Intuitive Manufacturing Systems Shows Maturity in Adolescent Age Part One: Company Overview

Quite opposite from playing an April Fool's trick, on April 1, Intuitive Manufacturing Systems (www.intuitivemfg.com), a privately held company offering enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions for small and mid-size manufacturers, announced its ten-year anniversary. Namely, in 1994, the founders of the other ERP vendor PRO:MAN sold all interest in the company and started a new one: Intuitive. Since then, Intuitive has been offering enterprise software for small and midsize discrete manufacturers around the world with the flagship product, Intuitive ERP, which was designed from the ground up with 100 percent pure Microsoft technology and with well-established manufacturing practices in mind. The relative young age of the company has provided an organization and a development environment free from the burdens of supporting unwieldy sets of legacy systems and technologies; nonetheless, the company is founded on a solid foundation with many of its staff having thirty years or so of experience in manufacturing systems.

Intuitive's first product, MRP9000 (renamed into Intuitive ERP in June 2000), was built around the concept that the software should support standard business practices and that the underlying technology should be flexible and affordable. Hence, standard manufacturing and accounting practices such as those prescribed by American Production & Inventory Control Society (APICS) and Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) were the building blocks of the product. The product has since matured into a broad ERP software system designed to manage most aspects of a small and mid-size manufacturing organization. Today, Intuitive has over 900 customers worldwide, in industries ranging from aerospace to bicycle parts, from circuit boards to boat docks. The Intuitive ERP product is also installed in over twenty countries, is available in sixteen languages, is fully multicurrency-enabled, and is supported by a network of direct offices and business partners worldwide.

Yet, Intuitive continues to pragmatically expand its operations and to unveil significant enhancements to its latest product release. Intutive's founder and co-chairman, J. Patrick Carey, had worked in the industry in various sales, service and consulting capacities for over fifteen years before he founded PRO:MAN in 1981, which was a provider of a PICK/UNIX-based manufacturing software system for small and mid-sized manufacturers. In 1994, Carey sold off his interest in the company, but, with his retained knowledge of manufacturing, he established Intuitive Manufacturing Systems.

According to the vendor's CEO Sara Gillam, back in 1994 the management had to decide between the status quo of a maturing UNIX system and putting a Microsoft Windows wrapper/faade around that aging technology, or making the bold step of completely reengineering the product in the Windows environment. The apparent choice was aimed at being on the leading edge of technology in 1994, but also now, ten years later, Intuitive is continuing this vision by deploying the new generation of software technology—Microsoft .NET. The vendor was indeed a member of the official Microsoft .NET Early Adopter Program which began stealthily in the early 2000s. While lately, many competitors are claiming to use so-called "fast start" programs to aid in leveraging .NET technology, Intuitive claims to have been there at the very beginning, at which time it did not see any of these ".NET evangelists" that are present nowadays.

This is Part One of a four-part note.

Parts Two and Three will discuss the market impact.

Part Four will cover challenges and make user recommendations.

Relationship with Microsoft

With headquarters in Kirkland, Washington (US), Intuitive is located only a ten minute drive from Microsoft's main campus, and it continues to enjoy a close relationship that has allowed it to not only discern Microsoft's future moves, but to gain invaluable aid from Microsoft in leveraging its latest technology. For that reason, Intuitive feels very confident that it will be significantly ahead of any other ERP vendor in releasing a pure .NET-based solution.

To that end, after eighteen months of research and development, mid-2001 Intuitive completed a prototype of its Microsoft .NET architectural framework that takes full advantage of .NET, extensible markup language (XML), and the new features of Microsoft SQL Server, and released a plan to convert the entire Intuitive ERP product—meaning every business logic feature, every line of code—to pure .NET technology. With the release of Intuitive ERP 6.0 in December 2002, the second phase of this plan was complete, as it was likely the first ERP product to release several areas of functionality built on a 100 percent Microsoft .NET managed code architecture. Then, in early 2004, Intuitive announced the beta release of Intuitive ERP 7.0, the only enterprise software solution with a pure Microsoft .NET "managed code" (i.e., a new type of software that leverages a new .NET set of tools and prefabricated components) framework and over 50 percent of standard product functionality released in .NET, which has been generally available since March 2004.

This substantial product redesign should allow Intuitive ERP to take advantage of the many new features of the .NET platform, satisfy the industry's e-business requirements, and better position the product to adapt to even more advanced technology in the future. Intuitive is glad to be saying goodbye to the old problems of Component Object Model-based (COM) software that the development world has often referred to as "Dynamic Link Library (DLL) Hell" in the past, owing to objects' sharing, and unfortunate consequent inexplicable conflicts amongst these objects.

Conversely, IT departments will be able to appreciate .NET software by the .NET feature known as "side-by-side", which allows multiple versions of the same application to reside and run on the same computer at the same time. Namely, with .NET, one does not have to uninstall or upgrade an old version of a software product, since the new version can be installed right beside the old one, and the user can run them both until she or he decides to remove the old version. Also, much .NET software can be installed simply by copying files to hard drives, while .NET avoids the Windows Registry and its many inherent problems.

Key Enhancements in Intuitive ERP 7.0

Furthermore, the .NET framework should provide the vendor the ability to develop software with less code in less time (Intuitive claims 40 percent smaller software footprint and 65 percent fewer code lines, based on its own analysis of the released version 6.0.2 versus released version 7.0), which means the system becomes faster, more robust, has fewer bugs, easier to modify, while the vendor can provide innovative new features at a faster pace (multifold, according to Intuitive's product managers) than the competition. To that end, key enhancements found in Intuitive ERP 7.0 include, among others:

* An entire .NET managed code-based sales cycle, from customer relationship management (CRM) to quoting through order entry, picking, shipping, invoicing, accounts receivable, return materials authorization (RMA), and service and repair, which entails a new slick user interface (UI), faster processing speed, and other above-mentioned benefits of .NET managed code. One of the related enhancements is the ability for every user to set the order entry screen according to the preferences, by simply clicking and dragging fields on and off the order entry panel. In addition, users may set up templates for different types of orders, and select a different template with one click, whereby the same click and drag customization facility is being adopted across the entire Intuitive ERP system (of course, in the functional areas that are .NET-enabled).

