ERP System Interoperability

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ERP System Interoperability

• D.R. Kellar
• DMMD 2-5

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Outline

• Background
• DNDs implementations
• The Problem
• Solutions
• Management Issues
• Conclusion

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ERP Systems Background

• What are they
• COTS
• Roots come from manufacturing industries
• Integrate business functions to support the
  workflow in a unified business process
• Very complex systems

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DNDs Implementation

• Financial Management
• FMAS SAP V.3g
• Human Resources
• PeopleSoft
• Materiel Acquisition
• MASIS SAP V4?
• Supply Management
• CFSSU - MIMCOM

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(No Transcript)
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A Problem?

• Do we want our ERP systems to collaborate?
• common workflow that performs a unified business
  purpose across the different ERPs

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Key Problem Areas

• Basic interoperability
• Communication between ERPs
• Interpretation
• The systems must cooperate
• Handling rejects
• Integrity

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Solutions

• Direct to the DB (back end)
• Infrastructure capability to talk
• Translation data mapping
• Understanding intent mapping interpretation
• Reject handling
• Not acceptable with ERPs

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Solutions (cont)

• Business API (middle)
• Middle (Business) tier objects
• Rich set of Methods Properties and Events
• SAP after release 3g
• (after FMAS)
• Reject Handling is easier with events
• The future

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Solutions (cont)

• UI Interfaces (front)
• SAP AutoGui
• SAP UI imports
• 3270 screen scrapers (CFSS)(MIMCOM)
• Unobtrusive solution but generally too slow

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Bridge

• Requires a centralized information broker
• A persistent record of the Current State of a
  transaction

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Management Issues

• Each ERP project is responsible to satisfy its
  own interface needs
• Ignores the needs of a third or forth party ERP
  system
• Last thing they do is the interface

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Summary

• ERP Systems are profoundly complex
• Disparate ERP Systems that require
  interoperability to allow a unified business
  workflow
• Interoperability Speaking the language and
  resolving conflicts

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Conclusion

• Management is about to realize too late that
  Interoperability will be the biggest stumbling
  block to ERP system success.
• Market pressures are forcing ERP vendors to offer
  a common interface.
• The technology must posses a data and process
  ownership schema so that data, functions and
  processes are not duplicated in the multiple ERP
  systems

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Questions?
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References

• Communications Apr 2000 Vol 43 No 4 ACM Press
• http//38.194.75.218/erp_dp.htm (ERP
  Interoperability)
• http//www.idg.net/crd_xml_10112.html (XML eases
  linking ERP Apps)
• http//www.openapplications.org/news/970716.htm
  (Open Applications Group)
• http//news.idg.net/crd_internet_156143.html (The
  Fate of ERP)