Blog Feed

What Will ERP Systems Look Like by 2014?

Michael — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:04:00 GMT

Enterprise resource planning, or ERP, systems are critical to the business operations of many companies, despite their reputation for failed deployments. It gives insightful views into a company’s operations allowing employees to make better and faster business decisions. Many ERP systems are deeply entrenched in organizations. Yet, ERP is in a state of flux.

The ERP of the future promises to be simplified, more accessible and easier to use, shaped by trends that began taking hold this year. What’s next for ERP is the beginnings of major trends — cloud computing, mobility and analytics.

First, ERP must become more simplified, both in terms of the deployment of the system and aligning it with an organization’s business processes.

Cloud computing enables companies to access ERP software over the Internet.
ERP can be more easily installed and rapidly consumed. The market is becoming less tolerant of these big, expensive, monolithic implementations of traditional ERP.
User Interfaces (UIs) will become more finely grained and tailored to user roles and user groups, from the workers on the factory floor to front-line employees to executives in the C-suite.
UIs will evolve rapidly to improve the ways users input, process and retrieve data.
Data input, in particular, will become simplified through the use of sensors placed throughout the enterprise that automatically collect different kinds of data.
Another way the user experience may improve is through voice recognition for search features.
Cloud-based ERP services will also become more integrated both with other clouds and with installed ERP systems.
Interoperability between cloud services will eliminate the need for companies to install middleware and programming to make third-party modules work with existing ERP systems.
More companies will consume ERP services through the cloud on an as-needed basis.

Second, vendors will continue to produce more advanced analytics tools that will help companies have better, faster access to the increasingly vast amounts of data that ERP systems collect.

Analytics will be further influenced by big data, which are data sets that have grown too large for commonly used software tools to capture, manage and process expediently.
For instance, SAP recently released a big data engine called HANA, which combines in-memory analytics with high-performance processing.
Predictive analytics, such as recommendation engines, will also be important to the future of ERP, enabled by faster analytics which leads to better business decisions made faster.
Reports that now take more than a day to process will be completed in a matter of minutes;
Advanced analytics can lead to more accurate decisions based on near real-time information, such as how many units need to be manufactured or how much inventory needs to be replenished.

Another global trend will also impact the evolution of ERP: sustainability. The greening of ERP can happen in two ways.

Companies can use their ERP system to track data relating to its ecological impact.
Companies can use virtualization techniques to make ERP a greener technology to run.

An ERP module designed to track and measure an organization’s total carbon footprint can replace a dedicated sustainability system. With virtualization, a company can consolidate ERP applications on fewer servers, which makes for a more energy efficient ERP system. Moving ERP to the cloud makes for greener ERP for the same reason.

Eventually, these trends boil down to the same goal — making ERP data easier to use and more valuable to the company. In the end, ERP is all about measuring data and using that data to make better, faster decisions.

How is ERP streamlining your business? Join the conversation in the comments section below.

Do you have questions about Netfira? Contact us.

Source TEC REPORT: Where Will ERP Be In Two Years

Sapphire NOW and ASUG Annual Conference Coming Soon

Michael — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 20:39:00 GMT

It is time to share innovations and ideas in the business software development industry! SAP announces that its annual Sapphire Now conference will be held on May 14-16 in Orlando, FL. Registration for participants is already open. Register now!

Sapphire NOW and ASUG is an annual event for SAP corporate users. During the show, people from various enterprises all over the globe come together to exchange knowledge of innovations and trends in the business management software industry. Sapphire conferences have been held annually since the end of the 1980s giving this event a notable tradition for the SAP users’ community to get together.

Here are the highlights of the show:

Visionary Keynotes
Broadcast Theatres
Five Learning Campuses
ASUG In-Depth Pre-conference Seminars
Meet Our Customers Pavilion and Executive Meeting Center
SAP Active Global Support Center
SAP Partner Ecosystem
Design and User Experience
ASUG Lounge
Expert-Led Sessions
Exhibit Hall

Netfira’s Participation

Broader B2B software integration is one of Netfira’s key value propositions. We are going to exhibit in booth 3228 the Netfira Seller and Netfira Buyer solutions and share our vision of eCommerce and supply chain integration with our partners and customers. The automation of supply chains in eCommerce is what the Netfira solution was designed for, helping buyers get access to real-time inventory information. Netfira provides the missing link for a full-automated real-time B2B trading system.

Netfira’s interest in SAP’s solutions comes from close partnership between the companies. SAP, as a world’s leading solution provider for large enterprises and SMBs, works with the market niche in which Netfira is highly interested.

Our Netfira SAP adapter facilitates B2B trading for SAP’s corporate customers. Now they can automatically link to the small dealers, distributors and suppliers in their network. This is a breakthrough, both for companies running on an SAP platform and the many businesses trading with them who are running on non-SAP applications. It provides a ground breaking opportunity for streamlining their buying and selling activities, with the enormous advantage of access to REAL-TIME inventory and pricing information.

The upcoming Sapphire NOW and ASUG Annual Event is going to be another step in this cooperation. Come visit us at the Netfira booth 3228 to see a demo of the Netfira Certified Adapter for SAP in action!

