ERP solutions

 

Basically blog is on enterprise database system and software

Development life cycles (SDLC).

What is Enterprise database system?

An enterprise database is used by enterprises and large organizations to manage their huge collection of data. Such a database helps companies improve their efficiency. An enterprise database is robust enough to successfully handle the queries of multiple users simultaneously.

Best enterprise database software

    Oracle RDMS.

    Microsoft SQL Server.

    IBM Db2.

    Knack.

    PostgreSQL.

    Google Cloud Big Table.

    MySQL.

    MongoDB.

 

What are Software development life cycles (SDLC)?

 Software Development Life Cycle is a set of steps used to create software applications. Software Development Life Cycle is the application of standard business practices to building software applications. SDLC is a way to measure and improve the development process. It allows a fine-grain analysis of each step of the process. This, in turn, helps companies maximize efficiency at each stage.

There are 7 steps of (SDLC)

1.     Planning.

2.     Define Requirements.

3.     Design and Prototyping.

4.     Software development.

5.     Testing.

6.     Deployment.

7.     Operations and Maintenance.

What is Requirements elicitation phase? And its  requirement.

Requirements elicitation is the set of activities where information is given by stakeholders, users, and customers to be applied to the design of the initiative or the solution. Elicitation is a perpetual process during a project development.

It’s a process of interacting with customers and end-users to find out about the domain requirements, what services the system should provide, and the other constrains.

1.     Requirements Discovery:-

It’s the process of interacting with, and gathering the requirements from, the stakeholders about the required system and the existing system .

      It can be done using some techniques, like interviews, scenarios, prototypes, etc.

2.    Requirements Classification & Organization:-

It’s very important to organize the overall structure of the system. Putting related requirements together, and decomposing the system into sub components of related requirements. Then, we define the relationship between these components.

3.    Requirements Prioritization & Negotiation:-

    We previously explained why eliciting and understanding the requirements is not an easy process. One of the reasons is the conflicts that may arise as a result of having different stakeholders involved.

4.    Requirements Specification:-

   It’s the process of writing down the user and system requirements into a document. The requirements should be clear, easy to understand, complete and consistent.

·        User Requirements

·        System Requirements

 

 

What is ERP System?

ERP stands for “Enterprise Resource Management”, the consolidated process of gathering and organizing business data through an integrated software suite. ERP software contains an application which automates business functions like production, sales quoting, accounting, and more.

 

Types of ERP by Industry:

 

1.     Apparel ERP:

 The clothing industry has to handle a lot of changeover when fashion trends and seasons change.

2.     Automotive ERP:

 Auto manufacturers can rely on ERP tools to handle inventory management, quality control, and scheduling.

3.     Cannabis ERP:

 This ERP is an all-in-one solution for the cultivation, manufacturing, processing, and distribution of legal cannabis.

4.     Construction ERP:

 Construction contractors need to stay in control of labor, materials, equipment, and any subcontractors they’ve hired for a job. ERP software helps with construction task management.

5.     Higher Education ERP:

 College and university ERP systems support academic business processes ranging from tuition billing to exam grading.

6.     Manufacturing ERP or MRP:

      Going back to the origins of ERP, MRP provides production planning, personnel and machine workloads scheduling, and general inventory control along the supply chain.

 

“The ERP System on which I am working is automotive ERP. Now let start with the functional and non functional Requirements for our ERP solution.”

 

What is Automotive ERP Software?

Automotive ERP software improves the manufacturing process for automobile cost control, improved lead times, and the development of new products that meet customer demand. The software includes features like inventory management, quality control, production planning, and more.

 

Functional Requirements for ERP solutions

Centralized Modules

Centralized modules allow users to manage grouped tasks without switching applications or screens. All information needed for a certain operation should be housed in the same part of the system.

 

     ERP Database

ERP systems rely on a central database from which all applications retrieve information. This provides all users with a single source of truth, ensuring all departments and teams work with the same set of information.

 

     Integration

ERP applications are fully integrated and should work together seamlessly. This means users should be able to go from one part of the system to another without feeling completely lost or like it’s a different application. This also means the applications should freely share information with one another in real time.

What Centralized Modules will have?

ü Manufacturing

Before ERP, there was MRP, or manufacturing resource planning. But businesses realized they needed support for their back-office operations as well. When back-office tools were added to MRP, it started to look more like the ERP systems on the current market. Manufacturing functionality has remained a staple to this day.

This ERP functionality gives users the tools needed to manage resources, finances and the shop floor. Your manufacturing system should assist with planning and scheduling, budgeting, forecasting, procurement and materials management.

ü Accounting

     The ERP came from the need to combine manufacturing and back-office functions. Accounting, as one of those back-office processes, has long been a main function of ERP. Accounting tools support accounts receivable, accounts payable and general ledger functions to manage your finances.

     By this ERP database automatically provides the accounting module with data from processes company-wide. This means it will reduce the time your accounting staff needs to spend on collecting financial information. Second, it reduces the chances of redundant entry and errors. Lastly, it gives you a fully comprehensive look at your finances.

ü Customer Relationship Management

      A strong relationship with your customer is the foundation for all your other business functions. Without loyal clients, there won’t be a business to run. Customer relationship management {CRM} functionality helps businesses to track campaigns, nurture leads and maintain client information.

ü Inventory Management

    ERP systems are predominantly aimed at businesses that manage goods; inventory management inevitably plays a large role in the ERP system. Inventory management solutions gives users more control and visibility over stock Inventory management works as part of a multi-functional ERP system.

