Our systems assessment process will involve conducting structured fact-finding meetings with each of the functional business areas, understanding the existing business processes and identifying the strengths of the existing solution as well as those areas that might benefit by change.  During the course of our assessment of the current environment we will also document future business requirements which will support the development of a Request for Proposal document for the evaluation of alternative ERP solutions. 

Based upon our experience and research, our project will also provide a realistic budget should the company choose to proceed down the path of selecting a new ERP solution.

RJMC has been performing System Assessments for many years in for a variety of distribution and manufacturing companies and we eagerly look forward to exercising our proven methodology to quickly and efficiently appraise our client as to the status of their existing information technology environment.

Contact RJMC today to find out how we can help your company perform a Systems Assessment!

Call RJMC today to find out how we can help your company select the right system at the right price!

RJMC is proud of our ability to quickly identify, document, and present complex business requirements in a non-technical way.

Call RJMC today to learn how we can assist your company to quickly define your key system requirements and incorporate them into a Request for Proposal document that you can use to solicit proposals from qualified solution providers.

This revolution is already taking place with the consumption of Financial and Sales information via Business Intelligence apps. This is not unexpected. PC applications serving these areas of business had already taken the leap, supported by technologies like associative data models and AJAX. Dashboards, drilldowns, and email integration have been the hallmark of these applications. Adding touch centric technology has made the complete migration to mobile devices organic and relatively painless.

SYSPRO, for example, has adapted its ERP software for the iPhone and iPad. The free application allows users to manage key functions like monitoring sales, looking up suppliers, and generating reports. A smaller company like Exxova is offering a SAP Mobility solution that runs the entire SAP BI stack on mobile devices.

Operational and manufacturing users have been slower to adopt mobile applications for several reasons. These are more sensitive functions of an ERP system, which means every system implementation exhibits its own peculiarities and quirks. This makes it more challenging for mobile developers – who thrive in a shareware environment – to crowd source mobile apps with broad appeal. At the same time, given that operations users interact more directly with transactional ERP data, caution does contribute to the wait and watch adoption pattern. There is no doubt that, as software gets more robust and security more reliable users will eventually begin to see the potential increase in productivity. Imagine downloading an app that allows you to record cycle counts, run a variance report , and drill down to WIP orders to analyze a discrepancy. All from the comfort of your warehouse forklift. There is no clearer indicator of ERP’s drive to mobility than the recent push by SAP to popularize its “Unwired Enterprise” mantra.

Trends

Increasing use of mobile apps are expected to be seen in process intensive industries, specifically those dealing in perishable goods. Pictures will now become part of transactions and the state of produce will be not only traceable but viewable at every stage in its life cycle. The way quality and manufacturing will operate will become much more efficient. HarvestMark already offers a iPhone app that supermarket shoppers can use to trace the source of the produce they buy. Such visual apps will become more ubiquitous throughout the supply chain. What will eventually follow are analytical tools that process non-numerical and non-textual data to support analysis.

As of writing this post, the US Congress has just announced stricter fuel standards for trucks where none existed before. Until now, the big brother syndrome was a sticking point when transportation networks attempted to deploy even basic GPs tracking devices. With the inevitable upward trend in fuel prices, as truckers buy into the fact that GPS tracking leads to improved route optimization, their familiarity and trust of wireless will allow them to interact with ERP systems over a phone or tablet.

The most dramatic surge in mobile adoption will be observed in emerging markets. Growing economies usually leap-frog older technology because there is less to “undo”. Think of the cell phone banking application that millions of Africans avail of. In India, Luna Ergonomics is offering the Panini Clever Multilingual Keypad. In a country that enjoys such a diversity of language, private enterprise sees this as a panacea to the existing barriers to conducting business.

Challenges

The ongoing discussion related to the development of mobile apps is whether developers should produce native apps i.e. those written for Android OS or iOS or apps that are OS agnostic?