Do you have questions about Netfira? Contact us.

7 Compelling Reasons to Automate Sales Order Processing

Michael — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:38:19 GMT

Traditional sales order process pains

Traditionally, purchase orders arrived in a number of ways: in an envelope, through fax, email, or phone, and more recently, as an XML file transfer. To get them into the SAP system, each required its own preparation and transfer process. The one thing they had in common was obscurity – there was no way to have a clear overview of the total order stock, to prioritize, or to filter out customers who had exceeded their credit limits. Furthermore, manual entry of order data took too much time and was subject to errors.

Once the information has been entered into SAP, it should be simple to convert the customer’s purchase order into a company sales order. However, many times it was not. Orders often required extensive personal handling because:

Customer determination could be complex in the case of distributed customer organizations (complex ship-to, sold-to and bill-to parties)
The material ordered was unknown due to incorrect part numbers
The material ordered was known but unavailable
The pricing did not match

Entered data was validated against stock available, agreed prices etc., and processed into a sales order, triggering production and/or sales and shipment processes.

Difficult to track order process
Data validation and check processes are slow
Exception handling is difficult

Moving to an efficient and effective process

Without cleaning up the process first, companies make the same mistakes again and again. In a recent study, the Aberdeen Group has determined the validity of the Best-in-Class PACE model, where PACE stands for Pressures, Actions, Capabilities, and Enablers:

“Delivering on the promise of an efficient and effective order-to-cash cycle requires a combination of strategic actions, organizational capabilities, and enabling technologies that can be summarized as follows:

Standardization of processes and systems to remove manual work, drives faster and more accurate results, and improves visibility
Ongoing communications with colleagues, business partners and customers to guarantee that the necessary information is available to all parties in a transaction
Continuous monitoring of performance and use of root-cause analysis to identify, document, and remedy deficiencies”

Best in class PACE Framework

Reap the Benefits of Automated Order Processing

There are multiple benefits to be achieved by automating your orders with dealers, distributors, customers, and suppliers.

Speed up and simplifies your processes
Reduces costs
Increases visibility
Shortens time sales are outstanding
Removes errors caused with phone, fax, and email orders
Improves cash flow
Improves customer satisfaction

Netfira’s order processing solutions automate business-to-business e-commerce transactions between enterprises and SMBs and SMEs of all sizes, integrating seamlessly with the existing ERP or EDI systems, resulting in a streamlined, electronic buying and selling process. Netfira is SAP certified, cloud enabled and offers both an enterprise license model or a SaaS model.

How are you managing your order processing today? Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

Do you have questions about Netfira? Contact us.

How Software Can Help Better Manage the Supply Chain

Michael — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 16:12:39 GMT

Businesses looking to gain an advantage over their competitors need much more than just better products—they need to be able to manage the complexity of their supply chain network and collaborate throughout the chain to promptly address major unexpected issues. In addition to an analysis of the state of the market, this buyer's guide offers a special report on global trade management (GTM) as well as product comparisons.

Supply chain technology used to be about “boxes,” with such labels as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Transportation Management System (TMS), and Warehouse Management System (WMS). Those boxes typically appeared within a bigger box—a company—whose idea of a system was a hierarchy of all those boxes connected by straight lines. Today though, Supply Chain Management (SCM) combines best practices and smartly applied tools whose ownership must be shared.

What we need now is some outside-the-box thinking, both among technology vendors and their customers—the people who enable and use the lines of communication within and between all supply chain boxes. That’s the kind of thinking that can deal with these types of supply chain what-ifs:

What if a truck driver shortage impedes transportation capacity?
What happens to the supply chain after a merger or acquisition?
What if a natural disaster disables a key supplier?
What if a company has to locate and reroute a critical shipment in-transit?
How does a company trace the source of product contamination?

To respond to these scenarios, companies need to rethink how they access transactional data within their supply chain systems. Global trade increasingly requires mobility and collaboration, and much of this is being achieved by locating supply chains “within the cloud”—using an on-demand, or software-as-a-service (SaaS), subscription model.

Today’s software delivery model is all about scalability—being able to expand one’s vision of supply chain flow as one’s supply chain grows, whether through increased business or through mergers and acquisitions. And the more a company’s supply chain expands, the more important it will be to ensure the quality of the data within the system. The old adage unfortunately still applies: garbage in, garbage out.

That makes analytics capabilities a key factor with SCM solutions, as they offer a way of analyzing more data, within larger databases. Companies with a constantly growing global footprint need to take control of their supply chains, especially if they are outsourcing more of their manufacturing functions to partners in other countries.

Certainly, the need for the traditional supply chain technology “boxes” is as great as ever, and we’ve seen and will continue to see a widening scope of capabilities within warehouse management and transportation management solutions. New applications are emerging that aim to connect the supply chain networks of manufacturers and their customers—for instance, a consumer goods company and its retail customers—to improve visibility as well as to better match demand with supply. In an era of razor-thin margins, it’s no longer acceptable to take a slow, cautious approach to SCM. Today, it’s all about the Perfect Order—getting the right product to the right customer at the right time, in the right condition and at the right cost.

