erpbuzz

Xero saas based accounting software review

2011-12-04T05:04:00.001-08:00

Synopsis:

Xero Accounting software is small business solutions for SME sector and successfully operates in many organizations across the world. It’s a web based application and developed in asp.net platform. Supported Mac or Windows operating systems but we can reap the benefits also from ubuntu . Xero include inventory management, payroll, suppliers and customers database and we can generate reports for all. Double entry accounting system , which can support Pakistan accounting standards and Middle East.

Starting price from $ 19 and you can take test-drive https://www.xero.com/signup/

Features:

Xero Accounting software has lot of features for that would be fit on Pakistan and Middle East small organizations.

Dashboard

Instantly see all your bank balances, recent sales and upcoming bills.

Multi-currency

Reconcile foreign currency accounts. Gains & losses are calculated for you.

Payroll

Do pay runs and track wage expenses or connect with your payroll system.

Fixed asset depreciation

Easily update fixed assets & depreciation schedules for accurate reporting.

Security

Your data has never been safer.

Free online support

Unlimited, around the clock email support and detailed online help center.

Financial reporting

Instant, up-to-date reporting with quick links to all the original transactions.

Pay bills

Manage your spending and make bill payments in bulk to creditors.

Expense claims

Handle personal expenses - just review and approve receipts.

Mobile

Do invoicing, expenses and track cash flow on the go.

Inventory

Track stock movements & make invoicing even easier with inventory items.

Retail

Run a simple yet sophisticated retail system with any laptop.

Contacts

See your most important customers & suppliers to follow up right away.

Personal finance

Simple budgeting tools keep you on top of spending & savings goals.

Advantage

Software hosted on the web reduces cost of hardware.

Good for those companies who would like to outsource IT function.

All features available for small industries to automate Accounting , Supply Chain and Payroll .

Access reports from iphone.

Unlimited users.

Disadvantages

Technical support only available on internet.

No company presence in Pakistan.

No partners exist in Pakistan for technical & implementation support or functional support.

No ownership of software license.

Hope you will like this review please send us your feedback by email or facebook page.

Thank you .

Wallpaper ErpBuzZ

2011-11-27T01:12:00.001-08:00

ERP during Recession

2011-11-26T09:17:00.001-08:00

With the loaming recession globally, unnecessary IT spending adding billions of dollars annually is no longer an option. This is of great significance for the organizations in the people centric or services sector, where change is frequent and inevitable. With companies contracting up their purse strings all across the globe, selling new enterprise solutions to company prospects is not an easy task. Generally, the IT services growth around the world has slowed down, forcing organizations to move back to basics with an increased focus on cost management and less on business transformation projects.

However, despite analyst predictions that recession will engulf the ERP market, various recent surveys have shown that ERP projects are and will continue to flourish as long as they can show not just return on investments, but the ability to cope with the demands of rapidly changing businesses, and the ability to make significant changes without high programming costs.

Footwear Retail Solutions

2011-11-25T12:29:00.001-08:00

Keeping your footwear store operations in tip-top shape entails understanding your business and knowing how to stay lean, develop season specials, monitor the fast-sellers and implement cost-effective business processes and relationships. You also need the power of Retail Pro to serve the needs of the store and that of your customers — whether one is responding to seasonal buys or simply processing complex transactions at the POS station.

Retail Pro provides footwear store retailers the right business tools
to help compete effectively in an ever-changing and demanding marketplace.Easy to install and use, this flexible, affordable point-of-service software solution helps effectively manage all aspects of your store's inventory.

Among other things, with Retail Pro's footware software solutions you can:

Manage a large range of merchandise shoe assortments — with ease. Keep track of every item — from seasonal, casual, dress to sportswear and anything in between. Understanding specific merchandise requirements, one can easily track and manage shoe assortments and non-inventory related items. Better buying decisions can be made based on accurate sales information and inventory records.
Customers and employees are kept happy with item lookups. Speed at time of checkout and delivering better and improved customer service is easily achievable.

