Your ability to harness e-Commerce technologies effectively has enormous potential to transform your business and enhance commercial success and growth.

Your customers and suppliers may look increasingly to closer collaboration, to cut production timetables and minimize disruption to their supply chain. This could involve working via their electronic order and supply chain systems to enable streamlining of operations and to reduce margin for error. Multi-organization research and design teams may need to work collaboratively and to achieve this, you must have efficient, secure systems that can deliver and receive information.

SYSPRO facilitates streamlined, secure electronic data interchange and collaborative commerce through features such Document Flow Manager, e.net Solutions, EDI, Office Automation and Messaging, SYSPRO Workflow Services and various Business-to-Business purchase and sales import and export functions. In addition, SYSPRO's Web Applications are out-the-box solutions which you can run on the Internet/Intranet and easily customize to suit end-user requirements.

Quick response times and accuracy in fulfilling orders are critical to your reputation in a diverse and demanding global market. Automated 24/7 customer order placement and acknowledgment is facilitated via SYSPRO's Document Flow Manager and email. In addition, SYSPRO's e.net Solutions enables the rapid development of applications for mobile devices, so that your sales force can check stock and place orders directly into SYSPRO while out visiting customers, thereby improving order turnaround time.

SYSPRO's e.net Solutions can be extended to integrate SYSPRO with other applications, such as shipping companies' tracking systems to determine the shipping status of customer orders. In addition, e.net Solutions facilitates the integration of SYSPRO with scanning and Smart technologies, thereby streamlining picking and packing processes, as well as inventory stock takes.

If your customers include Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) you can import and easily reconcile vendor EDI releases using SYSPRO's Blanket Sales Order module.

Constant innovation is a key factor to remaining competitive, and on-going research and development into new and better products is integral to the industry. Short product life cycles mean the speed with which you deliver these innovations to the market is imperative to remaining competitive and profitable. SYSPRO's integrated nature and powerful functionality enable you to streamline and track the changes to product designs and costings, as well as to improve the delivery of customer-driven product designs and configurations.

The rules-based Product Configurator enables non-technical staff to rapidly generate accurate product specifications for highly customizable products, thereby helping to reduce lead times and improve the speed and accuracy of order processing in configure-to-order environments. It facilitates the automatic generation of factory orders and purchase orders, with all the relevant detail such as materials and operations required to make or assemble the correct customer-specific configuration of the product. It mitigates the need for manual input or additional bills of materials to cover all product permutations and drastically reduces the margin for input errors. New permutations may be saved for future orders, making it easy to recall at order entry time.

For complete engineer- and design-to-order requirements, SYSPRO speeds the processing of product inquiries through its estimating and quotations functionality, with estimating providing an accurate view of both standard and non-standard material and labor costs, ensuring accurate profitability projection and quoting.

SYSPRO's e.net Solutions, multimedia and import facilities enable the rapid incorporation and processing of customer design data, such as drawings and CAD specifications, further improving turnaround time. Furthermore, SYSPRO's powerful factory scheduling features enable you to quote accurate lead times and delivery dates, based on capacity and existing loads. Once a quote is accepted by the customer, the conversion to a factory order is a simple automated process. SYSPRO's Engineering Change Control (ECC) enables you to apply strict control and uniformity over your design-to-market processes by providing an integrated rules-based electronic workflow system with full version control, security and auditable history. ECC gives you the tools to record and track product design and process changes, assess the impact of these changes on costs and associated data, and control the change routing and approval processes.

SYSPRO provides an integrated view of the development-to-market processes, thus facilitating improved communication between all participants.

To enable you to fine-tune the balance between supply and demand, SYSPRO provides technology and features that afford visibility to integrated supply chain intelligence and facilitate close monitoring of performance risks. SYSPRO fosters informed decision-making, thereby helping you to meet the challenges of supply chain management and synchronization in a dynamic and complex global environment.