For all partners in a global supply chain, performance is the ultimate indicator of how well practices and technologies are applied. And while new functionalities are developed and delivery models evolve, the best supply chain solutions will help users expand their transportation and distribution capabilities to meet the needs of their customers—not just maintain them.

Netfira’s supply chain inventory management solutions automate business-to-business e-commerce transactions between enterprises and SMBs and SMEs of all sizes, integrating seamlessly with the existing ERP or EDI accounting system, resulting in a streamlined, electronic buying and selling process. Netfira is SAP certified.

How are you managing your supply chain efforts? Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

Do you have questions about Netfira? Contact us.

EDI and eCommerce

Michael — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:46:28 GMT

Business Challenges Facing eCommerce

Manual, non-integrated order processes that drive up process and purchase costs, lack of data integration that limits visibility into procurement activities, vendor performance and sales activities, and difficulty accessing timely and accurate information are the three biggest challenges facing enterprise eProcurement and eCommerce.

EDI Trends

Companies use a range or combination of approaches, such as:

Building or outsourcing the B2B infrastructure,
Using traditional batch electronic data interchange (EDI) at one extreme,
Emerging cloud services at the other extreme,
Web services-based service-oriented architecture (SOA)

What is EDI?

EDI is a legacy technology that continues to thrive despite predictions over the past decade of its imminent demise. Establishing EDI links to hundreds or thousands of trading partners is not easy, however once in place, it works very well with minimum maintenance; hence it became the de facto standard for electronic document exchange in many sectors. A key trend is that the market for stand-alone EDI translators (and SOA and MFT) is quickly being absorbed into B2B gateway software.

Today’s B2B exchanges support a wider range of message formats going well beyond standard EDI business documents. It is anticipated that the deployment channel will change over the next three years with 32% saying they will rely more on software solutions.

Key Forrester Findings

Forrester conducted a survey and found that 82% of the respondents cited the need to reduce rising costs (for the business) and the need to exchange electronic documents with business partners. Manual document exchange is still prevalent in many firms, bringing higher operational costs. Moving to electronic documents saves both time and money. The need for real-time visibility in business processes also scored high (81%), highlighting the need for improved visibility in B2B operations. They also found that EDI support teams will become more mainstream – people who supported phone orders will be re-deployed to integration competency centers.

Technical Problems with EDI Systems

There are multiple problems with EDI systems:

Today’s B2B exchanges need to support a wider range of message formats going well beyond standard EDI business documents
66% of enterprises have difficulty integrating their inbound/outbound EDI transactions with other applications
59% of enterprises have difficulty managing their partner communities, and this problem increases as the size of the partner community grows
58% of companies say they have difficulty supporting smaller, non-EDI-capable partners
58% say they are unable to effectively support process improvement efforts

Netfira has multiple B2B software solutions that automate order processing for your in-bound and out-bound supply chain. The Netfira Buyer solution helps with eProcurement and automating orders with your suppliers. The Netfira Seller solution helps with the sales side and automates orders with your customers, dealers and distributors.

Our solutions are MYOB and SAP certified and work in conjunction with many major ERP, inventory and accounting systems such as SAP, Ariba, Oracle, MYOB, Sage AccPac, QuickBooks and Peachtree.

How are you managing your ePurchasing and eCommerce? Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

Do you have questions about Netfira's technology? Contact us.

Sources:

Taxonomy, Definitions and the Vendor Landscape for Application Integration Solutions, 2011, Gartner, dated March 2011
Future of EDI, Forrester, dated Feb 2011
Vendor Survey Analysis: A Closer Look at North American ERP and SCM Solutions for Wholesale Distributors, Gartner, dated June 2011
Market Trends: Multi-enterprise/B2B Infrastructure Market, Worldwide, 2010-2015,1Q11 Update, Gartner, dated Feb 2011

Homestead Netfira OmniShop

Michael — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:08:00 GMT

Homestead is a popular website builder from Intuit.

While Homestead already has an online sales system, there are a number of reasons why you might wish to use a Netfira OmniShop store instead. These include:

Automatic synchronization of stock, customers and orders with accounting systems such as QuickBooks
Wholesale pricing allowing your wholesale customers to login, set their own prices and order online
Ease of installation
Ability to also use the same online sales system with Facebook

Netfira OmniShop can be added to any Homestead page.

First Steps:

First, install Netfira, connect it to your accounting system, configure it and then go into the Netfira OmniShop administration page, click Omnishop then the Copy button on the bottom of the page. If you're not sure how to do this, check out our other tutorials or contact Netfira.

Next, choose a page on your Homestead site to create an online store. You might find that if you're using a template, most pages will already have a number of text boxes and graphics. Simply select the item then press the "Delete" key to remove it.

Here's an example of a Homestead page with lots of blank space:

Adding OmniShop to a page

You now add to the Homestead page a space where the Netfira OmniShop will appear. You do this by adding an HTML item.

This is found under the Insert -> More menu.

Click on the HTML button and an HTML box will appear on your screen.

Drag and resize the HTML box to the position and size you prefer for your store. Your screen will look something like this:

You're almost ready to insert your Netfira OmniShop store into your Homestead site.

