Exacto Conference 2003

Information Technology

Presented by Michael Bridgens

Contents

• Baan state of affairs

• Internet Connection

• Spartan Rentals

• PABX

• Licensing of Office

• Costs projection

• Computer Aided Drawing

Baan at present

• Baan is an extremely powerful and comprehensive E.R.P. application

• Version 2.2d on SCO Unix v 3242• Customised proprietary software• Text interface• Unlicensed, no relationship with Baan SA• Frontline support in house, with ad hoc support from Annade

Theart and Comparex SA in Port Elizabeth for more serious requirements.

• Costs nothing to run• Is legacy application dependent (Shop Floor Control).

Modules

• Industry (Production, Items, Inventory control, Costing)

• Finance (General Ledger, Debtors, Creditors)

• Trade (Sales, Purchase Control, Marketing)

• Tools (Tables, Database, Queries, Application configuration)

Shop Floor Control

• 3rd party legacy VB and Access application designed by Rob Nagel• “Piggy backs” on Baan to facilitate label printing and scanning, as

well a production order and quality specs• Weak point in Baan, as data needs to be exported and imported.• Raw material useage and finished goods need to be updated• Baan information thus not “live” in the true sense.• System designed with one scanning station in mind, but handling

two plus finished goods.• BUT• Data can go missing with import and export routines if timing not

impeccable

More on Baan Licensing

• Some years ago we decided to suspend our relationship with Baan SA

• This was because of exorbitant license fees as well as a lack of support in Cape Town. Baan SA basically pulled the local support plug.

• We have licenses for eleven concurrent users

• This is sufficient for the moment, but the system can get crowded at times.

• Any expansion of the company and subsequent increase in users will make this a problem. Baan’s age shows when users find that having more than one screen open at a time speeds up their procedures.

Disaster Recovery

• Backup is run every night except Saturday and Sunday• Tapes are rotated daily• Support in this regard is provided by Clarotech, with whom we

have a long-standing relationship.• During the last year, I have requested and received two

successful test restorations off site using our backup tapes.• Comparex SA are geared up for assistance here, should a

licensing script present a problem

The Server itself

• Is the original Intel Express circa 1995 with 48MB memory and a 486 processor.

• For interest sake, this machine cost in the region of R80000.

• It remains a very good computer.

• We have recently installed a new hard drive and a new tape drive to accommodate the volumes of data.

• A weakness in the hardware is that any newer (read faster) machine will not allow our current version of Unix to be installed, and Baan 2.2d will not run on a newer version of Unix. A catch-22 situation if you like.

• This is literally a unique installation; certainly no other company in South Africa, and quite possibly the world, has this particular setup.

• The server is attached to an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)

Considerations

• The strong point of Baan is its ability to handle routing so well, and this thus limits alternative options, as not all ERP applications are as flexible in this regard.

• Some have limitations on item fields, or on the levels of the Bills of Materials, for example.

• An obvious criteria for a new system would be the ability to print and scan labels directly from and into the system, a massive advantage to what we have now.

• I believe that this was an oversight at the time that Baan was purchased, which resulted in the situation we now find ourselves in.

• Another obvious criteria would be that it can do at least exactly what we have already.

The Web based supply chain.

• Many manufacturers these days have an ERP application that is web based. This means that instead of having to inform clients of the progress of their order, they can browse the web www.exacto.co.za, log in and check, or place an order. Each customer would have a user name and password which would grant access to a specific account.

• This would be of obvious benefit to operations, management who would be able to access information via the web

• Each in house user on the system locally would access the system via an Internet browser, with the use of hyperlinks etc, instead of as “logging in, as we do now.

• The interface would vary between applications, but would obviously be Windows based, with point and click and drag and drop features.

The Web based supply chain continued.

• An example of this would be a BOM that looks like an explorer window. Click the left pane item number, and the Bill will appear in the right pane. Click the left pane on another item, and the Bill for that item will appear, instead of exiting and re entering another item number as we do now.

• The same would apply to the routing as well as the item master and to all modules.

• This will vary from application to application, but the principles would remain the same. A much easier and intuitive interface.