Because enterprise device are loaded with many more apps and require additional security there will soon be a distinct separation from consumer devices. Will the enterprise demand convince device makers to invest in separate manufacturing and sales channels?

An important consideration is the freshness of data on mobile devices. This can pose an added stress to the ERP infrastructure. As demand for “hot” information increases what will be the effect on data warehouses and networks?

At RJMC, we are proud of our ability to guide customers through the evolution of ERP applications. We have been engaged in helping companies assess their ERP needs for over twenty five years. With our proven methodologies we have guided clients through assessment, analysis, selection, and implementation of software systems that have served them well and will continue to do so well into the future.

Two developments have contributed to the change in system implementations:

The virtualization of hardware
The commoditization of software

At the outset, companies seeking hosting solutions find themselves faced with a menu that can overwhelm: hosted applications, software service providers , private and public clouds, even metrics specifying the number of armed guards assigned to a data center. Not one shoe fits all. In fact, the analogy with a glove maybe more apt. Each of your strategic software needs could possibly entertain its own hosting possibilities. It is entirely possible that hosting your core ERP that includes accounting, manufacturing, purchasing, and sales will remain an on-site endeavor but your strategic solutions like CRM and Sales Forecasting could be accessed as purely subscription services. Another factor that drives companies to seeking offsite hosting options is the mismatch of IT skill sets and the business needs.

How does a company strike the balance between autonomy and control when it comes to system implementation?

On one end of the spectrum is the pure subscription model . Once you have provided your data to the hosting company, you are off and running. As long as you pay your monthly fees, your users can access the application and no one in your tech support ever gets a call. The downside, if any, could be the lack of a personal touch when it comes to support. In addition, you may have to sacrifice some of the uniqueness of your business functions. This is the truly public cloud. Also known as Software as a Service (SaaS). Salesforice is the leading example of a public cloud.

The private cloud, on the other hand, allows you more visibility into the hosting infrastructure. You license the software, just like you would on-site, and the hosting company provides dedicated support for upgrades and bug fixes. In most cases, you are provided the exact location of the data center where your applications and databases are hosted. This type of setup would be more applicable to critical applications like core ERP. Because the support is dedicated you do pay for exclusivity but, in the long run, this can prove to be cost effective due to reduced in-house support. Currently, such services are offered by vendors themselves like Oracle’s own Oracle on Demand as well as hosting companies like Mercury Technologies whose employees are skilled at supporting Oracle applications.

The two scenarios above could be likened to outsourcing cooking chores. With the public cloud scenario, you order take out off a chain restaurant’s menu. With the private cloud, imagine a restaurant that allows you to set the the menu which they will prepare and deliver.

In both cases, however, you want a guarantee that your “remote” kitchen is hygienic and safe. Translated to software and hardware, this mean asking questions like:

What are fixed and recurring costs?
What is the skill set of the support staff?
What are the disaster recovery plans?
How will your development needs be addressed?
How will the cloud encapsulate interaction with your trading partners?

At RJMC, we are increasingly helping our customers navigate these questions as they seek newer and faster software. We have been engaged in helping companies assess their ERP needs for over twenty five years. With our proven methodologies we have guided clients through assessment, analysis, selection, and implementation of software systems that have served them well and will continue to do so well into the future.

Call RJMC today to find out how we can assist your company to assess the status of your new or existing enterprise solutions for the purpose of process improvement or to determine whether it might be the right time to evaluate new solutions for your company.

Call RJMC today to find out how we can assist your company to assess the status of your new or existing enterprise solutions for the purpose of process improvement or to determine whether it might be the right time to evaluate new solutions for your company.

Forecasts, based on historical sales, used to be the preferred way of transmitting demand information down the supply chain. This approach worked as long as there was a constancy of demand in large quantities. And this was true of early adapters of supply chains like automobile and appliance manufacturers. Even today, the everyday-low-price approach still works for made to stock supply chains with constant consumption patterns.

