Syspro Announces STARS Methodology to Enhance ERP Value
Syspro Impact Software Inc. (Costa Mesa, CA), a U.S. manufacturer and supplier of IMPACT Encore Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software for integrated manufacturing, announced STARS, a methodology designed to provide customers with structured guidance in the implementation and utilization of Syspro ERP software.
According to Joey Benadretti, VP of marketing for Syspro Impact Software, STARS is a proactive approach to maximize ERP system implementation and utilization. "We feel that our commitment to our customers extends beyond the sale. STARS Methodology is one of the ways we intend to help fulfill this responsibility."
In addition to new training tracks, the STARS (Structured Technique to Achieve Rapid Solution) Methodology includes a newly rewritten Implementation Guide. The Guide is a comprehensive document of more than 1,000 pages that details all the steps and parameters that must be considered in the successful implementation and continued utilization of Syspro's IMPACT Encore software. It is an application implementation methodology that specifically targets the area where most ERP packages fail, the important post-sale follow up implementation process.
STARS drives responsibility, accountability and action to achieve a timely and cost-effective installation. STARS prepares the foundation and serves as a knowledge base to assure the continued productivity of IMPACT Encore software.
The Implementation Guide serves as both a multifunctional tool and a comprehensive "living" system record. It details business strategies, operating principles and business processes as they relate to a company overall and, in particular, to manufacturing, distribution and accounting functions.
It suggests levels of responsibility, actions and associated tasks to prompt a more effective overall system design and thorough system implementation. The Guide is also meant to serve as a central repository of all system related data, a reference manual, a foundation for internal user training and a methodology for future system upgrades.
The multi-sectioned implementation document serves as a consulting manual, replete with questions and forms designed to elicit business strategies, system parameters, functions, related business processes and other information necessary to establish the foundation for a successful IMPACT implementation.
Other elements of the STARS Methodology will involve the addition of a new Business Process track to the IMPACT training courses the company currently provides to its authorized reseller channel. The new track will give Syspro implementers greater insight into business processes and flows, providing a macro view of the interaction and relationships of various business functions.
The extended training will better enable implementers to translate a company's vision, and the strategy that results from that vision, into concrete priorities as the foundation for the ERP implementation. Authorized implementers and consultants will thereby be equipped to play a key role in helping customers enhance the overall efficiency of their companies and maximize the benefits and full functionality of Syspro's IMPACT ERP software.
"Intensified competition and more experienced users have accelerated the demands within the marketplace," Benadretti says. "While companies today want and require more rapid system implementations, it is imperative that ERP systems be implemented in a business-driven, cost-effective fashion from the start. In order for a company to maximize its investment in an ERP system, the company must first make the strategic choices needed to configure the systems and processes."
The new Business Process track will include business-process reengineering and the utilization of Syspro's IMPACT Encore software as the framework to enhance flexibility and responsiveness, break down barriers between functional departments and eliminate the duplication of efforts.
Syspro's IMPACT software is a fully integrated, modular-based ERP system for repetitive, custom, quick turn and mixed mode manufacturers as well as distributors. IMPACT's flexibility extends to the use of external and internal output devices such as shop floor data collection devices. The STARS Methodology will be initiated in early 3Q '99.