* A .NET managed code-based "Planner's Workbench", material requirements planning (MRP) engine, available to promise (ATP)/capable to promise (CTP) engine, and sales forecasting modules. A Planner's Workbench provides a planner many of tools to optimize the shop floor in one place and at once, such as

1) graphical display of an item's inventory, including safety stock and surplus, and all activity for that item with drill-down capabilities into those activities;

2) search for inventory problems based on preset parameters (such as., inventory surpluses over certain number of days, critical shortages, etc.), again with drill-down capabilities into actions to resolve those problems; and

3) search for order problems in a similar manner like above (i.e., preset parameters like late raw material deliveries, pending late orders, etc.). Further, the .NET MRP engine obviates the traditional difference between "regenerative" (full-blown) MRP and "net change" MRP, given MRP runs now often take seconds and occasionally minutes, rather than customary several hours.

* Support of rich media files across the .NET-based system, as the user can link an unlimited number of types of media, such as computer-aided design (CAD) files, drawings, video clips, images, quality control (QC) documents and so on to any field in the system (i.e., a specific field in the form for detailed instructions, a specific ID like part number, customer number, or vendor number, an order number, and a combination of these).

* A .NET-based request for quote (RFQ) system, with benefits and features similar to the above-described sales cycle.

* "Cradle to grave" serial number traceability, as users now can create a multilevel bill of serial numbers, in order to maintain complete tracking of which serial number is within which assembly, and where the end assembly was shipped. Afterwards, one can track the warranty and ownership of those parts through the Intuitive Service & Repair module. Users can also designate the level of tracking they would like for each item, while items may be specified as "fully tracked" (i.e., entry required each time this item is transacted), "referenced" (i.e., not tracked though inventory, but included on a bill of serial numbers and/or when shipped as a service part), or "shipment tracked" (i.e., only traced when shipped out).

* .NET-based payroll and human resource (HR) modules, which are the result of the January 21 announcement of a strategic original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnership with Perfect Software, a provider of human resource management systems (HRMS). Intuitive HR is an employee tracking and benefits management system designed to help HR departments manage employee information, simplify employee benefits management, organize and streamline the hiring process, improve employee satisfaction, and analyze HR information for strategic input. Intuitive HR allows users to comply with government requirements by providing reports such as Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO), Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), 1-9 Citizenship Verification, and Veterans reports (VETS-100).

Intuitive Payroll is a payroll system that helps users enter, maintain, process and report on crucial payroll information. Access via a web server allows users to maintain data and process payroll using the Internet anywhere and anytime. The OEM relationship, which Intuitive prefers to pursue in its alliances, should again allow it to provide these features directly to its customers as integrated modules without involving outside vendors.

System-wide enhancements in Version 7.0 include a rich new UI designed to enhance usability and streamline workflow, and a search tool to conveniently find any function. User-customizable entry screens allow users to view and enter information exactly as they would like to see it, and new menu functionality allows each user to create a personalized "My Menu" (which stores the most frequently used menu items) without ever leaving the screen. The pure .NET architecture of Intuitive ERP 7.0 also supposedly enables increased processing speeds, easier system administration and enhanced compatibility and connectivity with other software programs.




SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/intuitive-manufacturing-systems-shows-maturity-in-adolescent-age-part-one-company-overview-17352/

SYSPRO - Awaiting Positive IMPACT From Its Brand Unification Part Two: Market Impact

Last fall, SYSPRO, a privately held global provider of enterprise software for small to medium enterprises (SMEs), with its US headquarters in Costa Mesa, CA (www.syspro.com), announced a new global brand, representing the culmination of more than 18 months of extensive internal market research and preparation. To optimize brand awareness and increase market penetration, the company, SYSPRO and its product, IMPACT Encore, has been branded under the unified SYSPRO name.

SYSPRO belongs to an esteemed group of Tier 2 vendors that have been making Tier 1 vendors' strides of intruding the mid-market not an easy task. At least, the presence of the likes of Syspro, which offer a breadth of products with functionality that is often equal to the upper range of products, but at a much lower cost and implementation effort levels, has forced the bigger brethren to abandon their initially non-flying strategy of selling merely watered-down versions of their flagships products, and to attempt different tacks like the acquisition of an akin product (see SAP Tries Another, Bifurcated Tack At A Small Guy).

While small and midsize manufacturing and distribution entities may indeed covet easier implementations and lower price applications, they will nonetheless settle for less functional software to run their businesses. Also, while mid-market companies incline toward effectively packaged applications that are easy to use, require less skilled resources, and are reasonably low priced, the idea that these companies should settle for a pure-vanilla product rendition has increasingly become a fallacy. Since many Tier 1 applications vendors have increasingly been targeting the same market segment one should expect the bar to be ever raised. Such could be the case of PeopleSoft, which has lately avoided a cookie cutter' implementation approach for SMEs, as each of its mid-market solutions is preconfigured to reduce cost and complexity, but also allows for available extensions based on each customer's need, given the vendor has also developed industry templates for each solution (see PeopleSoft Internationalizes Its Mid-Market Forays).

With its latest moves, SYSPRO seems to have braced itself well for the bigger brethren's onslaught. Although it has been present in the market since 1978, SYSPRO has not been a very vocal and marketing-savvy vendor internationally, but the latest brand unification move may prove that the company is also changing its marketing approach, starting with clearer worldwide prominence and unequivocal identity. Namely, after almost one quarter of century, the vendor has ditched the IMPACT Encore from its name, hoping to build more market recognition exclusively under the common SYSPRO brand This is in addition to extending the scope of its product line to provide a comprehensive extended enterprise and supply chain solution.

This is Part Two of a three-part note.

Part One detailed recent SYSPRO announcements.

Part Three will cover Challenges and make User Recommendations.

Strengths

Despite earlier dual monikers, SYSPRO product is one of the most widely used ERP solutions within the small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs), with over 6,000 customers, rendering it a serious incumbent in the SME discrete manufacturing and distribution market. The vendor has from its early days had a sole focus on the lower-end of the ERP discrete manufacturing and distribution market, which has pragmatic requirements of inexpensive but flexible products, fast and simple implementations, and good service and support. It has additionally achieved good coverage through its indirect channel, which is an important criterion for long-term success in the SME market segment. Not withstanding this, SYSPRO has sites across tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 environments, enabling it to become a potential challenger in both larger and smaller organizations.

SYSPRO has worldwide operations and its software is marketed worldwide through offices in the US, Canada, Africa, Australia and the UK. As a result, its products have been installed in 50 countries, and it continues to offer its products and services through the reseller channel/value added resellers (VARs), which has also expanded during the last few years. The former flagship IMPACT Encore system, has traditionally covered the full spread of modules for single and multi-site manufactures and distributors, including accounting, order processing, inventory management, purchasing, materials requirement planning (MRP) including finite and infinite scheduling, shop floor control, data collection, and payroll (integrated with the ABRA payroll system), with the above-mentioned survey testimonies and common recognition for high levels of customer satisfaction. And, with the release of SYSPRO 6.0's new above-described capabilities in business analytics, workflow, CRM, and advanced planning & scheduling (APS) , the vendor boasts an expanded control beyond the four walls of the factory/warehouse.

