News

News

• May 22, 2020 22 May'20

  Machine health systems play critical role in age of disruption

  As the COVID-19 crisis disrupts industries, manufacturers can keep lines running by using machine health monitoring systems to manage equipment and diagnose problems remotely.

• May 13, 2020 13 May'20

  Managed cloud ERP services keep businesses afloat in crisis

  In this Q&A, Ryan Etinson of Syntax discusses why companies that use a managed cloud services provider for their ERP systems don't have to worry about system stability.

• May 06, 2020 06 May'20

  Pandemic causes Hershey's to pause ERP project

  Major parts of The Hershey Co.'s ERP project, notably its supply chain, is being put on hold for a year as the firm adjusts to pandemic-related business needs.

• May 06, 2020 06 May'20

  Cloud-based ERP keeps SMBs running during pandemic

  Many SMBs have found that moving to cloud-based ERP systems has helped keep the lights on by allowing employees to access enterprise applications from home.

• May 04, 2020 04 May'20

  How to renegotiate your ERP contract during a pandemic

  ERP consultant Marcus Harris provides advice on renegotiating ERP contracts when the scopes of ERP implementation projects change due to the COVID-19 crisis.

• May 01, 2020 01 May'20

  ERP implementation challenges grow in COVID-19 crisis

  ERP implementation experts Marcus Harris and Daniel Saeedi tell how organizations can manage ERP project disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

• April 30, 2020 30 Apr'20

  Celonis process mining edges toward autonomous enterprise

  The Celonis process mining platform now has Operational Applications for accounts payable and supply chain that allow companies to take automated actions on processes.

• April 17, 2020 17 Apr'20

  Supply chain applications help ease COVID-19 crisis

  Supply chain applications from SAP Ariba, SourceDay and Kinaxis are helping companies find critical PPE, maintain manufacturing lines and plan for supply chain risk assessment.

• April 02, 2020 02 Apr'20

  COVID-19 crisis opens possibilities for 3D printing industry

  As the coronavirus outbreak disrupts supply chains, manufacturers may increasingly turn to 3D printing to move beyond prototyping and into producing quality parts.

• March 26, 2020 26 Mar'20

  Priority Software mobile apps open ERP systems

  Priority Software's mobile apps and Mobile App Generator improve access to its ERP systems and improve productivity for processes like inventory management and sales operations.

• March 25, 2020 25 Mar'20

  7 supply chain management best practices in a COVID-19 world

  Amid global disruptions due to coronavirus, businesses need to redo supply chain best practices immediately. Here are seven ways to get started down the right path.

• March 23, 2020 23 Mar'20

  Pandemic will delay, cancel ERP deployments and test vendors

  The pandemic will challenge ERP deployments in some unique ways. Travel restrictions are shutting down access to the people needed to plan and implement projects, and remote working may create a hurdle.

• March 17, 2020 17 Mar'20

  COVID-19 outbreak in China slows global supply chain

  The COVID-19 outbreak started in China, where a large percentage of major enterprises have factories. Here's what business leaders should learn from the resulting slowdown.

• March 16, 2020 16 Mar'20

  How to prevent a coronavirus panic buying bullwhip effect

  Widespread coronavirus panic buying is likely to cause a bullwhip effect in some areas -- such as toilet paper. Here's how suppliers can work to minimize the negative supply chain effects.

• March 11, 2020 11 Mar'20

  Cognitive automation helps processes run on their own

  Merck Healthcare has implemented cognitive automation technology from Aera Technology to drive a digital transformation of its supply chain operations.

• March 05, 2020 05 Mar'20

  Manufacturing outlook hopeful despite recession fears

  A new survey of midmarket manufacturing CFOs shows that most anticipate increases in revenue and profitability in 2020, in the face of an expected economic slowdown.

• March 02, 2020 02 Mar'20

  Connected worker platforms bring people into digital transformation

  A dairy production company is using a connected worker platform to fill in the gaps of ERP and manufacturing systems and tie in front-line workers to its digital transformation.

