Evolution of the ERP Systems
Introduction
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems evolve from the “ancient” stand-alone Legacy systems to replace or reform them. American Production and Inventory Control Society (2001) defines ERP as an “accounting system” for “effective planning and controlling of all the resources needed to take, make, ship and account for customer orders in a manufacturing, distribution or service company”.
ERP system creates values for the enterprises because successful implementation enhances the overall functions of the enterprise, reduces resource wastages, saves time and cuts down on total cost. By having a system which models after some of the best practices in the industry and adheres readily to the laws and regulations, these enterprises gain competitive advantages over their industry rivals.
The purpose of this research paper provides discussion on how ERP systems evolve from the “ancient” Legacy systems, describes the features and structure of an ERP/ ERP II system and compares the top five ERP vendors’ most popular products. The last section concludes with the future outlook of ERP II systems.
Legacy Systems
Legacy systems are systems that “no longer support the current business objectives or are inhibiting future developments” (Kelly 2004).
The “ancient” Legacy systems mentioned here refer to the obsolete I.T systems during or before the mid 20th Century. They functioned within a department (silos of information) to fulfill narrow and limited job processes. At that time, departmental heads and staff seldom communicated among themselves (stovepipes). This led to inefficient and inaccurate data duplications. (O’leary 2000).
Evolution of the ERP Systems
“Ancient” Legacy systems of the 1960s used the mainframe technology to automate their inventory control (IC) systems with IC software packages implemented and customized in-house to suit the functional business concepts of information silos and stovepipes. The programming languages
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems evolve from the “ancient” stand-alone Legacy systems to replace or reform them. American Production and Inventory Control Society (2001) defines ERP as an “accounting system” for “effective planning and controlling of all the resources needed to take, make, ship and account for customer orders in a manufacturing, distribution or service company”.
ERP system creates values for the enterprises because successful implementation enhances the overall functions of the enterprise, reduces resource wastages, saves time and cuts down on total cost. By having a system which models after some of the best practices in the industry and adheres readily to the laws and regulations, these enterprises gain competitive advantages over their industry rivals.
The purpose of this research paper provides discussion on how ERP systems evolve from the “ancient” Legacy systems, describes the features and structure of an ERP/ ERP II system and compares the top five ERP vendors’ most popular products. The last section concludes with the future outlook of ERP II systems.
Legacy Systems
Legacy systems are systems that “no longer support the current business objectives or are inhibiting future developments” (Kelly 2004).
The “ancient” Legacy systems mentioned here refer to the obsolete I.T systems during or before the mid 20th Century. They functioned within a department (silos of information) to fulfill narrow and limited job processes. At that time, departmental heads and staff seldom communicated among themselves (stovepipes). This led to inefficient and inaccurate data duplications. (O’leary 2000).
Evolution of the ERP Systems
“Ancient” Legacy systems of the 1960s used the mainframe technology to automate their inventory control (IC) systems with IC software packages implemented and customized in-house to suit the functional business concepts of information silos and stovepipes. The programming languages
References: Panorama Consulting Group, 2011, ‘2011 ERP Report: A Panorama Group Consulting Report’, in 2011 ERP Report, December 2010, viewed 19 March 2012, .