Acquisitions

2011-11-25T11:00:00.001-08:00

Enterprise Software Acquisitions
Rank	Companies	Acquisitions
1.	SAP	Top Tier
2.	Oracle	Peoplesoft, Siebel
3.	Sage	Tekton, Emdeon
4.	Infor	SSA, GEAC
5.	Microsoft	Dynamics, Navision
6.	Salesforce.com	-
7.	Lawson	Intentia
8.	Unit4 Agresso	Coda
9.	Epicor	Scala, NSB Retail
10.	Visma	Accountview, Volym

As ERP proved to be a financially rewarding market; ERP vendors started using their cash flow to buy competitors. Acquisitions were so many in numbers, that most of the ERP vendors of the nineties now no longer exist as separate companies. All companies in the Top 10 used acquisitions to gain or strengthen their position. SAP bought Top Tier, Oracle spent lavishly on PeopleSoft and Siebel, Sage bought a host of smaller players. Infor, which is backed by Golden Gate Capital, has bought so many companies that they earned a position above Microsoft on the list. Microsoft did not originally make enterprise software, but decided to get into this growing market by buying some medium-sized players.
As the Top 5 have been growing in the past few years through acquisitions, number 9 and 10 on the list - Epicor and Visma - are now rumored to be targets themselves. More consolidation is definitely expected for the future.

Future developments: jumping the SaaS band wagon
A relatively new development is the increased interest in Software-as-a-Service. Both SAP and Oracle have announced a shift of their activities in this direction, spurred by the strong financial results of SaaS companies like Salesforce.com and Netsuite.
Despite others jumping the SaaS band wagon, we expect Salesforce’s momentum to continue, and a Top 3 position is possible within two years time.

SAP Business All-in-One Delivering Information to Your Fingertips

2011-11-23T09:05:00.001-08:00

Time Management System

2011-11-22T10:26:00.001-08:00

There are many devices available in Pakistan as we discuss in ErpBuzZ last post . Time Management System is a small software integrated with device and you can generate these reports from this software .

Promising Enterprise Level Data Security and Back-Up
Export all reports in Excel (Attendance)
Highly Flexible Leave Management Module
Client/Server Architecture
Multi-User Environment
Graphical User Interface
MS Access and MS SQL Server Support
Flexible Report Generation Using Crystal Reports

This software easily integrate with other ERP e.g. SAP ERP, SAP B-1, Oracle e-Business Suit and other local ERP e.g. Sidat Hyder ErpforAll , OpenErp , Efro ERP , Simga ERP , SysHCM .

Devices for Time Attendance and Roster

2011-11-20T03:47:00.001-08:00

Biometric provides the latest non-intrusive biometric security solutions. These biometric security products incorporate fingerprint, face, iris, voice, and signature recognition. These biometric technologies can be used separately or together in one powerful package to meet your entire authentication and identification needs.

Biometric devices also integrate with your existing IT environment and third party payroll software's.

Our biometric devices and biometric software products include Fingerprint Time & Attendance, Fingerprint Access Control systems, USB Fingerprint Scanners, Embedded Fingerprint reader Modules, Fingerprint SDK (API), Biometric Computer Logon, Mobile Fingerprint Scanner, Iris Access Control system, Web Based ID, Signature Verification, Voice Authentication Systems

Biometric Access Control & Attendance	USB Fingerprint Scanners	Biometric SDK (API)

Fingerprint Time & Attendance	Embedded Fingerprint Modules	Biometric Computer Logon

Mobile Fingerprint Scanners	Iris Access Control	Web Based Biometrics

Electronic Signature Pad	Voice Authentication

For more information and free advice you can contact ErpBuzZ Team .
Thank you.

TimeTrax (Payroll Software with Biometric Device)

2011-11-19T13:36:00.001-08:00

Controlling Labor Costs- Critical Information needs for today's businesses

Businesses today are focusing on optimization of one of their key cost components, i.e., the labor cost factor. Whether it is about being a service-oriented or a manufacturing concern, efficient human resource management controls and translates it into enhanced organizational productivity and also provides an objective basis for Human Resource requirement and planning for the future.

Following are some of the questions that we ask from our prospective clients for an evaluation of their HR requirements:

Does your business need to track hours for an employee against different cost centers, departments or across multiple facilities to ensure accurate accounting and budgeting?
Would it be beneficial for your company to manage and track leave, vacation, sick days and other benefit pay consistently for exempt and non-exempt employees?
Would your managers benefit from having an easy-to-use scheduling system that would improve the efficiency of your operations?
Does your payroll include complex pay rules for premiums and shift changes that need to be handled by your time and attendance system?
Does your business require you to bill hours against specific jobs in order to accurately invoice clients for labor costs?
Does your business require you to calculate payroll on the basis of piece rate, or the no. of jobs completed?