Click on the "Enter or Paste HTML" button in the HTML Setting panel on the right hand side of the screen.

A box will appear:

Paste in this box the OmniShop line you copied from the OmniShop admin panel. Click OK.

Save your page and publish your site.

Seeing Your New Store

Now go to your site and refresh the page you were working on. A complete online store now appears:

You can further fine tune the store's appearance. In this example, we've simply selected the "Salt of the Earth" theme in the OmniShop control panel.

Join the conversation in the comments section below and let us know how you are using Homestead and Netfira OmniShop!

Logistics and Supply Chain Management 2012

Michael — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:51:00 GMT

It is time to share innovations and ideas in the logistics and supply chain management space! SAPinsider will hold its annual Logistics and Supply Chain Management Conference from March 19-22 at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida. Registration is now open.

About the Event

Logistics and Supply Management 2012, conducted by WIS, publishers of SAPinsider, is an annual event for organizations that deploy, evaluate and support SAP solutions for supply chain management.

It will include workshops and forums on topics including inventory control, warehouse management, procurement, logistics and replenishment. The event is held in conjunction with four additional conferences at the same time and location: Product Lifecycle Management 2012, Manufacturing 2012, Procurement and Supplier Management 2012, and Customer Relationship Management 2012. Registrants at any one of these gatherings are welcome to attend them all.

“We are very excited to exhibit at Logistics and Supply Chain Management 2012, where we will demonstrate the Netfira solutions designed for use with the SAP ERP application,” stated Netfira Senior Vice President Mahyar Irani. “Netfira solutions provide a cutting-edge formula for businesses to stay ahead of their rivals with our unique REAL-TIME feature and order automation, eliminating error-prone manual ordering processes such as phone, fax and mail. Cloud-enabled and SAP-certified, the Netfira 3.7 solution increases both productivity and accuracy, with the REAL-TIME visibility so vital to remaining competitive in today’s supply chain environment.”

Netfira's Participation

Broader B2B software integration is one of Netfira’s key value propositions. We are going to exhibit in Booth #455 at the Logistics and Supply Chain Management 2012 Conference and demonstrate how Netfira’s Enterprise Buyer and Enterprise Seller solutions integrate with the SAP ERP application. We will also share our vision of eCommerce solutions and supply chain integration with our partners and customers.

The Netfira solution is designed to help buyers get access to REAL-TIME inventory and pricing information from suppliers and manufacturers. Netfira provides the missing link for a fully automated REAL-TIME B2B trading system.

The Netfira/SAP Partnership

Netfira’s interest in SAP solutions comes from a close partnership between the two companies. SAP is a world leading solution provider for large enterprises and SMBs. The Netfira order processing automation solutions integrate seamlessly, complement and enhance SAP’s offerings.

In an earlier post, we discussed the integration process between Netfira and SAP. Netfira’s 3.7 solution has been fully tested and certified by SAP.

Procurement Management

Michael — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:02:00 GMT

Business Challenges Facing Procurement

Manual procurement processes that drive up process and purchase costs, lack of data integration that limits visibility into procurement activities, and impaired decision making combined with difficulty accessing timely and accurate information are the three biggest challenges facing enterprise e-Procurement.

What is Procurement Management?

Procurement management is a core functionality that enables you to automate and standardize purchases rapidly, with integration across multiple business functions such as accounting and warehouse management.

Gaining a detailed view of your vendors and having access to an integrated and centralized vendor data repository enables more effective purchasing decisions and opportunities for cost savings. Well-managed supplier relationships are vital for e-Procurement automation.

Automating Procurement Processes with Netfira

Netfira offers best-in-class functionality to support your core procurement activities, integrating the entire purchasing process from order to cash management, including purchase creation, inventory updates and invoice processing.

Netfira updates information in SAP that is maintained centrally. Purchase orders can be created in a few straightforward steps and sent to the vendor electronically from the Netfira Enterprise Buyer product. To help ensure that the appropriate levels of goods are in the warehouse for timely order delivery, Netfira allows you to create purchase orders automatically.

Features

Procurement
Create single or multiple POs and goods receipts; link purchasing documents, and view document trails for audit purposes; manage returns, additional expenses, and multiple currencies.
Detailed View of Your Vendors
An integrated, centralized vendor data repository can help enterprises make more effective purchasing decisions, identify opportunities for cost savings, and better manage supplier relationships. Users manage detailed data in a user-friendly interface, view account balance and purchase analyses, and maintain detailed item purchasing information with price lists and tax information.
REAL-TIME Purchasing and Pricing Reports
This gives you a comprehensive overview of your purchasing history, including information about the items you bought, your suppliers, the prices you paid, and transaction dates. This makes it easier to compare suppliers and prices, identify which supplier can meet your business needs, and negotiate to get the best possible price. You have easier, up-to-date reporting with real-time data, and these reports are available for display in various report formats.

Netfira is MYOB and SAP certified, and works in conjunction with many major purchasing systems such as SAP, Ariba, and Oracle.

How are you managing your e-Purchasing? Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

Do you have questions about Netfira's technology? Contact us.

