IBM i Solution Edition delivers integrated functionality and rapid implementation for cost savings and efficiency.

Written by International Business Systems

Editor's Note: This article is an extract of the white paper "IBS and IBM Optimize ERP for Midmarket Distributors" available for free download from the MC White Paper Center.

Wholesale distribution is a balancing act. Midsize distributors must walk a careful line between satisfying manufacturers as well as customers—and remaining profitable. If a distributor increases its prices too much, the manufacturer may choose to sell its products through a competing distributor or directly. And if the distributor substantially lowers its prices, the organization risks going out of business.

Tracking enterprise funds has never been easier with the wide range of features available in today's accounting software for Power Systems.

Written by John Ghrist

It used to be that accounting software simply had to keep track of the money coming in and the money going out. But things just aren't that simple and clear-cut anymore. Today's enterprises rely on accurate financial figures not only for past and present, but also for the future to help make strategic decisions. Such tasks as creating forecasts, building inventory assemblies, pinpointing job costs, and evaluating business performance trends have become as important in some contexts as any other accounting functions.

ERP software for IBM i continues to deliver supply chain management, financial controls, manufacturing activity oversight, materials planning, and other functions.

Written by John Ghrist

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the must-have application software for companies in the manufacturing and distribution industries, as well as being more than useful for any enterprise that that is part of a supply chain. As the benefits of Internet-enabled business communications have multiplied, so the need to use ERP applications has grown into a necessity for companies that want to remain on the cutting edge in their markets.

Your company may be better suited to a "best-of-class" approach in which your financial applications can be configured easily to adapt to changing business conditions.

Written by UNIT4 CODA, Inc.

Editor's note: This article introduces the white paper "The Best-of-class Financial Systems Strategy: An Alternative to ERP Platforms" available free at the MC White Paper Center.

For better or worse, most companies have purchased financial software from large-scale Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform suppliers over the last decade. But as companies search for ways to lower costs and respond to a difficult business climate, the merits of implementing large-scale ERP platforms have come under close scrutiny. This article will examine an alternative approach that may be more appropriate and strategically sound for many companies: a best-of-class systems strategy.

Accounting applications provide the indispensable service of monitoring the flow of money through an enterprise. For IBM Power System users, third-party software options abound.

Written by John Ghrist

"Show me the money," if not the most often-echoed movie quote in corporate settings today, is at least at the top of most companies' concern lists. For users of the IBM Power Systems platform, still often called the IBM i, there is a rich assortment of financial applications available to track the bucks.

Big ERP wants in on the IBM Power Systems; does best-of-class still have the edge?

Written by Steve Pugh 

In today's fast-moving business environment, organizations need to stay more agile than ever. Government regulation, competitive challenges, and consumer demands are changing at an unprecedented rate, forcing organizations to change along with them. Meanwhile, CIOs are under tremendous pressure to rein in expenses while increasing performance.

Consider all the ramifications before you make your choice.

Written by Kevin Piotrowski

Editor's Note: This article introduces the white paper titled "Key Strategies for ERP on IBM i," which is available free from the MC Press White Paper Center.

For System 21, Infor ERP XA (MAPICS), and Infor ERP LX (BPCS) users, there are two main options for core ERP systems. One option is to employ—or continue to employ—IBM Power Systems servers and i 6.1. For users of IBM iSeries and System i models equipped with POWER4 and POWER5 processors, migration to Power Systems servers and IBM i 6.1 has proven to be comparatively simple. New Power Systems servers offer higher performance and more-advanced energy-efficiency features.

There are more ERP solutions than ever before today, and here we help you pick the right one by describing the major players.

Written by John Ghrist

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is another one of those computer industry terms that seems to have different definitions, depending on who's talking. Wikipedia defines ERP as a system "intended to manage all the information and functions of a business or company from shared data sources." But as many would be quick to point out, how then do we differentiate ERP from such terms as business process management, management information systems, or even management reporting, which arguably all have that same goal?