New Features Include CRM Capabilities to Manage Customer Demands Quickly and Cost-Effectively
Indianapolis, IN (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 5, 2009 -- Consona Corporation, a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services, today announced the general availability of Made2Manage ERP Version 6.0 for discrete manufacturers. Version 6.0, the most robust release in Made2Manage history in terms of functionality additions and enhancements, includes fully-integrated CRM capabilities and a new material planning and scheduling capability.
Today's manufacturers require a flexible, reliable system to manage deliveries, production, inventory and costs, while meeting customer demands quickly. By integrating CRM capabilities with ERP technologies, Version 6.0 provides manufacturers the ability to respond rapidly and cost-effectively to every customer demand based on well-designed, quality software and an award-winning service team.
Scott Malia, general manager of Consona ERP, emphasized the importance of integrating CRM with Made2Manage's core ERP technology. "Customer service is not an option," said Malia. "We feel so strongly about this new capability that we are including it as part of the base system. Every Made2Manage user will have access to it for both servicing current customers and selling new business."
Version 6.0's CRM capabilities enable every user to respond to customer expectations with access to current sales, service and business information. It includes contact, activity, and opportunity management with Outlook integration. The integrated activity management allows the user to assign tasks associated with sales orders, quotes, and customer returns, while tracking them with to-do lists.
Additionally, Version 6.0 includes a new planning engine with significantly expanded analysis capabilities and performance improvements up to 1,000 percent. This new feature is ideal for mixed-mode manufacturers that require a wide range of planning and management tools based on their customer needs.
With both product and process improvements, Version 6.0 includes a number of enhancements based on customer direction and feedback. "This is a natural extension of our customer-driven development process," said Frank O'Nell, vice president of product management for Consona ERP. "Our customers participate in online feature teams, providing design expertise during the development process. Now, we're extending access to Version 6.0 to all our customers so they can accelerate their upgrade."
About Consona Corporation and Made2Manage ERP
Consona Corporation (Consona, formerly known as M2M Holdings, Inc.) is a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes. The Consona ERP business unit includes two leading products that enable over 2,500 customers to continuously improve their business processes. Made2Manage ERP is a quality-infused, comprehensive software application that helps manufacturers with mixed-mode production processes integrate every aspect of their business around a single, enterprise-wide system. Made2Manage ERP offers functionality that meets the unique market specifications of more than 30 manufacturing industries, including industrial and commercial machinery, rubber and plastics, electronics, transportation equipment, measuring and controlling devices, furniture and fixtures, fabricated metals, and durable goods. For further information, visit www.made2manage.com, e-mail info(at)made2manage.com, or call (800) 626-0220.
Contact:
Mitch Briggs
Consona Corporation
Direct: +1 (317) 249-1620
Mobile: +1 (317) 829-4210
mitch.briggs(at)consona.com
Friday, February 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
One Firm, One Future
hile most of the industry battles a recession, the construction consultancy Davis Langdon is enjoying steady growth. Thanks to a growing number of customers in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East, the U.K. - based company has full order books.
“Our revenues have grown 78% in the last three years,” says Chris Robinson, IT partner at Davis Langdon. Future prestigious projects promise to increase this growth: The firm will oversee, for example, construction of the facilities of the 2012 Olympics in London. In fact, Davis Langdon aims to grow by another 100% over the next five years. And naturally, such ambitious plans called for new ways of doing business.
To transform Davis Langdon from a company of several regional and national subsidiaries into a single global player, a strategy called “One firm, one future” was drafted. Part of that strategy is a complete overhaul of Davis Langdon's IT infrastructure. To support the company's vision of focusing on sectors rather than geography and to enable growth at lower cost, Davis Langdon chose the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software from SAP. It went live in the United Kingdom in March 2008, and the effects were felt immediately, Robinson says.