Pretenders to the Baan throne

• SAP

• Baan IV

• Omnix

• Great Plains

• Navision

SAP

• Pros• Will doubtless have everything that we could ever need

• Well supported

• Strong CRM modules

• Cons• Very expensive, dollar priced, subject to ROE fluctuations

• Probably overkill for our requirements - Telkom uses SAP, City Council had endless problems integrating it.

• Consulting rates exceedingly high

• Training costs high - steep learning curve for users

BAAN IV

• Pros• Will doubtless have everything that we could ever need

• Will be familiar in some ways to our users

• Might be possible to accept existing data seamlessly

• Cons• Very expensive, dollar priced, subject to ROE fluctuations

• Consulting rates exceedingly high

• Limited skills in SA

• Training costs high - steep learning curve for users

OMNIX

• Pros• Locally designed, offices in Cape Town.

• Good support structures

• Simple interface

• Well priced .Not dependant on Dollar/Rand relationship

• Cons• Small company, no reputation

• Possible limitations on the routing

Great Plains

• Pros• Microsoft’s ERP application

• Good support structures

• Simple interface. Will be familiar to Windows users

• Not as expensive as SAP or Baan IV

• Good relationship with Excel, Access and the Web

• Strong CRM module

• Good local support

• Cons• Subject to ROE fluctuations

Navision

• Pros• A recently acquired Microsoft ERP application- a Danish firm

• Good support structures

• Simple interface. Will be familiar to Windows users

• Not as expensive as SAP or Baan IV

• Good relationship with Excel, Access and the Web

• Strong CRM module

• Good local support

• Cons• Subject to ROE fluctuations

• Possible limitations on the routing

I have yet to investigate these applications in depth, and my suggestions are based on research that I have done over the years when this subject of replacing Baan has come up.

I visited Omnix with Andrew Buckley back in 1999, and have been consulted to on Navision and Baan IV.

SAP’s reputation precedes itself, and Great Plains has a very large share of the SME market in the world.

There are other ERP systems out there that bear investigation, such as Impact and Sage.

As has been mentioned, upgrading Baan is a large project and will be expensive, regardless of which route we take.

As a rough estimate, taking into account the inevitable cost over-runs, I would say that this project could cost anything from R500000 to R 1000000, depending on the application chosen and the modules required, as well as any customisation requirements that may come about.

Internet Connection

• At present we have a 28kb leased line to Storm, which is actually only connecting at 24kb. This can be frustrating for users, especially group services, visiting bank sites for statements and payments.

• I have requested from Storm an upgrade to a “digilog” line, which combines digital and analogue technologies to give a guaranteed 33kb. This will be effective in the next month at an additional cost of R400 per month. There are no additional hardware costs, ie: we will use the same line and same modems.

• This should make a noticeable difference.

• The next step up is a 64kb Digital link which will involve the rental of routers. This would be a large rental per month, up by several thousand rands. At present, I do not feel that this cost is justified.

• I shall monitor the results of the “digilog” line, and get feedback from users.

Spartan Computer Rentals

• We presently rent () machines from Spartan.

• Most of these machines are on a rent to rent basis.

• All agreements entered into prior to August 2000 are rent to own, as well as the plotter. Unfortunately, there are only two PCs that fall into this category.

• Most agreements expire in this year, and we will need to either purchase these machines outright or continue with new rental agreements.

• I shall be negotiating the best option for Exactocraft, whether to make an offer to purchase, take the upgrade option, or continue to rent the existing hardware.

PABX, TMS, TMS and Voicemail

• At the end of 1999, our Claire Telephone Management System stopped working. It was not Year 2000 compliant. We lived with this…

• BUT...

• …at the beginning of this year, our ancient voicemail program finally stopped working altogether.

• This has prompted a complete re-look at our telephony system, and I have been authorised to proceed with a complete upgrade.

• This is presently underway, and will result in a sophisticated voicemail system, detailed management reports of telephone useage, and direct in dialing to selected numbers.

• The equipment is being rented from Siemens over a five year lease option.