SYSPRO functionality is equitably solid in accounting, manufacturing and distribution areas. Although its forte should lie within its manufacturing and distribution modules, by adhering to exacting standards like International Accounting Standards (IAS), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), SYSPRO can often be competitive even for enterprises that would only need the core financial and accounting functionality. The above all-rounder trait often comes as advantageous compared to competitive products that are either mainly strong in accounting (e.g., Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), Softline, BEST Software and ACCPAC) or conversely in manufacturing/distribution (e.g., Lilly Software, QAD, Glovia and ROI Systems).

Although SYSPRO is a comprehensive ERP solution for small- to mid-sized enterprises, the company has for some time been striving to also become a nearly total solution provider of extended-ERP applications. To this end, as mentioned earlier, it has expanded its solutions footprint with SYSPRO 6.0's latest enhancements and nearly 50 modules available (allowing customers to only purchase what they require) throughout the realms of ERP, APS, CRM, warehouse management system (WMS), Business Analytics and Collaborative Commerce, many customers' requirements could be addressed with this product suite.

With a slew of manufacturing capabilities including features for quotations & estimating; master scheduling; finite capacity planning & scheduling; order management; real-time shop floor control; work in progress (WIP), labor performance; cost accounting; lot, serial and warranty tracking; purchasing/receiving; engineering change control (ECC); backflushing; material verification; capacity and material requirements planning (CRP/MRP); returned goods management; vendor approvals; blanket sales orders and purchase orders; and so on, the software is fit to support both short and long production runs in various manufacturing environments. SYSPRO can, therefore, often offer one-stop-shop functionality for many versatile discrete manufacturing environments (i.e., from forecasts driven, repetitive make-to-stock (MTS), made-to-order (MTO), assemble-to-order (ATO), configure-to-order (CTO) to custom job shop, including mixed-mode/hybrid manufacturing), as well as batch process manufacturing in the low-end of the market.

Another important strength against most of its competitors SYSPRO would have is its international nature. Unlike Sage/Best Software, Softline, Exact Software, and Microsoft Business Solutions (MBS), SYSPRO is a single product line that operates on an international basis, whereas many others have multiple product lines through acquisitions, which they pasted together around the world but which, as a rule, are unable to work with one another. Moreover, its strong multi-site and multi-national product capabilities are stronger than those of many locally competitive products (e.g., Made2Manage, Lilly Software, ROI Systems, etc. in North America), which have also resulted in its much more evenly distributed revenue per geographic regions.

Vertical Specialization

SYSPRO's endeavor at some vertical specialization, as seen in its MYS module, is also commendable, although we would like to see many more similar nitty-gritty initiatives specific to multiple other discrete manufacturing industries. The module is specifically designed for suppliers that sell custom-cut materials and that rely on the cutting of shapes and pieces from standard size materials, e.g., sheets, tubes and rods, as part of the manufacturing process. In particular, it is targeted at the Plastics, Metal, Rubber, Paper and Lumber industries that need to maximize yields, minimize waste and, where possible, return remnants to inventory. Rather than purchasing standard size items, customers would preferably order materials that are cut to specific measurements. However, custom cutting typically leads to the creation of remnants (off-cuts) during the cutting process, which many suppliers consider as waste, since they cannot justify the time and cumbersome effort necessary to physically measure, value and assign inventory numbers for their return to stock. The MYS module elegantly takes care of the above producers' conundrums.

Although not evident from its historically low-profile international marketing, SYSPRO has developed extended functionality for a number of specific industries in addition to the Plastics and Metal, including Equipment /Machinery, Food, Automotive, Electronics and Hi-tech, Medical devices, Pharmaceuticals, Consumer Packaged Goods and Wholesale Distribution.

Additionally, on a more general note, the SYSPRO product excels at plant-level APS functionality going beyond all-too-common Gantt charts/schedules into the ability to split jobs in two, or to split them between multiple work centers, all with the aim of optimally fulfilling the customer's order. Further, contrary to most peer vendors, which have largely started their ERP applications' expertise in the manufacturing space, SYSPRO has also concurrently established a strong presence and functionality in the distribution field. With its extensive financial and accounting functionality, fully integrated with its own manufacturing and distribution systems, Syspro provides a product that also fits the needs of wholesale distributors, industrial distributors, over-the-counter operations, and retailers.

While traditional accounting and/or ERP vendors have always afforded some degree of distribution functionality via their Order Entry, Inventory Control, and/or Purchase Order modules, not many can yet natively provide more advanced WMS capabilities such as radio frequency (RF) support for remote communication and bar coding, and the ability to track product as it wends its way from shop/warehouse floor to customer sites. Its timely focus on distribution/supply chain execution (SCE) has seemingly been fortuitous particularly these days, since it remains a fertile enterprise applications area where companies still have ample opportunity to improve the dreadful practices of warehouse employees scurrying around with clipboards and pick lists, while its deployments are at the same time less time-consuming and more oriented towards return on investment (ROI), particularly if its deployment does not require multiple rounds of training.

To illustrate some of its distribution capabilities, SYSPRO enables order-lines to be split into partial shipments to meet delivery schedules for just-in-time (JIT) customers, while the Return Material Authorization (RMA) module automatically creates repair work orders if necessary, calculates associated return charges (such as a restocking fee), and facilitates a replacement cross-shipment, even allowing for inter-warehouse transfers.

Further, the Return to Vendor (RTV) module enables a company to control the return and exchange of items purchased from suppliers with visibility and tracking through the conclusion of the transaction. The module also interfaces with the above RMA module to facilitate the return of parts from customers back to the original supplier, and it integrates with many other modules, including Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Inventory Control, and Purchase Order Management. The RTV module removes any items to be returned to a vendor from available stock and holds them in a review area pending negotiations for the return, and, in addition, the module allows for credit notes and replacement items. It also tracks the costs of items not replaced, handles stocked and non-stocked items and retains an unlimited history of all RTV transactions. Finally, the RTV module issues return documents and creates purchase orders for expected replacement items.