“We used to have hundreds of fragmented systems, be they on the human resources side, the customer relationship management side, various financial programs, and reporting programs. We brought all those together in one place,” he says. “We now have a system that supports our growth through better customer and opportunity management, and that allows us to avoid a lot of the costs we would have incurred as we continue to grow.” Davis Langdon has over 30 offices throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, and the Middle East, and over 100 worldwide. Mobilizing the many generalists working in these smaller offices for large international projects was a challenge, Robinson says.
The new strategy now banks on specialists (for museums, sports stadiums or office buildings) that can be easily put to work all over the world - no matter where they are located. For this, “we need information on the skills of our people, about the projects they are working on, and when and where they are available,” Robinson says. Davis Langdon is able to efficiently gather exactly that information thanks to the integrated SAP ERP application, he adds.
Davis Langdon chose the SAP ERP application because managers felt it would best support the company not only now, but also in the future. One of the world's leading small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), Davis Langdon plans to grow by acquisitions all over the world. It aims to quickly integrate the acquired firms, and SAP ERP is “a system that has underpinned our ability to do that,” Robinson says.
To transform Davis Langdon from a company of several regional and national subsidiaries into a single global player, a strategy called “One firm, one future” was drafted. Part of that strategy is a complete overhaul of Davis Langdon's IT infrastructure. To support the company's vision of focusing on sectors rather than geography and to enable growth at lower cost, Davis Langdon chose the enterprise resource planning (ERP) software from SAP. It went live in the United Kingdom in March 2008, and the effects were felt immediately, Robinson says.
“We used to have hundreds of fragmented systems, be they on the human resources side, the customer relationship management side, various financial programs, and reporting programs. We brought all those together in one place,” he says. “We now have a system that supports our growth through better customer and opportunity management, and that allows us to avoid a lot of the costs we would have incurred as we continue to grow.”
Putting manpower to work
How SAP helps Davis Langdon
The SAP ERP application:
- helps turn Davis Langdon into a single firm by streamlining processes and creating unified systems
- provides Davis Langdon with a platform for growth at lower investment
- helps identify, bundle, and roll out expertise at the company
- provides executive partners with greater visibility of the business operation and key performance indicators
- helps integrate firms that have been merged or acquired
- can be scaled upward to support the company years down the road
The new strategy now banks on specialists (for museums, sports stadiums or office buildings) that can be easily put to work all over the world - no matter where they are located. For this, “we need information on the skills of our people, about the projects they are working on, and when and where they are available,” Robinson says. Davis Langdon is able to efficiently gather exactly that information thanks to the integrated SAP ERP application, he adds.
Davis Langdon chose the SAP ERP application because managers felt it would best support the company not only now, but also in the future. One of the world's leading small and midsize enterprises (SMEs), Davis Langdon plans to grow by acquisitions all over the world. It aims to quickly integrate the acquired firms, and SAP ERP is “a system that has underpinned our ability to do that,” Robinson says.
Award-winning implementation
Choosing a software solution is one thing, implementing it effectively is another. Davis Langdon did so with the help of Axon, the largest global SAP service provider, in only 13 months. The entire process was meticulously planned, and included quality reviews and measures driven by a quality director with previous experience of SAP implementations.
The implementation of the SAP ERP application, Robinson said, was “very comprehensive in terms of its stakeholder engagement, its communications, its impact analysis, and everything else.” So comprehensive, in fact, that the company was granted the SAP Quality Award 2008.
The implementation of the SAP ERP application, Robinson said, was “very comprehensive in terms of its stakeholder engagement, its communications, its impact analysis, and everything else.” So comprehensive, in fact, that the company was granted the SAP Quality Award 2008.
Fit for the future
But Davis Langdon is not willing to rest on its laurels. The company is still rolling out the SAP ERP application in the Middle East and will add more functions down the road. “We are also going live in November 2008 with a reconfiguration of the application, which allows us to do our sector profit and loss accounting,” Robinson says.
Olympic enthusiasm
For Davis Langdon, the future looks bright. It has worked on a number of prestigious projects, including facilities for the Tate Modern Art Gallery, and the Royal Festival Hall in London. In the Middle East, emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai are investing in gigantic construction projects, and at home, Davis Langdon is involved in the most high-profile building project the country has ever seen: the 2012 Olympic Games. Construction for the games includes billion-pound investments not only in stadiums, but also in infrastructure, cultural venues, and parks. It will thus provide “a legacy of change for London and the UK for many years going forward,” Robinson says. “It's very exciting to be involved in that.”
