In Brief
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 11/1/2003 7:00:00 AM
Global politics, compliance, drive software trends
As much as any single software category, the buzz at APICS was on broader issues such as compliance and lean manufacturing. While some vendors made major product announcements, issues like Sarbanes-Oxley were at the forefront.
Microsoft's road map
Microsoft Business Solutions used the APICS conference stage to demonstrate its intent to continue support for the three manufacturing-centric solutions it has acquired in recent years.
Mike Frichol, general manager of manufacturing for Microsoft Business Solutions, says support for these packages will continue through at least 2012. That should be welcome news for users of Axapta, Navision, and Great Plains applications suites. Frichol says the extended support also will cover the Solomon accounting package.
Most industry observers expected these packages to be scuttled once Microsoft Business Solutions, a unit of Microsoft Corp., unveiled its next-generation ERP package. Frichol says that package will be built on Microsoft's .NET technology framework and aligned with Longhorn, which is the code name for the next version of Windows. The first pieces of the next-generation package are expected to be rolled out in early 2004.
"We want our customers to be confident that they can still buy today's systems and know that we will help them transition to the next-generation solution," Frichol says.
Microsoft Business Solutions also unveiled a new demand-planning application and announced a relationship with AutoDesk, a CAD vendor that targets small- and medium-size companies. The AutoDesk alliance will allow Microsoft Business Solutions to offer what amounts to its first product life-cycle management solution.
Compliance concerns
Global political conditions seem to be creating opportunities for business software vendors to sell new, targeted solutions. Several APICS conference vendors touted new packages aimed at helping manufacturers comply with newer regulations, as well as stricter FDA reporting requirements.
Specifically, IFS now offers a Sarbanes-Oxley kit for midsize manufacturers, while Camstar has added functionality to its InSite manufacturing execution system that allows medical device manufacturers to create, execute, and monitor processes that ensure compliance with FDA regulations.
Tom Dykstra, an IFS executive, says global political conditions also are boosting sales of his company's aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul package as both the military and commercial airlines strive "to keep aircraft flying longer, rather than replace them."
SAP's plant pitch
In a move that could be labeled the IT industry's version of The Empire Strikes Back, SAP has decided to focus on getting more customers to run its manufacturing applications at their small- and medium-size plants.
"We've heard the comment that our system is too complex for some of these locations," Sudipta Bhattacharya, a VP in SAP's supply chain management group, recently told MSI. He says SAP is still developing a specific product road map for this sector of the market, but he also believes the problem SAP faces in this area is one more of perception than reality.
He also says SAP knows that several smaller enterprise software vendors have marketing strategies that are built on exploiting that perception in the marketplace. In essence, these vendors tell companies that they can run SAP at the corporate level to manage human resources and financials while running the other vendor's smaller, less complex system at the plant level.
Seriously lean
Enterprise suite vendor PeopleSoft announced its acquisition of JCIT International's Demand Flow software, which supports lean product and mixed-model methodologies. PeopleSoft contends that the software, combined with its supply chain solutions, will enable customers to improve agility, reduce inventory levels, and eliminate waste within their organizations and across supply chains.
"Companies that focus internally on inventory and cost can no longer compete. Manufacturers must become demand-driven to survive," says Carol Ptak, a PeopleSoft VP and global industry executive. "With this product acquisition, PeopleSoft will deliver technology, consulting, and education that will enable companies to transform themselves into demand-driven enterprises."
The Demand Flow product is immediately available from PeopleSoft in limited release, and is expected to be generally available in 2004. PeopleSoft and JCIT International plan to jointly market software, training, and consulting services.
Other ERP vendors at the show also were touting lean manufacturing solutions. For instance, Lilly Software Associates was set to introduce VISUAL Enterprise for Repetitive Manufacturers, a solution aimed at support for lean manufacturing practices.
Leverage your systems
Another trend envisaged at APICS centered on gaining better decision support from existing systems and data. Business intelligence and analytics vendors, for example, are positioning around this message.
Analytics software vendor SAS Institute was touting its new SAS Process Intelligence solution. The package draws on data from plant-level systems and applies analytics to identify relationships and trends that impact yield management and scrap.
Jason Mann, manufacturing industry strategist at SAS, told MSI there is a difference between analytics and more generic business intelligence (BI) software. "BI has its place, but BI tools aim at comparing pre-established data schemas, rather than looking for unexpected relationships, which is where predictive analytics is needed," he says.
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