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4 trends shaping ERP
Trend 3: Reaching out to new users
By Adrian Mello
February 7, 2002
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Traditionally, only managers responsible for specific functions--finance, human resources, manufacturing, and the like--had access to a company's ERP systems. But that's starting to change as companies recognize that sharing the information in their ERP systems can reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve relationships with their various stakeholders.
As a result, ERP is now opening up to users in other companies, self-service users, and mobile users. Expanding access to new groups of users inevitably means changes to business process that should be evaluated before adding these capabilities. For example, if your company isn't prepared to share data with suppliers and other business partners, these capabilities are pointless.
Multi-enterprise users: Business processes usually extend beyond the confines of a single company. In modern supply chains, elaborate processes span hundreds, and even thousands, of companies that all contribute to the production and distribution of finished goods. It's evident that companies must share information with each other more openly to improve supply chain efficiencies and other business processes such as design and product lifecycle management. For example, a manufacturer can help suppliers improve the quality of subcomponents by regularly sharing warranty information.
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re adding these capabilities. For example, if your company isn't prepared to share data with suppliers and other business partners, these capabilities are pointless.
Multi-enterprise users: Business processes usually extend beyond the confines of a single company. In modern supply chains, elaborate processes span hundreds, and even thousands, of companies that all contribute to the production and distribution of finished goods. It's evident that companies must share information with each other more openly to improve supply chain efficiencies and other business processes such as design and product lifecycle management. For example, a manufacturer can help suppliers improve the quality of subcomponents by regularly sharing warranty information.
Self-service users: Over time, more employees will begin to tap into their companies' ERP systems. IDC's Dennis Byron says,"Our whole forecast for growth assumes that the number of employees that touch an application will grow from 20 percent today to 75 percent in 2008 and probably 100 percent in some service industries." With access to an ERP system, individual employees, for example, can look up the number of vacation or sick days they have or modify their benefits options rather than filling out paper forms and using HR staff time on these clerical tasks.
Mobile users: Wireless networks and handheld devices are making it possible to connect users such as field-sales reps, field-service agents, and traveling executives. Some of the big ERP vendors, including Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP, are starting to offer modules that let mobile users access corporate ERP systems. (For more, see "Are you ready to go mobile?")
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