Dell joins hands with Tally
Dell Vostro business PC powered by Tally.ERP 9 subscription is a sales program that Dell and Tally have jointly come up with to create continuous revenue potential for IT resellers.
The Tally.ERP 9 subscription will be free to select Dell Vostro systems for the initial subscription period. The offering will reach the market shortly with a pull from SMB customers.
These Vostro systems will be available only through Dell's partner network and direct sales.
The Tally.ERP 9 subscription will be free to select Dell Vostro systems for the initial subscription period. The offering will reach the market shortly with a pull from SMB customers.
These Vostro systems will be available only through Dell's partner network and direct sales.
SAP Tweaks Support Offerings
SAP will extend maintenance for its ERP 6.0 platform and other products until 2017, and in a partial olive branch to angry customers, has sweetened the feature set of its Enterprise Support service, the company said Thursday.
The maintenance announcement, which includes ERP 6.0 and any new core applications from SAP Business Suite, is an expansion of SAP's “5-1-2” plan. That system guaranteed regular maintenance on a product for five years, after which customers could opt to pay another 2 percent for an additional year, and following that another 4 percent for another two years. The new plan boosts the five-year period to seven years and adds an optional two-year extension.
Forrester Research analyst Paul Hamerman said that since ERP 6.0 has already been on the market for a number of years, some customers are starting to be concerned about the 5-1-2 window, and therefore, the extension should be welcome.
SAP is trying to ensure that customers can make long-term plans around ERP 6.0, and the move was not made in the hopes of locking down extended maintenance contracts, said SAP spokesman Bill Wohl.
“I don't think there's any other company in the industry that can give customers this kind of planning horizon,” he said. Wohl added that even after SAP's maintenance windows close, customers on older platforms can contract for support from SAP on a one-off basis.
SAP had already made it clear that ERP 6.0 would be its strategic platform through at least 2010, announcing in 2006 that all new features during that time frame would come through optional, add-on “enhancement packages.” The extended maintenance window for ERP 6.0 could mean the company intends to keep this strategy in place even longer.
“This is where we expect to be for some time,” Wohl said. But the company will continue innovating aggressively through the enhancement packages, he said.
As for the changes to Enterprise Support, SAP is seeking to appease users who have protested loudly since July, when SAP announced that all customers would be transitioned to the richer-featured but more expensive offering.
But SAP is making no concessions on cost. Instead, the company is adding new wrinkles to the support offering, such as up to five days of remote advice from software architects each year regarding the potential value of enhancement packages and how they could be deployed.
But in other instances, the company is merely hoping to provide “additional clarification” on Enterprise Support's richer feature set, which includes “continuous quality checks” and a single point of contact for customers.
SAP has also repeatedly said the service is necessary due to increased complexity in customers' environments, and that it will result in a lower total cost of ownership.
A member survey conducted this year by the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN), a group made up of representatives from SAP user groups around the world, found that 90 percent of respondents “have not yet realized the full extent of the SAP Enterprise Support offering, its value and cost justification,” SAP said in a statement.
SAP and SUGEN are also going to work together to come up with key performance indicators for Enterprise Support.
The two parties will “jointly evaluate the progress of these KPIs against customer expectations on a regular basis and adjust the continued rollout of SAP Enterprise Support until the quality measures are achieved,” SAP said.
SUGEN could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
One industry observer questioned the effectiveness of SAP's gesture. “Ultimately, this all seems to be shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted,” said China Martens, an analyst with The 451 Group.
In addition Thursday, SAP said it will work with user groups on a migration plan for helping R/3 customers move up to ERP 6.0. Convincing customers to make that shift is a primary goal for SAP today? some 12,800 of its customers are on ERP 6.0, out of a total of 76,000, which includes those gained from acquiring Business Objects.