• February 27, 2020 27 Feb'20

  ERP Advisors Group: ERP for SMBs to come of age in 2020

  In this Q&A, Shawn Windle of ERP Advisors Group explains why 2020 is the year of SMBs for ERP, as SMBs find ERP systems more cost-effective and industry-specific options increase.

• February 25, 2020 25 Feb'20

  Cloud broadens scope of ERP support to focus more on users

  A truly modern ERP support strategy must consider the needs of both internal and external users and ERP's expanded role in the employer and customer experience.

• February 24, 2020 24 Feb'20

  Coronavirus outbreak puts focus on supply chain risk

  Global supply chains have been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak, and companies need to diversify suppliers and rethink strategies like lean and just-in-time manufacturing.

• February 19, 2020 19 Feb'20

  Panorama ERP report shows continued satisfaction

  Panorama Consulting Group's 2020 ERP report finds that satisfaction with ERP remains high and the cloud is now the main deployment choice.

• February 13, 2020 13 Feb'20

  Take care of ERP data security when moving to the cloud

  In this Q&A, ERP data security expert Greg Wendt of Appsian discusses data security needs to be addressed by organizations as they move ERP systems to the cloud.

• February 11, 2020 11 Feb'20

  Solid growth helps IFS ERP take aim at top-tier vendors

  Solid growth for 2019 may help IFS take on SAP and other top-tier ERP vendors, but it faces the same problems in moving customers to innovative cloud-based systems.

• February 05, 2020 05 Feb'20

  Analysts see Infor-Koch combo boosting ERP vendor

  ERP vendor Infor will soon be a subsidiary of Koch Industries, a $110 billion multinational firm.

• January 30, 2020 30 Jan'20

  For one company, an ERP project failure is now a court battle

  ERP projects often run into delays and cost overruns, but some actually fail. That's what happened to one Florida-based manufacturing firm.

• January 30, 2020 30 Jan'20

  Acumatica cloud ERP tightens focus on SMB market

  At Acumatica Summit 2020, the cloud-based ERP company announced new manufacturing features, a new Payroll module and a new acquisition of JAAS Systems.

• January 20, 2020 20 Jan'20

  Executive shuffle rolls through ERP industry

  2019 was a year for change in the executive ranks of SAP and other ERP vendors, as the companies face struggles in moving their large on-premises installed bases to the cloud.

• January 14, 2020 14 Jan'20

  SAP competitors see openings with S/4HANA qualms

  SAP customers may consider other ERP vendors as the clock speeds up for the 2025 support end for ECC, but some observers believe a move to another vendor may be just as difficult.

• December 13, 2019 13 Dec'19

  RPA in manufacturing increases efficiency, reduces costs

  In this Q&A, Shibaji Das of UiPath discusses why manufacturers should implement RPA to improve efficiency, help with ERP system upgrades, increase ROI and reduce costs.

• December 09, 2019 09 Dec'19

  Process mining software pulls back curtains on how processes work

  Here's what two vendors, Celonis and Signavio, offer in the emerging field of process mining software, which enables organizations to better understand business processes.

• December 05, 2019 05 Dec'19

  Epicor ERP system focuses on distribution

  Companies like Jergens Industrial Supply are favoring purpose-built ERP systems like Epicor Prophet 21 for distributors over comprehensive ERPs that need customizations.

• November 21, 2019 21 Nov'19

  7 demand planning strategies to beat the competition

  Today's supply chain management rests on refining your demand forecasting and creating partnerships. Here's a look at what that means.

• November 06, 2019 06 Nov'19

  With Scout, Workday acquisition strategy takes shape

  Workday's planned acquisition of Scout RFP, a sourcing and procurement platform, says one thing to analysts: It is pushing to become a full-service ERP vendor.

• October 29, 2019 29 Oct'19

  Epicor cloud, on-premises ERP get equal treatment

  Epicor upgraded its platform, and the improvements are available to both cloud and on-premises ERP users. The upgrade takes advantage of Microsoft Azure technologies.

