Page 44 - MetalForming September 2012

Emerging Trends in ERP Software
may not always benefit every ERP-soft- ware buyer. For companies that prefer a low total-cost-of-ownership experi- ence, the best alternative may be a rigid software package that can’t and won’t be customized.
Data-Conversion Tools and Strategies
To upgrade an aging ERP system, ERP-software buyers used to routinely pay programming experts anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 to convert his- torical data and important static records like customers, items and BOMs from their old system to the new system. Often, the cost to convert historical transaction data outweighs the benefits.
Today, most ERP vendors offer data- import routines, templates and tools that simplify the process and reduce the data-conversion costs. If data can be extracted from the old system into a simple Access database or Excel spreadsheet, these tools allow the data to be copied into the new system quick-
ly and with integrity checks.
Many companies, however, for a
variety of reasons, still choose not to convert transactional data. Instead, they elect to export historical data into separate databases or into a set of spreadsheets and start history anew with the new ERP system. Or, in some cases historical data is copied to a data warehouse where it is appended later with new data from the new system. With the historical data safely stored, a company then can access a slew of analytical tool, including simple office tools, in order to analyze historical data outside the ERP software.
Mature yet Evolving
Although ERP software has reached market maturity, the systems continue to evolve to meet the business-soft- ware needs of manufacturers. In fact, these systems still are the largest soft- ware investment for most manufac- turers. Functionality has certainly increased since the programs released
in the early 1990s,
but for the most
part, the functions
available in those
early ERP sys-
tems haven’t
changed dramat-
ically. We’ve simply seen feature expansion. Suppliers have developed new features to:
• Accommodate multinational trade;
• Simultaneously deal with make-to- stock and make-to-order supply-chain strategies;
• Improve scheduling of production facilities and resources;
• Better handle complex costing processes; and
• Provide better financial reporting.
MF
Scott Holter will provide a keynote presentation at this year’s Manufactur- ing ERP Experience, slated for October 3-4, 2012, in Cleveland, OH. Learn more and register to attend at www.metal- formingmagazine.com/ERP.
42 MetalForming/September 2012
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