The Hindu : Business : Expert lists benefits of ERP

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Tuesday, Feb 19, 2008
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Expert lists benefits of ERP

Staff Reporter

‘The system integrates all data and processes ’

KOCHI: Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), according to Guenter Wiskot, is the heart of the organisation of a company. A German software expert who founded companies like Command AG and Black Forest Consulting, Mr. Wiskot said that ERP systems attempt to integrate all data and processes of an organisation into a unified system.

In Kochi to give a presentation on “ERP – Applications, Functional Overview” at St. Albert’s College on Monday, Mr. Wiskot said that ERP is an interface between customers and suppliers. “It is a tool which helps the management know the exact status of the enterprise at any time,” he said.

Conditions

A programmer who had worked at IBM Germany and studied Computer Science and Economical Engineering at University of Karlsruhe in Germany, Mr. Wiskot said that one of the pre-requisites for implementing ERP solutions is clear organisation and structure in the company.

“We also need well-defined responsibilities and defined work flow. There should be constant reviews of process structures,” he said.

Applications

Mr. Wiskot said that ERP delivers a single database that contains all data for the software modules that include manufacturing and supply chain management. He said that engineering, bills of material, scheduling, capacity, work flow management and quality control were some of the features in manufacturing module.

“ERP applications come in warehouse management, inventory, materials requirement planning, supplier network and e-procurement,” he said. Mr. Wiskot said that e-procurement is relatively new in India. “It means you can buy goods without using the services of the purchasing department,” he said.

Mr. Wiskot said that ERP is also useful in marketing and sales and production. The systems would help in order-entry, order-fulfilment and sales planning in marketing and sales module. In production, the system is useful in bill of material, routing data and shop floor control.

A typical ERP system uses multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration, Mr. Wiskot said. The key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to store data for the various system modules.

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