Moreover, the Goods in Transit module provides an audited, documented approach to tracking product in mid-shipment (i.e., still on the truck), while the USA Shipping System automates the entire shipping process, from the packing of items, to carrier selection, to transit times. The system menu is divided into key components that guide users in setting up a shipment. The Setup component provides options for carriers, shipping zones, rates and defaults, while the Processing component details various packing choices, carrier selections, including "best way," and freight calculations, and the Reports component lets the user define the format of the Bill of Lading document, including number of shipments and customers covered. Up to date shipping rates and electronic scale interface ensure the accuracy of shipping charges, enabling intelligent estimates to be provided customers during order entry.

Since the system automatically updates the sales order module with shipping charges and tracking numbers, data entry is reduced, and the chance for human error is lessened. In addition to providing the most current shipping rates from carriers such as FedEx, UPS or Airborne, the system also caters to manually-entered rates. Consequently, SYSPRO's native integration should allow a distributor to make sure the product is in stock before committing it to a 20-line-item sales order for, e.g., a kitting set. As a result, its offering would be in the same league with Lilly Software, IBS, Adonix, ACCPAC and Frontstep, with varying competitive edge in platform/middleware standards support, multi-national capabilities and/or geographic coverage, but often therefore making it often competitive even with the likes of Intentia, J.D. Edwards, SSA GT, Oracle, and SAP. The fact that SAP and Oracle have released some of the above functionalities only very recently should point out SYSPRO's head start in the area compared to its like brethren.



SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/syspro---awaiting-positive-impact-from-its-brand-unification-part-two-market-impact-16902/

Program Testing Methodology Part Two: Running Tests and Getting Approval

Before any system can be completely implemented on a production computer, analysts and programmers working on the system must be able to unequivocally state that the programs work exactly as they were designed to work and that any errors or mistakes found in data processed by the system will be handled properly. Programming testing methodology should accommodate any scheduling slippage that may result from the test results. Once testing and data parameters have been determined testing can begin. After link or string testing; system testing; and backup and restart testing have been conducted with confidence, approval from management and users should be sought.

This is Part Two of a two-part note.

Part One discussed the roles of programmers and analysts during testing; how to test individual programs; and what type of test data should be created to ensure a successful system implementation.

Part Two will discuss the modes of testing and management and user approval.

Link or String Testing

After the individual programs have been tested using data designed by the programmer, the programs within the system which depend upon one another must be tested together. This is called link or string testing. For example, in a system with an edit and an update program, the output of the edit program must be properly formatted and contain the correct data to input to the update program. The programmer who wrote the edit program may not be the same programmer who wrote the update program. Therefore, there may be some discrepancy between the format in which the data is created in the edit program and the format in which the data is expected in the update program. The series of programs must be tested together.

Another reason for testing the series of programs is to ensure that the job stream is correct. In computer systems there is the operating system, and the features and functions of the operating system must be invoked through the use of the job stream. The job stream consists of those job control statements which are necessary to invoke the proper programs to be processed, to define the files to be created and processed, and to designate the devices which are to be used for the files. If files are defined incorrectly or programs are called improperly, the system will not function in the specified manner; therefore, the testing of the job stream is as important as the testing of the programs within the system.

The data which is used in string or link testing should be developed by the systems analyst. This data should include data which will test certain conditions which may not have occurred in program testing. For example, three programs may process a certain field and the data in this field is accumulated in the three programs. Although each program may be able to process a maximum size for the field, the accumulation in the three programs may cause the field to be too small in the last program. When the programs were tested individually, each programmer allowed the proper size field but when the actual processing takes place, the field size may have been improperly specified by the analyst. It must always be noted that not only is each program being tested by the string testing, but the system itself is being tested, and all of the specifications developed by the analyst, are also being tested. Therefore, data must be developed which not only tests the programs but also tests the specifications for the system which were designed by the analyst.

It is very important for the analyst to define what is to be tested during any given test run. It is inefficient and error-prone to attempt to test everything on the first test run. Therefore, the analyst should specifically designate portions of the system to be tested on each "pass" through the related programs within the system. It may be necessary to design 1020 "passes" through the system in order to adequately test each operation, each file definition and size, and all the other variances which can be found in data and in the processing.

The testing procedure should run from the normal to the abnormal. That is, the first tests of the related programs within the system will process test data which represents those cases which occur most often within the system and present no abnormal situations. For example, in a payroll system, the first data tested may be for employees that work a standard forty hour week with no overtime and with standard deductions. When this data is tested properly, the analyst should then mix this data with data which includes overtime and test the overtime routines. The analyst should then switch to test data which has some invalid times in the transaction input to be sure that this data is processed correctly.

System Testing

After the link or string testing is completed, the entire system must be run through a new series of tests. In these "systems tests", the entire system should be tested beginning with the preparation of on-line transactions running all of the processing programs within the system, and generating output from the tests. The main objectives of the systems test are as follows:

1. To perform a final test of the programs against the original programming specifications.

2. To ensure that the computer operations staff has adequate documentation and instructions to operate the system properly on the computer and properly handle the incoming and outgoing data from the system.

3. To ensure that the user departments are able to properly enter data into the system and to properly disburse and use the output information.

4. To ensure that the "flow" of the system works properly, that is, the channels for the delivery of information from the user or other departments are established, the input data moves smoothly from the point where it is received through its preparation for use on the computer, and the output data is properly handled to allow for its distribution to the user departments.

As can be seen from the objectives of the system testing, more than just the testing of computer programs is involved, and, additionally, more personnel and departments are involved than just the Information Systems Department. Because of this, there are a number of elements which must be considered by the systems analyst, including the following:

1. A determination must be made concerning what constitutes a satisfactory performance of the system. That is, at what point can the system be declared ready to go into production.

2. The methods of evaluation must be determined, that is, how is the performance of the system to be measured.

3. The different "cases" to be tested must be determined by the analyst and the data to test these cases must be designed and prepared.

4. The tests must be scheduled, both in the Information Systems Department and in conjunction with the user departments which may take part in the tests.

5. All efforts in terms of data preparation, scheduling, and evaluation must be coordinated so that the testing takes place on schedule and both the data processing department and the user departments can make accurate determinations concerning the readiness.

During systems testing, the test data should be designed by the analyst exclusively to satisfy the objectives of the systems testing. After all of the testing has been satisfactorily completed, however, it may prove useful to run several complete systems tests using live data, that is, data which has been previously processed through the currently existing system.

