This year is the 20th anniversary of Ultra Consultants founding. It’s a milestone that provides a good opportunity to celebrate our successes, as well as consider the evolving ERP landscape.
Ultra’s singular focus has been, and continues to be, leading our clients on a journey of continuous improvement.
While a 20th anniversary is a good opportunity to extend sincere thanks to our mid-market manufacturing and distribution clients, as well as our top notch consulting team, it’s also a chance to take stock of how ERP has evolved over the last two decades within the manufacturing sector.
In general, we see noteworthy developments in the following key areas:
Evolving Technology: At the time of Ultra’s founding, what is now termed as ERP software was mostly a narrow set of materials resource planning (MRP) functionality — with limited financials and HR. Stand-alone EDI solutions improved communiticans between suppliers and customers. Business users were still burdened with the “green-screens”. (We can remember when mid-market manufactures ran systems such as MAPICS on central computers connecting users through terminals.) That functionality has evolved over the decades to what is available now from ERP vendors – comprehensive, easy to use and integrated systems, many of them targeted to vertical industries (food/bev, make to stock, etc.)
Open Architecture: Another significant transformation in the ERP evolution was the shift away from “proprietary” technology systems built on IBM, DEC and HP platforms to an open environment. SAP was the first to disrupt, offering ERP solutions that can operate with multiple hardware, databases, and operating systems. We note this as a major leap in the evolution of ERP, making systems more attractive to businesses and letting them move away platform-specific solutions. Businesses were increasingly interested in Unix-based servers and non-proprietary databases.
GUI, User Interface Transformation: As we noted, character-based “green screens” were very much the norm as we look back over the decades. A major transformation took place with the introduction of the Graphical Use Interface (GUI), which made ERP more appealing to the business user. Ease of use, navigation and “look feel” has undergone dramatic improvements since Ultra’s founding in 1994. We can’t overestimate the significance. Easier to use systems provide better access to information, makes systems more attractive, and increases their value and success of their user.
Changing Vendor Landscape: The vendor landscape has undergone dramatic shifts over the last two decades. The prominent software vendors at the time are either now in the “ERP Graveyard” or have been absorbed by today’s dominant players as the market consolidates through mergers and acquisitions. SAP gained significant ground in the 1990’s, emerging in North America with the market dominance they enjoyed in Europe. They offered the market multi-country, multi-language, multi-location features which were new to the marketplace. SAP ushered in an era of vendor “shake out,” consolidation and merging as the ERP market matured, and SAP continues their dominance today.
Market Changes: The manufacturing and distribution sector has gone through their own market changes over the last two decades. The cyclical nature of manufacturing, Y2K, off-shoring, global competition, labor and material cost escalation, the “Great Recession” and other pressures have dramatically impacted the sector. ERP is now viewed as the lifeblood of all businesses for all industries within manufacturing, required to keep up, cut costs, streamline operations and be competitive. That’s why an effective ERP selection process is so critical.
Modern Infrastructure/Features: In two decades we’ve seen leapfrog advances in IT architecture, data network, telecommunications, servers and storage innovations, as well as data center efficiency and other significant improvements. We’ve gone from floppy discs, DVDs and hard drives to instantaneous access and virtually unlimited data storage over increasingly robust networks. Computing power has exploded with faster connections and superior reliability. From the feature side, today’s ERP vendors go to market with sophisticated collaboration and social tools; the flexibility of Cloud, SaaS and On-premise, multi-tenant delivery options; mobile platforms for anywhere access; real-time reporting/BI and other modern features. Businesses benefit from a great variety of choices and the technological advances keep coming – the pace of change will not let up.
Evolving ERP – What’s Ahead?
As independent ERP consultants, we make it our mission to successfully guide companies through business process improvement strategies and methodologies that drive business performance improvement.
As we look ahead, it’s hard to anticipate the technological shifts to come especially with advances in cloud, social collaboration, BYOD and other key technological evolutions.
What will impact mid-market manufacturers and distributors is their ability to leverage technology for business process improvement that improves their competitive position and overall business performance.
Again, I extend my sincere thanks to Ultra’s customers, consulting team and partners as we reflect on our 20-year anniversary and head into the next chapter. Please share some of your observations about this changing market in the comments section below. Watch for further reflections on Ultra’s two-decade legacy.
Contact Ultra Consultants for further insight into your ERP evolution.