If your answer to these questions is Yes, then what you are looking for is a Time management and payroll system that is build to suit your requirements.

About TimeTrax™:

Serving over 350 satisfied clients across Pakistan in 21 cities and deployed in 13 countries across the globe; including UAE, South Africa, Korea & Brazil, with embedded payroll logic for various industries, TimeTrax is the ultimate software solution for Integrated Attendance, Payroll, Leave & Travel Management. We are proudly assisting companies in building transparency into employee productivity for the last 13 years.

Our customers have realized TimeTrax benefits by increasing productivity in the following areas:

Automates key administrative processes
Ensures proper staffing, budgeting and management of labor resources
Manages labor costs
Streamlines the payroll process
Replaces manual time sheets
Controls overtime

4 Things not to do when educating your ERP staff

2011-04-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

Failing to provide appropriate training is debatable. One of the major pitfalls which companies fall into in an attempt to cut back on costs when implementing an ERP system but in the long term this can lead to a reduction in productivity which ultimately means that the company has paid for a system and is not reaping the full benefits from it. Here are things not to do when training your ERP staff .

1. Educate, not train

Training staff is much different to educating staff. Training is when you show staff how to carry out a particular task whereas educating staff is when you explain why a task is carried out and this will ensure that the staff have a much deeper understanding of the in and the out of the system thus enabling them to make appropriate changes as and when problems occur.

2. Take advantage of a number of educational methods

People are unique in many ways and one member of staff may benefit more from one training method whereas another member of staff may benefit more from another training method. Make use of a number of training methods such as web based tutorials, user guides as well as holding a questions and answer session.

3. Don’t merge formal training with informal training

Trainers can often mix formal with informal training which shows signs of a poorly laid out training scheme. To make the most of the training process, formal training should take place independently from informal training. Formal training includes the standard training methods such as classroom training and examples of informal training could include embedded training courses within the software that the staff will use as well as context-sensitive help.

4. Education is an investment not an expense

Businesses need to understand that education is not solely an expense but it is an investment which will eventually blossom into a more productive business. It should be understood that for a business to run efficiently all staff must be confident that they can carry out their job proficiently and this can only happen by effectively training and educating staff. In addition to this, education should be more than just a one off event which takes place only when the ERP system is implemented as new developments occur all the time and staff must be made aware of these developments in order for them to meet the on-going needs of the business.

Why Every Company Should Use ERP Software

2011-04-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

An Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) is sometimes thought of as an expensive software system which needn't be acquired because local information technology (IT) staff can just write the applications the business needs. Here are 5 reasons why every company should use ERP Software:

1. One stop financial shopping - ERP software pulls all your financial information together for easy access and reporting.

2. Integration and coordination - ERP software integrates your information, avoiding the need to gather data from multiple, independent systems.

3. Ease of learning and use - ERP software has a uniform feel and similar methods are used across all of its modules. This makes it easier to learn as it only has to be learned once. In addition to this, it makes it substantially easier to use, with knowledge transferred from module to module.

4. Flexibility - ERP software with its unified design, adapts to your business as your business grows. Unlike disparate systems, ERP systems are created with growth in mind. Changes are made centrally in a rapid and effective manner.

5. Updates with legal and business climate changes - ERP software is supported by the software vendor which means you will get regular updates as legal requirements change and the business climate evolves. Compliance issues are eased and competitive advantage is maintained without staff being saddled with time-consuming, expensive programming work.

Case Study

The following case study is a composite of numerous real-life situations and illustrates the problems faced by a certain large corporation struggling to cope with independent financial systems.

Company X had taken self-importance in the development of their own financial systems. They had a large information technology staff who had produced separate systems for general ledger, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, human resources, and inventory. The IT staff ran these systems in the Company X data centre, and processed change orders when business needs demanded modifications to the systems. Because each change order had to be reflected in each individual system, typical turnaround time for an average change order was about three months from start to finish. Large changes took longer, sometimes six months or more.

Everything came to a head when the company considered flexible work hours, requiring significant modifications to the human resources system, and these changes rippled out into the other systems. The IT department estimated a year of work to get everything ready if overtime wasn't authorized.

Senior management didn't understand why this should take so long, and hired a consultant to study the problem. The consultant came up with the only possible recommendation: an integrated, flexible ERP system which would easily handle work schedule variations and much more. It would also take a year to set up, but it would properly position the company far into the future and provide untold additional benefits. Senior management eagerly adopted this recommendation.

