POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES
Sta. Mesa, Manila
Enterprise Resource Planning
Integration Issue
Software Engineering / Enterprise Architecture Development
1st Semester SY 2013-14
Master of Science in Information Technology
Submitted by :
Emeliza R. Yabut
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I.
Introduction
An ERP system is just one of the many information systems used in organizations The
scope of ERP has advanced to Extended ERP or ERPII, in which the traditional ERP is
integrated with other operational systems and it has been seen an increasing
competitiveness of business environment. Enterprise systems such as Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP),Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and Supply
Chain Management (SCM)have been constructed as critical success factor for
organizations to maintain their competitive advantage. However, each of the system
exists in isolation, lack of means for information sharing among each other.
It is very difficult to integrate existing systems components that are not originally
designed to be work together. According to Arshah, Desa, and Hussin (2008),
stakeholders do not have the knowledge of accessing to the internal workings of the
system due to lack of support from experienced colleagues. Hence, many of the legacy
systems were developed by using proprietary technologies and most of them are lack of
standards like XML (Kuchibhotla, Dunn & Brown, 2009; Cruz & Rajendran, 2003).
Thus most of the integration is time consuming that causes prohibitively high
development cost for small and medium businesses.
In order to achieve effective interoperability, a flexible approach that denies traditional
data-centric integration technologies is selected.
Originally designed to integrate only the internal business functions, it was soon realized
that ERPs could not meet all integration requirements of the changing business
environment. It became necessary to integrate operations across national borders and
coordinate business processes with partners in strategic alliances (Barki and
Pinsonneault, 2002). Business collaboration has become a key strategy for companies
and it needs cooperation among organizations, integration of business processes and
enterprise systems (Wang et al., 2005). In a modern business environment, a single
organization is a part of the network of delivering and supporting organizations – a part
of the supply chain (Su and Yang, 2010). Even though it is challenging to accomplish,
organizational integration is needed to interconnect customers, distributors and suppliers
via integrated supply chains (Barki and Pinsonneault, 2002). Implementing an ERP
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system is seen as the first step in the process of enterprise-wide supply chain integration.
(Downing, 2010; Yusuf et al., 2004). There is a need to manage the integration among
different businesses and systems (Eckartz et al., 2009).
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II. Review of Related Literature
THE ENTERPRISE RESOURCE planning (ERP) software market is one of the
fastest growing markets in the software industry. It has seen a rocky start with several
project failures and a huge shortage of skilled and experienced workers. The ERP market
is predicted to grow from a current $15 billion to a gigantic $50 billion in the next five
years. The estimated long-term growth rates for ERP solutions are a stratospheric 36
percent to 40 percent. Some estimates put the eventual size of this market at $1 trillion.
Recently major ERP vendors such as SAP AG, Baan, and Oracle have reported
significant financial results. Contributing to this phenomenal growth is the estimation that
70 percent of the Fortune 1000 firms have or will soon install ERP systems and the
initiatives by ERP vendors to move into medium to small tier industries with gross
revenues less than $250 million. ERP vendors are aggressively cutting deals with these
industries to make their products more affordable. For example, SAP, one of the leading
ERP vendors, recently started selling its products to customers in the $150 million to $400
million revenue range.
Companies could spend hundreds of millions of dollars and many years implementing
ERP solutions in their organizations. Once an ERP system is implemented, going back is
extremely difficult; it is too expensive to undo the changes ERP brings into a company.
There are several failed ERP attempts, and companies lost not only the capital invested
in ERP packages and millions paid to outside consultants, but also a major portion of their
business. Recently Unisource Worldwide, Inc., a $7 billion distributor of paper products,
wrote off $168 million in costs related to an abandoned nationwide implementation of SAP
software.(n12) FoxMeyer Drug, a former $5 billion drug distributor, went bankrupt in 1996
and has filed a $500 million lawsuit against SAP. FoxMeyer charged the ERP giant that
its package was a "significant factor" that led the firm into financial ruin.(n14) Dell
Computer Corp. has recently abandoned a much-publicized SAP implementation
following months of delay and cost overruns. Dow Chemical, after spending half a billion
dollars over seven years of implementing SAP R/2, the mainframe version, now has
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decided to start all over again on the new client/server version (R/3). Implementing an
ERP system is a careful exercise in strategic thinking, precision planning, and
negotiations with departments and divisions. It is important for companies to be aware of
certain critical issues before implementing any ERP package. Careful consideration of
these factors will ensure a smooth rollout and realization of full benefits of the ERP
solution.
An ERP system can be thought of as a companywide information system that integrates
all aspects of a business. It promises one database, one application, and a unified
interface across the entire enterprise. An entire company under one application roof
means everything from human resources, accounting, sales, manufacturing, distribution,
and supply-chain management are tightly integrated. This integration benefits companies
in many ways: quick reaction to competitive pressures and market opportunities, more
flexible product configurations, reduced inventory, and tightened supplychain links. The
Earthgrains Co. implemented SAP R/3 and reports that its operating margins improved
from 2.4 to 3.9 percent and pushed its on-time product delivery rate to 99 percent in 1997.
The company also reports better management information and happier customers.
Similarly, at Par Industries in Moline, IL, an ERP system allowed management to base
production on current customer orders rather than forecasts of future orders. The delivery
performance improved from 60 percent on time to more than 95 percent, lead times to
customers reduced from six weeks to two weeks, repair parts reduced from two weeks to
two days, work-in-process inventory dropped almost 60 percent, and the life of a shop
order dropped from weeks to mere hours, IBM Storage Systems division, after
implementing an ERP system, was able to reprice all of its products in five minutes
compared with five days prior to the implementation. It also reduced the time to ship a
replacement part from 22 days to three days, and the time to perform a credit check from
20 minutes to three seconds.
The first tier players in the ERP market are SAP, Baan, Oracle, and PeopleSoft, while the
second tier players are vendors such as J.D. Edwards, Lawson, and QAD. SAP, a
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German company, holds about one-third of the market share and is the leading vendor of
ERP products. SAP's ERP product is R/3 and the current commercial version is release
4.0 b. Worldwide there are more than 16,500 SAP R/3 installations. The product has a
strong international appeal with capabilities to support multiple currencies, automatic
handling of country-specific import/export, tax, and legal and language needs. The
complete suite of SAP R/3 applications is available in 24 languages, including Japanese
(Kanji) and other double-byte character languages.
The current ERP systems have an open client/server architecture and are real-time in
nature, i.e., clients can process information remotely and the results of a new "input" will
"ripple" through the whole "supply-chain" process. The appeal of such systems for
businesses is that all employees of a company will have access to the same information
almost instantaneously through one unified user interface. ERP systems such as SAP/R3
include not just the functional modules that "crunch" the numbers but also the most
advanced technologies and methodologies. Implementing such a system results in
benefits from the "integrated" nature of the system as well as from the "reengineering" of
the business practices and the entire "culture" of the business, all at the same time.
The popularity of ERP programs can be attributed to an increasing trend towards
globalization, mergers and acquisitions, short product life cycles, and the fear of looming
disasters from aging legacy systems that cannot handle dates beyond the end of this
century (commonly know as Year 2000 problem). To be successful, a global enterprise
must have accurate real-time information to control and coordinate the far-flung
resources. ERP systems have the capability to integrate far-flung outposts of a company
along with the supply-chain activities. This integration allows sharing of information in a
standard format across many departments in the home country as well as across the
national borders regardless of language and currency differences. In this era of global
competition and uncertain markets, companies are merging for competitive advantage.
In the United States, the past couple of years have seen about $1 trillion in mergers
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annually, many of which involved overseas firms. These newly formed corporations often
have very little in common other than a corporate logo. To achieve synergy across
national boundaries and product lines, these businesses must implement a set of
standard business applications and consistent data definitions across all business units.
ERP packages are extremely useful in integrating a global company and provide a
"common language" throughout the company. Digital Equipment Corp. is implementing
PeopleSoft's human resources system across its 44 locations worldwide. Digital is not
only implementing a standardized human resources application but is also moving to a
common architecture and infrastructure. For many companies, a global software rollout
is a good time to do some serious housecleaning and consolidation of their IT
infrastructure around the world. Digital is expecting a return on investment of 27 percent
from this global rollout. If the merging companies have already implemented the same
ERP solution, then they will save a tremendous amount in cost and time when integrating
their systems. Recently, Daimler-Benz AG and Chrysler Corp. merged to form Daimler
Chrysler AG. The new company could dodge five to ten years of integration work because
the companies use the same computer-aided design systems and SAP financial
applications.
Companies are also finding that the ERP solutions help them get rid of their legacy
systems, most of which are not Year 2000 compliant. Sometimes it costs less for
companies to replace their dinosaur systems than fix them. AlliedSignal Turbocharging
Systems, a California-based turbocharger manufacturer, had more than 120 legacy