System testing is one of the most important steps in ensuring that a reliable system is being placed in production yet is often one of the most neglected areas in testing a system. The primary reason it is neglected is that it is the last step before system implementation. Therefore, if any schedule slippage has occurred, it is likely that the system is behind schedule when systems testing is to take place and, to try to meet the schedule, systems testing is quickly performed, if at all. This can be a mistake because it means the complete system has not been adequately tested and, therefore, any errors which are in the system will not be found until it is actually in production. Thus, it is imperative that complete systems testing be performed, even if it means the system will not be implemented exactly on schedule.



SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/program-testing-methodology-part-two-running-tests-and-getting-approval-17438/

'Collaborative Commerce': ERP, CRM, e-Proc, and SCM Unite! A Series Study: Baan and Parent Company, Invensys

In the early 90's, ERP came of age. Everyone had to have the functionality ERP packages promised. Since then, as Web and Internet technologies have matured, CRM on the front end, and e-Procurement and Supply Chain Management on the back end, these packages have come into their own.

Now in 2001, the catchphrase is "Collaborative Commerce," where we unite all of the above elements into one coherent system within and between organizations. This is the Big Kahuna, the zero latency, fully transparent, 360 degree exposure that is the stuff systems integrators dream of. Is it here? Are the technologies mature enough? Simple enough? In this part of the series, we take a look at the effort Baan and its new parent company, Invensys, are making in the push.

This, the third of a series of articles on Collaborative Commerce (C-Commerce) takes a look at the effort Baan and its new parent company, Invensys, are making in the push.

The first examined what it is and can be.

The second looked at J.D. Edwards.

A Look at Baan and Invensys

During much of 2000, in a series of TEC articles written by P. J. Jakovljevic, we all got the sense that Baan was in serious trouble. Mr. Jakovljevic noted that Europe's number two ERP vendor had been encountering sagging revenues and experienced seven quarterly losses in a row, all stemming from a seeming inability to properly digest and synthesize the corporate acquisitions it had made in the previous several years. These acquisitions were: Berclain, a Supply Chain Management (SCM) vendor, 1996; Beologic, a product configurator vendor, 1997, Aurum Software, a Sales Force Automation (SFA) vendor, 1997, and Caps Logistics, a transportation and distribution planning and management vendor, 1998. For more info see Baan - What Will The Future In Invensys' Stable Bring? Part 1: About Baan.

Mr. Jakovljevic particularly noted Baan's acquisition of Aurum, and suggested that if it wanted to survive as an independent ERP and e-Business force, or if it were to position itself for a takeover, it would be best to, among other things, divest itself of Aurum and its holdings (only at that stage when they did not have an imminent buyer!). With both the CEO and CFO of Baan gone in abrupt resignations, it seemed that Baan had some critical strategic thinking and moving to do to turn the ship around.

Note: You can access these articles by doing a search on "Baan".

Invensys Sweeps in and Clears out the Cobwebs

Invensys plc, long focused on automation and controls for manufacturing and industrial companies, made a surprising cash offer for Baan in June 2000. With what they were calling a 'Sensor to Boardroom' move, Invensys envisioned being the provisioner of automation and productivity tools from "web site to factory floor." They established a new division called ISS (Invensys Software and Systems), swept Baan under their arm, and started running at full tilt to show the world how they could bring the Baan and Invensys universes together.

Strategic Decisions and Acquisitions

Both Baan and Invensys moved quickly. Baan made a couple of moves around the same time as the takeover bid was happening: they negotiated a strategic alliance with Seagate Software (now known as Crystal Decisions) to make that company's Seagate Info their enterprise reporting solution, and they established a reseller and development alliance agreement with Top Tier, a maker of Enterprise Integration Portal (EIP) software.

In August 2000, Robert Karulf was named to lead a new CRM division, to be based in Golden, Colorado. Bruce Henderson, division chief executive of ISS, noted: "Mr. Karulf's appointment demonstrates Invensys' commitment to growing the customer relationship management (CRM) segment of Baan's e-enterprise business." Baan's president, Laurens van der Tang, said, "This appointment creates a dedicated CRM business unit that sharpens our focus on this important e-business market segment. We continue to be committed to delivering integrated enterprise solutions from front office to back office."

Additional moves in the ensuing months solidified the notion that Baan was in the C-Commerce game. In November 2000, Baan announced the establishment of a strategic partnership with Business Objects for E-Business Intelligence (management reporting and decision support tools).

In January 2001, Baan unveiled a suite of products, called iBaan, which is fully web-based across the entire integrated Baan. They released iBaan OpenWorld 2.0, including a new XML-based framework as "the embedded integration technology for its new generation iBaan suite of Internet-enabled value web collaboration solutions." The suite includes multiple components, with the aim of delivering Business Object Interfaces (BOI's) to integrate Baan solutions with 3rd-party solutions via graphical data mapping.

They established iBaan Portal, designed to provide employees with customized views of Enterprise-specific, web-based information. They also announced a new suite called iBaan Collaboration, a set of Internet-enabled tools designed to support "rapid configuration of open, flexible components to support emerging collaborative commerce business models." Pre-designed "collaboration templates" focus on collaboration efforts in the Supply Chain and Logistics spaces.

In February 2001, Baan added iBaan E-Service Remote, a web-based solution that enables a company's field force with the ability to document field actions and results on a laptop, PDA, or desktop computer for later synching with the main database.

The Vision

Baan is now iBaan, fully focused on the Internet via Portals and web technologies, across CRM, ERP, and SCM spaces. Every product has been renamed with a leading 'i'. The list includes:

* iBaan Sales - Including ERP, Product Configurator and Pricing Modeler, Sales, and Marketing pieces

* iBaan Procurement - Including ERP and E-Procurement modules

* iBaan Planning - Including ERP and SCM pieces iBaan Distribution

* iBaan Finance

* iBaan Service - including multi-channel contact center, a knowledge base, the ability to accept, track, and intelligently route service requests, and iBaan E-Service Remote, as mentioned above.

In addition:

* iBaan Portal - Enterprise portal for corporate information for employees

* iBaan Business Intelligence - Including "Enterprise Reporting" from Crystal Decisions and "Tactical" Reporting from Business Objects.

Not to be left out of the mix are the pieces that support the outside world; to help the universe of third-parties work in tandem with Baan (or should I say, iBaan):

* iBaan B2B Server - XML and Document Repository. Can either be used EDI-style (like a mailbox where messages are stored between partners), or in "push" or "pull" mode for information sharing;

* iBaan Collaboration - Streamlined application links along the Demand and Supply Chain

* iBaan OpenWorld - Business process and application integration levels of inter-communication.

How Complete The Vision?

