Revisions Of ECC V6 And Erp Magic Quadrant
ERP SAP ECC v6 and Erp Magic Quadrant could be called umbrellas which cover the range of established computerised planning programmes used in manufacturing and process industries. On the way it has displaced MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) which now joins such management aids as CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing); MIS (Management Information Systems); PDM (Product Data Management); and SPC (Statistical Process Control). These aids can be used individually or combined in the way that smaller software modules such as stock control, bills of materials, accounts and sales packages can be integrated. This enables a tailored management system to be created and which can grow with the business. Such modules were the leading management tools of their day.
Now they are cogs in a much larger wheel and serve to highlight how industrial management has advanced. From looking at individual aspects of production, the whole picture is now considered. While early planning was based on supply and demand, it has now expanded to include strategy and overall business plans. But, whatever the acronym, manufacturing management is all about managing a process. Every production process has to be planned. This means considering all the ingredients involved in creating a product: materials, people and machines. Goods must be delivered when required, products must be shipped as soon as possible and, in between, the manufacturing process must run profitably. Everything which plays a part in manufacturing is a resource. If planning is kept within the manufacturing function of a company it is known as MRP; if planning takes a wider view it is known as ERP SAP ECC v6. But this is not an exact science and MRP has been known as materials requirement planning and materials resource planning. Today, the basic principles of planning and management have been complicated by the globalisation of business. Now, a manufacturer may often operate several sites in different countries, servicing many different markets. Management structures have changed with lean production, teamworking and the abolition of departmental walls. Suppliers and customers are no longer adversaries but have been recognised as partners in a supply chain from raw material to consumer and back via recycling. As the concept of a supply chain has today become a part of established management thinking, the term enterprise has been adopted to cover a company in its entirety plus its extension into suppliers at one side and into logistics companies and customers on the other side. This evolution in management thinking has been matched by the evolution in computing which has seen a move from specially written programs to low cost standard modules. These can be assembled to suit each application and can be added to as the business grows. In contrast, specially tailored solutions can be expensive to maintain and develop, often have limited functionality and soon become outdated. |