The Blame Game.

While reading the article posted at Inforworld about Dirty Vendor Tricks.

My thoughts are is it always the vendor faults? What about the end-user, do they share the blames on the failures of an ERP implementation?

Based on my experience, while there are unscrupulous vendors, very often the end-user is as much to be blamed and has to bear responsibility for the failure as well.

1) They do not have a proper understanding of their requirement. Not documenting their requirements strategic, reporting, functional, processes and pain-points that they are now facing. So there is no benchmark to compare.

2) They are told that their friend, uncle, neighbor and some big name company are using it. So they reckon well, if it is good enough for them it is good enough for me.

3) They are won over by a salesman who is a top class demonstrator with slick graphics and colors. And it looks cool and with sexy interface and yes, believes it or not its “look and feel” as MS Office.

4) And worst of all the go for the lowest bidder and squeeze every little margin there is from the vendors. This is surely a win-lose negotiation.

Remember ERP is not a panacea for all ills nor it is a quick fixed (of years of accumulated problems) It is just a tool and the other side of the equation is planning, management of process and users (employees) expectation.
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If you buy cheap-you buy twice!

It's unwise to pay too much,
but it's worse to pay too little.

When you pay too much, you lose a little money-that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot-it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.

JOHN RUSKIN (1819-1900)

SAGE SOLUTION – Sage Accpac ERP- Food & Beverages

Razor-Thin Margins, Cutthroat Competition – It’s Tough out There

The Food and beverages business operate in an environment where retail and restaurant chains are consolidating and becoming more powerful and demanding. Responsiveness and delivery accuracy determines who wins and who loses a customer’s business. In a competitive market with pressure on prices resulting in low margins, cost control is imperative.

You have to source and supply rapidly in an environment of unexpected change, an environment often driven by seasonal and promotional demand. On top of this, rules and regulations are becoming increasingly complex. With food safety and traceability now a major concern, end-to-end transparency along the food supply chain is essential.

To stay in the race, you have to be able to manage these processes effectively. At CAREWARE, we understand this.

That is why our food distribution solution offers:

• Better information visibility to improve your responsiveness and agility;

• Better support for your customer-facing activities to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty;

• Improved integration and consolidation of your business process to reduce redundancy, maintenance needs and cost.

Careware has successfully implemented Sage Accpac ERP for Food and Beverage industry with fully-integrated solution that is easy to install, and inexpensive to operate. It can handle all types of products and processes in the food and beverage industry.

Some of the biggest issues in the food and beverage industry today is that of food safety and quality. As a result of growing concerns about food contamination risks, threats of bioterrorism and other food-related health and ethical issues, tougher standards are being implemented globally that are redefining the way imports enter some countries.

Lot traceability is a unique requirement of the food distribution business. Our solution for Food and Beverage provides support for total supply chain management and accommodate the unique needs, as spoil date, RMA, Stock aging, weights and units of measurements.

Operational Modules

• Order Entry

• Inventory Control

• Purchase Order

• Lot Tracking & RMA

Manufacturing Modules

• Manufacturing Order Level 1

• Production Planning Level 2

• Manufacturing Lot Track

Financial Modules

• Accounts Receivable

• Accounts Payable

• General Ledger & Financial

Corporate Culture

Who will care for the children?

We believe our corporate character is defined by our actions both at work and in our communities. Thanks to the efforts of our founder & Managing Director, Careware has a history of social responsibilities specifically aimed at helping children succeed.

The results have been euphoric. Many of these children are from very poor family from the squatters’ house of Kuala Lumpur, which lack the basic amenities. Many of these children are not send to school. Some of them are from Tamil school and because of their living conditions are not regularly attending classes and not performing up to par with others.

But the most meaningful and significant benefit has been building something that is far greater than us by helping to positively transform the lives of children. We believe we are better for it.

We are truly committed to making a difference in children lives. And we take our commitments seriously.

Belief Statements

• We believe in going the extra mile for our customers

• We believe in striving for excellence

• We believe in realizing dreams through teamwork

• We believe in tolerance & fairness between one another

• We believe in human dignity & individual strength

• We believe in kinship & in helping one another in time of difficulties

• We believe in contributing back to society

(Our MD Teaching English to the squarters children)

Enterprise Software Mergers and Acquisitions

If you run an ERP system, software industry consolidation is a very important issue. Your entire business is running on your application and you have placed a long term and expensive investment in your ERP vendor, not only in where the company's products are going but also in the very company itself. Once you buy, you are normally locked in for about a decade.