Consumption driven planning, on the other hand, lent itself perfectly to production in the growing consumer markets. Such supply chains had short lead times, repetitive demand, and small order quantities. We are all aware of the success of Dell and Amazon. There is no denying that the internet was an enhancer but it was the nimbleness of the supply chains when reacting to demand that was a big reason for their success. As long as production and distribution capacity were available the demand signals coming from the customer were recognized and fulfilled.

The Hybrid
Along came even more choice. Consumers wanted computers in the cars and others wanted to race cars on their computers. Companies were becoming cognizant of the sweet spot between making to stock and making to order. To complicate the picture further, there was no easily identifiable decoupling point in the supply chain to separate the activities based on forecasts from the activities based on the customer orders. Companies were forced to do their homework and arrive at the demand planning model that worked best for them.

A leading auto manufacturer in the US gravitated to a pull model to by allowing dealers to review part level stocking recommendations based on their needs. By further facilitating automatic order generation and a generous return policy for those dealers who participated in the new program, the supply chain was more finely tuned to the dealer-customer interactions.

The Hub
The evolution of the hybrid planning model continues today. This means the deployment of software that helps integration and sharing of information. Today’s supply chain solutions attempt to play the role of a virtual hub of information. Suppliers share data on components, production plans share their capacity information, distribution centers share the space and transportation constraints, and sales and retailers feed their consumption information. If only it was as easy as wash, rinse, and repeat. This is why the cost of Demand planning and supply planning solutions cost is linked to how accurate they are able to match supply and demand.

A leading contract manufacturer of phone chargers decided to set up a portal for suppliers to submit quotes. Because the company continually introduces new products in a fast evolving consumer market, the portal was constantly in use to obtain supplies at the best cost and most reliable service level agreements. No longer was there a need for roundtrips between suppliers and corporate regarding quotes and schedules.

Due to the blurring of lines between purely consumption or forecast driven planning companies must first analyze their supply chain networks, identify the strengths and weaknesses, and select demand planning software that will exploit the supply chain to its fullest capacity without losing sight of the customers’ needs.

Leading vendors in the demand plannning space include:
Demand Works
Ultriva
ForecastPro

At RJMC, we have been engaged in helping companies assess their ERP needs for over twenty five years. Besides core ERP requirements, we also work with companies to help them stay competitive by aiding them in the selection of Demand Planning, Supply Chain Planning, Inventory Optimization, and Trade Promotion solutions.

This post explores two areas of inventory management that have been attracting renewed attention due to the availability of more sophisticated software to implement them.

Ownership Strategy

We all know that most of the goods we consume are manufactured in another country. Although production lines are churning out product, the time that goods remain in transit only adds to the final cost. For this reason many companies are beginning to pay more attention to the costs incurred while product is docked, in transit, or waiting for bureaucracy to act. It is entirely possible that a company could find it cost effective to manufacture domestically in order to eliminate a transit cost incurred with overseas manufacturing. Also, with the burgeoning of e-commerce competition is now focused on fulfillment strategies at a lower cost. This has seen many internet retailers shift from drop shipment alliances to self managed inventory management and distribution.

As a company you are entitled to visibility of the inventory you own. If this clarity is being affected by logistics it is only prudent to push the ownership and cost of inventory to the players upstream.

Postponement Strategy

This strategy is mostly applicable to the parts of the finished product that could be identified as customizable. Some examples are low tech like labels, electric plugs, and packaging while high-tech examples extend to circuit board manufacturers and chemicals. By extending the point where the good is considered finished as close to the customer as possible a manufacturer can attain more precise matching of the customized components. Since production is now considered more modular supply chains must be modified to tap inventories at different stages than they would traditionally do. Instead of a classic production line there could feeder segments which consume common inventory and downstream special segments that add custom components for different markets.

If you are wrestling with any of the following – an inability to forecast demand, an increase in demand for customization, or untamed distribution costs; this could be the opportunity to delve further into postponement strategies.

