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The Development of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
methodology, a framework for implementing systems, to ease the implementation process.
SAP has continued developing implementation methodology; the latest version, Solution
Manager, is designed to greatly speed the implementation process. 35
SAP continues to extend the capabilities of SAP ERP with additional, separate
products that run on separate hardware and that extract data from the SAP ERP
system. In many cases, these products provide more flexible and powerful versions of
tools available in the SAP ERP system. SAP’s Business Warehouse (BW) product is an
example of one such solution. Customers needing more capability and flexibility to
analyze data beyond the standard tools and reports in the SD, PP, and FI modules can
add Business Warehouse (BW). The BW software runs on a separate server and lets the
user define unique reporting and analysis methods and integrate information from
other systems.
The tools used to analyze data in the BW system are known as business intelligence (BI).
As an example of the use of the business intelligence that can be gained through using
SAP’s Business Warehouse module, SAP has recently announced its in-memory data
analysis tool, SAP HANA (High-performance ANalytical Appliance), a technology which
will likely revolutionize Business Intelligence. Rather than storing data on hard disk drives,
SAP’s HANA system stores data in memory for dramatically quicker access. SAP HANA
will allow companies to analyze business operations and large volumes of transactional and
analytical data in real time.
The SAP ERP system provides some tools to manage customer interactions and
analyze the success of promotional campaigns, but SAP also sells a separate application
called Customer Relationship Management (CRM), which has extended customer service
capabilities. SAP’s CRM product is designed to compete with CRM systems from
competitors, such as Oracle’s Siebel CRM application.
SAP addressed the issue of Internet-based data exchange with its NetWeaver
integration platform, which provides a unified means to connect SAP systems to other
systems and to the Internet.
Like all technology, ERP software and related products are constantly changing. Thus,
the challenge for a company is not only to evaluate an ERP vendor’s current product
offerings, but also to assess its development strategies and product plans.

CHOOSING CONSULTANTS AND VENDORS
Because ERP software packages are so large and complex, one person cannot fully
understand a single ERP system; it is also impossible for an individual to adequately
compare various systems. So, before choosing a software vendor, most companies study
their needs and then hire an external team of software consultants to help choose the
right software vendor(s) and the best approach to implementing ERP. Working as a team
with the customer, the consultants apply their expertise to selecting an ERP vendor
(or vendors) that will best meet their customer’s needs.
After recommending a vendor, the consultants will typically recommend the software
modules best suited to the company’s operations, along with the configurations within
those modules that are most appropriate. This preplanning should involve not only the
consultants and a company’s IT department, but the management of all functional
business areas as well.

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