In the last few years there has been a tremendous amount of mergers and acquisitions in the enterprise software industry. The turmoil of the recent large downturns in the economy, has affected the manufacturing industry. Adding insult to injury, the chaos in both ERP solutions and solution providers has created a challenging predicament for manufacturers as they adjust to a myriad of changes in the global marketplace and also in their own businesses.

Fourth Shift has a colourful history. It was acquired by AremisSoft in 2001, a public company that had already bought some hospitality software vendors Softbrands. AremisSoft filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2002. After some reorganization SoftBrand emerged as an independent company.

Fourth Shift->->AremisSoft->->SoftBrands->->Infor

One of its flagship products is Fourth Shift manufacturing which has dwindling sales. Recognizing the potential of Fourth Shift in the SMI market, it makes a special arrangement in 2004 with SAP to integrate/interface to its manufacturing suite to SAP Business One. Business One is SAP's small company system, which does not have extensive manufacturing systems functionality requires to serve small manufacturer of its own.

SoftBrands has stopped selling the non-SAP flavor Fourth Shift completely some time ago. Its own website and literature indicated a departure from selling the traditional Fourth Shift application but that it now focuses on Fourth Shift for SAP Business One.

Industry observers are on the consensus that SoftBrands are hoping that they will be acquired by SAP. But after batting eyelids for a number of years without response from SAP, a new suitor in Golden Gate and privately held business software company Infor Corp then becomes the knight in shining armour to acquired SoftBrands.

What is there in it for infor? She already owns many ERPs for manufacturing on all Tiers level. Perhaps the acquisition is for SoftBrands suites of Hospitality software.

Will Infor carry on the Fourth Shift's special arrangement with SAP thereby promoting and enhancing competitor ERP sales?

Will small manufacturer that is already on SAPB1 + Fourth Shift get further support and enhancement for the manufacturing portion?

Well you guess is as good as mine.

SAGE SOLUTION: Project Manufacturing ERP

THE CHALLENGES

Engineer-to-order (ETO), manufacture-to-order (MTO) and project-based manufacturers face business challenges that simply cannot be resolved by traditional ERP software. Engineer-to-order companies need to be able to provide accurate cost estimates to customers, manage all aspects of complex projects, deliver on time and on budget—all while keeping a close eye on cash flow. There is intense pressure to reduce costs, shorten cycle times, while maintaining high quality. Finally, engineer-to-order companies need an accurate picture of the profitability of each project in order to comprehend the impact on the business.

Sage Accpac is the leading provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems for:

• Engineer-to-Order (ETO) Manufacturers
• Project-Based Manufacturers
• Project based Engineering Contract
• Construction Based Contract

Our ERP software was specifically designed for engineering-intensive companies.

Is This YOUR Company?

Designing and building complex products to exact customer specifications frequently involves long lead times and heavy engineering content. Engineer-to-order, project-based, and custom manufacturers typically have most of these characteristics:

• Complex products, long lead times
• Design and build to a project or contract
• Need to estimate and quote to win business
• Uniquely design and build to customer specifications
• Need to track customer revisions
• Purchase material to a project
• Collect actual costs to a project
• Install products on customer’s site
• Need to track warranty and provide aftermarket services
• Significant spare parts business

SAGE ACCPAC ERP - Project Manufacturing and Job Costing

SAGE ACCPAC ERP Project and Job Costing series is a sophisticated module that provides the tools necessary to manage the simplest to the most complex contract or job. It makes the estimating, tracking, costing and billing of projects easy and manageable – simplifying cost control and planning. With the powerful features included in Project and Job Costing, you can identify potential issues and determine success factors for any project.

Project and Job Costing provides an effective solution for project managers in construction, job service and other professional industries, as well as for businesses that require a time and materials system.

Highlights:

• Powerful estimating capabilities.
• Flexible contract management.
• Full Web deployment.
• Comprehensive transaction processing.
• Extensive inquiry capabilities.
• Complete integration.