Besides Oracle and SAP, several software vendors now offer specialized Inventory Optimization solutions that are designed to integrate with existing ERP installations. Some of the vendors are :

JDA
Red Prairie
Manhattan Associates
Steelwedge Optimized S&OP
Toolsgroup Inventory Optimizer
Logility

At RJMC, we are committed to helping our clients analyze their ERP requirements and help them select solutions that match the needs. Our recent work with medium sized companies has provided us invaluable experience in evaluating inventory management modules as part of supply chain requirements.

Over the last two decades suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, distributors have been marching in lock step, thanks to the evolution of supply chain management systems. From components to finished goods no link has been left unexamined to ensure that a supply chain satisfies the most stringent requirements of manufacturing cost and product quality.

In the last few years, as more of the world’s population is entering the consumer age, planning – be it on the demand or supply side – has now taken on a major role in the supply chain.

Consider the following five examples of planning successes:

Two years ago, in order to save transport costs, PepsiCo UK identified opportunities to share vehicles with Asda, the supermarket chain. When Asda vehicles are making deliveries to stores, on the backhaul route, the vehicle diverts to the PepsiCo distribution centre, collects the load and delivers it into Asda’s distribution centre network. This has resulted in 70% of Asda’s volume from PepsiCo depots being transported on the backhaul route of an Asda store delivery and a decrease of nearly 50,000 miles in the distance covered by PepsiCo UK trucks annually.

Franzus Cpmpany, a fast growing Connecticut based distrbutor of travel accessories was losing large orders due to poor inventory planning. After incorporation of a demand planning module into the exisiting Microsoft Business Solutions system the company was able to achieve a forecasting accuracy of 95%. As more sales history was entered into the planning mdoule the easier it became to spot and accomodate seasonal sales patterns.

Titan, India’s largest watch manufacturer used SAP optimization and planning software to move from a countrywide to a regional supply chain and demand planning model. The higher resolution model enabled the company to maximize the utility of regional Carry & Forwarding Agents, a key player in the Indian retailing arena. Through this approach Titan was able to speed up the the journey of its products from manufacturing plants to stores across India, leading to a 20% increase in sales.

Advanced Fibre Communications, one of the largest providers of next-generation edge access networking equipment and multi-service broadband solutions for the telecommunications industry, utilized Steelwedge’s EDM planning software to generate data for Cognos applications. This effort resulted in very little change to the design of the existing ERP architecture but the availability of real time forecasts proved invaluable in synchronizing the efforts of company’s key business units.

Nestle Waters decided to calculate the correlation between key SKU sales and the prevailing weather conditions in its most volatile markets. The resulting impactors for each product were then loaded into a SAP forecasting system. Currently, the weekly weather forecast is loaded into the planning system which in turn creates a more precise weather-impacted demand plan.

What did the companies do right?
Two things. These companies listened closely to their customers’ questions and dug deep into their supply chain for answers.

As with most aspects of life in the twenty first century, there is no shortage of choices when it comes to planning tools. Oracle’s Demantra, SAP’s Demand & Supply, Infor’s SCM, and JDA’s Demand Management products all offer tools that serve the planning needs of large companies. Smaller enterprises can choose from products like Steelwedge’s EDM, Exceedra’s Cube, and Demandworks Smoothie.

Irrespective of the size of a company, obtaining satisfactory answers to the following questions should provide a head start when considering a solution:

How easily does the system allow the planners to arrive at a Single Number?

And finally, does the system provide a quick and clear method of communicating planning changes up and down the supply chain?

Planning is the path to pro-activity. It is what will help you stay ahead of the curve. And the results – low cost, quick delivery, high quality – will soon get your customers’ attention.

Newspapers may be going the way of the dinosaur but if you ever do happen to pick one off your driveway on a lazy Sunday morning wouldn’t you’d rather it be dry?

At RJMC we have been helping our clients navigate the ERP waters for over twenty four years. As the business functions of our clients have grown in complexity we have been deeply involved in assessing their Supply Chain and Demand Planning requirements and helping them select the tools that will serve them best.