SYSPRO's Inventory Optimization enables the configuration and automated monitoring of KPIs for different nodes in the supply chain, to facilitate the balancing of inventory investment and service. Key elements that drive inventory, such as forecasts, lead times, supplier performance and service levels, are coordinated, tracked and controlled to determine risk, evaluate supplier reliability and calculate optimal safety stocks. This in turn enables the modeling and formulation of more accurate target inventories and appropriate inventory policies, as well as better planning and execution of production, procurement and distribution activities.

Engineering change control promotes a cohesive collaborative approach to product life cycle management with your contract manufacturers; Blanket Sales Orders provides the means to reconcile schedules with your OEM clients, while Distribution Requirements Planning enables optimization of replenishment planning in a distributed warehouse environment.

Production schedule visibility and agility is facilitated through SYSPRO Factory Scheduling, which provides graphical scheduling and sequencing; control methods range from manual manipulation through to true algorithm-based advanced planning and scheduling (APS).

Your larger trading partners may look increasingly to closer electronic collaboration to cut production timetables, speed order processing, reduce margin for error and minimize disruption to their businesses. SYSPRO's internet- and XML-based technologies facilitate the implementation of your collaborative commerce strategies, enabling you to share, process and deliver information securely and efficiently within an extended global supply chain.

SYSPRO provides the means to build service orientated architecture (SOA), enabling flexible version-independent options for integrated web-enabled applications and mobile devices. The system facilitates streamlined, secure electronic data interchange and collaborative commerce through features such as Document Flow Manager, SYSPRO e.net Solutions, Office Automation and Messaging, and various business-to-business import and export functions.

The Web Applications are out-the-box solutions which you can customize to suit end-user requirements. Executive Dashboards provide supply chain managers with relevant KPIs at their fingertips while Event Management facilitates user-friendly configuration of alerts for operational and financial exceptions. Powerful VBScripting and customization features enable flexible views of SYSPRO data, as well as the incorporation of data displays from external systems, in a secure environment.

SYSPRO Office Integration (SOI) facilitates direct secure queries of key operational data from the desktops of enterprise-wide users and trading partners, without the need for the desktop installation or licensing of SYSPRO. Using a Microsoft Office product such as Word or Excel, the user can extract information from SYSPRO directly into the current Office document as text or tables. This connectivity means you can allow customers and suppliers direct access to relevant information in your organization. These powerful features, along with SYSPRO's multi-lingual and multi-currency functionality, promote true global visibility and flow of supply chain information.

SYSPRO provides additional functionality that helps you automate and manage an extended supply chain which may involve participants such as contract manufacturers, distributors and retailers: Trade Promotions Management provides extensive product promotion and pricing flexibility and improved management of deductions and rebates for your dealings with large retailers; and Return Merchandise affords efficient processing, tracking and analysis of customer returns and complaints.

SYSPRO Workflow Services enable you to streamline the execution of your supply chain processes in a consistent coherent flow. By leveraging SYSPRO's powerful technology and features, you can optimize the visibility, communication and exchange of information across your supply chain.

SYSPRO provides the tools to help you optimize your inventory investment without sacrificing customer service. It enables you to effectively plan and control diverse and extensive product lines in a single or multi-warehouse environment, facilitating the creation of warehouses and bin locations to represent both physical and virtual stock locations.

Whether you employ simple manual methods to manage your warehouse operations, or sophisticated automated methods such as bar-coding and mobile devices, SYSPRO's Warehouse Management System (WMS) assists you in optimizing your pick, putaway and cycle count activities. WMS-controlled warehouses, bins and items accommodate additional configuration options which promote warehouse management efficiencies.

Whether you stock, sell, purchase or manufacture items by unit, weight, volume, pack or container size, SYSPRO's multiple units of measure per stock item give you the flexibility to accurately record and track stock quantities. Product version control is automated through the Engineering Change Control module, while extensive master data enables you to define parameters for transacting in sales, purchasing and manufacturing.