B2B Supplier Enablement

Michael — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:03:21 GMT

IT Supply Chain Management with Real-Time Inventory Software Solutions

Supplier Enablement is the process of electronically connecting suppliers (or other trading partners) to a company's supply chain. Supplier enablement is achieved when an enterprise buyer is electronically connected to the suppliers of goods and services. This connection allows a company's back-office systems to exchange stock level information and pricing as well as critical business documents such as purchase orders, invoices and other information.

The benefits of supplier enablement include reduced supply chain costs, improved invoice tracking, reduced procurement costs, reducing or eliminating non-value added (manual) processes, and improved communications.

Many conferences are held globally in order to discuss cost saving measures and efficiency in the enterprise e-commerce world.

Larger enterprises tend not to have many problems transacting with other enterprises when it comes to electronic data integration and automation. Larger enterprises almost universally have an existing IT electronic data integration system (EDI) in place in order to create real-time e-commerce links with other enterprises, although it is interesting to note that in many circumstances large enterprises still have difficulties connecting and transacting electronically in real time with other enterprises. A surprising fact resulting from studies is that many enterprises are electronically connected to very few of their suppliers. Also, smaller to medium sized businesses (SMBs and SMEs) tend not to be electronically connected to enterprise buyers. These smaller suppliers tend not to have the complicated and costly IT electronic automation systems that their larger suppliers have, forcing the enterprises to rely on more costly, less efficient, and less reliable and accurate manual data entry processes including phone, fax, email and call centers.

There has been much discussion recently regarding the need of a solution to streamline the supply chain solution by enabling real-time electronic transactions, eliminating manual processes and automating business-to-business orders with smaller to medium sized clients. This would have the potential to change the e-commerce world as we currently understand it, and streamline supplier ecosystems between businesses of all sizes.

Netfira’s IT supply chain inventory management software offers a complete supplier enablement solution in REAL-TIME. Netfira streamlines the buying and selling process through REAL-TIME electronic communications and order automation, integrating seamlessly with existing back-office accounting systems and EDIs. This IT supply chain management inventory software solution in REAL-TIME gives companies the power to reduce supply chain costs, eliminate manual data entry and increase their ROI profits.

Netfira’s inventory software solution enables large buyers and sellers to electronically and instantaneously connect and trade with their smaller to medium sized SMB and SME customers in REAL-TIME, representing a substantial cost reduction due to lowered call center costs and additional operational efficiencies, and solving the manual data entry problem.

The IT supply chain inventory management software solution provided by Netfira has REAL-TIME inventory visibility, multiple convenient pricing options, and automatically creates sales and purchase orders, while integrating seamlessly with the existing back-end accounting system ERP or EDI, resulting in a streamlined buying and selling process. This electronic, automated business to business (B2B) connection is much faster, simpler, cost effective and efficient than traditional communication channels involving enterprises and smaller to medium sized business suppliers.

One of the unique features of Netfira’s supply chain management software is that it integrates seamlessly with existing ERP and EDI systems such as SAP. Netfira is SAP certified. With Netfira, enterprises continue to run their existing EDI electronic data integration systems without interruption, while at the same time expanding their business to trade electronically with their SMB suppliers and customers. This REAL-TIME e-commerce convenience and versatility along with an ease of installation and use for both the buyer and seller, makes Netfira’s supply chain inventory management software a complete supplier enablement solution, ideal for automating dealer networks and streamlining the B2B buying and selling system between enterprises and businesses of all sizes.

Netfira is MYOB and SAP certified, and works in conjunction with many major purchasing systems such as SAP, Ariba, and Oracle.

How are you managing your supply chain? Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

Do you have questions about Netfira's techology? Contact us.

ERP solution: Automate and streamline buying and selling between large enterprises and SMBs

Michael — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:34:00 GMT

Business-to-business interactions are probably the most important aspect of the modern e-commerce environment. A great majority of the total supply chain and economy is actually made up of business-to-business transactions; business-to-consumer trade represents a much smaller portion of the total market. Yet, business-to-consumer trade represents a disproportionately large amount of advertising, research, and development. As a result, business-to-consumer e-commerce trade has many IT applications and products to facilitate the electronic transaction processes with real-time support, however SMB and enterprise-to-SMB business-to-business commerce models are still using outdated and error-prone manual processes. The real-time speed and exponential growth that the internet implies is only relevant and can be leveraged if there is a suitably streamlined and automated IT buyer and seller ecosystem.

It is interesting to note that while enterprises generally may have EDI electronic data integration systems in place to communicate with other enterprises in real-time, until recently there had not been an affordable real-time IT software solution to automate communications electronically between enterprises and their smaller to medium sized businesses, and in some cases business-to-business transactions between enterprises. Netfira IT supply chain inventory management software solutions allow enterprises to trade electronically with businesses of all sizes, including their smaller SMB and SME businesses, like never before, automating intricate inventory supply chain systems, eliminating the need for manual processes, and integrating seamlessly with the existing backend accounting system ERP or EDI.

“Netfira is a breakthrough business-to-business IT supply chain inventory management solution that streamlines the buying and selling process between businesses of all sizes. Netfira facilitates real time, electronic transactions between trading partners, eliminates manual data entry and integrates with sellers’ back-office accounting (ERP) systems to provide buyers with powerful, real-time information about inventory levels and pricing within their supply chain.”

