innovation
Factory floors are being linked directly to the customers as motorists personalize their vehicles on the production line.
ERP Applications become more“ consumer friendly”
By: Alan Tran
Enterprise Resource Planning( ERP) operations and responsibilities are moving onto the shop, factory and warehouse floor. As a result, data input is no longer the domain of specialists, but of every person in the sales and logistics chain.
Companies such as SYSPRO are adapting their systems to meet the changes.
Automotive Industries( AI) asked Phil Duff, CEO of SYSPRO Worldwide, to tell us a little about the unique features of a new mobile platform SYSPRO is developing.
Duff: The SYSPRO Espresso architecture is one of the first platforms of its kind to use a single source codebase( for the business logic) to create native applications for any mobile device, with built-in powerful customization capabilities both for the end-user and for developers to engage. SYSPRO Espresso will provide customers access to all their business information as easily
Syspro Apps connect the Smartphone to the ERP system.
as if it were at their desk and will work on any popular mobile device, including the desktop.
Additional unique features of SYSPRO
Espresso are:
• The tailored experience enabling customers to customize the look and experience of SYSPRO Espresso applications
• Always accessible: even when not connected SYSPRO Espresso applications work offline – synchronize later when you have a connection
• Library of applications available: SYSPRO Espresso applications will be available via the trusted community platform of the SYSPRO App Store AI: How do you see the platform helping your automotive customers? Duff: The ability to access, search and retrieve real-time
SYSPRO data( sales and service information, supplier and parts information) anywhere, anytime will speed up the ordering process. This will enable our automotive customers to provide a faster, personalized service to their customers. Our Product Configurator solution is of particular relevance to our specialist vehicles automotive customers as it will enable them to do immediate on-the-floor configuration and ordering.
AI: What are some of the biggest differences in the requirements of your automotive customers as compared to those in other industries?
Duff: The high cost of an error in this industry makes traceability critical, with a far bigger reliance on data. For this reason we have ensured our various solutions like Blanket Purchase Orders and Releases provide our automotive customers with comprehensive tools to record contracts with their suppliers, and an accurate means of tracking and reconciling cumulative release quantities and converting them into purchase order quantities. Our Engineering Change Control( ECC) enables our automotive customers to apply strict control over their designto-market processes by providing an integrated rules-based electronic workflow system with full version control, security and auditable history. It also gives them the tools to record and track new and modified product design and process changes, assess the impact of these changes on costs and associated data, and control the change routing and approval processes. AI: Tell us a little about your vision for SYSPRO’ s automotive business.
Duff: Our vision for all our customers, not just those in the automotive business acknowledges the economic uncertainty facing companies, and which forces them to focus on attaining greater efficiency. SYSPRO needs to provide our customers with the tools to perform greater scenario planning, manage suppliers more efficiently to ensure reliable delivery, and improve the bottom line by closely managing production, scrap and cost variances. We have embraced the trend for ERP applications to be more
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