What seems to have happened is that Baan, more than anything, has been organized and motivated by Invensys to "go for it," to go for the half-vision they were trying to promulgate in the press and the industry through the half-hearted and not-so-warmly received product rollout of Baan FrontOffice. It's quite possible that the top guard were, themselves, unsure of stepping beyond the safety net of Baan's stronghold in ERP. But Tender Feet were shown the door, and Men Who Walk Over Hot Coals came in with the Invensys wind. Refocused, re-energized, and going for the 'Net. (see, Baan Achieves A Speedy Recovery Despite The Tough Times).

Now, that's all well and good. But the add-on products are not fundamentally changed from what they were a year ago. Baan still has Aurum at the core of their Sales Force Automation pieces, Apropos Technologies at the core of their customer service and support offerings, a fairly weak, non-real-time field force solution, Berclain at the heart of their SCM tools, and not one but two Business Intelligence tools from two different vendors, Crystal Decisions and Business Objects. TEC doesn't sense that all systems are assimilated into Baan R&D hands and are being given equal treatment. And, still no native HR/payroll solution, a surprising and lasting gap in their product line that prevents them from stamping the "One Stop Shop" logo on their iBaan suite.

We applaud, however, their aggressive move to allow third-parties to come to the iBaan show through iBaan B2B Server, Collaboration, and OpenWorld. These pieces are welcome and necessary in the C-Commerce world of interconnectivity. See, It Is Possible - SAP And Baan Strange Bedfellows.



SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/collaborative-commerce-erp-crm-e-proc-and-scm-unite-a-series-study-baan-and-parent-company-invensys-16474/

Enter Enterprise Incentive Management and Incentive Compensation Management

Companies with large sales forces, huge product portfolios, and complex incentive plans with many variables need to offer variable pay based on individual or corporate performance. This need creates opportunities for a new enterprise software category called enterprise incentive management (EIM) or incentive compensation management (ICM), which should provide managers with decision support tools to model various compensation scenarios, measure the impact of those plans on sales performance, and effectively communicate incentive compensation objectives to the selling organization.

Part Four of the series Thou Shalt Motivate and Reward Workforce Better.

For a comprehensive background discussion of incentives and compensation, see Thou Shalt Motivate and Reward Workforce Better, Are Sales Incentives Even in tune with the Corporate Strategy?, and What Makes Incentives and Compensation So Tricky?.

Best-of-breed players like Callidus Software, Centive (formerly Incentive Systems), Incentive Technology Corporation (ITC), which is the recent spin-off from Centive which continues to sell the former Centive's CompCentral on-premise software), Oracle, SAP, Practique Associates, and one of the first companies in this market, Synygy, all provide EIM or ICM solutions. By and large, they enable powerful, flexible ICM by automating many of the major tasks related to sales compensation:

* modeling compensation plans from strategy to execution
* processing and calculating incentive compensation, from sales transaction to accounts payable (A/P) system integration
* maintaining multiple levels of reporting hierarchies, for complete organizational support
* effective dating applied to all major compensation plan components, for flexibility and change management
* supporting business units running on different fiscal calendars and in different currencies
* automating dispute resolution, providing for easy entry, research, and communication of compensation-related disputes

In general, insurance, health care, financial services, and certain manufacturing companies (such as high tech) are prime users of full-blown EIM solutions. Large enterprises with several hundred sales employees use these systems to model, set up, administer, analyze, and report on incentive management plans that compensate employees and distribution channel partners for the achievement of targeted quantitative and qualitative objectives, such as sales quotas, product and territory milestones, and customer satisfaction. That's to say that these software products enable companies to access applicable transaction data; allocate compensation credit to appropriate employees and business partners; determine relevant compensation measurements, payment amounts and timing; and accurately report on compensation results. Furthermore, additional analytics software allows customers to analyze the effectiveness of their incentive programs, which in turn gives them insights into driving greater sales performance. By facilitating effective management of complex incentive and sales performance programs, such products should allow customers to increase sales revenue, make better use of their incentive budget, and drive productivity improvements.

In other words, automating incentive management should not just enable businesses to pay workers more accurately; they also make user companies more accountable, by providing them with better modeling and reporting (so they can react to changing dynamics and improve relationships with their employees). As a result, some EIM providers have lately been drifting away from simply providing big, calculating, number-crunching solutions that help user enterprises pay their employees right, and are rather trying (more in tune with the performance management space) to help companies align strategic company objectives with sales execution. This way, they can be regarded as the execution platform for business performance management (BPM) and corporate performance management (CPM) (see Financial Reporting, Planning, and Budgeting as Necessary Pieces of EPM). Naturally, the focus for EIM is on all customer-facing roles that may have an impact on revenues. Initially used, therefore, for sales force compensation, EIM applications are also finding traction in call centers; in financial institutions for bank tellers involved in cross-selling and up-selling; and in retail situations where employee compensation is tied to store productivity and profitability.

As for a simplified description of how an EIM suite works: one starts by configuring the software to model the internal rules and structure of the user enterprise's commission and bonus programs. The software then imports sales and other performance data from a company's enterprise resource planning (ERP) or back-office system (meaning the sales and service order management and human resources [HR] modules), and calculates the commissions, whereupon it feeds the payment data back into the company's payroll system. Along the way, the software generates reports for managers which can also be used in audits to catch errors and cheating attempts, which is especially important in environments where one of the biggest expense items is cost of sales.

In addition to these policing capabilities (which are not to be sneezed atcompanies keep missing their earnings because they cannot audit their compensations), managers can also use the applications more strategically, to model changes to their incentive-pay programs, for instance, so that they can better understand the financial effect of new rules before instituting them. Business users, without needing to be at the mercy of the information technology (IT) department and nerdy programmers, should be able to leverage intuitive graphical user interfaces (GUIs) with all-too-familiar drop-down menus and check boxes, in order to quickly implement any business rule changesof course after verifying the potential outcome before the payment even takes place.

EIM Constituencies

Naturally, many different organizational parts are affected by and are in need of EIM, starting with top or executive management. In fact, two critical concerns of corporate executives are

1. delivering consistent and predictable financial results; and
2. ensuring customer satisfaction.

Furthermore, to continually succeed, it is imperative that executives stay abreast of market conditions and adjust strategic business objectives when necessary. Executives must operate their businesses nimbly enough to shift from one major initiative to the next within a very short time frame. Whether the key initiative is revenue growth, driving a competitor out of the market, reducing discounts, expanding internationally, or introducing a new product line, EIM systems can play a crucial role in aligning the actions of the entire company and its partners with overarching corporate objectives.