Integration and flexibility are key in today's competitive business world. An ERP system uniquely provides these advantages, and every business should be using one.

Real Time Inventory

2010-06-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

SAP Business One Inventory

Real Time Inventory

SAP Business One is a completely real-time business application, with inventory and accounting figures being updated automatically when transaction occur. When an Invoice is created and added to the system, the Inventory is immediately deducted from the in-stock amount and the Cost of Goods Sold are booked to the General Ledger, along with the other entries created by an Invoice. No batches to process, no end of day or end of month processes. It all happens in the background, in real-time, all the time.

SAP Business One Video - Real Time Inventory

A Function of software Design and Quality

2010-06-07T05:53:00.000-07:00

An accounting system, more than any other system, needs to be reliable. The webERP code has been extensively peer reviewed but more importantly extensively tested in the field. The result is rock solid stability and a program that does exactly as it is supposed to.All development is reviewed and the project is led by UK qualified Chartered Accountants both with experience in senior management roles in business. The emphasis is on practical features that businesses really need.
To produce a solid application it is necessary to build upon solid foundations. webERP is developed using the PHP (PHP Hypertext Pre-Processor) web development language. Again PHP is an open-source development environment and the rigour applied to its development and review of its code is the reason why it has become one of the most popular and respected web-development platforms. Performance of well written PHP applications in a web-environment are arguably without peer. webERP is no exception.webERP scripts are developed with consistency and simplicity in mind so that the PHP scripts that make up webERP are readable with only a basic knowledge of PHP scripting and the webERP structure. Every opportunity is taken to remove abstraction from the code to make the logic as clear as possible to the reader of the code. Simple code makes for reliable code. It also makes for easily modifiable code should another function be required.
It can be easily configured on any operating system and the computer processing requirements are surprisingly light. With web-hosting so competitively priced, 3rd party hosting external to the business effectively minimises any internal IT costs of maintaining the server. Then only a connection to the internet is required to use webERP.

What is the Major Advantage of Distribution Software

2010-06-07T05:44:00.000-07:00

Wholesale distributors know a strong distribution software package is a critical requirement for staying competitive in today’s economic conditions. Distributors engaged in ERP selection projects will keep the organization’s distribution requirements at the heart of their ERP evaluation project. When considering a new ERP system, distributors will be focused on features and functions that help aid the organization in maintaining strong inventory control and exceptional customer service. They will seek comprehensive ERP solutions that offer high inventory turnover, robust purchasing, efficient import management, and an undeniable focus on customer relationship management.So what do wholesale distributors look for in a new ERP system? Take a moment to answer our weekly ERP poll and then check back to see how your response aligns with that of the average visitor.

What is the Major Advantage of Distribution Software Over Standard ERP Systems?
Fully-integrated CRM Functionality
Fully-integrated Warehouse Management System
Strong Supply Chain Management Capabilities
Distribution Requirements Planning (DRP) to Support Multiple Distribution Cen

ERP SOFTWARE

2010-06-07T05:28:00.000-07:00

Tuppas specializes in agile ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning) design. We can gather data from the shop floor and build expert systems to utilize that data. What makes us stand out from the crowd is that we can provide "fast track" service and a high level of customization for our customers at the same time. Manufacturing companies can greatly benefit from our expertise in implementations within manufacturing environments as they move to automate data collection and reporting.

Our customers also experience the huge benefit of software customized just for them without the huge price tag of traditional systems. We also offer a SaaS Software as a service option. The types of systems Tuppas offers are financials, CRM, cost accounting, forecasting and planning. Tuppas also provides a complete collection of MES modules. Tuppas has evolved providing MES systems to manufacturers and is the superior choice for innovation in manufacturing.

SAP focus in Pakistan

2010-06-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

SAP seems to once again making a push further into Pakistan. It is looking for people to hire, and for business partners (resellers and system integrators). Its been all over the informal newswire and SAP has been giving out large ads in the papers going “we’re hiring!!”. If you’re a lowly paid or out of work SAP consultant in the US, time to move back here…

Pakistan,India, China and the ME region are a hot market for ERPs, and possibly the last “real, large” market for enterprise ERP systems.

