This paper aims to provide a brief review of six software packages that PPQ Parts can use for its material, resource, and inventory planning and management. This paper reviews each of the selected software packages for its cost effectiveness, user friendliness and compatibility with the current system of PPQ Parts.
CASCO
CASCO can be useful for production management and inventory control by PPQ Parts. Its Autodesk Visualization capability would enable the company to modify its production unit, and details of each task can be monitored efficiently. The company’s plant consists of several functional units.
With the 3D view that CASCO offers, the company would be able to monitor all units in real time, and also to design additional units (Autodesk, 2013). For inventory control, it is very important to keep a record of demand orders and available resources. The ShopVue application in CASCO offers a paperless collection and monitoring of data generated by operational, design, and testing units (Jazdprocessing, 2013).
Since, the CASCO software company has a large number of clients, therefore, it charges a lower price in comparison to other software providers. The company utilizes repetition procedures and also makes use of its previous projects to design a similar new project. This allows the company to offer quicker and cheaper software solutions.
For companies, which have sequential work flow procedure in which one task is dependent on one or more different tasks, CASCO provides Development Coordination, and Proto-type Development structures to provide ease at the management level (CASCO, 2013).
Epicor
It is very important for PPQ Parts, which is operating as a SUV’s supplier, to forecast changes in demand and supply patterns over the years. This directly relates to the budget planning and manufacturing scheduling. In this regard, Epicor software would help the company in day-to-day inventory checking, controlling, and measuring changes in the demand. Epicor uses inventory history, sales ratio, and market value of products (EPICOR, 2010).
It can be used for scheduling the company’s outsourced resources and updating plant units that are dependent on the outsourced materials. The scheduling program of the software generates an accurate graph for a selected period by calculating production time, machine run time, capacity of the plant, and the priority table (EPICOR, 2010).
However, the compatibility issue exists when integrating the company’s functional units and data system with Epicor software and it needs additional features to be installed before the software can read all data channels. The VAR channel technology of the software for reading data channels limits its integration in the existing system. However, it is a fast and cost effective software solution and the company can afford to add features in order to make the software compatible with MRP and ERP units (Nick Mutt, 2013).
Oracle
For Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) of the company, Oracle software has many features to offer. The Roadmap Architecture of Oracle will help the company in the preparation, compilation, and reporting of financial information. Since, the company is planning to operate internationally; therefore, Oracle can be helpful in providing a direct communication access to its global customers and distributors. Oracle can be used to produce a MoSCoW improvement list, which identifies weak areas in the business operations (ORACLE, 2010).
One key feature that could be beneficial for the company is the Cloud supported networking, which is easily compatible with the company’s existing MIS. This will help the company for easy integration of data.
The Procurement Management Module in the Oracle package integrates procurement entries and functions with the financial data without any manual intervention. The Fusion Application is an added advantage of Oracle software, which improves usability of the system. This new feature enhances navigation and order placements (ORACLE, 2013).
PPQ Parts has to be quick in its innovation process to introduce new products and updates for its customers. For this requirement, Oracle cannot prove highly efficient as its database interfacing technology limits sharing data with a non-Oracle system. Another major problem in using Oracle is that it follows a certain set of legacy rules and standards.
The inventory, billing, order delivery, and other units are all based on different units having a distinct legacy system. Therefore, using Oracle to connect all separate units can be a challenge for the company (Nick Mutt, 2013).
Cloud software
Cloud software like Net Suite and Microsoft Azure can be used for resource planning, accounts, and inventory management of the company. Cloud computing is one of the cheapest software solutions that can be used for ERP and CRP of PPQ parts.
Moreover, it provides greater ease for managing, transferring, and uploading product and user information as compared to other software solutions in the market (NETSUITE, 2013). Microsoft Azure creates a platform, which allows companies to synchronize material and inventory requirements with the available resources (Garg, 2011).
Cloud based software can be regarded as cost effective, easy, and compatible software solution for PPQ Parts, which is looking for both quality and ease in computing solutions for its business expansion and management. However, the security issue with this computing technology is questionable.
Exchange of confidential data and information has high risks of data corruption or stealing. Moreover, many of the features offered by CASCO and Oracle software for atomizing data accounting are also not included in the Cloud software applications (Venkatraman, 203).
SAP
SAP accounting software is one of the best in the market for creating, managing, and storing financial records and datasheets of a company. PPQ Parts can choose between different modules available with the software. The SAP PP module can best fulfil the company’s needs of transaction records maintenance, creating billing data, and computing the demand graph, and also management of the company. Its features of product planning will help the company in determining the cost and time involved in each process (ERP tips, 2013).
Since, the structure of the company consists of separate functional units, the collection of information from each department requires a longer processing time. The Intercompany Reconciliation will help speeding up this process by empowering individual subunits (SAP Intercompany, 2013).
However, implementing and operating the SAP system requires highly skilled personnel and continuous maintenance and update of the system, which is a costly procedure. Moreover, it does not provide much flexibility at the user and managerial levels due to which all parameters of the system require careful understanding before applying the system (SAP Informations, 2007).
Tuppas
The Tuppas Capacity Planning software can be implemented to perform various tasks, which can be configured manually into the existing system. The advantage of using Tuppas is its high compatibility and easy module configuration that allows a company to buy only the desired functions.
As PPQ Parts highly relies on its outsourced raw materials, Tuppas can offer integrated components of MRP, inventory records, and production planning that will automatically analyze the demand and supply of materials (Tuppas, 2013). The annual requirement plan of the PPQ Parts is of high importance, which allocates tasks and resources. Tuppas computes data of inventories, sales ratio, procurement costs, and product orders, which could help the company to form an accurate requirements plan (Tuppas, 2013).
Purchasing and maintenance costs of the system are reasonable. The small procedural cycle of the software divides functional units into multiple short frameworks, which reduce the risk factor and therefore, malfunctioning of any unit is easily detectable (Tuppas, 2013).
The limitation of Tuppas is its internet server dependency for transferring and operating data as the date goes through the Tuppas server. Therefore, if PPQ Parts applies Tuppas software for its planning and scheduling then it will have to pay an extra amount for buying a separate internet link for internal and external communications (Flexible ERP Software, 2006).
Conclusion
After reviewing the cost efficiency, functionality, and ease level of above discussed software packages, the company is recommended to make use of CASCO software as it meets all requirements of PPQ Parts’ planning and management structure at a low cost.
Moreover, high reputation of the software ensures that the company would not have to worry about any disorder or malfunctioning of the software system. Moreover, since the company is planning to expand its business globally, therefore, it is important to assess the compatibility of the software with its data structures and also with those required for data interfacing and placement of the international orders.
Reference List
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