Inventory optimization functionality aids the sales and operations planning process. Decision-making on desired levels of inventory and customer service is enhanced through the graphical output from its powerful Pareto analysis and forecasting tools. Master information such as order policies, gross requirements rules, lead times, safety stock and minimum/maximum levels assist in planning replenishment, while extensive costing facilities ensure accurate costing of sales, purchase and manufacturing activities. Costing methods are available by warehouse and include the average, standard, last, FIFO, LIFO methods.

The custom forms feature gives you the freedom to define your own fields for the capture of details, such as hazardous goods information, enabling you to include these in your queries, reports and transaction documentation. Also, you can add standard notations per item for automatic inclusion in various transactions such as sales orders, purchase orders and jobs, as well as link multimedia files to key data.

SYSPRO's serial tracking and lot traceability features facilitate the tracking of materials from purchase through production to customer, thereby providing you with the tools to manage product recalls, should they occur, and the optional 2-phased receipting for purchased and manufactured products provides inspection control. The Goods in Transit system gives you comprehensive quantity, variance and cost control over inter-warehouse transfers, as well as providing input into SYSPRO's Distribution Requirements Planning.

The Stock Take system enables you to select on a range of criteria and continue transaction processing once the physical count is complete, so operations are not at a standstill while the count is being captured. Import facilities are available and you can run a number of verification and variance reports to highlight stock take exceptions and provide the necessary checks before confirmation.

SYSPRO's integrated nature and powerful reporting and query facilities give you visibility to detailed stock statuses and transaction history, while perpetual inventory costing provides at-a-glance valuation of stock holdings by warehouse and stock code. Queries include summary stock code quantities, such as warehouse on-hand, on-order, available, free, in-transit, in-inspection, allocated and backordered, as well as the ability to drill-down to supporting detail.

Extensive reporting is available including detailed kardex movements, identification of obsolete, slow-moving and excessive inventories, as well as reports on summary inventory quantities and exceptions based on various stock level criteria. In addition, the Office Automation and Messaging module provides the ability to create alerts and events which are automatically fired when inventory exceptions (such as 'below minimum') occur.

SYSPRO provides the tools to help you optimize your inventory investment without sacrificing customer service. It enables you to effectively plan and control diverse and extensive product lines in a single or multi-warehouse environment, facilitating the creation of warehouses and bin locations to represent both physical and virtual stock locations.

Whether you stock, sell, purchase or manufacture items by unit, weight, volume, pack or container size, SYSPRO's multiple units of measure per stock item give you the flexibility to accurately record and track stock quantities. Product version control is automated through the Engineering Change Control module, while extensive master data enables you to define parameters for transacting in sales, purchasing and manufacturing.

Inventory optimization functionality aids the sales and operation planning process. Decision-making on desired levels of inventory and customer service is enhanced through the graphical output from its powerful Pareto analysis and forecasting tools. Master information such as order policies, gross requirements rules, lead times, safety stock and minimum/maximum levels assist in planning replenishment. Extensive costing facilities ensure accurate costing of sales, purchase and manufacturing activities. Costing methods are available by warehouse and include the average, standard, last, FIFO, LIFO methods. Furthermore the system provides the ability to track actual and activity-based costs. The custom forms feature gives you the freedom to define your own fields for the capture of details, such as hazardous goods information, enabling you to include these in your queries, reports and transaction documentation. Also, you can add standard notations per item for automatic inclusion in various transactions such as sales orders, purchase orders and jobs, as well as link multimedia files to key data.