SAP currently is installed at over 20 of the largest companies in Pakistan, with the customer list including the likes of PSO, Indus Motors, etc

Oracle isn’t sitting on the sidelines either, they have closed quite a few projects through several system integrators in the country in the last 8 months. With their acquisition of iFLEX, a core banking suite they are also now wading into the banking sector in Pakistan, much to the annoyance of IBM+Misys.

All this while Microsoft’s Dynamics (Their ERP suite : GP, Solomon,etc ) initiatives look as cold as an uncooked kettle of fish, as usual. I guess the regular licensing and ISV sales are more than making up for it, as usual

ERP software for midsize and large companies

2010-06-04T05:33:00.000-07:00

At its core Enterprise ERP system offers the typical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) modules of accounts, order processing, stock, manufacturing and job costing. By offering a range of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) modules, such as email, document management, graphical calendars and schedulers, and a bulletin board, all in the same application, Enterprise ERP system is able to deliver a unique level of interaction between its component elements. Enterprise ERP software system also provides a series of modules designed for specific industries, all with the same potential for interaction with other parts of the system. It uses an unrivaled range of technologies to extend the software availability throughout your organisation and beyond, at the same time reducing reliance on costly interfaces between applications thereby offering the lowest total cost of ownership available in the mid-range.

SAP Business One

2010-05-27T12:40:00.000-07:00

SAP Business One

Software for Small & Midsize Companies

We believe that doing business should be easy. Check out SAP Business One. It's backed by SAP, the world's largest software company. Don't let that scare you though; the majority of SAP's customers are just like you, small business owners and employees that want to have best-run businesses.

SAP Business One Screenshot

SAP Business One as a Platform for Growth

SAP Business one is a business platform for the future. At ERP BuzZ, we often get asked, "Why can't I find software that meets the unique needs of my business on the shelf in a store?". The truth is, that product doesn't exist. If it did, it wouldn't be backed by a firm that had the ability to support it. SAP Business One is an application developed with small business owners in mind. It's simple yet powerful architecture provides the ability to tailor the application to best fit your unique business needs.

SAP has over 20,000 customers using over 1,000 industry-specific solutions; SAP has published a software road map through 2015. With a clear path towards the future, you can be confident that we'll be around to support your business for years to come. Recently, SAP also acquired Business Objects, the creators of Crystal Reports, to further strengthen its ability to provide customers with value.

Completely Integrated Business Software SAP Business one is a complete platform to run your entire business. In one single application, SAP Business One manages all primary facets of your business, including Financials, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory, Banking, Manufacturing, Forecasts & Budgets, Reporting and more.

Sage Accounting - Sample Reports Review

2010-05-17T04:21:00.000-07:00

SSage accounting software is leading software in world. Mostly in Pakistan there is no one authorized partner of Sage. Sage recently launched their ERP Software for different industries. Mostly in Pakistan pirated software using of Sage that’s why companies face problems but if it is purchased by online from Sage and proper implement then it is good software for small industries. Sage accounting includes an integrated financial report writer built to meet the unique needs of organizations. The report examples below can be easily configured by an average user – no external or third-party reporting tools are required. Your organization can quickly produce presentation-quality financial statements and analysis reports for your board, auditors, management, and other users of financial information.

FAS-Compliant Financials

· Statement of activities

· Statement of financial position

· Statement of cash flows

Other Key Financial Reports

· Balance sheet

· Balance sheet by fund

Critical Management & Analysis Reporting

· Revenues & expenditures – pre-allocation analysis

· Program performance – prior year comparison

· Program performance – budget analysis

· Program comparison – functional expense detail

· Program expenses – columnar analysis

· Performance budgeting analysis

Government Wide Statements

· Statement of activities

· Statement of net assets

Proprietary Funds

· Fund balance sheets

· Statement of cash flows

· Statement of revenues, expenses and changes in net assets

· Proprietary funds

Supplementary Information

· Budgetary comparison schedule

· Capital asset schedule

Sample reports are in adobe acrobat reader format (.pdf). Please share your quires in comments box.

The History of SAP

2010-05-10T01:51:00.000-07:00

The History of SAP
In 1972, five systems analysts began working nights and weekends to create standard software with realtime data processing. Twenty-five years later their vision is a reality: SAP is the world's market and technology leader in business application software.

