SAP using NetWeaver to snare partnerships with shop-floor software vendors
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 1/1/2005 7:00:00 AM
At least 70 percent of the companies that run manufacturing operations with the FlexNet software system from Apriso also use an SAP ERP package to manage corporate-level functions. So it was a natural step for Apriso to join an SAP-sponsored initiative promoting smooth integration between SAP's ERP suite and shop-floor systems.
FlexNet is what Apriso terms execution enterprise software, focused on global supply, production, and distribution execution processes. "At least 20 percent of the budget for deploying large IT systems is spent developing interfaces between disparate applications," says Chris Will, chief technology officer, Apriso. "We hope to reduce that 20 percent to zero by building standard interfaces between FlexNet and SAP."
SAP views this initiative, dubbed The Shop Floor Partner Program, as a way of moving its customers to an adaptive manufacturing model. "That means being able to monitor and change business processes in a way that ensures you are profitably responding to market demands," says Sudipta Bhattacharya, SAP's VP of manufacturing solutions.
SAP's NetWeaver integration platform is the centerpiece of the program. To participate, vendors must agree to do the development work necessary for their systems to gain one of two designations: 1) Certified for; or 2) Powered by NetWeaver.
Apriso has been "Certified for NetWeaver," meaning all modules within FlexNet have standard adapters that facilitate passing data to NetWeaver's exchange infrastructure component. The exchange infrastructure, also known as SAP XI, will convert data from FlexNet, or any other application that has been certified for NetWeaver, into a format that can be read or displayed by other NetWeaver components, including the SAP Enterprise Portal.
Lighthammer, which has solutions that allow users to aggregate and analyze data from various shop-floor systems, has earned the "Powered by NetWeaver" designation. That means Lighthammer's Collaborative Manufacturing Suite can run on NetWeaver's Web application server.
Bhattacharya envisions Lighthammer's and Apriso's users establishing programs for monitoring and continuously improving shop-floor performance by analyzing shop-floor data through an SAP Enterprise Portal.
Paul LeMert, Lighthammer's marketing director, says his company is aiding such efforts by using NetWeaver's exchange infrastructure to allow customers to push shop-floor alerts to an SAP Enterprise Portal.
Bhattacharya says companies can link shop-floor systems to the SAP suite without NetWeaver, "but we think there is value in giving them the option of working with vendors with tools in one bundle for this type of integration."