• October 25, 2019 25 Oct'19

  Unit4 ERP software aims to prioritize people experience

  Unit4 promises to deliver features including the ability to self-drive, automate repetitive administrative tasks, integrate third-party applications and add customer extensions.

• October 24, 2019 24 Oct'19

  New small business ERP delivers SAP Business One alternative

  SMBs in search of an affordable ERP app can look to Priority Zoom a cloud-based platform designed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage each phase of the sales cycle.

• October 23, 2019 23 Oct'19

  SAP's McDermott joins ServiceNow to push enterprise growth

  SAP's Bill McDermott will take over as ServiceNow CEO, replacing John Donahoe, in a move that analysts say could take the fast-growing ITSM vendor in new product directions.

• October 18, 2019 18 Oct'19

  Acumatica cloud ERP, IFS systems fit together well

  Acumatica and IFS share a similar manufacturing ERP industry focus but target different markets. In this Q&A, Acumatica CEO Jon Roskill explains how the vendors are working to integrate systems and services.

• October 10, 2019 10 Oct'19

  RPA basics: What it is, benefits, downsides, use cases

  Robotic process automation may be able to help your business, but first you need to understand what it is and what it can and cannot do. IFS VP of AI and RPA shares his take.

• October 09, 2019 09 Oct'19

  IFS acquires Astea in bid for FSM market consolidation

  The acquisition not only opens IFS up to a broader customer base, but also consolidates the field service management market during a time of growth and increased competition.

• October 03, 2019 03 Oct'19

  Infor positions CloudSuite ERP as alternative to S/4HANA

  Infor's Rod Johnson, general manager and head of Americas, said the company is focused on two things: getting its customers to the cloud faster and helping its customers get more value out of their investments.

• September 26, 2019 26 Sep'19

  Inforum 2019 focuses on ease of deployment and intelligent ERP

  Infor talked up AI, machine learning and embedded RPA as intelligent tools that will help make ERP projects more successful. But do customers need features like these?

• September 25, 2019 25 Sep'19

  At Inforum 2019, Infor takes aim at SAP

  Infor wants to take SAP head-on. At Inforum 2019, Infor executives described SAP's push to migrate customers to SAP S/4HANA by 2025 as an opportunity to do just that.

• September 20, 2019 20 Sep'19

  Oracle strengthens autonomous cloud positioning

  Oracle announced a host of new features for EPM, ERP and HCM clouds, including machine learning OCR and new jobs for the Oracle bot, and a new UX.

• September 18, 2019 18 Sep'19

  Sigfox network provides cheap, efficient connectivity for IoT

  IoT applications for manufacturing and supply chain don't require 5G networks to send small packets of data. Sigfox believes they're better suited for a 0G network.

• September 17, 2019 17 Sep'19

  Oracle ERP Cloud expands its digital assistants

  The Oracle ERP Cloud is increasing its use of digital assistants. These systems will interact with AI-type systems to help move the conversation along.

• August 29, 2019 29 Aug'19

  Supply chain digital transformation demands new skills

  Madhav Durbha's take on the evolving supply chain landscape includes a warning: Organizations will need to address the growing skills gap it is creating.

• August 22, 2019 22 Aug'19

  Shakeup in the Infor leadership tree

  Charles Phillips moved from Infor CEO to become chairman of the board of directors. He has been replaced by CFO Kevin Samuelson. Analysts believe recent revenue results may be behind the moves.

• August 14, 2019 14 Aug'19

  Updates to Infor Concierge aim to improve customer access

  With updates to Infor Concierge, the vendor intends to improve customer access to Infor ERP services and products to expedite the problem-solving process.

• August 12, 2019 12 Aug'19

  Cloud is driving force behind 2019 ERP industry trends

  Interest in deploying ERP systems to the cloud continued to increase in 2019, but deployments may be slowed by misunderstanding and uncertainty about vendor roadmaps and costs.

