication channels in both B to B and

B to C directions. The Microsoft ERP software is priced at the lower end of the scale and offers

an excellent range of solutions for the price.

4. Oracle

Oracle ERP solutions are application based and are able to boast over 30 years of experience

and 37,000 customers. Flexibility for your company is a large focus for the Oracle ERP solutions.

Enabling a high number of simultaneous users to access the system and offering a very functional

piece of software which enables your business to focus on profitability and customer service. This

software is priced at the higher end of the range but it offers excellent solutions for a wide range

of businesses.

5. SAP

With more than 35,000 customers in 120 countries, SAP can make an honest claim to be the #1

ERP market share leader. The SAP Business Suite aims to improve the strategic use and

efficiency of your staff and everything through to your finances. This ERP software is priced at

the high end of the spectrum but it offers an experienced and developed range of solutions to

improve your business practices at every level.

FIGURE 5: TOP 5 CLOUD-BASED ERP VENDORS - I

FIGURE 6: TOP 5 CLOUD-BASED ERP VENDORS - II

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