The ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), are resource planning systems that are already in their third stage, their later stages are the MRP (Manucfacturing Resource Planning) I and II, whose primary objective was to improve information and planning in the process productive.
ERP suites are software that provide accounting and control applications, production and materials management, quality management and factory maintenance, sales distribution, human resources management and project management, leaving aside the heterogeneity of MRP systems. and linking all sectors of the organization.
The most significant feature is that all the applications are integrated, so they share the same data set that is stored in a common database. Companies benefit from this information because the ERP system relates business processes and manages them as a whole in an integrated way.
Like most information technologies, ERPs provide tools to improve control and planning, and mainly decision-making.
ERP solutions
In the market there are different ERP solutions, that is, supplier companies, among which are worldwide, SAP, Oracle, QAD, PeopleSoft, SSA, IBM among others, in general all present the same modules (specific applications within the suite) / the difference lies in the experience of the supplier company in certain areas, for example QAD is a leader in manufacturing management and PeopleSoft in personnel management.
Another important differential is the complementary service, such as implementation time, employee training, maintenance and some other services that are directly related to price. In Colombia, ERP solutions have been specifically targeted at large companies, mainly due to their cost, SAP has been one of the leading providers in Latin America, and has provided solutions to more than 50 Colombian companies, including Panamco-Indega (Coca-Cola), Avianca, Seguros La Previsora, Colseguros, Cervecería Leona and Comcel.
Although the high costs prevent SMEs from linking these tools to their organizations, there are somewhat more modest ERP solutions, among which are known, NAVISION, Dimoni, SP software, Aqua ERP, Logic Control, among others.
ERP benefits
Implementing an ERP solution in the company will bring great benefits, such as greater productivity, integrated information and on time for better decision making, etc. However, some managers commented that the first thing to consider is when a company is ready to use an ERP-type system.
"Héctor Eminence from IBM pointed out three main factors that determine whether a company is ready to use an ERP system, or not:
- The need for growth, a fundamental factor; Knowing that the company is growing, that its orders are increasing, if there are new suppliers, etc. The need for updated information. The urgency of maintaining a competitive level with respect to other types of companies. "*
Stages of Information Technology and ERP
In this second part of the article we will describe the evolution of information technology and the location of ERP within it.
We can speak of a first stage linked to the 80's era, where all areas of the organization were handled in a heterogeneous way, just as the systems were functionally complex and in their interface, few automatisms and their main achievement was the reduction of costs and increased productivity linked to automation of processes.
With the emergence of new information needs and the technological evolution of computing, the flexibility of the systems was improved and the complexity of the interface was decreased. The appearance of Windows turned the manipulation of these tools into something more friendly; however, there were no networks and the packets were poorly integrated.
Finally, we are in a third stage where the integrated management systems are recognized, where the ERPs are, whose idea is to keep the information centralized, subsequently generating flows of it according to needs. They are more flexible systems that present a unique work interface, regardless of the module being handled, and the quality of the information is better.
The main characteristic of integrated management systems is the homogenization of information, thus managing to manipulate data from the different areas of the company as a whole.
Note
* Interview taken from PC Magazine in Spanish, edition for Colombia, volume 10, number 11. 1999