SYSPRO's serial tracking and lot traceability features facilitate the tracking of materials from purchase through production to customer, thereby providing you with the tools to manage product recalls, should they occur, and the optional 2-phased receipting for purchased and manufactured products provides inspection control. The Goods in Transit system gives you comprehensive quantity, variance and cost control over inter-warehouse transfers, as well as providing input into SYSPRO's Distribution Requirements Planning. The Stock Take system enables you to select on a range of criteria and continue transaction processing once the physical count is complete, so operations are not delayed while the count is being captured. Import facilities are available and you can run a number of verification and variance reports to highlight stock take exceptions and provide the necessary checks before confirmation.

SYSPRO's integrated nature and powerful reporting and query facilities give you visibility to detailed stock statuses and transaction history, while perpetual inventory costing provides at-a-glance valuation of stock holdings by warehouse and stock code. Queries include summary stock code quantities, such as warehouse on-hand, on-order, available, free, in-transit, in-inspection, allocated and backordered, as well as the ability to drill-down to supporting detail. Extensive reporting is available including detailed kardex movements, identification of obsolete, slow-moving and excessive inventories, as well as reports on summary inventory quantities and exceptions based on various stock level criteria. In addition, the Office Automation and Messaging module provides the ability to create alerts and events which are automatically fired when inventory exceptions, such as 'below minimum' occur.

Whether a compliance-critical requirement, or an analysis tool for continuous improvement strategies, the traceability of products from material origins through manufacture to final destination, is a key system requirement in many industries.

SYSPRO facilitates the recording of traceability and quality data on materials and products from purchasing through inspection, manufacturing, manufacturing inspection, stocking and sales. The recording of expiry and shelf-life information is also facilitated and powerful queries enable both upward and downward searches by stock code, lot number and transaction type.

SYSPROls lot traceability and serial tracking functionality afford full visibility to the origins, build and customer destination of products and batches, thereby providing the means to rapidly trace and analyse the source of defects, should they occur. In addition, SYSPRO's Engineering Change Control module enables complete management and traceability of changes to product designs, while the Return Merchandise Authority provides consistent handling of product returns, as well as analysis data for improvement programs.

SYSPRO's integrated nature enables full backward and forward traceability, as well as comprehensive record-keeping to meet strict compliance requirements. Shelf-life management is facilitated through expiry dates and you can use SYSPRO's customization and custom form features to record other compliance-code dates, as well as to capture storage and transport compatibility codes.

SYSPRO's Quality Management System (QMS) enables the configuration and tracking of quality inspection points and metrics, to help ensure product quality and high production yields. Where a full QMS system is not required, the system can be configured to force sample, or full quantities of items through inspection processes, where detailed records of counts, inspection, rework, scrap, defects and returns can be recorded. Basic quality management is further enhanced through the ability to specify approved manufacturers for material supplies, as well as the ability to monitor supplier performance.

Tracking material involves knowing where it is at any point in time. In addition to SYSPRO's powerful traceability features, the system provides inventory management and visibility across multiple physical and virtual locations, as well as detailed tracking of purchase orders, sales orders, works orders, inter-warehouse transfers and available-to-promise quantities and dates.

SYSPRO's e.Net Solutions enable integration with scanning and RFID systems, to reduce processing time, as well as processing lags and errors, as material moves through the different processes.

In order to maintain appropriate inventory levels in a distributed warehouse environment, you must be able to plan, distribute, monitor and control inventory moving across your internal supply chain.

The SYSPRO Goods in Transit system provides the facilities to create, manage and monitor transfers between multiple warehouses and provides complete visibility to the status and details of in-transit transactions. It gives you the tools to easily create and receipt stock transfers for each warehouse, capture transfer costs, identify and adjust exceptions as they arise and to reconcile transfers sent and received in terms of cost and quantity. The system provides a detailed financial sub-ledger and enables easy reconciliation to SYSPRO's General Ledger.

Used in conjunction with the SYSPRO Sales Order module, the Goods-in-Transit system provides functionality to record back orders in the system for multiple warehouses and to electronically produce accompanying paperwork. Additionally, via the Material Requirements Planning module, SYSPRO's goods-in-transit functionality extends to include distribution requirements planning, thereby enabling plan production and purchasing to meet current and future distributed warehouse requirements. Order policies at stock code warehouse level accommodate different lot-sizing techniques per warehouse.

