ERP Software reprices products per costs.
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Press Release Summary:
Enhancements to Agilisys ERP v4.0 include embedded Java technology, actual lot costing, commodity pricing, and multi-company and inter-company transaction functions. Actual costing function uses transaction costs to value initial transaction on perpetual basis. Cost adjustments are automatically rolled through to every finished lot in which material was consumed. It automatically updates lot costs with post-transaction adjustments such as freight bills or voucher price variances.
Original Press Release:
Agilisys Announces Latest Version of ERP Solution
Customers attest to strength of new functionality and praise their involvement in the release process
Malvern, PA August 27, 2002 - Agilisys Inc., a global provider of business solutions to the process manufacturing industries, announced today the release of Agilisys ERP 4.0. This newest version of the ERP solution for process manufacturers includes an enhanced integration architecture, embedded Java technology, and new functionality for actual lot costing, commodity pricing and agreements, and multi-company and inter-company transactions, among other advances.
Agilisys deploys a unique development methodology, which embraces collaboration with customers called "Concept to Customer." Concept to Customer centers on collaborative requirements development, design reviews, customer testing of pre-release software, and an "Early Upgrade Program." The process is part of a three-point approach to strategic development which brings together customer requirements with technological evolution and market requirements, enabling Agilisys to best respond with solutions that address the unique challenges and competitive opportunities that are present in the process industry vertical markets.
"The ability to test the functionality using our actual data helped our team truly understand the new features of the release," said Dale Brittan, MIS Director of Brewster Dairy, one of the Agilisys clients who was involved in the Agilisys Early Upgrade Program. "We are very excited about the costing capabilities, and anticipate the ability to lower overall costs through greater visibility into the actual cost of our materials. The design minimizes manual interaction with the system while providing excellent visibility into actual lot-by-lot costs."
The new actual costing technology sets the Agilisys solution apart from its competition in its ability to enable the management and tracking of actual direct costs and allocations on a lot-by-lot basis. One of the key issues with actual costing prior to Agilisys ERP 4.0 is that manufacturers had to wait until the end of the fiscal period to accumulate and allocate costs. The new actual costing technology in Agilisys ERP uses the actual transaction costs to value the initial transaction on a perpetual basis, deploying a Java-based "costing engine" to automatically update lot costs with post-transaction adjustments such as freight bills or voucher price variances. Cost adjustments are automatically rolled through to every finished lot in which the material was consumed. Another key piece of functionality is the ability to separate inventory valuation from managerial cost analysis, allowing manufacturers to capture valuable operational insight while complying with financial guidelines.
The new 4.0 release also addresses the highly complex sales order process for products composed of commodity ingredients whose price may vary on a daily basis. The Agilisys ERP system recalculates the product price to maintain sales margins. Typically ERP systems cannot address the complexities of commodity-pricing forcing companies to manage agreements outside of their automated systems and preventing them from adequately tracking the agreements and measuring profitability. Agilisys ERP 4.0 executes sales orders using formula-based pricing functionality that accounts for fluctuations in futures market prices and adjusts product prices within the structure of comprehensive sales agreements.
"We plan to roll out the 4.0 release of Agilisys ERP throughout our worldwide operations. The new inter-company and multi-company sales functionality will allow us to better manage transactions between operating units and potentially centralize our global order processing organization. Our customers will view us as a more cohesive organization," said Mr. Jean-Jacques Vanroyen, Director of Information Systems at Cray Valley Division of ATOFINA Chemicals Inc.
"The ERP 4.0 release is truly a milestone for the Agilisys solution, as well as the organization," said Jim Schaper, President and CEO of Agilisys, commenting on the first major release as an independent company. "We are excited by the response from the user community on both the functionality as well as their involvement in the 'Concept to Customer' process."
About Agilisys:
Agilisys is a global provider of business solutions to the process manufacturing and distribution industries. The Agilisys solution is a process industry-specific solution that provides collaborative supply chain planning, Internet commerce, relationship management, and ERP capabilities to serve the food and beverage, chemical, pharmaceutical, consumer packaged goods, biotechnology, and related process industries. The advantage of the Agilisys solution comes from its exclusive focus on the process industries and flexibility in tailoring the solution to a client's specific business or supply chain needs. Headquartered in Malvern, PA with offices throughout the United States and Europe, Agilisys provides business solutions to some of the world's most well known and respected brands, including Coca-Cola Fountain, Glaxo SmithKline, Organon of Akzo Nobel, and Valvoline.
CONTACTS:
Dawn Deal
Director Marketing Communications
610.578.7837
ddea@agilisys.com
Denise McLaughlin
Media Relations & Events Manager
610.578.7143
dmclaugh@agilisys.biz
