Enticing manufacturers was APICS theme
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 12/1/2004 7:00:00 AM
Vendor messages at the recent APICS conference underscored two trends: midsize manufacturers are a key target for enterprise software suppliers, and tailoring solutions for specific industries is the primary strategy for winning business in that segment.
Collaboration between SAP and SoftBrands on an ERP solution for small and midsize manufacturers exemplifies these trends. The alliance was announced in February, but Dick Schultz, a SoftBrands VP, was eager to offer an update in an interview at the conference.
"We've signed at least 35 customers worldwide, and 20 already are live," Schultz said. Those customers purchased an ERP solution that combines financial and CRM functionality from SAP with manufacturing capabilities of SoftBrand's Fourth Shift package. Schultz says the offering targets companies with annual revenues between $5 million and $250 million. "The SAP name gives them a sense that there is very little risk in buying this product," he added.
Microsoft Business Solutions also is making inroads with midsize manufacturers by working with its resellers to build vertical-industry solutions on top of its Navision ERP package, according to Mike Frichol, GM of manufacturing for Microsoft.
"We've started by building solutions that incorporate best practices for companies that make furniture and industrial machinery," Frichol said. "Ultimately, we'll have multiple templates that allow customers to install their systems quickly while still being able to personalize."
Oraclewants to bolster its vertical solutions as part of a plan to increase sales in the manufacturing sector. "We want to create applications that simplify manufacturers' business processes," said Sandy Markin, senior product director, supply chain management. "We've done well in the food industry with a solution for managing trade promotions. Now we want to creates solutions for other industries."
Brian Angle, a VP with ERP vendor CMS Software, said large vendors like SAP and Oracle are merely trying to copy a business model that smaller vendors already have mastered. "The big guys have built general-purpose solutions that are supposed to work for all types of companies, not just manufacturers," Angle said. "We've always been focused on companies with intensive supply chain management issues. That's why 90 percent of our customers are using our system with no modifications."
But CMS has conceded to market dynamics with a Q1 2005 release of a Windows-based version of its ERP package that had run exclusively on the IBM iSeries platform.
"We found a lot of companies asking for the Microsoft platform," Angle said, adding that the new product still has capabilities most useful to distribution-intensive manufacturers. That also would be in keeping with general-industry trends.