SYSPRO provides a number of features to assist you in the control and management of hazardous and dangerous goods with regards to storage, packing and transportation. Multi-warehouse functionality enables you to create virtual warehouses, and bins within warehouses, to represent separate dangerous goods storage areas for specific items. The multimedia features enable you to, per stock code, link and display graphical, video and text information, such as material safety data sheets, dangerous goods safety marks, and safety gear icons. Operators then have access to view and print the information when required.

The system's flexible custom form functionality enables you to capture dangerous and hazardous goods information per stock code; for example you can create mandatory or optional custom forms to capture data such as hazard identification number, class, subsidiary risk, compatibility group, packing group, shipping name and register reference. You can easily configure SYSPRO to display and highlight custom form data on operator entry and query screens; and to print on reports, such as picking lists and on stationery, such as job documentation, invoices and delivery notes.

SYSPRO also provides an extensive notes facility, the content of which you can configure to automatically print on certain documentation within the system. Notes include generic notes against all key fields, as well as special key field notes, such as the technical specification, dangerous goods handling, and inspection notes against inventory items.

Whether you supply original equipment manufacturers, diverse retailers, after-sales service outlets, or distribute product to your own distribution centers, effective planning and control of your inventory and order fulfillment activities is essential for operational efficiency and maximum profitability. SYSPRO provides a real-time integrated view of business operations, as well as the means to manage large diverse inventories and to plan and execute sophisticated warehouse replenishment and order fulfillment requirements. Efficient replenishment planning and fulfillment per warehouse is facilitated through SYSPRO's Distribution Requirements Planning, multi-warehouse and Goods in Transit functionality. The system caters for warehouse-specific costs and order policies, backorders, inter-warehouse lead times, optional inclusion of transfer costs and detailed transfer documentation. Furthermore, the Goods in Transit system enables detailed control, reconciliation and balancing of inter-warehouse transfers.

Distributors supplying major retailers and original equipment manufacturers (OEM) would be challenged to optimize customer service and expand distribution capabilities without e-business capability. SYSPRO's Web Applications enable you to provide your global customers and remote sales force with the convenience of secure 24/7 access to order placement, as well as to queries on pricing, stock availability, detailed statements and order statuses. In addition, sophisticated automated order placement and acknowledgement is facilitated through SYSPRO's e.net solutions and Document Flow Manager. This is further enhanced by SYSPRO's stock code interchange feature which enables customers to query stock and enter orders using their own part numbers.

Customer order fulfillment is managed through SYSPRO's sophisticated sales order picking and dispatch features, while SYSPRO's Customer Relationship Manager and Return Merchandise Authority modules provide the means to manage, control and analyze customer returns and credits. While simple, extended and contract pricing are standard features of the Sales Order module, the Trade Promotions Management module provides complex pricing functionality for distributors, including promotions, rebates and accruals. The Blanket Sales Order module enables SYSPRO customers to easily update call-off schedules for their OEM clients, as well as to reconcile the cumulative position against their OEM contracts.

Critical to continuous improvement strategies is the reduction of overall product lead time to enable companies to be more agile and responsive to unpredictable and changing customer demands. Identifying and reducing the number and severity of manufacturing bottlenecks is crucial to any lead time reduction strategy. SYSPRO's Work in Progress module provides tracking of expected versus actual operation times, assisting you in identifying bottleneck patterns and inaccurate demonstrated capacity estimates.

Where nothing can be done to remove short-term bottlenecks, management of production schedules to take account of them is critical to optimizing your production resources and providing realistic order delivery dates. SYSPRO Factory Scheduling provides one-click highlighting of bottleneck operations on existing schedules, as well as what-if scheduling and sequencing to optimize utilization of available production resources.