The maintenance announcement, which includes ERP 6.0 and any new core applications from SAP Business Suite, is an expansion of SAP's “5-1-2” plan. That system guaranteed regular maintenance on a product for five years, after which customers could opt to pay another 2 percent for an additional year, and following that another 4 percent for another two years. The new plan boosts the five-year period to seven years and adds an optional two-year extension.
Forrester Research analyst Paul Hamerman said that since ERP 6.0 has already been on the market for a number of years, some customers are starting to be concerned about the 5-1-2 window, and therefore, the extension should be welcome.
SAP is trying to ensure that customers can make long-term plans around ERP 6.0, and the move was not made in the hopes of locking down extended maintenance contracts, said SAP spokesman Bill Wohl.
“I don't think there's any other company in the industry that can give customers this kind of planning horizon,” he said. Wohl added that even after SAP's maintenance windows close, customers on older platforms can contract for support from SAP on a one-off basis.
SAP had already made it clear that ERP 6.0 would be its strategic platform through at least 2010, announcing in 2006 that all new features during that time frame would come through optional, add-on “enhancement packages.” The extended maintenance window for ERP 6.0 could mean the company intends to keep this strategy in place even longer.
“This is where we expect to be for some time,” Wohl said. But the company will continue innovating aggressively through the enhancement packages, he said.
As for the changes to Enterprise Support, SAP is seeking to appease users who have protested loudly since July, when SAP announced that all customers would be transitioned to the richer-featured but more expensive offering.
But SAP is making no concessions on cost. Instead, the company is adding new wrinkles to the support offering, such as up to five days of remote advice from software architects each year regarding the potential value of enhancement packages and how they could be deployed.
But in other instances, the company is merely hoping to provide “additional clarification” on Enterprise Support's richer feature set, which includes “continuous quality checks” and a single point of contact for customers.
SAP has also repeatedly said the service is necessary due to increased complexity in customers' environments, and that it will result in a lower total cost of ownership.
A member survey conducted this year by the SAP User Group Executive Network (SUGEN), a group made up of representatives from SAP user groups around the world, found that 90 percent of respondents “have not yet realized the full extent of the SAP Enterprise Support offering, its value and cost justification,” SAP said in a statement.
SAP and SUGEN are also going to work together to come up with key performance indicators for Enterprise Support.
The two parties will “jointly evaluate the progress of these KPIs against customer expectations on a regular basis and adjust the continued rollout of SAP Enterprise Support until the quality measures are achieved,” SAP said.
SUGEN could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
One industry observer questioned the effectiveness of SAP's gesture. “Ultimately, this all seems to be shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted,” said China Martens, an analyst with The 451 Group.
In addition Thursday, SAP said it will work with user groups on a migration plan for helping R/3 customers move up to ERP 6.0. Convincing customers to make that shift is a primary goal for SAP today? some 12,800 of its customers are on ERP 6.0, out of a total of 76,000, which includes those gained from acquiring Business Objects.
IT Trends for 2009
As 2009 unfolds, it ’ s clear that enterprises with a forward-thinking approach and a solid grasp of technology trends will have a distinct competitive advantage. The following technologies trends in areas like SaaS, virtualization and project portfolio management, among others, are likely to shape IT and business in the coming year, and they can give your company the advantage it needs to do business in this challenging economic environment.
HP has said it doesn't want to be in the cloud business itself - merely sell gear to cloud makers - but it's lined up with little Salesforce.com rival NetSuite - owned mostly by Larry Ellison - to offer NetSuite's SaaS CRM and ERP applications to SMBs through its 15,000 US resellers.
HP now has a referral program for its channel, which can offer their own value-added management and implementation services alongside the NetSuite widgetry as part of HP's Total Care portfolio.
The yet-to-be-profitable Netsuite, which has organized dedicated marketing resource in support of the HP channel, is counting on the arrangement to accelerate its market penetration and keep the wolf from the door.
It's been having trouble getting contracts signed, spoiling last quarter, a situation it expects will repeat again this quarter.
