How do you respond to those in your company who propose two-tiered ERP? Text in the wave in the center of the cover: If you need help determining your company's overall enterprise software strategy and how two-tiered ERP fits in, this book is for you. Two-tiered ERP is widely understood as the use of different ERP systems for different layers of an organization. Until this book, the effectiveness of a two-tiered ERP strategy could only be determined through anecdotal evidence, the marketing literature of ERP vendors, and the advice of consulting companies. By understanding two-tiered ERP within the context of ERP's history, readers will see how two-tiered ERP may represent a crack in the facade of "big ERP," and will know how to formulate a comprehensive and logical response to proposals about implementing a two-tiered strategy. By reading this book you will: Eliminate confusion over definitions of two-tiered, multi-tiered, and single instance ERP. Review SAP and Oracle's Tier 1 and Tier 2 ERP products. Understand why two-tiered and single instance ERP is not the best strategy. Appreciate that WHAT is written about two-tiered ERP depends greatly upon WHO is writing it. Recognize the logic used by vendors to sell two-tiered ERP and whose interests are being served by a two-tiered strategy. Learn an alternative strategy that provides functionality, cost savings, and the best return on investment. If you are just beginning your research on ERP, read the companion book by the same author, The Real Story Behind ERP: Separating Fiction from Reality first, as it provides the most exhaustive history of ERP currently published."

The only book about planning for a "superplant," by the author who created the concept In an environment of increasingly globalized manufacturing, a very long production line that spans the globe is more common than ever. For an increasing number of corporations, multi-plant planning is a reality. "Superplant" describes the ability to plan separate locations as if they were part of one giant plant - or superplant, and is the more accurate modeling of location interdependencies for production and supply planning than is provided by standard advanced planning functionality. This book delves into the three advanced functionalities that must be enabled for superplant planning: multi-plant planning, subcontracting and multi-source planning. By reading this book you will: Investigate how multi-site planning works from a design perspective. Learn about the functionality that exists to specifically address multi-plant planning and understand why most supply planning software can do nothing with multiple plants. Explore in-depth the PlanetTogether application, which targets the unique planning requirements of a superplant. Learn how to set up master data objects to support multi-plant planning functionality. Improve Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through proper deployment of multi-plant planning functionality. Examine how subcontracting and contract manufacturing fit into the superplant concept.

Finally, a book that explains supply planning. Many methods for performing supply planning are available in enterprise software solutions. However, not understanding how these methods work and how they are configured and controlled can be a major obstacle to switching to a better method or a more efficient application. In clear and concise language, backed up by real-world examples, this book explains constraint-based planning, reorder point planning, backward and forward consumption, and scheduling and simulation. Through extensive use of graphics and screen images from many of the leading software packages-including Demand Works, JDA, and SAP-this book demonstrates how supply planning is applied in different vendor applications and how they will benefit your company. By reading this book, you will: Understand the major supply planning methods and how supply planning works in top enterprise software vendors' applications. Learn how to avoid many common software implementation issues. Gain real experience from actual supply planning software implementations. Get the most from supply planning systems by understanding how to improve their configuration. Know how to leverage the tools available within supply planning applications. Easily access helpful information through the book's companion website and links included throughout the book. Your company can benefit from a thorough understanding of supply planning. Read this book and be on your way to improved supply planning and successful supply planning software implementation.

Constraint-based planning generates something that is appealing to all manufacturers: a feasible supply and production plan. However, constraint-based planning software was first implemented over twenty years ago, and yet few companies have mastered constraint-based planning. This book provides the background information, detailed explanations, step-by-step examples, and real-life scenarios to assist a company in becoming proficient at constraint-based planning, along with valuable information about what SAP APO can do for supply and production planning in reality, rather than just in theory. Here you will learn about resources-the mechanism for constraining the plan in APO and for determining the feasibility of the plan-and how constrained supply and production planning work together (and how they don't). In addition, this book talks about constraint-based planning at the supplier level: can a vendor's production be capacity-constrained? By reading this book, you will learn: The different resources available in APO, how production resources differ from supply planning resources, and the role resources and other important constraints play in constraint-based planning. How constraints integrate across the supply planning and production planning applications. The areas of disconnect between supply and production planning applications, and between SNP and PP/DS in particular. The difference between unconstrained (or infinite) planning and constraint-based planning. The benefits of constraint-based planning and how it differs from capacity leveling. Various types of demand, and how backwards and forwards scheduling work. The benefits of using production constraints in the supply planning system, and how SNP and PP/DS can be synchronized to produce the desired output. The methods that can do constraint-based planning in SNP and PP/DS-heuristics, CTM, and optimization-and how to configure these methods. The difference between hard and soft constraints, and how to plan using multiple constraints.