• August 06, 2019 06 Aug'19

  Aysling launches new vendor management software

  Vendor Management is a cloud-based software designed to help businesses manage their vendors and vendors' employees. It lets users track payments, store files, see invoices and more.

• August 05, 2019 05 Aug'19

  TraceLink Network delivers digital supply chain visibility

  Drug manufacturers can collaborate with customers, suppliers and contract manufacturers on the TraceLink Network, and build applications on the new TraceLink Digital Network Platform.

• July 25, 2019 25 Jul'19

  IFS, Acumatica take aim at top-tier ERP vendors -- together

  IFS and Acumatica now share the same corporate ownership with EQT Partners, which creates the potential for the two ERP companies to collaborate on technology and business resources.

• July 24, 2019 24 Jul'19

  Beta tester imagines financial modeling software future

  The Seattle Sounders FC's finance department is testing new anomaly detection capabilities in Adaptive Insights, but it also wants to see external data used to probe anomalies.

• July 19, 2019 19 Jul'19

  MRPeasy software helps growing cannabis business

  Here's how cannabis products manufacturer Papa & Barkley uses cloud-based MRP software from MRPeasy to manage its production and inventory processes in a highly regulated industry.

• June 20, 2019 20 Jun'19

  ERP vendor IFS makes a near-merger with Acumatica

  EQT Partners, which owns ERP vendor IFS, has acquired Acumatica, another ERP vendor. Both firms will be working together, sharing leadership and expertise in hope of each broadening market share.

• June 06, 2019 06 Jun'19

  Honeywell launches enterprise performance management product

  Released as part of Honeywell's new Enterprise Performance Management for Operations Technology category, Honeywell Forge for Buildings is available now.

• May 30, 2019 30 May'19

  ERP vendors get high marks in Panorama report

  A substantial majority of ERP customers are satisfied with their ERP vendors, according to a new report from Panorama Consulting. But whether they're realizing the benefits of ERP implementations remains unclear.

• May 29, 2019 29 May'19

  Revlon SAP ERP problems result in rare investor lawsuit

  An SAP ERP implementation at cosmetic maker Revlon disrupted some operations. After the news came out, the company's stock price suffered. Now, investors are suing.

• May 24, 2019 24 May'19

  Advanced 3D printing machines on display at Rapid + TCT

  While there won't be a 3D printer in every home any time soon, here's a look at three machines that were on display at the Rapid + TCT 3D printing industry tradeshow and are having an effect on manufacturing.

• May 22, 2019 22 May'19

  3D printing industry growth tied to specialized applications -- for now

  Specialized production manufacturing drives 3D printing in three industries, but prototyping will remain the key use case in more mainstream applications.

• May 15, 2019 15 May'19

  Sage cloud ERP services add production management module

  Sage has released the Production Management module for its cloud-connected ERP Sage 100cloud. The new module is designed to give users visibility into the production process.

• May 15, 2019 15 May'19

  Challenges slow the union between blockchain and ERP

  Rather than technical challenges, building the business networks and hammering out governance and rules of engagement are the toughest hurdles to blockchain-enabled ERP.

• May 03, 2019 03 May'19

  ERP upgrade sought job efficiency, not job loss

  Protecting jobs, not replacing people with automation, was an ERP system upgrade requirement by the Industries for the Blind and Visually Impaired. It wanted efficiency without job loss.

• May 02, 2019 02 May'19

  Delays, change orders blow up ERP project budget for school district

  ERP projects are notorious for cost overruns and delays. That was the experience of the Manatee School District, which ran into major problems.

• April 30, 2019 30 Apr'19

  Epicor iScala 3.3 brings new productivity features to SMB ERP

  Epicor's newly released iScala 3.3 SMB ERP software update includes new reporting and analytics features, a revamped user interface and expanded localizations.

• April 26, 2019 26 Apr'19

  To avoid ERP implementation failure, start with clearly defined requirements

  Companies can avoid litigation caused by unsuccessful ERP implementations by defining requirements at the start of a project, according to ERP consultant Brooks Hilliard.