On April 1, 1972 five former IBM employees founded SAP as Systemanalyse und Programmentwicklung (“Systems Analysis and Program Development”) in Mannheim, Germany. Their vision was to develop and market standard enterprise software which would integrate all business processes. The idea came to them through their work as systems consultants for IBM when they noticed that client after client was developing the same, or very similar, computer programs. The second part of their vision was that data should be processed interactively in realtime, and the computer screen should become the focal point of data processing.

From a start-up software vendor to global market leader
Over the course of twenty-five years, their vision has transformed SAP from a small regional enterprise into a world-class international company. Today, the SAP Group is the global market leader in enterprise resource planning software, and has subsidiaries, affiliates and branch offices in nearly every industrial nation in the world. Important milestones in the company's corporate history include its conversion to a GmbH (a closely-held corporation) in 1977, the opening of the company's headquarters in Walldorf, and its conversion into a publicly-held corporation whose shares are listed on several stock markets.

By changing its structure to a publicly-held corporation, SAP significantly strengthened its capital base and laid the foundations for its employees to enjoy more of a share in the company's success. In the end, it is SAP's employees – currently more than 9,000 of them - whose know-how, motivation and performance have nurtured the company's progress. And it is their commitment and innovative drive which will pace the company's future success and keep it ahead of the competition.

Over one million R/3 users

Products have played the central role in SAP's success story. In this area, two milestonesstand out: first, the development and 1979 market release of the R/2 software system for mainframes, and, second, the R/3 client/server software system introduced in 1992. Since its debut, the R/3 System use has grown explosively and now accounts for the lion's share of SAP product sales. At present, more than one million end users around the world work with the R/3 System.

The development of SAP products has continually benefited from major advances in the hardware sector. Back in 1972, the limited storage capacity of computers posed one of the biggest challenges. In those days, mainframes only had 500 kilobytes of storage capacity. Slow data input and output meant that only partial applications with a limited data volume were feasible. It was against this technological background that SAP signed its first customer, the German ICI subsidiary in Östringen.

With the successful implementation of its initial project, SAP had nine employees and, at the end of its first fiscal year, posted a profit on revenues of DM 620,000. In the second year of operation, two local businesses – the tobacco and cigarette manufacturer Roth-Händle and the pharmaceutical company Knoll - selected the newly developed SAP Financial Accounting (RF) System. This system quickly earned a reputation as an excellent standard package and installations expanded to 40 customers. But product development did not slow on this success, and a second standard product, the Materials Management (RM) System, with modules for purchasing, inventory management and invoice verification, soon followed. The benefits of SAP's integration philosophy showed through, with data from Materials Management flowing straight into Financial Accounting.

R/2 System goes international
SAP's close relationships with customers led to continuous enhancements in the existing program modules, while important new additions were made, such as the Cost Accounting (RK) System. The R/2 System was now ready for the international market. New computers with drastically improved price/performance ratios helped expand the customer base, and SAP raised its profile still further by appearing at the Systems trade fair in Munich - the company's first-ever presence at an industry trade show.

In 1982, SAP celebrated its tenth anniversary, with sales soaring 48% to over DM 24 million. By the end of the year, 236 companies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland were working with the SAP standard programs. Sales continued to climb in the following year, increasing by 45%.

In 1984 SAP took additional steps into the international arena with the founding of SAP (International) AG in Switzerland, whose focus was to increase sales of the R/2 System in international markets. Development teams began work on two new applications, Personnel Management and Plant Maintenance, while the Production Planning and Control System was installed at its first pilot customers.

1985 was characterized by further expansion. The Walldorf headquarters had grown to 10,000 square meters of space, while at the Swiss subsidiary a new headquarters was occupied. SAP systems were now in use in most European countries, and SAP began to penetrate markets outside Europe - with customers in South Africa, Kuwait, Trinidad, Canada and the US.

SAP goes public
SAP continued to grow in 1988 with the international sales network strengthened by the establishment of subsidiaries in Denmark, Sweden, Italy and the US. Other events included: the founding of SAP Consulting GmbH as a joint project between SAP and the consulting firm Arthur Andersen; the opening of an International Training Center in Walldorf; and the welcoming of Dow Chemical as SAP's 1,000th customer. However, the most significant events of the year were the increase of SAP's capital stock from DM 5 million to DM 60 million, the subsequent conversion of SAP GmbH into a stock corporation, SAP AG, and the flotation of SAP shares on the stock market. SAP shares were quoted on the securities exchanges in Frankfurt and Stuttgart.

