Need urgent general questions...

Question

1, why should we go for erp ? when having many technologies to implement projects ??
2,what r the implement strategies and intricaces ?
3, give comparision of erp products?
4, Feature and  advantages of sap ?
disadvamtages of sap -abap ?

Answer 1

Hi,
Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) integrate (or attempt to integrate) all data and processes of an organization into a single unified system. A typical ERP system will use multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a single, unified database to store data for the various system modules.
The term ERP originally implied systems designed to plan the utilization of enterprise-wide resources. Although the acronym ERP originated in the manufacturing environment, today's use of the term ERP systems has much broader scope. ERP systems typically attempt to cover all basic functions of an organization, regardless of the organization's business or charter. Business, not-for-profit organizations, governments, and other large entities utilize ERP systems.
Additionally, it may be noted that to be considered an ERP system, a software package generally would only need to provide functionality in a single package that would normally be covered by two or more systems. Technically, a sofware package that provides both Payroll and Accounting functions (such as QuickBooks) would be considered an ERP software package.
However; the term is typically reserved for larger, more broadbased applications. The introduction of an ERP system to replace two or more independent applications eliminates the need for interfaces previously required between systems, and provides additional benefits that range from standardization and lower maintenance (one system instead of two or more) to easier and/or greater reporting capabilities (as all data is typically kept in one database).
Examples of packages commonly referred to as ERP systems include: SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft (which has been taken over by Oracle), J.D. Edwards, Sage Software, BAAN, MAS, and the Microsoft Dynamics suite of ERP products.
Examples of modules in an ERP which formerly would have been stand-alone applications include: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Financials, Human Resources, CRM, and Warehouse Management.
there are so many erp packages like SAP, PEOPLESOFT, BAAN, JD EDWARDS, ORACLE APPLICATIONS etc
SAP is the ERP package which suits best for the COMPANY's to plan their resources efficiently and perfectly such that a 100 percent integration is achieved between the different departments (modules) of an organization. Beacuse of its best integration among the functional modules it became famous.
steps for smooth SAP Implimentation:
) Phased vs. "big bang" approach to migration - cutting over your systems all at once generally increases your risk, particularly on large projects across multiple geographies/countries.
2) Training - the better training you provide users, the less problems you will see.
3) Legacy system planning - what are you going to do with your systems after go-live? Will you run them in parallel for a short-period until you know the new ERP system is functional? If so, have you budgeted these costs in your ROI?
4) Testing - Unit and integration testing is very important; you significantly reduce your implementation risk if you have thoroughly tested the solution with real data and real user profiles before go-live.
5) IT support - expect more support center call volume and staff accordingly during go-live. You will also want to make sure you have clearly defined escalation procedures in place for ERP issues that your support staff isn't able to handle.
6) Contingency planning - what will you do if your system does go down? Do you have manual processes you can revert to if needed?
It all boils down to ERP risk mitigation. You want to make your project plan, budget, and staffing all address the above variables.
SAP Versions:
SAP ERP 6.0 running on NetWeaver 7.0
SAP ERP 2005 running on NetWeaver 2004
SAP R/3 4.7(Enterprise) running on WebAS 6.20
SAP R/3 4.6(mysap.com) running on Basis 4.6
Older releases.
SAP R/3 4.5
SAP R/3 4.0
SAP R/3 3.1
These are just the ERP or R/3 components here, there are of course a lot of other SAP software products as well.
ERP system takes a lead role because of some of the following reasons:
Many large corporations use several different and separate information systems, often because they have merged with and/or acquired other companies with varied systems. An ERP system integrates these separate information systems and results in improved data reliability and processing efficiency. ERP systems are not only used by large corporations but becoming popular with small to mid-sized companies also.
Simplify business transaction processing and thus work load is reduced.
Some of the main advantages of using SAP R/3 are listed below:
SAP's R/3, introduced in 1992, is the most used ERP system in the world.
The R/3 software package is designed to allow businesses to effectively and efficiently operate a variety of business processes within a single integrated information system.
The software is customizable using SAP's proprietary programming language, ABAP/4. R/3 is scalable and highly suited for many types and sizes of organizations and runs on six different platforms.
SAP’s R/3 has been designed to be the best ERP system in the four areas of human resources, financial, supply chain management, and marketing. R/3 is also an international product, and meets the local fiscal, language, and tax requirements of most countries.
SAP Manufacturing:
Drive Manufacturing at the Speed of Business
Manufacturing isn't getting easier. You're under constant pressure to deliver innovative products, respond to customer demand quickly, and eliminate costs.
Enter SAP Manufacturing. This powerful solution integrates manufacturing with your other operations, so you can identify changes in demand and supply and rapidly respond to new customer requirements.
SAP Manufacturing is the only comprehensive solution for managing manufacturing operations with embedded Lean and Six Sigma – empowering you to deliver superior responsiveness and performance. And since it's built on the SAP NetWeaver platform, SAP Manufacturing connects seamlessly with your entire enterprise, including your current plant floor infrastructure. So you can accelerate time-to-value and lower total cost of ownership.
SAP Manufacturing gives discrete and process manufacturers functionality to:
Coordinate operations with partners and suppliers
Detect and resolve exceptions and performance deviation in real time and at low cost
Institutionalize Lean and Six Sigma processes and monitor production to drive continuous improvement
Comply with environmental, health, and safety standards
Improve employee productivity and create a high-quality work environment
With SAP Manufacturing, your management and production departments gain real-time visibility into key data – enabling them to act quickly. Managers can document, track, and interpret quality and performance using rich analytics capabilities. Production teams can leverage role-based applications for plant managers, production supervisors, maintenance supervisors, and quality inspectors to detect and respond rapidly to exceptions and variances – and deliver superior performance.
SAP Manufacturing helps you to plan, schedule, sequence, execute, and monitor all your manufacturing processes optimally. So you can achieve higher profits and marketplace wins
<REMOVED BY MODERATOR>
Cheers,
Chandra Sekhar.
Edited by: Alvaro Tejada Galindo on Feb 14, 2008 4:08 PM