systems, and the average age of the company's legacy systems was 18 years. In addition
to these legacy systems, the company had several homegrown applications that had little
or no source code documentation. These systems were so disparate and inefficient that
running them not only drove IT costs up but also increased the time to fill customer orders.
AlliedSignal is implementing SAP R/3 to replace its 120 legacy systems in 15 of the
company's 17 facilities worldwide. Company officials estimate a full payback on the $25
million project in a little more than two years. It has already started seeing the benefits of
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the ERP implementation in the first sites that went live with the new system. It is able to
reduce the order fulfillment process to lust a day from its previous weekly procedure.
ERP SYSTEM INTEGRATION
One of the most important characteristics of ERP systems is that they are built on a single
comprehensive database to share information across the enterprise. ERP system
integration, on the internal side, can be assumed to be complete and comprehensive.
And as long as the ERP systems covers all of your information management needs, and
there are no external systems or applications in place or planned, integration should not
be a concern.
ERP system integration with the outside world is another matter entirely. Most companies
have more than just an ERP system and many also want to exchange information and
documents with trading partners. The good news is that information and document
exchange with partners is pretty straightforward these days through web-based
application design, included collaboration functionality in most systems, and accepted
standards for business document and transaction exchange through EDI (Electronic Data
Interchange, a rather dated but still widely used protocol for exchanging purchase orders,
acknowledgements, ship notices, etc.) and the newer and more capable Web services /
SOA protocols and standards.
Integrating ERP with other enterprise applications is the more problematic area of ERP
system integration. In addition to the ERP business information backbone, many
companies have other systems for Manufacturing Execution (MES) and data collection,
Quality management and process control (may be a part of MES), Warehouse
Management (WMS), Transportation Management (TMS), and/or other “outside” systems
that could benefit from integration with the ERP backbone.
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One of the most frequent requirements is the need to connect to a separate Customer
Relationship Management system or CRM. The customer interface is perhaps the most
critical aspect of business communication and the areas where companies tend to be the
most unique and exhibit their competitive edge (providing excellent customer service). As
such, many find that generic ERP customer order fulfillment falls short of their CRM
needs, so they seek out a “best-of-breed” or specialty application to handle the marketing
and sales support functions of CRM. Integration with the rest of the ERP suite provides
the critical link between demand (CRM) and supply (ERP).
There are several approaches to CRM integration (also applies to MES integration, WMS
integration, etc.) including the following, in order of increasing cost, delays and risk:
Single source – buy CRM from the same supplier that provides your ERP solution. It is
likely that full integration is already built-in.
Pre-integrated – find a (third-party) CRM supplier who has already developed an
integration with your brand and version of ERP.
Fourth-party integration – Some independent (or perhaps not-so-independent) software
suppliers may have developed a packaged integration between your ERP and your
chosen CRM. This may be a rather rare opportunity limited mostly to ERP and CRM
products with a large installed base
Middleware – integration can be accomplished through middleware toolsets, using SOA
and Web Services design. This approach is most beneficial when there a number of
integrations to be built and maintained since the tools can be expensive.
Custom programming – best suited for one-to-one integration projects. Relatively
expensive. Take the longest to build and test. Often less comprehensive than other
approaches because the links are all hand-built. Most expensive and troublesome to
maintain.
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CRITICAL IMPLEMENTATION CONCERNS
Even in a single site, implementing ERP means "Early Retirement Probably." An ERP
package is so complex and vast that it takes several years and millions of dollars to roll it
out. It also requires many far-flung outposts of a company to follow exactly the same
business processes. In fact, implementing any integrated ERP solution is not as much a
technological exercise but an "organizational revolution." Extensive preparation before
implementation is the key to success. Implementations carried out without patience and
careful planning will turn out to be corporate root canals, not competitive advantage.
Several issues must be addressed when dealing with a vast ERP system, one of this
issue is the integration.
There is a strong trend toward a single ERP solution for an entire company. Most
companies feel that having a single vendor means a "common view" necessary to serve
their customers efficiently and the ease of maintaining the system in future. Unfortunately,
no single application can do everything a company needs. Companies may have to use
other specialized software products that best meet their unique needs. These products
have to be integrated along with all the homegrown systems with the ERP suite. In this
case, ERP serves as a backbone, and all the different software are bolted on to the ERP
software. There are thirdparty software, called middleware, which can be used to
integrate software applications from several vendors to the ERP backbone. Unfortunately,
middleware is not available for all the different software products that are available in the
market. Middleware vendors concentrate only on the most popular packaged applications
and tend to focus on the technical aspects of application interoperability rather than linking
business processes. Many times, organizations have to develop their own interfaces for
commercial software applications and the home grown applications. Integration software
also poses other kinds of problems when it comes to maintenance. It is a nightmare for
IS personnel to manage this software whenever there are changes and upgrades to either
ERP software or other software that is integrated with the ERP system. For every change,
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the IT department will be concerned about which link is going to fail this time. Integration
problems would be severe if the middleware links the ERP package of a company to its
vendor companies in the supply chain. Maintaining the integration patchwork requires an
inordinate and ongoing expenditure of resources. Organizations spend up to 50 percent
of their IT budgets on application integration? It is also estimated that the integration
market (products and services) equals the size of the entire ERP market. When
companies choose bolt-on systems, it is advisable to contact the ERP vendor for a list of
certified third-party vendors. Each year, all the major ERP vendors publish a list of
certified third-party vendors. There are several advantages to choosing this option,
including continuous maintenance and upgrade support.
One of the major benefits of ERP solutions is the integration they bring into an
organization. Organizations need to understand the nature of integration and how it
affects the entire business. Before integration, the functional departments used work in
silos and were slow to experience the consequences of the mistakes other departments
committed. The information flow was rather slow, and the departments that made the
mistakes had ample time to correct them before the errors started affecting the other
departments. However, with tight integration the ripple effect of mistakes made in one
part of the business unit pass onto the other departments in real time. Also, the original
mistakes get magnified as they flow through the value chain of the company. For example,
the errors that the production department of a company made in its bill of materials could
affect not only the operations in the production department but also the inventory
department, accounting department, and others. The impact of these errors could be
detrimental to a company. For example, price errors on purchase orders could mislead
financial analysts by giving a distorted view of how much the company is spending on
materials. Companies must be aware of the potential risks of the errors and take proper
steps, such as monitoring the transactions and taking immediate steps to rectify the
problems should they occur. They must also have a formal plan of action describing the
steps to be taken if an error is detected. A proper means to communicate to all the parties
who are victims of the errors as soon as the errors are detected is extremely important.
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Consider the recent example of a manufacturing company that implemented an ERP
package. It suddenly started experiencing a shortage of manufacturing materials.
Production workers noticed that it was due to incorrect bills of materials, and they made
necessary adjustments because they knew the correct number of parts needed to
manufacturer. However, the company did not have any procedures to notify others in
case any errors were found in the data. The domino effect of the errors started affecting
other areas of business. Inventory managers thought the company had more material
than what was on the shelves, and material shortages occurred. Now the company has
mandatory training classes to educate employees about how transactions flow through
the system and how errors affect the activities in a value chain. It took almost eight weeks
to clean up the incorrect bills of materials in the database.
Companies implementing electronic supply chains face different kinds of problems with
integration of information across the supply chain companies. The major challenge is the
impact automation has on the business process. Automation changes the way companies
deal with one another, from planning to purchasing to paying. Sharing and control of
information seem to be major concerns. Companies are concerned about how much
information they need to share with their customers and suppliers and how to control the
information. Suppliers do not want their competitors to see their prices or order volumes.
The general fear is that sharing too much information hurts their business. Regarding
controlling information, companies are aware that it is difficult to control what they own let
alone control what they do not own. Companies need to trust their partners and must
coordinate with each other in the chain. The whole chain suffers if one link is slow to
provide information or access. The management also must be concerned about the stress
an automated supply chain brings within each organization. For instance, a sales
department may be unhappy that electronic ordering has cut it out of the loop, while
manufacturing may have to adjust to getting one week's notice to order changes and
accommodate those changes into its production orders.
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Enterprise resource planning software has become a strategic platform for carrying out
common business functions, from human resources to financial management. The
importance of these packaged application suites often requires corporate IT departments