ü Distribution

      Distribution involves the processes that get a business’s product from the warehouse to its final destination. Like with inventory management, distribution benefits from the other ERP functionalities it’s integrated with. Distribution tools manage functions like purchasing, order fulfillment, order tracking and customer support. Integrating inventory management data is especially helpful during these operations, as it gives users insight into where the product is and how much of it is available.

Non-Functional Requirements for ERP solutions

A non-functional requirement is a specification that describes the system’s operation capabilities and constraints that enhance its functionality. These may be speed, security, reliability, etc.

ü Performance and scalability.

ü Portability and compatibility.

ü Reliability, availability, maintainability.

ü Security.

ü Localization

ü Usability.

1.     Performance and scalability

Performance 

 How fast a software system is how particular piece responds to certain actions under certain workload?  This metric explains how much a user must wait before the target operation happens (the page renders, a transaction is processed, etc.) given the overall number of users at the moment. e.g. backup. But let’s focus on user-centric performance.

Scalability

Scalability assesses the highest workloads under which the system will still meet the performance requirements.

 

2.     Portability and compatibility

   Portability defines how a system or its element can be launched on one environment or another. It usually includes hardware, software, platform specification .

Portability also has an additional aspect called compatibility. Compatibility defines how a system can co-exist with another system in the same environment. For instance, software installed on an operating system must be compatible with its firewall or antivirus protection.

3.     Reliability, Availability, Maintainability

a)     Reliability.

 This quality attribute specifies how likely the system or its element would run without a failure for a given period of time under predefined conditions.

b)    Maintainability.

Maintainability defines the time required for a solution or its component to be fixed, changed to increase performance or other qualities, or adapted to a changing environment.

c)     Availability.

  Availability describes how likely the system is accessible for a user at a given point in time. While it can be expressed as a probability percentage, you may also define it as a percentage of time the system is accessible for operation during some time period.

4.    Security

  This non-functional requirement assures that all data inside the system or its part will be protected against malware attacks or unauthorized access.

5.    Localization

     This attribute defines how well a system or its element falls in line with the context of the local market-to-be. The context includes local languages, laws, currencies, cultures, spellings, and other aspects.

6.     Usability

     Usability is yet another classical nonfunctional requirement that addresses a simple question: How hard is it to use the product? Defining these requirements isn’t as easy as it seems. There are many types of usability criteria. Like

ü Learn ability.

How fast is it for users to complete the main actions once they see the interface?

 

ü Efficiency.

How quickly users can reach their goals?

 

ü Memorability.

 Can users return to the interface after some time and start efficiently working with it right away?

 

ü Errors.

How often do users make mistakes?

 

ü Satisfaction.

Is the design pleasant to use?

 

“WE have discussed all functional and non functional requirement for ERP solution"

 

Now the owner of automotive company comes to my software house and demands for ERP SOLUTION  for his automobile company and these are the requirements given by the owner. That all the requirement should be fulfilled  under one database system .

1.     SALES CONTROL + CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT.

2.     PRODUCTION CONTROL + ADVANCED PLANNING.

3.     PURCHASING.

4.      PRODUCTION PLANNING + CONTROL (PPC).

5.      Materials Management SERVICE PROCESSING.

6.     LOGISTICS.

7.     FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING + CONTROLLING.

8.     PROCESS CONTROL + WORKFLOW MANAGEMENT.

9.     BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE +ANALYSIS.

10.                        MULTI-COMPANY  ACCOUNTING.

11.                        ACCOUNTING.

12.                        DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT.

 

                “What my software house will do ”

 

 when creating a new ERP system?

     A methodical selection process helps the company determine whether internal and external business processes can be supported by the ERP systems up for selection. Furthermore, typical bottlenecks should be identifiable.

    Meeting

    After a short list of possible requirement has been created, the owners are invited to a first meeting. Business management and project management will participate in this meeting.

   Survey

          Familiarity is essential for successful collaboration. Fort his reason, Before creating  ERP solution we must have to survey the current situation in the company. The more detailed the company presents itself, the more definitive the decision templates the ERP creator will receive.

   Preparing Solutions

      After the survey meeting, the company data and situation are known. Now we will prepare solutions and processes. This way the owner can determine whether the we understands his company and get an idea of what the software can do for the business in the future.

   Training  with  Users and Company Management

       A classic, one-sided presentation is only able to demonstrate a limited range of the benefits of new ERP software that is provided. It’s useful to hold a training session together with the users and the company management to go over how the ERP system is going to improve business optimization of inter and intra company processes.

   The decision

      Intense preparation in the ERP selection process generally bears fruit quickly. The more structured the ERP solution is , which in turn provides greater certainty. To get the solution ready for the productive start quickly and safely, all results and solutions from the evaluation process should be included in the implementation of the software.

 

What will my ERP do and how will it work?    

   An ERP implementation is a huge commitment from the organization, causing millions of rupees and can take up to several years to be perfect. However, when it is integrated successfully, the benefits will be enormous. A well-designed and properly integrated ERP system allows the most updated information to be shared between various business management easily , resulting in tremendous cost savings and increased efficiency.

         When making the implementation decision, management must considered fundamental issues such as the organization’s readiness for a dramatic change, the degree of integration, key business processes to be implemented, e-business applications to be included, and whether or not new hardware need to be acquired for any update to save cost.

       In order to increase the chance of user acceptance, employees will be consulted and be involved in all stages of the implementation process. Providing proper education and appropriate training (two important strategies) to increase the end user acceptance rate. The organization is also going through a drastic change, with changes in the way businesses are conducted, the organization being restructured, and job responsibilities being redefined. To facilitate the change process, managers are encouraged to utilize the organizational change process.

         Managers can implement their ERP systems in several ways, which include the whole integration, the franchise approach, and the single-module approach. According to needs.