Regarding EIM programs, executives have traditionally faced various concerns:

Limited ability to align compensation programs and strategic direction
Traditional manual and spreadsheet-based processes make it difficult to figure out how to motivate sales to execute on simple elements of corporate strategy (such as "sell more product XYZ").

Limited predictive impact analysis
Predictive analysis is necessary to forecast the impact of new or modified plans, for instance. Aggravating the problem is lack of access to historical performance data; consolidating prior period spreadsheet data is time-consuming, and often difficult to organize for any meaningful analysis. Executives are thus forced to create and modify incentive plans based on mere hunches, as opposed to a fact-based forecast of financial impact.

From a financial manager's standpoint, incentive compensation represents a significant line item in the budget. Finance staff (and ultimately the chief financial officer [CFO]) are responsible for accurately accounting for variable compensation costs, especially those associated with sales incentive management. Compliance with the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) dictates that organizations accurately and properly account for payments made to individuals based on transactions (a product sale, for example). Given the overall fiduciary responsibility that organizations are exercising, the following business issues clearly need to be resolved:

Unacceptably high levels of overpayment
Finance departments not only need to account for the disbursement of funds, but also need to identify errors and inaccuracies. Spreadsheets and in-house systems do not allow for easy analysis of incentive plan payouts, making it extremely difficult to identify potential discrepancies.

The need for more reliable testing and modeling tools
Finance departments are particularly concerned with cost-effectiveness and return on investment for incentive-based compensation programs; without tools to analyze and predict the cost-effectiveness and value-add of proposed plans, they are subject (like their executive counterparts) to "hit and miss" management of incentive-based pay budgets.

Cumbersome and error-prone accounting and auditing
Spreadsheet systems (to say nothing of manual systems) do not lend themselves to easy tracking, resulting in a difficult and time-consuming auditing process.

Sales executives and management, who require tools for creating and changing incentive compensation plans, are also driven to EIM solutions by various factors:

Lack of "operational agility"
Sales management teams have traditionally been limited to an annual plan modification policy, whereby they cannot make on-the-fly changes to existing incentive plans as dictated by market conditions, new product introductions, sales promotions, or corporate strategy shifts.

A shortage of timely data about plan effectiveness, employee performance, and financial impact
Compensation plan data needs to be consolidated in a format conducive to analysis (to properly understand the effect of compensation plans on staff behavior and to develop more effective plans). Management requires analysis and reporting tools that facilitate accurate, timely, and straightforward examination of incentive plan data; this information is required via a mechanism that can be accessed anytime, anywhere (the Internet).

Difficulty in managing commission pay disputes
Traditionally, sales management has to comb through spreadsheets for exact transactions, conduct follow-up analysis and fact checking, check accounts and inventory, and verify records before a resolution can be made. There is thus an acute need for a more efficient pay dispute resolution process to reduce administrative time, and maximize time spent on revenue-generating activities.

Compensation administrators are responsible for the calculation of the incentive compensation payments that go out to the sales force and partner channels, and while working extremely long hours ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of those payments, they must field frequent (and often irate) inquiries from the people they're compensating. As the last line of defense between compensation plan design, and implementation of those compensation plans in a system to calculate payments, they face some key EIM difficulties:

Limited ability to implement management's desired compensation plans
Without the flexibility to support whatever compensation plans are right for the business (the plans executive management wants, and that are appropriate for overall business strategy), compensation administrators are forced to do manual calculations, or to rely heavily on overbooked IT staff to code around system limitations.

Limited ability to query or access all aspects of compensation results
Compensation results include payments, quota performance, sales credits, or performance measures; manual adjustments also need to be made, when necessary. In many cases, while questioning their payments and other aspects of incentive compensation (and then placing calls and sending e-mails to the compensation administration group), the sales representative or channel manager catches an error that needs to be manually corrected by the compensation administrator.

IT Has To Make It Work

Last but not least, IT departments are often the unseen victims of manual incentive management processes, since they are after all responsible for building custom integrations between various transactional, payroll, order management, inventory, and other systems to facilitate the data integration that feeds incentive management systems. They also then have to generate the formulas that spreadsheets execute, and make the modifications desired by the sales and finance departments. Needless to say, almost everyone turns to IT when they need "a quick report run" (while we all know that creating custom reports and performing custom data extraction tasks to support incentive compensation management is time-consuming and cost-intensive), and the workload can be staggering.

In addition to strained resources (the eternal mandate to do more with fewer resources), the key EIM issue for IT includes non-IT-related workload. Namely, in many cases, IT staff is called upon to create reports and gather required data for executives, finance teams, and sales organizations, although these service-asking users should be self-sufficient (and should themselves be compensation analysts, instead of leaving that job to IT staffers). Consequently, IT staffers are taken away from IT's core function: maintaining business systems, maximizing the value of technology within the organization, and streamlining efficiencies through innovation.

Logically, given the many types of users in the system, each type requires characteristic dashboards or user interfaces. For example, salespersons should be able to log into their dashboard and see exactly where they stand (in terms of their objectives and goal attainment) this period, this quarter, or this yearor if there are any escalations. They can thereby see commissions earned to date, attainment against quota targets, and even their ranking against peers. And the dashboards should be interactive, since sales representatives might have to drill down to transaction-level detail to see exactly how their commissions were calculated. If they should perceive a problem or have a question, they should then be able to send messages to their manager or the compensation administrator, and track progress as the issue is resolved.


SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/enter-enterprise-incentive-management-and-incentive-compensation-management-18830/

INFIMACS Becoming Ever More RELEVANT For Project-Based Industries. Part 1: Recent Developments

On September 26, as a result of partnering with its build-to-order, discrete manufacturing and maintenance organization customers, Relevant Business Systems, (www.relevant.com) a privately held ERP vendor for small to medium discrete complex manufacturing companies, has enhanced its INFIMACS II ERP Business Planning module by providing all of the functions required to prepare forecasts for products, create master production schedules (MPS) and evaluate the impact of the MPS on company resources, using rough-cut capacity planning (RCCP). Several MPS runs may be executed and saved without impacting the rest of the database, allowing users to consider alternatives, review what-if impacts and select the most appropriate production plan.

According to the company, INFIMACS II Business Planning also provides a sophisticated resource requirements planning (RRP) tool. Manufacturing resources, such as parts, labor, machine time, cash flow and maintenance hours, can be identified and entered into the system. To check capacity constraints, INFIMACS II compares this resource plan with the production plan to illustrate the projected load that a given MPS will place on the organization. If this rough cut indicates that resources do not exist to meet the MPS being tested, the user may fine-tune the MPS to bring the available resources into balance with production demands.