Netfira’s IT supply chain inventory management software solutions enable seamless real-time e-commerce trade between large enterprises and smaller to medium sized businesses of all sizes (SMBs and SMEs).

The resulting electronic and instantaneous communications and transactions facilitated between enterprises and their SMB and SME clients through Netfira’s supply chain software solutions, facilitates quicker and more efficient trade. By enabling REAL-TIME visibility of inventory and pricing, automatically creating purchase orders, and integrating the e-commerce front-end or e-commerce-enabled website to the existing back-office accounting system (ERP), Netfira’s supply chain inventory management software integrates various supply chain management systems into one synchronized electronic data integration program, thereby streamlining the buying and selling process.

The larger volume effected by real-time electronic communication between buyers and sellers, combined with the facility to automate system processes, while eliminating the problems associated with outdated and error-prone manual processes, results in dramatically lowered costs and raised revenues.

Do you have questions about Netfira? Contact us.

Automate B2B IT Supply Chain Inventory Systems

Michael — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:14:00 GMT

Connect buyers and sellers of all sizes electronically and in real time with Netfira’s Enterprise Resource Management software solution.

Larger enterprise companies tend to face difficulties surrounding IT electronic business to business (B2B) communications with smaller and medium sized businesses (SMBs and SMEs), and in some cases with other enterprises. Communications and supply chain inventory solutions which are not electronically integrated tend to be slow, costly and error prone, and are simply too inefficient for the modern, lightning-fast era. Businesses, to compete in this thriving internet-enabled world, need to streamline the buying and selling process electronically, and use the efficiencies of the internet for their communications. In global supply chain inventory management, to be truly efficient, a supply chain inventory software solution must connect buyers and sellers of all sizes in real time.

Most transactions are business to business, however most trade publications and professional institutions focus almost entirely on business to consumer trade. This is not because business to business transactions are less important, but because creating a good IT business to business inventory supply chain software system is far more complicated. The distribution of subcomponents, raw materials and products within a business to business supply chain means that a very elegant, integrated system must be utilized in order to handle the intricacies and volume of the market, streamlining the supplier ecosystem, and automating buyer and seller networks.

Reinald Schneller - Senior Vice President, Netfira US and EMEA Operations, explains how e-commerce can be taken to a new level with the Netfira Solution:

“E-commerce, in our view, can be taken to a totally new level. Secure, fast, real time, and it provides value for both a buyer and a seller. What (traditional) solutions do not provide is the integration with the buyers or the sellers back office systems. And that’s where Netfira comes in. We don’t just provide a shopping cart solution. We provide the integration of that solution with the buyers and the sellers back office systems. So when an order is placed, the seller’s accounting system, the seller’s inventory management system, whatever backoffice system the seller has in place is automatically triggered and updated. On the buyer’s side, the same thing happens. The buyer places the order through Netfira, but then automatically Netfira updates the buyers accounting system, the buyers inventory management system, the buyers back office systems in general. And that’s what the traditional hosted shopping cart solutions do not provide. That real time updating of the data in both the seller’s and the buyer’s back office system is something traditional e-commerce cannot provide. That’s where Netfira comes in.’”

Netfira is a comprehensive enterprise resource planning system that easily connects buyers and sellers of all sizes in real time, allowing companies to compete effectively in the instantaneous world of e-commerce, by streamlining the buyer and seller links. Netfira enables a completely automated business to business IT global supply chain inventory management software solution for businesses of all sizes to connect electronically, in real time.

With the accelerated rate of business to business e-commerce, elimination of manual processes, real time inventory visibility, automatic generation of sales and purchase orders, all seamlessly integrated into the existing back end ERP accounting system or EDI, the Netfira IT supply chain inventory management software solution means streamlined buying and selling, and greater revenues and overall profits. Netfira is SAP certified.

For more information, please contact us.

4 Trends to Watch in Accounts Payable

Michael — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:14:46 GMT

During this past year, a number of trends have been unfolding that will no doubt affect the future of accounts payable and other parts of financial operations. It is clear that companies with the lowest AP costs have:

A high degree of automation in their processes
End-to-end integration of AP with purchasing
Efficient electronic payments and value-added products such as P-cards

Because increased automation drives efficiency and cost savings, staffing requirements have been reduced, and the makeup of the remaining staff has changed. Gone are the days when a large part of the AP function was focused on entering data and processing payments. Now the focus is shifting to analysis and exception handling, which require higher-level problem-solving skills. The result is an AP function that is evolving to best benefit the ever-changing business culture it supports.

Trend #1: Automation continues to grow

First off, there has been a shift to automated AP processes which bring many advantages for even the smallest of AP groups: shortening the processing cycle, cutting down on lost spend, eliminating duplicate payments, reducing the time spent on rectifying problems and improving efficiency. Still, automation has not been adopted by all organizations.

46% of AP departments have a workflow system in place, consequently reducing staff members in these organizations by 25%
54% of organizations find it difficult to justify funds for an automated solution due to the economy. The growing availability of lower cost software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions can address this.