Features

Powerful Estimating Capabilities

• Assign staff, material, subcontractors, equipment, miscellaneous items and overhead to each project within the contract.
• Set up complex estimates by specifying the quantity (for example, hours), unit cost and billing rate (for time and materials projects) for each staff member, material (inventory item), subcontractor, equipment, miscellaneous item and overhead expense allocated to a project. Assign the cost categories to which they apply to automatically calculate cost and revenue estimates for each cost category, or simply define the cost and revenue estimates for each category within a project.

Flexible Contract Management

• Manage contracts or jobs at three levels – contract (job), project (phase) and category.
• Maintain multiple projects or phases within each contract and track multiple categories within each project.
• Change contract, project and category names to match industry-specific terminology.
• Maintain multiple contracts or jobs per customer.
• Use as many as five segments in your contract numbers to represent types of contracts and divisions.
• Easily navigate through the projects and categories within the contract using the optional Tree view.
• Choose from three different project types – time and materials, cost plus and fixed price. Each project within the contract can be a different type.
• Select the accounting method (revenue recognition method) for each project within the contract. Choose from total cost percentage complete, category percentage complete, labor hours percentage complete, billings and costs, project percentage complete, completed project or accrual-basis. Mix and match the project types and accounting methods for very complex or simple projects.
• Specify begin and end dates for each project to allow for timelines.
• Set up projects and categories that you can use for default information.
• Assign each category to one of six cost types (labor, material, equipment, miscellaneous, overhead and subcontractor) to track costs at an appropriate level for your company.
• Assign up to seven progress statuses to each contract and project. Choose from estimate, approved; open, on hold, inactive, completed and closed.
• Close a project to billings and/or costs at any time.
• Automatically override General Ledger revenue account segments for each project and cost account segments for each category.
• Easily set up a new contract using the step-by-step wizard.
• Quickly create a new contract by copying an existing contract.
• Maintain records for subcontractors, equipment, staff, miscellaneous items, overhead expenses and charges that can be assigned to any project. Record the Accounts Payable vendor on each subcontractor record.
• Allocate overhead and labor burden to each category.

Comprehensive Transaction Processing

• Specify whether each transaction is billable, non-billable or no charge.
• Automatically create a customer's invoice based on the transactions that are due to be billed.
• Review the generated billings for a customer and make necessary changes before updating SAGE ACCPAC ERP Series Accounts Receivable.
• Bill a customer for different contracts, projects and categories on the same Accounts Receivable invoice. Create billings in the customer's currency.
• Transfer inventory items to a contract, project and category and bill the customer for the inventory used.
• Return inventory items not used in a project to inventory for availability on other projects.
• As equipment is used within a project, record the cost and billing rate (for time and materials projects) of the equipment so that you can bill the customer for usage.
• For small contracts, post contract transactions directly to revenue and cost accounts using the accrual-basis accounting method.
• Allow employees to easily manage their time and billing records from any location (on site or at the office) by entering timecards using an Internet browser.
• Approve employee timecards and expenses before updating SAGE ACCPAC ERP or Canadian Payroll.
• Record miscellaneous charges such as service fees for time and materials projects.
• Update revenue and cost estimates at any time with a full audit of all changes.
• Allow a project manager or another designated employee approves each transaction before updating the contract.
• Recognize revenue at the project level and costs at the category level.
• Choose when to recognize revenue based on GAAP requirements and your business needs.

Extensive Inquiry Capabilities

• As actual costs are recorded, use the comprehensive inquiry tools to determine whether the project is within budget.
• Review the current state of each project through the centralized inquiry capabilities. Review the project status, profitability and estimate-to-actual comparisons.
• Track original estimates, current estimates and actual amounts for each project.
• Track costs for labor, material, equipment, subcontractor, miscellaneous item and overhead expense categories.
• Track original estimates, current estimates and actual amounts for staff, equipment, material, subcontractors, miscellaneous items, overhead expenses and charges assigned to the project.
• Drill down to the originating cost and billings transactions.
• Print comprehensive, customizable reports to analyze project status and profitability.

Integrated Solution

• Integrates with SAGE ACCPAC ERP modules General Ledger, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Inventory Control and Purchase Order, Budgetary Control & Funds Availability.
• Integrates with Microsoft Project for additional control of your projects and resources