to integrate their ERP systems with other strategic computing resources such as clientserver, Web, and legacy applications.
ERP systems are the primary means companies use to automate business processes.
But these business processes often transcend departmental and even company
boundaries. Enterprise application integration is a complex process that can have a
profound effect on the IT architecture.
The major ERP vendors--Baan, J.D. Edwards, PeopleSoft, SAP, and others--all publish
APIs that let external applications communicate with the ERP system. While APIs are a
good way to provide information access, they're often not sufficient for distributed
processing across different applications.
That's why a number of development tool vendors are broadening the scope of their
programming environments to address the needs of enterprise application integration.
Integration Approaches
It would appear at first glance that the publication of APIs that can be used to access ERP
data and metadata provides a solution for ERP integration. The reality, however, is quite
different. To illustrate one problem, consider what's required to integrate two ERP
applications at the data level. Developers write a low-level API to read data from the first
ERP system. They then write more code to transform the data, and finally write the data
out to a file in the second vendor's format.
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Writing multiple low-level APIs is difficult, time-consuming, and costly. Keeping the
interfaces current as the packaged software changes is also a challenge. The manual
maintenance of such programs is nearly impossible, especially for smaller organizations.
Now consider what happens if the number of ERP implementations is increased. Two
partnering systems require one interface, three systems require three, but as the number
of partnering systems is increased past three, the number of interfaces increases
dramatically.
This only points out the theoretical problems when integrating disparate software
systems. There are also the issues of dealing with multiple operating systems,
communication protocols, and data types.
Recently, a new class of middleware has appeared on the market that opens application
packages to the enterprise without the need to write low-level APIs. The amount of
industry attention paid to this new class of integration software speaks volumes about the
need to extend the reach of ERP systems.
At the most basic level, ERP integration middleware vendors can be broken down into
two groups. The first make data-oriented products that support ERP integration primarily
by sharing data sources. The data-oriented segment are represented by vendors such as
Argent, Carlton Software, and SmartDB. These vendors' products extract and transform
data, and subsequently exchange data files between ERP packages and other
applications.
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The second group, the messaging-oriented vendors, support direct data-sharing between
programs without the need to use a data file or database as an intermediary. Active
Software Frontec, New Era of Networks, and Vitria are representative of vendors whose
products support inter-application passing of data using a messaging approach. This
method of inter-application passing of data supports dynamic registration and messagebrokering services for distributed applications across a network.
Some vendors of ERP integration software have tackled the problem of the multiplying
number of interfaces by employing a single, central integration engine in a hub. While this
approach limits the number of required interfaces to one for each partnering system, it
introduces a single point of failure. If the broker and integration engine go down, all
application components that rely on it are locked up.
IDEs And ERP
The need to integrate ERP applications into the enterprise architecture is so fundamental
that many vendors of software development and deployment environments have added
ERP connectors or adapters to their products. But more important, these vendors realize
that ERP packages have become de facto industry standards for back-end application
services. Simply put, integration support for ERP packages has joined the long list of
middleware, object model, database, and platform standards that application
development vendors must support in order to meet customer demands.
It's likely that many other application development vendors will add support for enterprise
application integration. The current players in the market are also expected to continue
to enhance the scope of their integration capabilities with support for an increasing
number of ERP systems.
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Vendors addressing ERP integration tend to sell development and deployment
environments rather than straight language tools. These integrated development
environments are primarily high-end, server-centric products capable of building multitier
transaction business systems. Many are application server environments that provide
some developmental capabilities.
Most of these products provide load balancing and server failover support within their
execution environments, and in this way they overcome the "single point of failure"
problem associated with simpler hub-and-spoke architectures. In addition, these
environments can support both a data-centric and a messaging-centric approach to ERP
integration.
Development and deployment environments often provide automated extraction and
transformation services, and virtually all tools provide some type of messaging
infrastructure.
Standard Approach
In keeping with the general industry trend of avoiding proprietary solutions whenever
possible, most vendors of application development and deployment environments are
looking to industry standards such as Corba, Microsoft's Component Object Model,
JavaBeans, Enterprise JavaBeans, and the Extensible Markup Language as the basis for
their ERP adapters and connectors.
SAP and Vantive adapters for Forté's Application Environment are based on XML--an
emerging standard format for data interchange. Similarly, Information Builders' Parlay
development and application server environment employs Enterprise JavaBeans to
provide ERP integration.
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Differentiation
The primary advantages of ERP-enabled development environments over both data- and
message-based ERP integration products are their flexibility and range of use.
Development environments can be employed to simply integrate core mainframe, clientserver, and ERP systems that automate business processes. By definition, development
environments support custom development and historically have supported a wide variety
of data sources.
These products are also attractive to consultants and independent software vendors that
offer integration services to IT departments. As such, they can integrate with these core
enterprise systems at both the data and process levels.
Development tools and deployment environments are also central to the development of
new classes of information systems based on technologies that give companies a real
competitive advantage. For example, Web-ready applications built with new tools and
techniques will offer businesses access to untapped markets and new business
opportunities. ERP adapters and connectors provide a mechanism by which the next
generation of business systems can leverage back-end ERP systems and extend them
to Web-commerce applications.
E-commerce systems are the current exemplars of how business can exploit the Net to
develop and automate new business processes and create new markets.
E-commerce systems differ radically from the class of tactical Internet applications that
preceded them, and are much more similar to strategic mainframe, client-server online
transaction processing and ERP systems in terms of complexity, scope, and overall
importance to the business.
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The development and deployment environments that have been early providers of ERP
adapters address the issues of building complex business systems. Using ERP-enabled
development and deployment environments, companies can extend enterprise package
applications to the Web.
The four criteria to consider when analyzing an integration approach include the particular
ERP packages supported, the manner and degree to which ERP integration is supported,
adoption of integration standards such as Enterprise JavaBeans, and the availability of
third-party support services.
Integration Is Key
The need to integrate packaged enterprise applications with the enterprise is acute.
Vendors of ERP integration provide useful solutions for specific problem domains.
Vendors of high-end development tools and application servers are extending their
products to target the ERP integration market. They are redefining the integration market
to include not only point-to-point data and metadata exchange between ERP packages,
but the linking of all data sources, object models, and execution architectures--including
the Web. This is enterprise integration as opposed to simple application integration.
The result of these efforts will be that IT managers will have many more options for
integrating all the technical components of the enterprise, across a broad array of
computing platforms, at both the data and the process level.
ERP APIs
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Today, ERP vendors are shipping their software with a broad array of low-level APIs that
provide simple data access. If the data is going to be shared between two or three ERP
modules, this approach can work very well. In many cases, however, a company needs
that data to ripple through multiple modules and applications enterprise-wide.
Application Lifecycle Management Ezine
For example, a purchase order may need to touch a financials ERP module, a purchasing
component, a general ledger component and an inventory component as well as CRM
and sales software. Since these APIs in general work well in providing data access but
not in providing integration of full-blown business processes such as workflow, an
alternative integration method is required. For instance, the APIs would allow pricing
information for a product to be carried through a company's ordering system, but the
ability to impose exchanges rates at the appropriate time is beyond their functionality.
"These APIs give you the technology detail and information access," says David
Boulanger, research director for enterprise management for AMR Research, a firm that
analyzes e-business strategies. "But the next level of complexity is the API plus the
processes within your four walls, plus the modules you try to interact with."
SAP is one vendor that provides a range of APIs. Since the release of its SAP R/3 version
3.1, the company has been providing what it calls BAPIs, or Business Application
Interfaces, so external applications can access the SAP Business Objects using
standardized, platform-independent interfaces. Today there are more than 1,500 BAPIs,
and SAP continues to add more and more of these interfaces. The BAPIs can be
accessed from a variety of programming environments.
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These APIs don't solve every problem, though. "They're called BAPIs because there's
also business logic that comes with that interface, sort of business rules that trigger the
events of making those connections," says ERP-Link's Anderson. "Many times, those
interfaces are deficient, and you need to customize your own or modify the ones SAP