Trend #2: AP goes mobile

Secondly, there is a growing demand for mobile-based requisitions and invoice-based approvals. Email was going to usher in the paperless office. Now it's a time management challenge for many of us, with email inboxes clogged beyond belief.

The current incarnation of email is mobile accessibility via smart phones and tablets. With the increasing use of smart phones, it is no surprise that AP-specific applications are being developed to enable remote management of invoices and workflow alerts. On the vendor side, mobile invoice applications allow for easy creation of e-invoices, bringing even small businesses into the electronic revolution.

Trend #3: Supply chain absorbs AP

For materials-driven organizations with supply chain teams, the AP function is being folded into the supply chain group, especially if the company uses e-requisitions. With e-requisitions, AP can disappear completely or become fully a part of the procurement process.

One approach to e-requisitions is the use of an online catalog. Because the catalogs are integrated with the suppliers' fulfillment systems, transactions are electronically monitored all the way through delivery and automated payment.

The ongoing adoption of integrated supply chain solutions will further reduce the need for traditional AP professionals; and simultaneously create opportunities for those with analytical and process skills. In other words, higher-skilled AP professionals will continue to be in high demand.

Trend #4: Employee numbers decline

In combination, these three trends are putting pressure on organizations to shrink their AP staffs. With or without automation, controllers and upper management are demanding fewer employees. On top of this, the economy is going through a structural change, causing businesses to seek reduced costs. As people retire, get laid off, or leave jobs, the empty staffing slots are not being filled.

Another reason for shrinking accounts payable departments is the outsourcing of various AP-related processes. Mailroom services, workflow management, and even AP help desks are being outsourced, sometimes even outside the United States, at a lower cost to the company than in-house staff costs.

Home Depot saves millions with lean AP

Home Depot is known as a leader in AP efficiency, partially because its huge transaction volumes force the company to be forward-thinking when it comes to financial operations. The department outsourced many AP jobs, implemented an electronic portal for dispute-handling, and launched an aggressive electronic invoice campaign to ensure maximum benefit from the portal. The AP team also started a comprehensive supplier survey and a discount management pilot.

Over the past five years, Home Depot has realized $2.2 million in savings and a reduction in AP costs of 22 percent, year over year. This was due to labor savings, eliminating 3.5 million pieces of paper from their back end and reduced cycle times from 45 days to 10 days.

Summary

The importance of transitioning suppliers to more "self-service" solutions puts the control and burden in the hands of the supplier and relieves AP from redundant and mundane tasks such as payment inquiries.

80% of supplier inquiries can be handled via a portal
AP will play an increasing role in managing and improving supplier relations
The VOS (voice of the supplier) survey to use on a semi-annual basis provides a forum for us to communicate more timely and effectively with suppliers, perform data mining, and achieve targeted visibility on issues and opportunities for continuous improvement.

AP will be looked upon to provide more analytics as well as assist with business intelligence on key performance indicators. The challenge for AP professionals is to prepare for this highly automated and increasingly analytical AP function of the future.

Cloud, IT and B2B Integration: Top 5 Predictions for 2012

Michael — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:37:16 GMT

Hubspan, a leading provider of integration solutions for cloud-based businesses, recently released its top five industry predictions for 2012. This and other industry leaders anticipate that increased adoption and integration of cloud computing will influence how companies carry out efficiency solutions this year.

An overview of the Top 5 Cloud, IT and B2B Integration solutions projected by Hubspan:

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems will focus on integration networks targeting niche markets.
Global economic uncertainty will continue and will subsequently bring companies closer to existing customers.
The increasingly consumer-centric nature of IT will drive real-time visibility tools for customers.
Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in the cloud industry will remain compelling.
On-premise apps will be integrated to the cloud as enterprises gain confidence in cloud systems.

What Hubspan's predictions tell us is that real-time visibility will remain important, as will customer service and tools for vertical markets. That’s good news for Netfira customers.

Achieving REAL-TIME Supply Chain Visibility Made Simple

At Netfira, we recognize that every business is unique. Our goal is to make it easy for our customers to manage their individual business processes.

The Netfira solution consists of two modules: Netfira Seller and Netfira Buyer. The Netfira Seller module is installed on the seller’s server and integrated with their back-office ERP or accounting/inventory system such as SAP, Oracle, Sage, Microsoft Dynamics GP, Fishbowl, QuickBooks, and MYOB. This integration enables buyers to view inventory levels, customized price points in REAL-TIME, and provides order automation. The Netfira Seller module is configurable and customizable to meet the seller’s business requirements. Orders generated and transmitted by buyers are automatically inserted into the seller’s back-office system, eliminating the need for manual data entry and instead facilitating order automation.

Contact us to learn more about Netfira’s Buyer and Seller solutions and how we can help you integrate your cloud systems to achieve REAL-TIME visibility.

