(BY AMT ERP Research Group)
Shortly after RP appears, computer technology encounters the boom of Internet / Intranet and network computing, the internationalization tendency of manufacturing, and manufacturing information technology deepening. These have pushed the development of manufacturing management information systems to a new stage. Among them, the most striking has the following development.
First, the extension of ERP function
1, incorporate PDM function
Product Data Management PDM The data of product design and manufacturing in the company, data and document organizations in different design phases in a unified environment. As computer integration manufacturing CIMS and parallel projects are growing, PDM is more important. CAD and ERP vendors have developed PDM as their own products. In ERP, BAAN has introduced its own PDM product, achieving design data, product configuration, BOM, design document, effectiveness control. Engineering data management in Oracle's Manufacturing 10SC is developing and developing for new companies, which can be applied to enterprises developing and batching production of mixed wires, simplifying the preparation of systems in new products. BPCS's C / S version and SAP R / 3 are directly added to the PDM capabilities, increasing the management, design documentation and management of design data, reduce MRPII's large data management and data preparation work. the amount. The PDM of R / 3 and BAAN can also be connected directly to the CAD software.
2, ERP and EDI integration
Although EDI is a function of many MRPIIs already have. In recent years, the EDI function of ERP has further expanded. (l) ERP integrates EDI within the company. The delivery of business documents (such as plans or orders), which is different from the content, transmission range, or the running computer environment, but it is crossed. ERP connects the originally dispersed EDI and is an important progress in the automation of enterprises. The EDI of the ERP system has functions that communicate with EDI other than the system. Such ERP users can exchange information with non-ERP software users of the company in the same environment. (2) EDI between enterprises. Currently in certain industries, such as automotive manufacturing, EDI feature is critical. The way the auto industry is required to use EDI to implement electronic order and sales starting process between customers or suppliers in the sales and procurement modules.
Because the EDI has a lot of formats, software vendors must support users to support hundreds of different EDI formats, which are highly required. Manufacturing software vendors are in combination with EDI software vendors.
3. Added workflow function
The demand for workflow (Work Flow) is to occur with paperless management and EDI in ERP software. After using EDI, there will be an electronic document (electronic plan file, electronic order, or engineering change file) on the required time, according to the prescribed route to the designated person, and workflow management must be controlled. Workflow management modules have been added in Oracle's Manufacturing 10SC, which is an integrated, rule-based, automatic, and coherent workflow management program. A comprehensive workflow rules guarantee business information related to time, such as approved for the purchase order demand, can automatically transfer to the designated person at the correct time flow. The management of workflows makes the function of ERP to the control of office automation and business processes.
4, increase data warehouse DW and online analysis to process OLAP function
The basic feature of MRPII or ERP software is "online transaction". For senior management of corporate executives, it is difficult to obtain data required to macro decisions when the size of the large-scale and data is complete but "no wonderful", is very difficult. Data warehouse DW and online analysis in the mid-1990s have occurred OLAP technology. The new generation of ERP software immediately puts it in and provides users with an enterprise-level macroeconomic analysis tool. The "Application Data Warehouse Application Data Warehouse" module of the Manufacturing SC10 version is a powerful DW and OLAP technology-based decision support integrated environment. SAP uses its business application interface BAPI to integrate third-party DSS (decision support system) and OLAP software. Information Builder will provide data warehouse software packages for users of R / 3, and Business Objects develops a DSS version for R / 3 integrated queries, reports, and OLAP. 5. Application of customer relationship management
The traditional ERP system focuses on the management of the enterprise background, and lacks system functions that directly face customers. Because traditional companies are just effort to buy material-checket materials, quickly and efficiently produce products, as for which product is more popular, which services are most improving, but there is often no exact answer, only It can be deducted with experience. In the large environment of e-commerce, corporate customers may be scattered around the world, and companies are impossible to make the situation of them, so there must be a system to collect customer information, and analyze and use.
Based on the above background, customer relationship management system, also known as the front desk management system, has become the latest highlights in the ERP market. Generally speaking, the customer relationship management system includes three types of modules for sales, marketing and services. Among them, sales modules have a lot of functions, generated from initial demand, to independent sales, to the final sales staff commission management covers. As long as there is a hand-filled computer, the salesperson can always get production, inventory and order processing, and can operate with any customers anytime, anywhere; the market module is highly placed on the planning and management of market planning and market campaign, let There are countless enterprises; service modules involve all aspects of service, such as service contract management and telephone call center management, etc., ensuring that companies provide quality services.
Second, transfer to the Internet, Web
Since the next 1NTranet will become the choice of many major corporate network construction, use the web client with low cost, installation and maintenance, cross-platform operation, and unified, friendly user interface, plus all database manufacturers support Web technology Make the currently almost all customer / server applications plan to install the front end of the web space to their products. Experts predict that "Web Treatment will fully replace traditional clients". Several large manufacturing software companies Oracle, Salp, and Baan are rushing to "Web" of their MRPII / ERP client / server applications after a rush. There are three ways to use:
(l) Establish bridge technology that enables existing application structures to communicate with the Internet protocol. March 1996 SAP showed its Internet R / 3 software, providing Internet access capabilities for sales, product configuration, inventory and procurement modules. R / 3 enables users to access the R / 3 application packages through the client's Web space, conduct access between enterprises and businesses and customers. Oracle has added the Internet Commerce new module in its Application latest release.