provides if their notion of what those business rules are doesn't match your own
company's business rules."
SAP also offers a proprietary mechanism called Idocs, which allows for data to be
transferred to or from SAP via this file format and enables remote function calls into and
out of the ERP system. In general, OAG's Connelly says, Idocs and BAPIs have
limitations. "First, they are proprietary, and they are too low level of an interface," he says.
"That was truly at the programming level, and that was not at the level customers wanted
to integrate their product."
Data-Sharing Tools
Application Lifecycle Management Ezine
When APIs are insufficient or are too low-level to use comfortably, a developer can turn
to EAI tools. A number of vendors offer tools to facilitate simple data sharing between
ERP packages and other applications, such as CRM or manufacturing applications.
Products such as DataMirror Corp.'s Transformation Server provide tools for extracting
and sharing data between ERP and applications.
Vignette Corp. also provides tools in this space, through its purchase of OnDisplay last
summer. OnDisplay's CenterStage eIntegrate links ERP systems with enterprise
applications as well as Web-based trading networks. Products such as Vitria
Technology's BusinessWare and New Era of Networks (NEON) and Vitria's e-Biz
Integrator offer tools for messaging and direct data sharing.
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Tools for Transactional Integration
Adding to the complexity is the increasing need for corporate ERP systems to work with
other ERP, e-commerce and e-procurement applications outside a company's four walls,
with systems residing at suppliers and customers. These systems typically represent a
disparate array of applications, on different platforms, and all outside the corporation's
own firewall, causing the ERP integration challenge to increase exponentially.
When you're talking about this kind of integration, it's important to consider a transactional
infrastructure. In many cases--for example, with an e-commerce sales transaction or a
just-in-time inventory shipment--companies require near-instantaneous communication
between systems.
Vendors such as BEA Systems and webMethods are providing wares to accomplish such
seamless real-time integration. "This is still the challenge for systems today," Anderson
says. "But even in many of these areas, a lot of custom developments need to be done if
you're going to get that seamless transactional integration."
Sticking with Standards
Not only must developers determine what sort of integration they need to accomplish, but
they must also select an approach and a product that fit in with the standards already
being used in the enterprise. Is the company making heavy use of Enterprise JavaBeans
(EJB) or Microsoft's Common Object Model (COM)? If so, unless the company plans to
migrate to a different platform and set of standards, the developers should stay with the
standards already in use. Staying with common standards such as EJB, COM, CORBA
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and XML also helps ensure that future integration projects will be somewhat easier to
accomplish.
And ERP vendors themselves are helping by adding more open, standards-based
interfaces to their products. XML, in particular, may become the common thread for most
integration efforts and ERP integration tools. SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft and other EAI
vendors are working to add more integration capabilities via XML. In addition, since XML
is a markup language, it is Web-friendly and plays well in the B2B world. This is timely,
since integration efforts are reaching farther and farther outside the enterprise.
"I see a significant shift toward EJB, COM, COM+ and SOAP, with XML crossing all of
those," Anderson says. "More and more, the industry is heading toward XML, and for
good reason. XML enables the sending of the content and business logic and semantic
data over the Web. XML is booming as an enabling technology for connectors."
ERP Integration Options
The problem of integrating ERP applications is as old as ERP itself. Not long after ERP
suites first debuted in the early 1990s--touted, ironically, as panaceas for corporate
integration woes--companies have struggled to improve the level of integration between
their ERP packages and other applications such as legacy systems and e-commerce
sites.
To deal with the problem, developers have several options for integrating their legacy, ecommerce, CRM and other applications with ERP suites from vendors such as SAP AG,
PeopleSoft, Oracle and J.D. Edwards. Each integration approach, naturally, comes with
its own challenges, and each has limitations.
22
Developers can use off-the-shelf data-sharing products such as middleware, EAI tools
and ERP connectors. Alternatively, they might opt to develop their own homegrown
connector components. Or they can turn to the application programming interfaces (APIs)
shipped with the ERP systems themselves. But, as you might expect, each method is not
suitable for all integration projects.
"It depends on what you're integrating," says Eric Anderson, president of the Portland,
Oregon, based ERP-Link Corp., a consultancy that specializes in ERP and e-business
issues. "Are you trying to integrate at the transaction level, document level or data level?
How close to real-time do you need the integration to be? What you're trying to
accomplish and what you're integrating will determine the method you'd use."
Michael Triosi, president of Front End Solutions, a company that offers ERP integration
services, uses a 65 percent rule of thumb. If the off-the-shelf integration tools only address
60 to 65 percent of the business processes you need, he says, then customization is a
better alternative in terms of functionality and overall return on investment.
"You're probably better off working with a set of custom components," Triosi says. If you
need to customize the ERP connector to the native application right off the bat, then most
likely you're changing the native application too much. "You're really ending up with a
customized solution anyway. And you're going to be dealing with too many different
products at that point. You might as well develop a custom application and not mess up
a Seybold or PeopleSoft enterprise too much." This is important. he says, because the
applications will need to be upgraded and patched over time. "Every time you get into
doing that, then there is a lot of cost associated with changing your interface."
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Middleware for ERP Integration
Middleware is computer software that connects software components or applications. The
software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or
more machines to interact across a network. This technology evolved to provide for
interoperability in support of the move to coherent distributed architectures, which are
used most often to support and simplify complex, distributed applications. It includes web
servers, application servers, and similar tools that support application development and
delivery. Middleware is especially integral to modern information technology based on
XML, SOAP, Web services, and service-oriented architecture.
Middleware sits "in the middle" between application software working on different
operating systems. It is similar to the middle layer of a three-tier single system
architecture, except that it is stretched across multiple systems or applications. Examples
include database systems, telecommunications software, transaction monitors, and
messaging-and-queueing software.
The distinction between operating system and middleware functionality is, to some extent,
arbitrary. While core kernel functionality can only be provided by the operating system
itself, some functionality previously provided by separately sold middleware is now
integrated in operating systems. A typical example is the TCP/IP stack for
telecommunications, nowadays included in virtually every operating system.
In simulation technology, middleware is generally used in the context of the high level
architecture (HLA) that applies to many distributed simulations. It is a layer of software
that lies between the application code and the run-time infrastructure. Middleware
generally consists of a library of functions, and enables a number of applications,
24
simulations or federates in HLA terminology to page these functions from the common
library rather than re-create them for each application.
Middleware, which is quickly becoming synonymous with enterprise applications
integration (EAI), is software that is invisible to the user. It takes two or more different
applications and makes them work seamlessly together. This is accomplished by placing
middleware between layers of software to make the layers below and on the sides work
with each other (Figure 1). On that broad definition, middleware could be almost any
software in a layered software stack. Further, middleware is a continually evolving term.
Since much of the software business is driven through the perceptions of the “hottest”
current technologies, many companies are giving their software the name “middleware”
because it is popular.
Middleware, or EAI, products enable information to be shared in a seamless real-time
fashion across multiple functional departments, geographies and applications. Benefits
include better customer service, accurate planning and forecasting, and reduced manual
re-entry and associated data inaccuracies.
Middleware is essential to migrating mainframe applications to client/server applications,
or to Java or internet-protocol based applications, and to providing for communication
across heterogeneous platforms. This technology began to evolve during the 1990s to
provide for interoperability in support of the move to client/server architectures.
Brief History of EAI/Middleware
Enterprise applications, from as early as the 1960s through the late 1970s, were simple
in design and functionality, developed largely in part to end repetitive tasks. "There was
no thought whatsoever given to the integration of corporate data. The entire objective
was to replicate manual procedures on the computer.”
25
By the 1980s, several corporations were beginning to understand the value and necessity
for application integration. Challenges arose, though, as many corporate IT staff members
attempted to redesign already implemented applications to make them appear as if they
were integrated. Examples include trying to perform operational transaction processing
(associated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) system functionality) on systems
designed for informational data processing (data warehousing functionality).
As ERP applications became much more prevalent in the 1990s, there was a need for
corporations to be able to leverage already existing applications and data within the ERP
system; this could only be done by introducing EAI . "Companies once used client/server
technology to build departmental applications, but later realized the gains in linking
multiple business processes. Other issues driving the EAI market include the further
proliferation of packaged applications, applications that addressed the potential problems
of the Year 2000, supply chain management/business-to-business (B2B) integration,
streamlined business processes, web application integration, and overall technology
advances within EAI development.
What is involved in EAI/Middleware?
EAI is very involved and complex, and incorporates every level of an enterprise system
– its architecture, hardware, software and processes. EAI involves integration at the
following levels:

Business Process Integration (BPI): When integrating business processes, a
corporation must define, enable and manage the processes for the exchange of
enterprise information among diverse business systems.
This allows
organizations to streamline operations, reduce costs and improve responsiveness
26
to customer demands. Elements here include process management, process
modeling, and workflow, which involve the combination of tasks, procedures,
organizations, required input and output information, and tools needed for each
step in a business process.

Application Integration: At this level of integration, the goal is to bring data or a
function from one application together with that of another application that together
provide near real-time integration. Application Integration is used for, to name a
few, B2B integration, implementing customer relationship management (CRM)
systems that are integrated with a company's backend applications, web
integration, and building Web sites that leverage multiple business systems.
Custom integration development may also be necessary, particularly when
integrating a legacy application with a newly implemented ERP application.

Data Integration: In order for both Application Integration and Business Process
Integration to succeed, the integration of data and database systems must be
tackled.
Prior to integration, data must be identified (where it is located),
cataloged, and a metadata model must be built (a master guide for various data
stores). Once these three steps are finished, data can then be shared/distributed
across database systems.

Standards of Integration: In order to achieve full Data Integration, standard formats
for the data must be selected. Standards of Integration are those that promote the
sharing and distribution of information and business data – standards that are at
the core of Enterprise Application Integration/Middleware. These include
COM+/DCOM, CORBA, EDI, JavaRMI, and XML.