Essential reading for success in your next software selection and implementation. Software selection is the most important task in a software implementation project, as it is your best (if not only) opportunity to make sure that the right software-the software that matches the business requirements-is being implemented. Choosing the software that is the best fit clears the way for a successful implementation, yet software selection is often fraught with issues and many companies do not end up with the best software for their needs. However, the process can be greatly simplified by addressing the information sources that influence software selection. This book is a how-to guide for improving the software selection process, and is formulated around the idea that-much like purchasing decisions for consumer products-the end user and those with the domain expertise must be included. In addition to providing hints for refining the software selection process, this book delves into the often-overlooked topic of how consulting and IT analyst firms influence the purchasing decision, and gives the reader an insider's understanding of the enterprise software market. By reading this book you will: Learn how to apply a scientific approach to the software selection process. Interpret vendor-supplied information to your best advantage. Understand what motivates a software vendor. Learn how the institutional structure and biases of consulting firms affect the advice they give you, and understand how to properly interpret information from consulting companies. Make vendor demos work to your benefit. Know the right questions to ask on topics such as integration with existing software, cloud versus on-premise vendors, and client references. Differentiate what is important to know about software for improved "implement-ability" versus what the vendor thinks is important for improved "sell-ability." Better manage your software selection projects to ensure smoother implementations.

Which supply planning method meets your company's business requirements? The answer might surprise you Here's the truth: There is no one right supply planning method for all situations, even within one company In fact, it is unnecessary to choose only one method, and using multiple supply planning methods is feasible and in most cases, has many advantages over using a single method. This book explains why no one supply planning method meets all requirements, and lists the many benefits of using multiple supply planning methods. It gives practical advice about selecting supply planning methods and method modifiers, and goes deep into the "how to" of implementing mixed methods. By reading this book you will: Understand the supply planning methods available within SAP SNP. Separate the sales rhetoric from the truth when making software purchasing decisions. Discover prototypes and the benefits of testing supply planning methods prior to implementation. Explore the information and human challenges of combining multiple supply planning methods. Make multiple supply planning methods work together in either one or multiple software applications. Drawing upon his own vast experience as an implementation consultant, and through extensive use of graphics and screen images from SAP SNP and other software, Shaun Snapp empowers you to choose supply planning methods with confidence and to successfully integrate multiple methods in one or more applications.

Planning horizons and timing settings are critical to controlling the behavior of planning applications. But few people understand the impact that timing settings in one APO application have on other APO applications, and what implications they have for controlling system output. APO is the most fully-featured supply chain planning suite on the market, and its sheer number of timing settings makes it one of the most complex as well Keeping these settings straight and associating the timings across the modules-as well as coordinating the timings with the connected systems-is a challenge in APO. If you would like to better understand the timing settings in APO and other advanced planning systems, or if your company is planning to implement APO, this book is for you. Here you will learn about the timing settings, planning horizons and calendars in four of the most commonly-implemented APO applications (DP, SNP, PP/DS and GATP), and how timing settings in one APO module interact with and impact upon the timing settings in the other APO modules. By reading this book you will: Gain a comprehensive overview of timings in the four most popular APO applications: DP, SNP, PP/DS and GATP. Get an overview of what is created in each application and what is passed between the modules. Understand how the planning horizons, calendars and timing settings of DP, SNP, PP/DS and GATP relate to each other, how they influence the planning output, and how they connect with SAP/ERP. Be able to differentiate between the various timing settings in APO and explain how they relate to one another. Benefit by getting a head start on understanding timing settings before the demo or proof-of-concept stage of a project. Avoid costly implementation errors by learning how to navigate APO's complex timing settings. Understand timing setting directions (backward and forward). Learn how to support a global business with a single APO application.