(2) The second is to increase the new Web-based application. Oracle has released the 3 Web Spaces for the Oracle Application for Web, allowing the company's external authorized suppliers, customer or internal authorized staff to remotely remotely through a standard web space Enter the ERP system, complete the input order, supervise shipping, check payment, check the supply agreement, supervision inventory, check the receipt, approval payment status, the test product catalog, etc. SAP has announced that it will introduce Web-based client programs with personnel management, service management, procurement and financial reporting applications with ONE Wave. Another famous ERP software vendor J.D.edward has been selling a financial application suite called One World and is working on a Web front-end for a full application. (3) The third is to rewrite the original application. Application software vendors are busy establishing an application in a network computing environment, making the application's code to be completely suitable for Internet. These companies plan to re-establish their applications in hundreds of Java-based parts (CARTRIDGE) and modules. In an agreement signed in the forever, BAAN has expressed its plan to establish Sun Company's Java and component-based C / S application software. Oracle promised that all softwares before 1997 were Java, and converted the application into a more distributed system through the Oracle network computing structure NCA. Many of Oracle will become a new structure that can be inserted into NCA. J. Dwards plans to deliver all 40,000 components composed of ERP applications within 18 months. SAP has introduced L70 components representing the R / 3 system part.
Public opinion is optimistic about the Internet Calculation method for the web. However, it is very difficult for reconstructed application components to reconstruct application components for the distribution of complicated manufacturing applications and the large application software into small components.
Third, new modular software and specialization software
1, the concept of new "modular" is different from the current "selectable module". Such as SAP's modularization has the following features:
(l) The method of integrating third-party software into ERP is called business application interface (Business Application Programming Interface, BAPI). This is a standardized open interface. With BAPI, users can use the ERP system through the Space, Exchange Email, users can use these software modules to mix with non-ERP software.
(2) Users can update a module separately as needed, and there is no need to enhance a function to fully upgrade the system. Users enhance the functionality of the system with a way one by one module, without having to replace the entire system.
BAPI technology is very significant to the developer of ERP software. From MRPII to ERP, there are more and more system functions, and a software company is so powerful, and it is impossible to develop software including all of the company's professional full management capabilities. It must be capable of attaching third-party software on its core software. More than 30 APIs for SAP's BAPI and Oracle applications enable their software with "unlimited" extension capabilities.
2, professional software. This will change the situation of universal products suitable for all users, while providing software products for special markets for the specific user market. Specialized software does not require user-specific configurations to get available menus, modules, and reports, which can be enabled faster to get more targeted services. Forrester's specialization of this ERP software is called the "vertical market strategy" of ERP. The important movements are:
SAP announced the full supply chain planning software IS for oil and gas industry in the third quarter of 1997. The OI1 system is put into the market. This is an extension and optimization of the R / 3 function, providing aggressive manufacturing, capacity design and production line for the business management of the oil and gas industry to maintain a global price and tax situation and sales and circulation system. Export orders management, transportation planning and processing, and control of various accounts, manufacturing and labor costs. The R / 3 system also has a version plan for telecommunications companies and public welfare departments. Oracle purchased manufacturing software developers Datalogic, on which business will begin to extend business to chemical, energy and consumer packaging products markets. The professional trend of ERP software illustrates the expansion of manufacturing software coverage, so that ERP has come out of manufacturing, in energy, telecommunications and other industries looking for a broader market.
Fourth, ERP software transfer to NT platform
For a long time, high-end manufacturing applications have been ruled for UNIX servers. With the enhancement of desktop processor performance, the price decline, Windows NT has gradually become objects of most enterprise selection servers. As a small and medium-sized enterprise for the customer base for manufacturing software vendors, NT servers can meet the use conditions of their user sites, and are attracted by the low-cost Intel platform running NT, will become the use of NT-based low-cost C / s applications. The main force of the software. In this context, developers of manufacturing applications such as SAP, Oracle, etc., have announced they support Windows NT applications at one end of the server. Those who are positioned on high-end, ERP software with low-cost NT platform will have specially important status in China.
In summary, the current ERP features:
(l) Features, newly added workflows, EDI, DSS and other functions have a common feature that is both ERP-managed objects to expand from internal and external materials, physical and productivity resources to information resources.
(2) The depth of management OLTP is extended from the original production plan and control OLTP to the overwriting office automation, paperless processing, and expands the online analysis of the decision-supported online analysis to process OLAP, transverse to the design and engineering.
(3) The computer environment of ERP transition from the traditional Client / Server environment to the web computing environment with Web and Internet / Intranet.
(4) On the software structure, no longer pursue, but more flexible, actual and orientated users.
(5) ERP software application ranges wide, will cover many areas other than manufacturing.
These development marks ERP to develop to a new stage.