Platform Integration:
To complete the system integration, the underlying
architecture, software and hardware, and the separate needs of the
heterogeneous network must be integrated. Platform Integration deals with the
processes and tools that are required to allow these systems to communicate, both
optimally and securely, so data can be passed through different applications
without difficulty. For example, figuring out a way for an NT machine to pass
27
information reliably to a UNIX machine is a large task for integrating an entire
corporate system.
ATS (Engine XML)
EngineXML is a data collection terminal (DCT) integration solution from ATS that allows
workforce management organizations to spend their valuable time focusing on core
competencies instead of time consuming integration development.
The EngineXML solution includes both the DCT and the web-based middleware for
integration with any workforce management software. We’ve written EngineXML to
provide centralized control and DCT management, including a user interface that provides
important visibility into the health of the terminals. It also provides the ability to remotely
handle firmware updates across logical groupings of DCTs.
EngineXML helps reduce internal (initial and ongoing) maintenance, support and
development efforts. It also significantly improves product time-to-market by providing a
flexible and easily configurable interface.
DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Accelerated time-to-market of integrated solution
Reduced internal development effort, cost, and resources needed
Ability to focus on core competencies and internal priorities
PROVEN TERMINALS:
Rugged, Reliable, and Robust
Customizable and Upgradeable
Employee Self-Service Capable
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Pre-configured for communication out-of-the-box
Connectivity and power outage-proof
State-of-the-art biometric technology - increased accuracy and reduced failures in rough,
dry, wet, and other adverse conditions
INCREASED VISIBILITY INTO:
Employee Detail
Sortable Punch Data
Terminal and Communication Health Analysis (prevents failures from occuring)
Data Analytics, Trending and Reporting Control, Flexibility and Performance
Manage and Configure 1,000s of DCTs remotely
Ease of Deployment, Simplified Integration
Data Throttling - Manages Efficient Data Transmission
Employee, Group and Organizational Messaging
Localization, Time Zone and Language Management
Biometric Template Management
ETILUX
Our developers can integrate autonomous applications such as data acquisition and
printing solutions for stock and production as well as applications which require the
interfacing to an automaton and/or to an existing application (ERP). Our integrator
capabilities enable us to design, to structure and to rationalize the relations between the
different company applications and the human beings.
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One of the main elements of the ETILUX concept is the SOA-oriented TRACEsuite
Entreprise middleware which manages the information coming from the ERP and/or from
other systems. The middleware also drives automatic printing solutions to enable you to
identify
products,
cartons
or
pallets
and
drives
data
acquisition
solutions.
In return, data acquisition and/or printing solutions for production and logistics send
information to the ERP and/or to the other systems, thanks to the TRACE suite Enterprise
middleware.
Adapted to all types of companies, this flexible middleware can be extended to
applications
such
as
production
follow-up
and
logistics.
What is more, a traceability module is available to complete the concept. This solution
enables an easy integration, an optimized management, which is also adapted to the
operators, the integration of the most standard components on the market and above all
it brings an added value to the companies thanks to reliable registered and printed data.
Of course, this middleware supports the RFID technology as well as the standard and 2D
barcodes.
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Basware anyERP
Today’s global corporations often inherit multiple processes and Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) systems through company acquisitions. In a worst case scenario, an
organization might need to operate with 10 to 15 different ERPs. Integrating these
different systems and processes can be a real challenge frequently resulting in neverending and hugely expensive IT projects. Therefore, it is only natural that integration
31
capabilities become one of the key questions when an organization is looking to
implement new processes with the help of different best-of breed applications.
The Basware anyERP is Basware’s proprietary middleware that has been developed over
the years as a result of integrating to more than 250 different ERPs. It is designed to
enable seamless communication with Basware solutions and an organization’s other
business solutions. This white paper compares the benefits of the Basware anyERP to
other commercial Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) tools and walks the reader
through different functional integration scenarios with Basware solutions and the leading
ERP systems.
Business case — Seamless and safe system integration Typically, the bottleneck in
automating business processes resides in integration with the surrounding IT landscape.
As a result, projects are often overdue or never finished at all. This lack of interoperability
generally leads to significant inefficiencies with different systems being out of sync, which
makes the automation of even straightforward processes impossible.
Easy and seamless system integration has always been part of Basware’s strategy and
differentiation. The Basware anyERP is designed to help organizations eliminate these
very problems. Not only is the integration quick and cost-effective compared to other EAI
tools, but the Basware anyERP also includes certified ERP intelligence, which enables
seamless interoperability with the world’s leading ERP systems, including SAP, Oracle,
and Microsoft Dynamics.
As Basware solutions sit at the center of an organization, they must be able to handle
multiple interfaces with key business systems.
In the case of an organization using a single ERP for procurement and accounting, there
can also be the need to integrate to a single system. Alternatively, organizations can have
multiple ERPs (different makes and models), purchasing systems (one Basware
customer has 30 different purchasing systems), and financial systems. From the start,
32
Basware has differentiated itself in these areas with easy retrieval of data from or to these
systems.
With the Basware anyERP it is possible to take and use master data such as supplierrelated information from the customer’s Master Vendor List, accounting data (cost
centers, account codes, VAT codes, etc.), and organizational information (business units,
users, approval limits, related cost centers, etc.). The adapter either enables Basware to
copy the information to Basware applications (by scheduled update, usually at night) or
to access the data in real time.
Retrieval of the master data allows the Basware invoice automation solution to
automatically match and process all the incoming invoices with zero manual intervention.
Basware anyERP, system can also partially process even non-matched invoices with only
a minimum of manual handling required, i.e., coding and routing would still be performed
automatically by the system.
With the integrated Basware anyERP and its built-in intelligence, the Basware solution
can also serve as a unifying element in an organization’s complex IT environments. For
example, a company might have ten different ERPs and among them five different SAP
versions with customer-specific customizations.
Consequently, the data in the system is not the same and naturally the user interfaces
all look different as well. In this type of situation, Basware anyERP integration presents a
compelling business case given the adapter’s ability to guarantee the flow of accurate
data across key business solutions and to contribute directly to the company’s bottom
line. Introduction to functional integration possibilities Basware anyERP ensures a
seamless integration with Basware solutions and an organization’s other business
solutions. This document offers a detailed introduction to the deployment and
performance of the Basware anyERP and reveals the different integration
scenarios that are possible. The following table provides an overview of these different
integration possibilities.
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SAP Netweaver and Process Integration
SAP Netweaver is an application and integration platform that unifies ‘people’,
‘information’ and ‘business processes’. It has been built as the new technical foundation
for all future SAP applications. This platform is based on Enterprise Service Architecture
(ESA), keeping in mind SAP’s strategy of offering future products in compliance with ESA.
ESA is built on the benefits of web service, which is an interface implementing the industry
standards of SOAP and WSDL to expose different functionalities to a web service
consumer. The use of web service allows direct integration between applications and
ERP system or more specifically SAP, without involving a middleware for integration.
SAP Netweaver is not a replacement for SAP R/3, but has been explained as a marketing
strategy. One important part of Netweaver is integration of processes. This is done
through SAP’s own middleware called SAP PI (Process integration, previously known as
SAP XI). SAP PI is used for integrating both SAP and non-SAP applications. It is used for
both internal and external integration. i.e. for both application to application and business
to business. It runs on SAP WAS (Web application Server), which is the common platform
for all SAP applications. The integration builder, which is the middleware, comprises of
two main parts-
ESR (Enterprise Service Repository)
ID ( Integration directory)
These two are used for designing and configuration of objects within the middleware
respectively. The integration builder is built on two stacks- ABAP and Java. The best part
about SAP PI is that all definitions use open technologies like BPEL (Business Process
Execution Language), WSDL,XML and XSD. Java based graphical tools are also
deployed in this middleware.
34
Process Integration is an important part of the framework, and critical for successful
implementation of SAP. For this reason, most SAP implementation projects involve the
use of SAP Netweaver and SAP PI.
Znode Integration Middleware™
For complex shopping cart integration, nobody makes it easier than Znode. Znode
Integration Middleware™ is an enterprise feature that enables a powerful integration
mechanism between the storefront and other systems such as ERP, Legacy Back-Office,
Suppliers, Distributors, etc. using a highly streamlined Web Services API.
SOA Web Services
Multifront's Integration Middleware features a advanced Web Services API that enables
3rd party applications to download and upload data to the storefront in real-time. You can
extend these web services to integrate Multifront with virtually any back-office systems
including ERP, Accounting and Content Management Systems.
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) Services
Znode Integration Middleware is based on the Windows Communication Foundation
service architecture and requires .NET 3.0 or .NET 3.5. WCF simplifies shopping cart
integration development through a new service-oriented programming model. WCF
supports many styles of distributed application development by providing a layered
architecture. At its base, the WCF channel architecture provides asynchronous, untyped
35
message-passing primitives. Built on top of this base are protocol facilities for secure,
reliable, transacted data exchange and broad choice of transport and encoding options.
Znode Middleware Visual Studio Solution
Znode Integration Middleware is packaged as a separate Visual Studio 2008 solution that
includes 3 different project libraries: Service Library, Business Library and Entity Library.
Each layer of integration middleware can be customized to your specific business
requirements.
Zebra Technology
More businesses that run on ERP systems run with Zebra. We offer a range of solutions
to make it easy to incorporate information from your enterprise systems into your bar code
and radio frequency identification (RFID) smart labels. Use these capabilities to link
shipment labelling with order management and CRM applications, add lot codes, batch
information, and production history to product ID labels, or track work-in-process to
update materials management applications. Here are some ways Zebra software,
connectivity, printer, and partner options can coordinate labelling with enterprise
operations and extend the power of your ERP system:
Zebra XML-enabled printers include an integrated XML processor for direct integration
with leading enterprise applications.
SAP has embedded Zebra printer support into SAP SmartForms in mySAP Business
Suite to enable direct bar code output without additional modification or middleware.
Zebra's ZebraDesigner for mySAP Business Suite software supports label design and bar
code output in the SAP environment.
36
Oracle includes pre-formatted Zebra XML label templates in its Mobile Supply Chain
Applications (MSCA) and Warehouse Management enterprise applications.
Zebra printers support 802.11b wireless networking and other connectivity options for
real-time information exchange with enterprise applications.
ZebraLink Solutions enable centralized, remote monitoring, troubleshooting, and control
over all enterprise label printing operations.
Zebra has an extensive network of partners with specialized ERP integration expertise.
Website Pipeline
At an ever increasing pace business is moving to the Internet and it is being driven by
your customers' expectations and demands. In addition, companies are finding that a
strong web presence allows them to increase their customer base as well as increase
sales through their current customers. Often this can be done at a lower cost because of
efficiencies that can be built into the process of taking orders on the web and automatically
bringing those orders into your in-house order fulfillment process. To capture these
benefits you need a highly functional website that allows your customers to:

browse, search for, and find products,

place orders,

check order status,

view invoices,

track shipments,

update account information,

see their unique pricing and terms,

etc.
37
To complete the process, your site should integrate with your ERP financial software
package. An ERP ecommerce website integrated with your ERP financial software is
ready 24/7, 365 days a year to take orders and service your customers' needs.
Currently, Website Pipeline sites integrate with:

Sage 100 ERP (Formerly Sage MAS 90/200)

Sage 300 ERP (Formerly Sage Accpac ERP)

Sage 500 ERP (Formerly Sage MAS 500/200)

Microsoft Dynamics GP
There are several important benefits to be gained from integrating your B2B/B2C
ecommerce website with your ERP software:

Website is available 24/7

Easier data access for your customers

Reduction in Order Entry Errors

Better utilization of employee time
Website is available 24/7 - The ERP ecommerce website is available and accessible by
your customers 24/7, your customers can place orders at their convenience. The website
can take orders even when your ERP system is offline. The orders are simply queued up
and synced back to the ERP when the connection is re-established. There is no need to
miss an order or inconvenience your customers.
Easier data access for your customers – You can give your customers access to a great
deal of valuable information 24/7. Accessing this information online allows your customers
to see it when they need it without having to contact you to find it for them. With a full bidirectional integration the information can include order history, invoice history, shipment
tracking, username and password management, and re-order capabilities.
38
Reduction in Order Entry Errors – Manual re-keying of data is a major source of problems
for a business. It can lead to increased employee costs to find and fix the problems, to
angry customers, and potentially to losing business. Therefore, anything that can be done
to eliminate manual re-keying is incredibly valuable. By integrating your website with your
ERP you can eliminate the manual re-keying of data. The orders placed on the website
are automatically transferred into your ERP in the proper format and with the correct
information available for your in-house order process.
Better utilization of employee time – Allows your employees to focus on growing the
business, increasing sales, and customer relationship building instead of manually rekeying data, chasing order information for customers, or answering questions that could
be better answered on the website. With real time data synching between the eCommerce
website and your ERP; you, your bottom line, and your customers will appreciate the
benefits.
Once you have a B2B or B2C website built on the websitepipeline system it is very
straightforward to integrate it with your ERP software. The graphic below details the data
transfer process and the possible types of data that can be transferred. The exact data
transferred will depend on the options that you choose to have in your website.
This process provides close to real time data synching between the website and your
ERP. After the initial synching of the data between the website and the ERP company
file, the amount of data transferred at any one time is usually very small since only
changes are synched. Therefore, most companies’ internet connections can handle the
load without any modifications or need for additional bandwidth. Typically, you will not
need additional equipment to integrate your ERP software with the website.
39
Activ Technology
Activ Technologies is a leading provider of Enterprise Integration Solutions to some of the
world's leading organizations and most recognized brands. Equipped with robust tools
and methodologies, our professionals ensure that customers increase competitiveness
and gain all the benefits of enterprise integration such as operational superiority,
enhanced supply chain visibility, agile business process management and one version of
the truth for knowledge workers.
Activ is an ERP integration specialist providing solutions to empower companies to
collaborate, transact, and optimize supply chain visibility with their entire enterprise. By
40
analyzing the supply chain and automating mission critical supply chain interactions with
leading edge integration technologies, companies can dramatically reduce the cost of
supply chain inefficiencies and errors. The result is high quality, reliable, and real time
visibility across the entire enterprise, enabling users to proactively address supplier
issues before they impact profitability. Your business gains improved productivity,
shortened cycle times, and increased customer satisfaction.
Our Professional Services Team has experience with the following ERPs, to name a few:
SAP
Oracle
JD Edwards
BAAN
Microsoft Dynamics
Epicor
Your ERP system not on this list? We also have experience with numerous others not
listed. Contact us to find out. Specializing in:
Enterprise Application integration (EAI)
Supply Chain Collaboration (B2B)
Supplier Visibility
41
Emanio
Data Integration ERP
While Data integration ERP may be a nebulous term it's a technology that is in use through
a large number of organizations. Data integration ERP attempts to combine multiple
sources of data into a single system - usually the organization's Enterprise Resource
Planning system (or ERP). Unlike other, simpler forms of integration, data integration ERP
combines multiple sources into a single repository; a process that is more technically
challenging and that requires more specialized products than others.
The Goal of Data Integration ERP
Generally speaking the goals of data integration ERP start with business problems. More
specifically, businesses are always trying to identify ways of becoming more efficient, of
cutting costs, better aligning with customer needs and of providing for faster response. A
large source of problems for most businesses is dealing with data stored in multiple
systems. Data integration ERP addresses these concerns by reducing the amount of
manual data entry that has to take place, reducing the possibility for data entry errors and
providing nearly immediate access to data to anyone in the organization.
Planning Data Integration ERP Deployments
Once the decision has been made to use data integration ERP, the first step is going to be
to enlist the help of any affected business unit in the process. This critical first phase is one
that many businesses miss and it can cause a great deal of problems during the
implementation of data integration ERP. The reason for getting buy-in is simple; many of
the manual processes the data integration ERP will replace are manual and staffed by each
department. Replacing those manuals processes with automation could mean significant
42
impact to staff; by getting buy-in from each department earlier in the process you will avoid
problems down the line.
Potential Problems of Data Integration ERP
As your company begins the data integration ERP project there are a number of potential
problems that can cause significant delays and even failures. Beyond having misalignment
prior to the project your data integration ERP project can also be railroaded by a simple
lack of knowledge of the data involved. This means that for your data integration ERP
program to work you will need to ensure that for each affected system you have expert staff
on hand or available who can help you understand the intricacies of each system. A
second potential problem with data integration ERP projects is over reaching. More
specifically, many companies assume that the process of integrating separate systems will
be significantly easier than it turns out. In order to avoid such problems it's very important
that you have at your disposal a set of experts that can assist you through the whole
process.
Benefits of Data Integration ERP
The benefits of data integration ERP are well proven and established. If your company
ensures that it plans carefully and enlists as much assistance as possible at all steps of the
process you will maximize your chances for success providing a long-term benefit that is
unlikely to be matched by any other initiative in the organization.
Application Integration Software Data
Data Mapping
Data Migration
Call Center Data
Integration
Agile Data
Data Warehousing
Integration
SQL Data
Warehousing
Methodologies
Customer Data
Transformation
Benefits of data
Data Warehousing
Integration
Data Conversion
warehousing
Projects
Data Integration
Data Conversion
Data Warehousing
Data warehousing
Data Integration ERP
Outsourcing
Advantages
systems
Data Integration Tool
Data Conversion
Data Warehousing
Data Warehousing
43
Enterprise Application Services
Book
Data Warehousing
Integration
Data Conversion
Data Warehousing
Software
Enterprise Data
Software
Case Study
Define Data
Integration
Data Synchronization Data Warehousing
Warehousing
Software Data
Data Transformation
Company
Definition of Data
Integration
Data Warehousing
Warehousing
SQL Data
Design
Future of Data
Transformation
Data Warehousing
Warehousing
Development
IBM Data Warehousing
Data Warehousing
Insurance Data
Examples
Warehousing
Data Warehousing for Introduction to Data
Dummies
Warehousing
Real Time Data
Warehousing
Hyla Soft
Hyla Soft develops transparent middleware applications that compliment ERP systems
by providing them the necessary real-time, accurate data. Hyla Soft has integrated
solutions with numerous ERP systems across server industries such as food &
beverage, discrete, and oil & gas. These middleware applications act as a pipeline that
easily allow the flow of data between systems. Middleware solutions allow ERP systems
to retrieve data faster and more efficiently while also cutting costs. No longer will
companies have to wait for reports at the end of the day to be printed or hand-written
and then re-entered into ERP systems.
Hyla Soft’s integration solution allows data to flow directly, throughout the day, into the
ERP system. Having data flowing directly cuts down the need for paper trails, redundant
data submission, and errant data; saving companies money and time.
44
Most importantly these solutions supply ERP systems with the real-time data needed to
help managers adjust their production to realize maximum gains.
Another great advantage of using a middleware system is that it allows a company to
establish a BCP or Business Continuity Plan. BCP is a way of keeping a factory up and
running during planned or, more importantly, unplanned ERP outages. Since software
systems are always at risk of going off line for many reasons, backup plans must be set
up to handle these situations. When companies rely on ERP systems to plan and
release orders, plants must still have the capability to create orders locally during such
outages. Any downtime in production is costly and when your ERP system goes down
companies can’t afford to stop or slow down production because of it. During ERP
outages, the middle ware application allows a designated user to copy previous orders,
edit the copied order if needed, and release them for production, allowing the plant to
continue running. Once the system is back online, Hyla Soft’s middleware solutions also
have the capability to reconcile manual orders with ERP orders, helping to ensure
continuity between the different systems and also protecting against processing
duplicate orders.
A wide variety of other useful functionalities can be built into the middleware solution
such as declaring production or consumption on production orders, creating messages
about material movement inside the plant and/or warehouse, or requesting messages
from the ERP system to aid work in production. Some plants may not have the
necessary equipment to automatically record consumption, scrap, and/or production
information. By using one of Hyla Soft’s middleware solutions, workers can manually
enter data directly into the middleware system which automically forwards it into the
ERP system, assisting schedulers keep more accurate counts on materials to aid in
production planning.
Hyla Soft’s middleware solutions are critical for any manufacturer running ERP systems.
The middleware systems Hyla Soft provides help bridge the gap between the shop floor
and top floor, closing the circle in the field of manufacturing.
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Optygate Integration & Connectivity Software.
Where you have specific data capture requirements that cannot be catered for by
a simple terminal connection (you may not have the IT resources to rewrite small
screens for the handheld terminals or you may want your host system software
application to remain standard) we can provide a solution that will meet your
requirements using the Optygate connectivity and integration solution.
ERP
Integration
Methods
Integration of barcode data capture into your
ERP system is the key to a successful
project. Optygate is used to design the front
end transaction screens fro the RF terminals
and uses a standard ODBC/SQL connection
to the host system database using shared
tables to provide a real time system for
warehouse and shop floor users. Because
Optygate has a Graphical Development
Environment, building transactions can take
hours instead of days and weeks.
RF Terminals
Optygate is used to develop real time applications for data capture terminals using
wireless technology. Any application that requires the user to be mobile: warehouse
operations; order tracking, work in progress, material movements. Optygate supports
portable, truck mount and fixed position RF terminals.
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OptyTelnet
The complete solution for data capture applications:

ODBC/SQL Connectivity

RF Terminal Connection using Telnet

ERP Systems Integration

Rapid Transaction Development

Unlocks your Data
Supported Databases
Optygate's standard interface is ODBC connectivity and SQL. This supports many
databases used in today's ERP, manufacturing and inventory control systems, e.g.
ORACLE, MS-Access, MS-FoxPro, MS-Excel, MS SQL Server, Progress, Ingress,
Informix, DB2, dbase.
RF terminals
Optygate can be used to develop real time data collection applications using radio
frequency technology. Any application that requires the user to be mobile (warehouse
operations, tracking, inspections etc.) can be developed with Optygate. OptyTelnet
supports any wireless terminal running a VT terminal emulation.
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III. Analysis
Implementing an ERP causes massive change that needs to be carefully managed to
reap the benefits of an ERP solution. Critical issues that must be carefully considered to
ensure successful implementation including integration of the ERP with other business
information systems.
There are integration approaches that middleware use in connecting ERP and other
system. ERP integration middleware vendors can be broken down into two groups. The
first make data-oriented products that support ERP integration primarily by sharing data
sources. The data-oriented segment are represented by vendors such as Argent, Carlton
Software, and SmartDB. These vendors' products extract and transform data, and
subsequently exchange data files between ERP packages and other applications.
The second group, the messaging-oriented vendors, support direct data-sharing between
programs without the need to use a data file or database as an intermediary. Active
Software Frontec, New Era of Networks, and Vitria are representative of vendors whose
products support inter-application passing of data using a messaging approach. This
method of inter-application passing of data supports dynamic registration and messagebrokering services for distributed applications across a network.
Although middleware has numerous obvious benefits in solving application connectivity
and interoperability problems, middleware services are not without tribulations. The main
issues are outlined below:
•There is a gap between principles and practice. Many popular middleware services use
proprietary implementations (making applications dependent on a single vendor's
product). The commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software vendors (i.e. TIBCO and Vitria)
are addressing this problem through the more stringent use of standardization. In spite
of this progress, the issue remains a substantial problem.
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•The sheer number of middleware services is a barrier to using them. To keep their
computing environment manageably simple, developers have to select a small number
of services that meet their needs for functionality and platform coverage. Since the goal
of middleware is to provide for maximum interoperability, this barrier is particularly
frustrating.
•While middleware services raise the level of abstraction of programming distributed
applications, they still leave the application developer with hard design choices. For
example, the developer must still decide what functionality to put on the client and server
sides of a distributed application.
The key to overcoming the above listed problems is to completely understand both the
application problem and the value of middleware services that can enable the distributed
application. To determine the types of middleware services required, the developer must
identify the functions required. These functions all fall into one of three categories:
1.Distributed system services – These include critical communications, program-toprogram, and data management services. RPCs, MOMs and ORBs are included in this
type of service.
2.Application enabling services – These middleware services give applications access to
distributed services and the underlying network. This type of service includes transaction
monitors and database services such as Structured Query Language (SQL).
3.Middleware management services - These enable applications and system functions to
be continuously monitored to ensure optimum performance of the distributed
environment. Middleware Developmental Stage.
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IV. Conclusion
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a large-scale computer system companies
use to help improve the flow of information in their company and govern operations.
Because of the major project application of ERP systems, business owners and
managers will often plan for ERP integration. The integration process outlines how a
company will adjust or rearrange operations to accommodate the changes to business
tasks and activities. Integration is similar to change management, where companies must
follow or observe a few principles to avoid significant downtimes in their business.
ERP serves as a backbone, and all the different software are bolted on to the ERP
software. There are third party software, called middleware, which can be used to
integrate software applications from several vendors to the ERP backbone. Unfortunately,
middleware is not available for all the different software products that are available in the
market.
Middleware have two group that use in integrates ERP and application software, it have
their own way to solve integration software.
In choosing middleware vendor companies must plan and study their needs before
implementing system integration because it may cause them a success or failure of the
industries.
Companies must check the function of middleware they want to integrate. Different
categories must identify to reach the full function of the system integration.
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V. Recommendation
Many company still believe that still need integration of their system to ERP. They
still make this ERP as a backbone of their organization.
In integrating application requirements must analysis and understand before
implementing.
There are many vendors offer their system that can help in integrating ERP to other
system, but in choosing ERP vendor make sure it will help the company.
Check and test first the function of middleware you will use , thus all the requirement of
the company meet the middleware or not.
Communicate to your ERP vendors if they have a middleware which can also support to
your application to be integrate.
Plan and consult all the department of the company before implementing ERP system
and integrate it to existing system.
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