Furthermore, production planning can incorporate multiple forecasts, such as marketing and sales, spares and statistical trends, to streamline the process of moving from department forecasts to an overall production forecast. For increased flexibility, demand forecasts can be entered manually or developed by the system based on the statistical analysis of a part's usage history. When developed statistically, the user can specify whether the forecast anticipates actual demand level by period or a set monthly rate. In either case, the user defines a review horizon and time increment.

This is the last of a slew of enhancements Relevant has introduced to its flagship INFIMACS (Integrated Financial & Manufacturing Control System) product in the period over the last 12 months.

Note:
This is Part One of a two-part note on developments at Relevant Business Systems. Part Two will discuss the Market Impact and make User Recommendations.

Recent Product Enhancements

Unlike with most applications vendors, Relevant has not consolidated the product enhancements into a formal major product release schedule. Instead, as new functionality is added to the product, customers have immediate access to the upgrades. Some of more notable recent product enhancements are:

* In-depth Estimating Management - Users can generate estimates for new or existing products, customize estimates for customers or prospects or for internal use only, convert estimates to orders and/or quotes, convert prospects to customers and extract data in various reports and queries.

* AutoCAD parts and bills of materials (BOMs) transfer into the ERP creating the standard item master and BOM records within the INFIMACS database - The interface also allows AutoCAD 14 and AutoCAD 2000 users to input INFIMACS' information within AutoCAD drawings; users can also create a purchasing item master, validate all incoming data and generate messages in the error log, as the transfer process enforces strict quality control checks and balances.

* Automatic generation of vendor request for quotations (RFQs) from requisitions/estimates for direct material, indirect material and service items - RFQs are then processed through a cycle that includes vendor selection, price approval and purchase order creation.

* Increased customer dialogue by administering service calls - Users can add, maintain and track the status and severity of service requests made via phone, email, fax, web entry or any other means of contact; they can define service procedures, assign staff and manage workloads.

* On-line documents management/control - Users can attach electronic documents in any standard format to records or menus in the ERP system; they can also add reference items to BOMs, attach objects to records or programs, and attach their own help items to INFIMACS fields and menus.

* Serial number (tail) effectivity for the aircraft/aerospace industry - Within INFIMACS II, a table carries information on each serial or tail number for each item used, including the original date the serial or tail number was added, received or stocked, as well as item information, such as the original vendor lot number, inventory quantities, weighted average costs and the last inventory adjustment date.

* Component tracking by illustrated parts list (IPL) for aircraft and related maintenance organizations - Advanced MRO module quickly pulls together the unique BOM (IPL) needed for any particular job, even though on-condition repairs cannot be determined until after a technician review specifies the required labor and material; users can maintain information generated about the returned item from the initial receipt of the part through quoting, repair, shipping and invoicing.

* Returned items information from receipt to invoicing for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organizations - Users can use advanced MRO module to track work orders, purchase orders, sales orders, inventory, approvals such as FAA airworthiness Form 8130, and costs by both project item and condition code; the module maintains a capabilities file by item number that automatically determines if the user is allowed to perform the work which needs to be done, assuring the shop only undertakes repairs on items for which it is certified.

Partnerships

Concurrently with the above in-house product enhancements, Relevant has been forming partnerships with complementary solution providers, the most prominent been:

* Interface to Abra Payroll System from Best Software

* Interface to Best Software's FAS Fixed Asset Accounting System

* Incorporation of WorkWise (a division of Timeline, Inc.) Business Alerts, so that customers and personnel can be automatically notified of important status events via email. Using WorkWise Business Alerts, INFIMACS II invisibly monitors data fields for pre-selected activities. Users simply select the events to trigger the email, who should be notified, and the text or data to be sent. The alerts feature tracks events, dates, status of purchase orders, sales orders, work orders, inventory quantities, financial due dates and aging dates. It flags critical operations, expedites receipts, rates vendor deliveries, notifies buyers when a Purchase Order is mailed or acknowledged, updates planners when components are allocated or issued, and alerts customers that products are being shipped. Proper personnel are notified of schedule progress, if payments are due, or milestones are met, prompting immediate action.

* Partnership with Viquity to reduce entry barrier to e-commerce and provide the discrete industry with an integrated e-procurement solution. As a result, the Viquity INFIMACS II Adapter is envisioned to connect INFIMACS II ERP system to the Viquity Dynamic Commerce Network (DCN), Viquity's e-business platform for direct procurement transactions. The combined solution should allow purchase orders, demand forecasts, invoices, and other actionable documents to be exchanged in real-time between business partners through the Viquity DCN.

* Interface to C/S Solutions' wInsight and C/S Glue export programs from INFIMACS II Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) - Users can directly export Earned Value data into wInsight to create reports, charts and graphs of WBS and Earned Value data; as government contractors working to meet DoD, DOE, FAA or DCMC requirements often use wInsight to create reports, it is regarded as the de facto government Earned Value reporting standard.

* Partnership with SupplierMarket.com. As a result of, users are able to buy and sell built-to-order components, parts, and equipment seamlessly via their familiar INFIMACS purchasing and quotation screens. As an Internet marketplace for manufactured direct materials, SupplierMarket.com is envisioned to receive and process RFQ information via XML transmissions from the INFIMACS user and will then locate and match ideal trading partners.

Other Product Initiatives

Last but not least, in order to attract many small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) that do not have the technological infrastructure, such as ERP systems, to electronically communicate and integrate with their customers and suppliers, the company has also introduced INFIMACS ADvantage Entry Level ERP system. INFIMACS ADvantage provides the immediate basic needs for up to 24 users at build-to-order (BTO), engineer-to-order (ETO), and contract manufacturers. It also offers a growth path for future upgrades and expansion to INFIMACS II, as, according to the company, large manufacturers using INFIMACS II rely on the same, basic functionalities in a core set of 12 modules over 80% of the time.

Another initiative aimed especially at smaller contract, ETO, and CTO manufacturers, as well as MRO shops, is Relevant Business Systems' new hosted, on-line iEnterpriseASP (Application Service Provider) that allows INFIMACS II ERP to be used on a pay-as-you-go basis. Leveraging Citrix Metaframe, the iEnterpriseASP full INFIMACS II ERP can be customized for manufacturers requiring special needs. The company hopes the lease-to-own option would be very attractive to customers that might want to bring the system in-house after the contract period.



SOURCE:
http://www.technologyevaluation.com/research/articles/infimacs-becoming-ever-more-relevant-for-project-based-industries.-part-1-recent-developments-16503/