In this article, we present the solutions that you can add to Sage X3, open and extended ERP, to go further in the management of your company.
Over time, ERP has evolved to keep pace with
technological advances and business management needs. Despite all these
developments, the term ERP is still there and well anchored.
But isn't this acronym simplistic?
Faced with the recurring question "What is an ERP
for", we generally stop at the classic software modules such as production
management, commercial management or accounting/finance.
The idea is to push this definition of ERP, to go
further and to see what this Sage X3 in extended ERP mode is capable of
bringing in 2021 for companies.
To be clear, we want to clarify that this idea of
extended ERP is not new. This page of the itmanager.com website already talked
about it in an article dated 2008. However, we will be discussing the subject
again in 2021 since this notion is still too little known and even less
applied.
The Sage X3 solution, which we know very well as an
integrator and publisher of verticals, is a perfect example of extended ERP and
will serve as our common thread throughout the article.
Noticeable ERP trends
ERPs have evolved considerably year after year.
Publishers of software solutions have been able to develop new management tools
for collaboration between employees and data reliability for greater
operational efficiency.
Real time is becoming a norm while being the huge
expected booster for more responsiveness and better human decision-making.
Here is a non-exhaustive list of trends.
Paradoxically, extended ERP is obviously part of the “modern” trends despite
its “old age”:
- Cloud ERP: mobility, data security, performance, agility… Many advantages that we detail on the ERP in the cloud page
- Customizable ERP: business solutions adapted to the constraints of specific business sectors
- ERP and user experience: fluidity and simplicity. Good ergonomics facilitates the appropriation of the software by its users (we present to you the personalized portal of the Sage X3 user)
- Extended ERP (or open ERP): the integration of complementary applications for management that is as global as possible
What does extended ERP mean?
At first glance, we think of an extension. For once in
computing, let's keep it simple.
An extended ERP is a classic ERP whose traditional
functionalities are enriched by new complementary solutions developed by other
independent publishers.
In addition to the definition of extended ERP, perhaps
you have heard of best-of-breed ERP.
This term (another anglicism) literally means “best in
class”. These best-of-breed solutions aim to offer greater flexibility and
therefore room for maneuver adapted to the needs of ever more complex
businesses.
Specific examples:
- Recovery management
- Management of tax declarations
- A customer extranet
- Cash management for retail
- A TMS for transportation
- …
The customization of the ERP is intended to be pushed
to its maximum to meet a request on a case-by-case basis.
As a side note, more than 10 years ago, the Forrester
firm also classified this extended ERP trend as a support function for business
transformation. We quickly note that we go beyond the simple notion of managing
the daily operations of a traditional ERP.
What is the interest of extended ERP?
Following this small development, we realize that in
the context of an extended ERP project with multiple complementary solutions,
technology makes sense.
If we take the concrete case of the Sage X3 software,
the APIs allow the ERP to communicate with all the software securely and in
real time.
This results in a real uniformity and standardization
of interface flows.
Here are 4 examples of value-added additions if you
want to extend the capabilities of this Sage ERP:
- Management of document flows and the Sage Youdoc solution
- Warehouse management (WMS) and the Sage GEODE solution
- Customer relationship management and Salesforce CRM solution
- Business Intelligence and the Sage Enterprise Intelligence solution
Precision concerning the ERP X3, the 3 modules PJM
(for project management and invoicing by job), Web Scheduling (for production
planning) and Fixed Assets (fixed asset management) are an integral part of the
Sage core.
This is also one of the strengths of X3: business
management and integrated scheduling. If we go further, we could even add the
weighing unit (integrated) which is not the case for many other ERPs.
But let's come back to these 4 complementary solutions
with very high added value for Sage X3.
1. Management of document flows and Sage Youdoc
Today, the dematerialization of its documentary
heritage is necessary for the evolution of any company. Sage Youdoc responds to
this challenge. The solution, 100% SaaS, allows the processing of the entire
life cycle of company documents from Sage X3.
By documents, we include supplier invoices, HR
documentation, purchasing, quality or customer files.
This GED (document management) solution is an
undeniable prerequisite for the digitization of companies:
- Capture, digitize, analyze and control data
- Automate the work of reading, entering and filing documents
- Centralize, track and secure content
- Publish and share information
- Ensure the security and compliance of documentary heritage
2. Warehouse management and the Sage Geode solution
The Sage Geode WMS solution has been designed to meet
the logistics challenges of all companies, also in the distribution, trading or
pharmaceutical sectors. This software package makes it possible to adapt
logistics organizations and responds to the demand for control of flows related
to warehouse management: reception, storage, inventory management, preparation,
shipping.
With the Sage Geode WMS, a company can expect to
benefit from the following advantages:
- Ensure automated management of the flows of a connected warehouse
- Strengthen the quality and reliability of logistics flows
- Have real-time information
- Valuing storage spaces
3. Customer relationship management and the Salesforce
CRM solution
Is it still useful to present Salesforce? Salesforce
became known mainly through its CRM and is today the market leader. The
advantages of Salesforce CRM are undeniable and above all undisputed regardless
of the type of company, its business or its sector of activity: accessibility,
number 1 in the cloud, efficiency in selling, centralization of data,
uniformity and collaboration, etc.
The connection between Sage X3 and Salesforce offers
many advantages, particularly on an organizational level:
- Quickly and appropriately identify new business opportunities
- Personalize the relationship to improve the customer experience
- Go mobile and access all information anywhere
- Improve employee productivity
4. Business Intelligence and Sage Enterprise
Intelligence
Sage Enterprise Intelligence (SEI) is a
decision-making module for the English publisher's solutions that allows you to
make so-called "informed" decisions. SEI extracts, transforms,
consolidates, migrates and presents company data through simple and dynamic
dashboards.
Clearly, the SEI features decomplex the data:
- Have key reports
- Real-time, self-service access to all data
- Disseminate and share relevant information to all employees
- Save time researching, collecting, processing and analyzing data
In fact, the integration of an ERP is, basically,
extremely beneficial for companies, but faced with increasingly complex needs,
the software cannot do everything on its own.
This is why dedicated solutions by function or even by
profession are necessary in order to have the best of each and in each field
(we return to the best-of-breed).
The ERP and in particular Sage X3 perfectly fulfills
its role of repository. A master tool of data and catalyst of information.
Thanks to technology and particularly APIs,
communications (interactions, synchronization, etc.) have become reliable and
just as easy to develop as they are to administer.
Moreover, many connectors exist on the market to
standardize and quickly deploy inter-application exchanges (Flow Line and Sage
offer some in their catalogs).
The fact remains that these architectures constitute
real integration projects that require technological expertise (we think of
business software) in order to precisely define the rules of management,
communication, the life and scope of the data. in every app.
If you read this article to the end, these additional
solutions may have caught your eye. And that wouldn't be surprising. In some
prospect files, they were even a major asset when comparing ERP Sage X3 with
the competition.
Do not hesitate to contact us for more information.