During the next year, 1989, SAP shares began trading on the Zurich stock exchange. SAP expanded its alliance and strategic cooperation approaches by taking a majority investment in TOS GmbH in Freiberg. Through the "International User Conference" in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the first "SAPPHIRE" user conference in North America, SAP demonstrated its solid commitment to direct international customer contact. This crucial commitment was to become more and more important to SAP's success in the coming years.

SAP develops Russian R/2 version
Strong growth continued unabated in 1991. The acquisition of Steeb GmbH was completed and its activities were merged with CAS to form STEEB-CAS GmbH, creating a high-caliber software company with an attractive product offering for the small- and medium-sized company market. With SAP's Eastern European business developing quickly, SAP collaborated with a local Russian software company to develop an R/2 version in Russian. The first Japanese installation of SAP software was successfully completed. At the end of the fiscal year, the SAP Group boasted 2,225 customers in 31 countries and sales of more than DM 700 million – an increase of over 40 percent. The company had more than 2,500 employees.

In its twentieth year, SAP opened a new Development and Sales Center in Walldorf. The two-year project cost roughly DM 140 million and represented the company's largest single investment to date. In preparation for additional development, SAP's share capital was expanded by DM 15 million to DM 100 million through the issue of 300,000 preference shares. SAP was now firmly established as a global company, with South Africa, Malaysia and Japan the newest additions to its 15 subsidiary companies. By 1992, almost half of the DM 831 million in product revenues were being generated outside Germany, and the availability of the software in 14 different languages was adding significantly to its attractiveness.

Shipment of the client/server system R/3

With the R/3 System release in mid-1992, SAP began to penetrate the mid-size market, and into branches and subsidiaries of large companies. The release of the R/3 client/server system was the most significant event in SAP's history and started a record of growth that even SAP's most optimistic planners had not predicted.

SAP took top position among German software vendors in 1993. On an international scale, the company moved to 7th place among software companies, establishing a clear lead in the global business applications software market. Sales surpassed the important DM 1 billion mark for the first time in 1993, and the global customer base stood at 3,500 companies. SAP made an investment in iXOS Software GmbH with the aim of developing and marketing graphical user interfaces and optical archiving of documents.

The R/3 architecture is comprised of application and database servers. The application servers house the software and the database servers handle document updates and master file databases. The system can support an unlimited number of servers and a variety of hardware configurations. For more info. see SAP R/3 Architecture at SAP home page.

SAP R/3 is based on various hardware and software architectures, running on most types of UNIX, on Windows NT and OS/400. For more info...seeSAP R/3 Platform Support at SAP home page.

SAP R/3 runs on several databases Oracle, ADABAS D, Informix, DB2 for UNIX, DB2/400, Microsoft's SQL Server 6.0. For more info...see SAP R/3 Databases at SAP home page. Since R/3 foundation, SAP has made significant development and installed thousands of R/3 systems.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SAP: Human Resources

2010-05-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

HR provides solutions planning and managing company's human resources, using integrated applications that cover all personnel management tasks and help simplify and speed the process.

PM: Personnel Management PM is a complete solution for personnel administration, recruitment management, travel management, benefits administration and salary administration.

OM: Organizational Management OM assists in maintaining an accurate picture of organization's structure, no matter how fast it changes. It is systematic and forward planning tool that considers the final effects of all personnel events thus it's complete solution for personnel cost planning.

PA: Payroll Accounting PA addresses payroll functions from a global point-of-view and gives the capability to centralize payroll processing or decentralize the data based on country or legal entities.

TM: Time Management TM is integrated with payroll accounting, controlling, production planning, plant maintenance, project system, external services and shift planning. It provides with a variety of standard reports that will assist in tracking and analyzing employee time with completeness and accuracy.

PD: Personnel Development PD assists with planning, monitoring, and analyzing scheduled seminars, training courses, and business events, registration and booking, price determination and invoicing.

SAP: Financials

2010-05-10T01:47:00.000-07:00

Financials:
Financials is a suite of integrated financial application components encompasses all aspects of financial accounting, investment management, controlling, treasury management, and enterprise controlling.

FI: Financial Accounting FI collects all the data in company relevant to accounting, providing complete documentation and comprehensive information, and is at the same an up-to-the-minute basis for enterprise-wide control and planning.

CO: Controlling CO is a complete array of compatible planning and control instruments for company-wide controlling systems, with a uniform reporting system for coordinating the contents and procedures of company's internal processes.

