I.T. in Marketing - Michelle Kwan

Question TWO

Evaluate and compare the features, functions, pricing, available editions, technology etc. of any two sources of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Here are some sources you may choose from:

SAP
Lawson Software
Microsoft Dynamics NAV
OpenBravo - open-source ERP
Kingdee K/3
QAD

Based on your understanding of ERP, do you believe that a firm should implement enterprise resource planning software when it is a new company, or after it has had time to mature ? Explain your answer.

Minimum word count: 200

My Answer

ERP system provides smart, reliable, strategic and tactical decision-making at all levels to your firm. Once you install the ERP, it will helps you to manage your financial & Accounting, Service Management, Sales & Marketing, Production, Inventory Management, Purchasing, Planning, and Human Resources. Products that contain integrated business applications to automate and management those processes are referred to enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. Here, I would like to evaluate and compare the feature, functions, pricing, available editions, technology, and so on, comparing SAP to Microsoft Dynamics NAV. SAP is the world’s largest software company and in business for more than 30 years. It has more than 89,000 customers and 68,000 of which are small and mid-size company in more than 50 countries. It provides business management and intelligent solutions designed to fit your business with your ideal budget. According to your industry, your role, and your needs. SAP will design you the most suitable ERP to your firm to boost your productivity.

SAP provides 3 software solutions for small and midsize firms, which is SAP Business One, SAP Business By Design, and SAL Business All-in-One to supports industry-specific need.

SAP Business One
It’s a single, integrated application that for the company have outgrown packaged, accounting-only software and need to replace multiple, nonintegrated applications. It available in 40 countries with 20 languages, and up to 100 employees. It also embedded analytics, ad hoc queries, and standard reports. To the price, SAP Business One partners can start as low as $20.000 for 5 SAP Business One users, including software licensing and implementation.

SAP Business By Design
It is best for the firms whom need to replace point solutions, manual processes, and spreadsheets. However, it’s only available in the USA, Germany, France, the US, India and China, with the employees from 100 to 500. The price is $149 per month; subscription-based pricing and starting at 25 users.

SAP All-in-One
It best fit to the companies have outgrown current point solution, legacy systems, and especially ERP systems. It available in 50 countries and up to 2,500 employees. The price is according to the design of your solutiononline and gets an immediate cost estimate. It provides wide categories industry support to your ERP system.

To Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, it is a popular business management solution, also for small and mid-sized organizations that provide employees with tools they are already know, like Microsoft Office Outlook and Office Excel. To work with it better analyze project or contract profitability and give employees quick insight into predefined views of data about their role.

As for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, it provide different price for each project, according to your specific needs. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 is now available in 42 countries version (Australia, France, the USA, Ireland, etc.) but not around the world. In the coming future, it will spread to more country (like Thailand, Greece, Malaysia, Switzerland).· Benefit to build with ERP, · Optimizes every aspect of operations · Maximizes revenue and minimizes costs · Fully utilizes resources and leverages partners · Beats the competition by consistently delighting customers.

Microsoft Dynamics NAV collects your business function into one integrated system. With close visual and functional ties to Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office. It hides 90% of the features you don’t need to see. And promotes the actions and information that you do need, leaving you with an uncluttered window and an overview of upcoming tasks.

With access to real-time data and a wide range of analytical and reporting tools, people can make informed, confident decisions that help drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics NAV provides the flexibility to set up your system for today's business requirements, as well as a reliable platform for you to change and growth. And the object-oriented development environment and compact source code simplifies system maintenance and connecting to other systems.

Based on my understanding to te ERP system, no matter it is a small or a mid-sized organizations, I think ERP system should be installed and used when the firms start. ERP software helps entrepreneurship to formulate an organised, functional, and systematically information. If the organiztions use ERP system when it starts, employer and employee could management or collect the data according to the target or further development, and do not need to adapt themselves to the new system on the halfway.

Although the price of an ERP system is not cheap, companies also waste their cost owing to the duplicationand and the all rounded support. ERP software allows company to share the common data from the information database quickly and allows the same datas to be used by multiple functions and processes.For example, each front line salesmen from each branch stores can know the goods of stock immediately. So that they could response to the customer immediately, and the Store Department could arrange and planning the stocks at the same time. Consequently, the management can generate all reports from different fields by the easy procedure, in addition to reduce the manpower input.

Nothing can alter the fact is, the entrepreneurship should communicate with the ERP system operator with the truth. Otherwise, ERP cannot help you to meet the target, vice versa.