Resellers will be compensated for any deals that close.
As 2009 unfolds, it ’ s clear that enterprises with a forward-thinking approach and a solid grasp of technology trends will have a distinct competitive advantage. The following technologies trends in areas like SaaS, virtualization and project portfolio management, among others, are likely to shape IT and business in the coming year. They may give your company the technology advantage it needs to do business in this challenging economic environment.
IBM and Sapa Expand Business Agreement
Sapa is the largest provider of aluminium profiles in the world, and part of the Norwegian industrial conglomerate Orkla.
In terms of the new agreement, signed in October 2008, IBM will provide infrastructure services and application maintenance services for an additional 2,500 PC users in the Sapa system, double the number of users as stated in the original contract which was signed in 2007.
The main focus of the overall agreement is on achieving cost efficiencies and improved quality of services. Several applications will be hosted by IBM, including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). IBM will also host Sapa's e-mail and printing systems.
The agreement is part of the Shared Services Initiative across the entire Orkla Group.
“Sapa choose to expand their co-operation with IBM, because the initial part of the contract was delivered on time and on budget,” said Morten Thorkildsen, Country General Manager, IBM Norway.
“The IBM agreement is an important one for both parties. With the expanded contract, will we have in place a common infrastructure platform which will cover our IT needs in the joint ventures,” said Espen Falla, SVP of Shared Services in Sapa.
Datascope Consulting Release Version 2 of Their WMS (Warehouse Management System) for SYSPRO
Datascope today announced the release of version 2 of its WMS (Warehouse Management System). This warehousing solution has been specifically built for operation with SYSPRO ERP and therefore is highly integrated into SYSPRO via the standard e.net object layer. WMS fully integrates Barcoding into SYSPRO, allowing users to more efficiently process any tasks.
Port Elizabeth, South Africa (PRWEB) November 12, 2008 -- Datascope today announced the release of version 2 of its WMS (Warehouse Management System). This warehousing solution has been specifically built for operation with SYSPRO ERP and therefore is highly integrated into SYSPRO via the standard e.net object layer. Using radio frequency technology, the scanners act as a real time intelligent layer between the warehouse or factory floor and core SYSPRO.
All transactions within the WMS are security controlled based on named users. Each transaction requires an operator login which authenticates all standard SYSPRO securities and logs the user name against every transaction posted to SYSPRO. Further, the system maintains a detailed operator log file of key security overrides.
The software has been developed in the latest. Net development tools. All grid screens can be dynamically filtered and exported to MS Excel. Click once deployment technology is used for deployment and all software is strictly version controlled. Updates to the software are covered in a standard annual license fee structure.
Datascope has implemented the WMS is many SYSPRO manufacturing, warehousing and distribution industries. These companies have seen huge benefits in the following areas:
* Picking efficiency and accuracy improvements
* Raw materials FIFO control
* WIP tracking visibility
* WIP labour postings
* Optimisation of random bin locations
* Lot traceability improvements
* Improve stock accuracy and visibility
* Reduced stock take time
* Management efficiency reports
* Reduced inventory levels
* Enforced WIP process controls
The WMS inbound module includes purchase receipting, quick scan receipting, LCT receipting, scanner based purchase receipting and supply chain transfers. The WMS work in progress module includes factory floor labour posting, job labeling, job picking and job receipting. The WMS outbound module includes stock reservation management, a host of picking rules, the ability to over and under pick, a picking review screen, a check out audit and basic load planning. The WMS general module includes various scanner based stock movements, a comprehensive stock take module, queries and reports, bin optimization and labeling together with general bar-code labeling. The WMS administration module includes systems settings and features, securities and documentation.
Datascope publishes a free quarterly email newsletter which highlights the latest Datascope WMS enhancements and customer implementations. To become a newsletter subscriber or to request a copy of Datascope's WMS brochure, send an e-mail to newsletter @ datascope.co.za.