• April 18, 2019 18 Apr'19

  Epicor debuts EVA, an AI virtual assistant for ERP

  Epicor users will soon be able to talk to or text their ERP systems through Epicor Virtual Agent, a new AI-based voice command UI that promises to improve productivity.

• April 15, 2019 15 Apr'19

  Del Monte Foods makes SAP ERP migration to AWS

  Thanks to an acquisition, Del Monte Foods' IT had both on-premises and hosted systems, which proved costly and inflexible. It has since moved its IT systems to AWS.

• April 04, 2019 04 Apr'19

  Oracle promises NetSuite performance gains at SuiteWorld

  NetSuite customers will get a lot of the same tech that Oracle customers on other platforms are getting. This includes Oracle Autonomous Database and its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure service.

• April 01, 2019 01 Apr'19

  Digital transformation projects will fail without the right culture

  Companies that want to experience digital transformation success should focus more on culture and less on technology, according to a panel at the recent Digital Transformation Conference in Boston.

• March 29, 2019 29 Mar'19

  Sabre outage puts its 99.995% uptime goal in question

  An airline reservation system outage created long lines for travelers and raised questions about whether Sabre's uptime goals are achievable. They may not be.

• March 25, 2019 25 Mar'19

  Oracle CEO Mark Hurd sees no reason to fear ERP AI

  AI will create more jobs than it will destroy, Oracle CEO Mark Hurd said. One area that may be improved by AI is customer service, which suffers from high turnover in call centers.

• March 21, 2019 21 Mar'19

  Oracle makes its ERP financials smarter -- and talkative

  At its user conference in Las Vegas, Oracle demonstrated how voice can now be used to conduct complex business actions, including financial ERP transactions.

• March 14, 2019 14 Mar'19

  Get a holistic digital transformation strategy or get left behind

  At IDC Directions 2019, IDC's Meredith Whalen said digital transformation at the project level is a recipe for failure. Companies need a more holistic approach that puts culture first.

• March 12, 2019 12 Mar'19

  SAP still leads tier 1 ERP market, Infor solidifies place in the top 4

  SAP continues to lead the tier 1 ERP market, according to Panorama Consulting's Clash of the Titans 2019 report. But disruption is never far from sight, with Oracle and Microsoft trailing just behind and Infor continuing to make gains.

• February 25, 2019 25 Feb'19

  Oracle ERP lawsuit underscores installation hardships for big systems

  Oracle is being sued over a $4.5 million ERP project that did not go according to plan. That's a common problem with ERP installations, according to a new study.

• January 17, 2019 17 Jan'19

  Infor customers may gain from Koch's $1.5B investment

  Infor customers may get new product capabilities from a $1.5 billion investment by Golden Gate Capital and an investment arm of Koch Industries.

• December 19, 2018 19 Dec'18

  Debate over ERP systems in the cloud plays out on top 10 list

  Cloud-based ERP or not? Based on the number of stories that appeared in our top 10 for 2018 list, CIOs seem to be asking the question.

• December 11, 2018 11 Dec'18

  MillerCoors ERP lawsuit begins harshly, ends softly

  MillerCoors and IT services firm HCL have reached an 'amicable' agreement regarding the brewer's $100 million ERP implementation lawsuit over an SAP project.

• December 06, 2018 06 Dec'18

  Oracle HPC cloud aims at mainstream business data

  ERP managers are finding more reasons to turn to high-performance computing to improve the performance of big data analysis and machine learning models.

• October 25, 2018 25 Oct'18

  Cautious about SaaS, Textron came around to Oracle ERP Cloud

  Textron IT and finance leaders said the company only trusted cloud for nonessentials until aging systems made the move to SaaS ERP inevitable.

• October 24, 2018 24 Oct'18

  FedEx's Oracle hybrid cloud only a bridge to all-SaaS ERP

  A logistics heavyweight is in year three of a five-year plan to consolidate PeopleSoft and SAP systems on Oracle ERP Cloud and Analytics Cloud and absorb corporate acquisitions.