What are your thoughts on the cloud, IT and B2B predictions for 2012? Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

Dealer Satisfaction Through Bi-directional Workflows

Michael — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 23:13:04 GMT

As Michael Koploy, ERP Analyst at Software Advice points out in his recent article titled Today’s Supply Chain Secret Sauce: More Visibility, Fewer Silos, the need for increased visibility in the supply chain is paramount to maximum automation, cost savings and increased revenues. Transparency in supply chains enables “access to accurate data in real time (which is) vital to an organization’s ability to plan, analyze and react.”

With companies hanging on to their Excel Spreadsheet addiction for procurement, it’s no surprise that organizations adopting bi-directional workflows in supply chain software increase dealer satisfaction.

Koploy recommends ditching spreadsheets and advises organizations to “adopt a centralized site of software solutions that connect various departments, supplies and distribution partners.” Such software should include a few core requirements to capitalize on visibility:

Automatic identification and data capture
Visible inventory data that is accurate, up to date and accessible across the supply chain.
Programmable and pre-set notifications that alert pertinent groups and empower increased collaboration.

Imagine a dealer-distributor relationship. When the dealer is able to connect to distributor inventory in real-time, there is no need to stock various parts just in-case someone needs them. With a transparent supply-chain and bi-directional workflows, dealers can see inventory availability and pricing in real-time, saving countless hours of calling suppliers to source parts. This allows dealers to focus on servicing the customer, which in turn increases customer satisfaction and revenues.

So what exactly is bi-directional workflow?

There isn’t a Wikipedia definition yet, but I believe it is something like this:

Think about Google Docs where multiple people can edit the same document at the same time. Google automatically saves changes without prompting by the user in order to increase efficiency and provide more security and convenience.

Bi-directional workflow is possible with peer-to-peer technology, since systems can be connected to each other in real-time over the peer-to-peer network. This enables real-time access to data including any changes that are made on either system. The information is constantly up to date for both systems and workflow is said to be bi-directional as the two systems co-exist and share access to data that is relevant to both.

In a bi-directional supply chain, production flow is bi-directional, meaning the production goes not only from distributors to dealers, but from dealers to distributors. Bi-directional supply chains are mostly JIT (Just in time). That means that ditributors cannot regulate the delivery of inputs from the dealers, they come at a time of demand, which is a random occurrence. Dealers expect their inputs to be processed immediately or in a short amount of time. Bi-directional supply chains have implicit expectations for value added. Value added by distributors/suppliers can be easily monitored by the dealers/customers. Dealers see real value in seeing changes made in the supply chain in real-time.

Bi-directional workflow improves accuracy, save times and increase dealer satisfaction

Dealers can be instantly aware of inventory pricing and availability, enabling better cost estimates and work orders to the end customer. This improved inventory management enables huge cost savings due to time savings on procurement practices and this obviously increased revenue.

Success Story: Electrolux Australia Automates Its Dealer Network [PDF]

Today's buyers have high expectations for customer service, and technology plays a key role in enabling dealers and distributors to provide their customers with a positive experience.

Netfira’s business-to-business (B2B) software solution helps keep buyer and seller back-office systems synchronized with order automation. Our solution provides dealers and distributors with REAL-TIME inventory visibility and an automatic connection to sellers. Buyers can then search seller inventory at no cost. Netfira streamlines processes and automates integration of sales orders, invoices, and purchase orders into distributors' and dealers' existing systems. The REAL-TIME inventory and order automation feature of the Netfira Solution reduces product returns and increases dealer satisfaction.

How do you solve your supply chain visibility challenges? Please let us know in the comments below.

REAL-TIME Visibility throughout your Supply Chain

Michael — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:54:00 GMT

Building a Collaborative Demand and Supply Network

The Situation

Today’s fast-paced business environment places increasing pressure on companies to balance the push and pull of supply and demand. Accomplishing this requires an adaptive demand and a supply network driven by REAL-TIME customer needs and 24/7 supply-side visibility.

The Challenge

Solutions exist for larger enterprises to connect to their large suppliers who have an IT staff with home grown or off-the-shelf IT solutions in place. However, lots of time and money is spent when these larger enterprises try to connect with smaller suppliers within their supply chain, who have little or no IT staff to process orders.

Objective

To optimize your supply chain, you must focus your efforts on eliminating manual processes and automating order processing.

How Netfira Solves the Problem

The Netfira Solution consists of two modules, Netfira Seller and Netfira Buyer. The solution enables balance through responsive supply networks, which facilitate interaction among manufacturers of parts, suppliers for parts procurement, as well as dealers and distributors of finished goods and customers. The solution helps large enterprises and manufacturers link to their suppliers, dealers and distributors with REAL-TIME information, enabling dynamic synchronization of buying and selling and supply network execution. Through integration, automation, and comprehensive functionality, Netfira transforms your supply chain from sets of linear processes into responsive supply networks.

Results

Building a collaborative demand and supply network will result in huge supplier and dealer satisfaction and happier customers. The top features and benefits the solution brings include:

Accuracy: Reduction in errors and product returns
Saves Money: Large cost reductions since call centers are significantly reduced
Saves Time: Automatic order processing with Netfira Seller and Netfira Buyer
100% Automation: Connecting small suppliers to large enterprises
Seamless Integration: with dealer and suppliers' back office systems

To learn more about Netfira's supply chain solutions, contact us at info@netfira.com.