ERP Software

ERP Chicago

Increased competition and developing technologies are complicating the business processes of enterprises.  In an effort to manage the varied complex functions, companies are looking to ERP software solutions.  ERP is an integrated suite of software that brings all the data generated by each separate department and brings it in to one centralized system that can be utilized by all departments.  This has the effect of streamlining operations, thereby lowering costs, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing profit.

But finding and implementing ERP software is a huge undertaking for any business. Still, in the manufacturing and distribution industries it is a vital task. Businesses need ERP software solutions as much as ERP solutions need to continue evolving in order to provide more and more solutions to the problems businesses face.

An economic study of the past five years shows that in the city of Chicago, Boeing has had the highest gross profit. In 2001, Chicago became home to Boeing, which at that time ranked fifteenth on the Fortune 500 list and employed close to 200,000 people in the United States. The business made the move to Chicago because the business wanted to build a larger, more competent company.

As part of this concerted effort to grow, Boeing looked to ERP software for solutions. At that time, there was nothing on the market that fit all the requirements it was looking for, so Boeing made an agreement with Baan Systems to design the ERP solution it wanted.

Shortly after, companies began purchasing Baan’s ERP software, although some worried that the vendor’s concentration on one specific industry (Boeing’s) would make their ERP unusable by others. These developments eventually led to the debate: should erp be changed to adapt to existing business processes or should business processes adapt to fit into erp solutions?  To this day, there has been no clear resolution of that debate.

In 2003, SSA Global Technologies acquired Baan, and a few years later, when Boeing’s ERP contract was up, the company renewed a contract with SSA Global. SSA Global had designed ERP software to specifically handle Boeing’s long and complicated supply chains. According to an executive in charge of IT, the contract was renewed because SSA’s ERP was able to modernize Boeing’s manufacturing functionality –and Boeing needed that. The ERP software helped the company shorten its manufacturing cycle as well as insure the supply of inventory did not stall or dry up.

Companies looking for ERP in Chicago today, can go to an independent consulting firm. Ultra has perfected the art of finding the right ERP. The firm attempts to reduce the frustration and high level of risk associated with buying and implementing ERP while at the same time giving businesses the tools they need to stay competitive and improve performance.

Written by :

Amy Cruz