New entrants attack market from low end
Paul Mann, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 10/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
"Who declared the ERP market dead?" asks Bijal Mehta, president and CEO of ICODE, a Chantilly, Va.-based ERP vendor. "It's alive and kicking in the five- to 100-employee end of the market. We have 2,500 customers in 40 countries and we're getting 2,500 inquiries a month from new prospects for what is the world's first mini ERP."
While ERP packages aimed at small- to mid-size manufacturers are nothing new, the fact that new vendors are targeting the space indicates this may be the growth segment for "core" ERP functionality. Indeed, Mehta boasts that by bringing together "everything a manufacturer needs to do business, without add-ons," ICODE's Everest solution "does for manufacturers what Microsoft Office did for information workers."
Up-market a bit is ICICI Infotech, a new entrant into the North American market and one with an equally bullish view. "In the $50- to-$250 million [user company] segment, we see a significant opportunity to grow our business," says V. Srinivasan, managing director and CEO of the Edison, N.J.-based vendor. "Manufacturers are looking for an end-to-end provider of solutions built on open technologies that install quickly and deliver comprehensive functionality in everything from planning and scheduling to warehousing and transportation. It's also important that we support complex business environments across multiple plants."
While ICICI Infotech is new to this market, it has some 600 installed customers worldwide, and two development centers in North America. The R&D team is busy putting finishing touches on an all-mobile version that will streamline field service, warehousing, and transportation management functions. "It's also good for pushing information out to managers on how they did against key performance indicators such as sales closed today or work-in-process," Srinivasan says.