• October 23, 2018 23 Oct'18

  New Oracle AI, blockchain apps target key ERP workflows

  Financials, supply chain, HR and recruiting all see automation boost from intelligent process automation and machine learning across integrated Oracle SaaS suite.

• September 28, 2018 28 Sep'18

  Three master data management strategies to boost CRM-ERP success

  'Bad data' circulating through a company's ERP environment will likely cause interfaces to fail. Learn how one business leader is cleaning things up.

• August 15, 2018 15 Aug'18

  Industrial cloud moving from public to hybrid systems

  A new survey by ABI Research indicates that manufacturers will move IIoT systems from public cloud to hybrid systems as more storage and processing can be done at the device level.

• July 31, 2018 31 Jul'18

  Report: ERP security is weak, vulnerable and under attack

  ERP security is in trouble, according to a new report. Many ERP systems connected to the internet are insecure, and users are lagging in installing updates.

• June 12, 2018 12 Jun'18

  Workday to acquire Adaptive Insights for $1.55 billion

  Workday says its acquisition of Adaptive Insights, a financial planning and modeling system, will save it two years of development time.

• June 07, 2018 07 Jun'18

  Oracle claims it can cut ERP system migration costs by 30%

  A migration can cost millions, but Oracle believes its new automation and integration tools can significantly reduce the cost of ERP system migrations to the cloud.

• May 21, 2018 21 May'18

  Contract lifecycle management highlighted at Apttus conference

  Analysts, users tout CLM's risk management and revenue benefits at event by Apttus, maker of a 'middle office' repository for managing contracts across ERP, CRM and departments.

• May 09, 2018 09 May'18

  Oracle Autonomous Database concept extended to PaaS, apps

  Having earlier laid the foundation with Oracle Autonomous Database, the vendor unveiled self-driving, self-repairing tools for application development, analytics and integration.

• May 01, 2018 01 May'18

  Financial management software vendors march ahead

  Financial management software vendors FinancialForce, Vena Solutions and Model N have made recent moves to upgrade products, add third-party integrations or accelerate innovation.

• April 30, 2018 30 Apr'18

  Additive manufacturing industry still small but innovative

  The Rapid+TCT 3D printing conference shows new developments in machines, materials and digital systems may fuel growth as an industrial manufacturing option.

• April 20, 2018 20 Apr'18

  Acquisition gives ERP public sector firm Tyler a data cloud

  Tyler Technologies, a firm solely focused on government verticals and public sector ERP, has added data-as-a-service capability by acquiring Socrata.

• April 18, 2018 18 Apr'18

  Santa Fe's ERP implementation project fix stirs debate

  ERP implementation projects may be IT's most challenging, something the city of Santa Fe, N.M., found out. City officials needed a fix and considered three options.

• March 23, 2018 23 Mar'18

  IDC says supply chain 'killer' among blockchain use cases

  Blockchain is gaining ground in the supply chain and financial services, according to IDC, and other third-platform technologies are enabling the digitization of the economy.

• February 23, 2018 23 Feb'18

  Model N revenue management software gets new capabilities

  ERP news briefs: Model N adapts its revenue management to include subscription, outcome-based, risk sharing, as well as physical product, pricing. Priority Software aims at U.S.

• February 15, 2018 15 Feb'18

  CFOs get argument for moving on-premises ERP systems to cloud

  Cloud services can boost the nation's productivity by making advanced tech widely available. The cloud will be the major conduit to AI and other tools, a new report says.

• February 01, 2018 01 Feb'18

  Office Depot says 'no' to Oracle ERP Cloud customizations

  Office Depot believes it's possible to run its HCM, EPM and supply chain on the Oracle ERP Cloud without customizations. The retailer says it will save money and headaches. Analysts agree.

• January 15, 2018 15 Jan'18

  Oracle chosen as provider of shared ERP system for colleges

  Private, nonprofit colleges are discovering they can reduce back-office IT costs by working together. Novel approaches are emerging to reduce the financial drain of ERP systems.