Anton Jurgens, Datascope's Managing Director and founder, said, “Identifying the need in the market for a WMS for SYSPRO, we took a strategic decision over three years ago to develop a cutting edge solution. With our knowledge and experience in warehousing and distribution environments and the fact that we have built the product to be highly settings driven, we can now implement a plug and play WMS solution in a very short space of time. For a demo of the product, feel free to e-mail me at support@ datascope.co.za.”
Datascope Consulting is a progressive and growing company focused on the development and implementation of world class supply chain optimization solutions. Since 2001, Datascope has focused on supply chain business consulting, SYSPRO ERP implementations and software development. Standard software developed solutions can be categorized as follows:
* Optimised warehousing (Datascope WMS)
* Specialised SYSPRO ERP optimization modules
* EDI systems to facilitate electronic trading
* Logistics track and track solutions
* Specialist JIS (just in sequence) solutions for the automotive industry
Datascope's business model focuses on building long term partnerships with clients to optimize supply chain efficiencies within their businesses.
Port Elizabeth, South Africa (PRWEB) November 12, 2008 -- Datascope today announced the release of version 2 of its WMS (Warehouse Management System). This warehousing solution has been specifically built for operation with SYSPRO ERP and therefore is highly integrated into SYSPRO via the standard e.net object layer. Using radio frequency technology, the scanners act as a real time intelligent layer between the warehouse or factory floor and core SYSPRO.
All transactions within the WMS are security controlled based on named users. Each transaction requires an operator login which authenticates all standard SYSPRO securities and logs the user name against every transaction posted to SYSPRO. Further, the system maintains a detailed operator log file of key security overrides.
The software has been developed in the latest. Net development tools. All grid screens can be dynamically filtered and exported to MS Excel. Click once deployment technology is used for deployment and all software is strictly version controlled. Updates to the software are covered in a standard annual license fee structure.
Datascope has implemented the WMS is many SYSPRO manufacturing, warehousing and distribution industries. These companies have seen huge benefits in the following areas:
* Picking efficiency and accuracy improvements
* Raw materials FIFO control
* WIP tracking visibility
* WIP labour postings
* Optimisation of random bin locations
* Lot traceability improvements
* Improve stock accuracy and visibility
* Reduced stock take time
* Management efficiency reports
* Reduced inventory levels
* Enforced WIP process controls
The WMS inbound module includes purchase receipting, quick scan receipting, LCT receipting, scanner based purchase receipting and supply chain transfers. The WMS work in progress module includes factory floor labour posting, job labeling, job picking and job receipting. The WMS outbound module includes stock reservation management, a host of picking rules, the ability to over and under pick, a picking review screen, a check out audit and basic load planning. The WMS general module includes various scanner based stock movements, a comprehensive stock take module, queries and reports, bin optimization and labeling together with general bar-code labeling. The WMS administration module includes systems settings and features, securities and documentation.
Datascope publishes a free quarterly email newsletter which highlights the latest Datascope WMS enhancements and customer implementations. To become a newsletter subscriber or to request a copy of Datascope's WMS brochure, send an e-mail to newsletter @ datascope.co.za.
Anton Jurgens, Datascope's Managing Director and founder, said, “Identifying the need in the market for a WMS for SYSPRO, we took a strategic decision over three years ago to develop a cutting edge solution. With our knowledge and experience in warehousing and distribution environments and the fact that we have built the product to be highly settings driven, we can now implement a plug and play WMS solution in a very short space of time. For a demo of the product, feel free to e-mail me at support@ datascope.co.za.”
Datascope Consulting is a progressive and growing company focused on the development and implementation of world class supply chain optimization solutions. Since 2001, Datascope has focused on supply chain business consulting, SYSPRO ERP implementations and software development. Standard software developed solutions can be categorized as follows:
* Optimised warehousing (Datascope WMS)
* Specialised SYSPRO ERP optimization modules
* EDI systems to facilitate electronic trading
* Logistics track and track solutions
* Specialist JIS (just in sequence) solutions for the automotive industry
Datascope's business model focuses on building long term partnerships with clients to optimize supply chain efficiencies within their businesses.
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