Finally a book that explores the benefits of proper Bill of Materials management The Bill of Materials, or BOM, is the list of raw materials, sub-assemblies, intermediate assemblies, sub-components, components, parts and quantities needed to manufacture an end product. Not only relevant to manufacturing, the BOM is vital to design and engineering, sales, customer service and your suppliers, and to function optimally each needs access to BOM information Yet, while the technology to enable collaboration on purchase orders and other transactions within supply chain management is gaining in popularity, the BOM is often overlooked to your company s detriment This book aims to change the status quo and explains why the BOM is one of the most important yet underutilized master data objects in your company. Through extensive use of graphics and screen images from Arena Solutions and other software vendors, this book demonstrates how the effective implementation of a BOM management system allows your company to reap the benefits of enabling applications that rely upon clean and up-to-date BOM information. By reading this book you

Never before has a supply planning book concentrated solely on setting up the Supply Network Planning (SNP) model in SAP APO, the most fully-featured supply chain planning suite on the market. This book is the only book on supply planning to focus entirely on how to set up supply networks in APO, and how to meet highly-customized requirements that relate to supply network design. You won't even find these topics covered in depth in SAP Training classes Companies should evaluate multiple supply network designs thoroughly before choosing a solution. The solution must strike a balance between meeting business requirements and being workable and maintainable. This book will teach you what you need to know to find this balance and evaluate solutions with confidence. Through extensive use of graphics and screen images, this book will familiarize you with Supply Network Planning in SAP APO and show you what you need to do to design supply networks for real-life applications, where everyday business requirements necessitate a nonstandard network design. After reading this book you will: Be able to set up master data objects for the supply network. Have a detailed understanding of the two major data objects in APO: locations and transportation lanes. Understand multi-sourcing - the ability for a supply planning system to choose intelligently between alternate sources of supply. Know how to design the supply network for complicated and nonstandard workflows, such as planning locations that are external to the supply network. Understand how to manage storage locations with MRP Areas for allocation and GATP. Be able to model intercompany transfers. Consider all aspects of network design, including physical master data set-up, parameters, planning run sequence, problem division, how and when billing documents are created, and more. Learn when a parallel simulation version of the supply network is appropriate - and when it is not.

If you want to get more out of your Gartner research subscription, this book is for you Whether you are a software buyer, a large or small vendor, or are wondering how Gartner can help you make better investment decisions, this book will give you new insights to Gartner's research. By studying the methodology behind such popular analytical tools as the Magic Quadrant, you will understand how a vendor earned its rating and whether or not the ratings are justified Starting with the history of Gartner and how it compares to other IT analyst firms, this book gives a realistic assessment of the value of Gartner research to a company and provides ideas about other resources that could complement Gartner's analysis. You will also have the tools to level the playing field between large, medium and small vendors when using Gartner's analysis in selecting software. By reading this book, you will: Evaluate whether or not a Gartner subscription is of value to your company Adjust the Magic Quadrant to get a more realistic assessment of large and small vendors and their products Increase the value of your interactions with Gartner analysts Understand Gartner's biases and how Gartner makes money, and how this impacts its research results Appreciate the effects of cloud computing on Gartner, and why it matters to you Choose consulting services with confidence Assess the value of Gartner's other analytical products to your business

This books explains the emerging technology of inventory optimization and multi-echelon (MEIO) supply planning. It takes a complex subject and effectively communicates what MEIO is about in plain English terms. This is the only book currently available that describes MEIO for practitioners, rather for mathematicians or academics. The book describes with text and graphics how inventory optimization allows the entire supply plan to be controlled with service levels, and how multi echelon technology answers the question of where to locate inventory in the supply network. This is the only book on inventory optimization and multi echelon planning which compares how different best of breed vendors apply MEIO technology to their products. It also explains why this technology is so important for supply planning and why companies should be actively investigating this method. The book moves smoothly between concepts to screen shots and descriptions of how the screens are configured and used. This provides the reader with some of the most intriguing areas of functionality within a variety of applications.

This books explains the important aspects of supply chain forecasting. The book is designed to allow the reader to get more out of their current forecasting system, as well as explain some of the best functionality in forecasting, which may not be resident in the reader's current system, but how they can be accessed at low-cost. The book breaks down what is often taught as a complex subject into simple terms and provides information that can be immediately put to use by practitioners. One of the only books to have a variety of supply chain forecasting vendors showcased. The book also provides the reader with a look into the leading edge of forecasting. Several concept that are covered, while currently available in forecasting software, have yet to be widely implemented or even written about. The book moves smoothly between concepts to screen shots and descriptions of how the screens are configured and used. This provides the reader with some of the most intriguing areas of functionality within a variety of applications.