IM: Investment Management IM offers integrated management and processing of investment measures and projects from planning to settlement, including pre-investment analysis and depreciation simulation.

TR: Treasury TR is a complete solution for efficient financial management that ensures the liquidity of worldwide company, its structures, financial assets, profitability and minimizes risks.

EC: Enterprise Controlling EC continuously monitors company's success factors and performance indicators on the basis of specially prepared management information.

SAP: Logistics

2010-05-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

Logistics
Logistics comprises all processes involved in purchasing, materials management, manufacturing, warehousing, quality management, plant maintenance, service management and sales and distribution. All applications access a shared consistent database, supported by production data management.

SD: Sales & Distribution SD actively supports sales and distribution activities with outstanding functions for pricing, prompt order processing, and on-time delivery, interactive variant configuration, and a direct interface to profitability analysis and production.

PP: Production Planning and Control PP provides comprehensive process for all types of manufacturing: from repetitive, make-to-order, and assemble-to-order production, through process, lot and make-to-stock manufacturing, to integrated supply chain management with functions extended MRP and electronic kanban, plus optional interfaces to PDC, process control systems, CAD and PDM.

PS: Project System PS coordinates and controls all phases of a project, in direct cooperation with Purchasing and Controlling, from quotation to design and approval, to resource management and cost settlement.

MM: Materials Management MM optimizes all purchasing processes with workflow-driven processing functions, enables automated supplier evaluation, lowers procurement adn warehousing costs with accurate inventory and warehouse management, and integrates invoice verification.

QM: Quality Management QM monitors, captures, and manages all processes relevant to quality assurance along the entire supply chain, coordinates inspection processing, initiates corrective measures, and integrates laboratory information systems.

PM: Plant Maintenance PM provides planning, control, and processing of scheduled maintenance, inspection, damage-related maintenance, and service management to ensure availability of operational systems, including plants and equipment delivered to customers.

SM: Service Management SM provides highly integrated customer service functionality to compete in today's global markets.

PDM: Product Data Management PDM supports in creating and managing product data throughout the product life cycle.

What is SAP?

2010-05-10T01:31:00.000-07:00

SAP R/3 Overview
SAP R/3 is SAP's integrated software solution for client/server and distributed open systems. SAP's R/3 is the world's most-used standard business software for client/server computing. R/3 meets the needs of a customer from the small grocer with 3 users to the multi-billion dollar companies The software is highly customizable using SAP's proprietary programming language, ABAP/4. R/3 is scalable and highly suited for many types and sizes of organizations

SAP Modules
R/3's applications are modules. They can be used either alone or combined with other solutions. The integration capability of these applications increases the benefits derived for any company.

Which ERP Software is Right for Your Small Business?

2010-05-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

With the expansion of enterprise resource planning software into the small and mid size market, more and more small businesses are go for to implement ERP software. The ERP implementation process generally starts with human resources management software, accounting software, and financial management software modules, then continues further into the organization’s distribution and manufacturing operations.

Companies often select different functional specific solutions from different software small vendors or individual to solve their short-term problem. Thus, they do not have one integrated solution to cover their full business needs. As companies grow, the different systems, from different vendors, become insufficient to meet the business requirements .This produces informational inconsistencies and degrades the benefits the software packages provided at purchase.

Common Issues Produced by the Co-Existence of Multiple Software Systems

· Inconsistent information across departments

· Different reports of revenue from sales and financial department

· Confusion by separate databases from accounting, contact centers or other departments

· Redundant paper work and keying of information

In today’s dynamic and fully competitive marketplace, business software (ERP) is designed to make business processes easier and operations much more efficient. If this is truly the case, then why do companies still find that they are in operational pain after installing all of the software systems? The original benefits that those systems bring tend to waste away after the company grows. At the same time, the increasing number of software systems becomes a burden to the IT department and the company itself. The lack of integration produces issues that begin to appear and more common and the need for a new system arises again.

The goal of ERP software is to operate multiple departments as a single, organized unit. ERP software allows small businesses and growing company to achieve this goal by maintaining one comprehensive ERP system.

ERP Buzz consultants encourage small and medium industries to come out on our Blog and discuss freely issues regarding review an organization’s business needs and help location and implement ERP software that fits the entire business’ requirements and helps provide a solid foundation for operational success and growth for years to come.