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SOFTWARE EVALUATION AND SELECTION

MRP II AND ERP SOFTWARE SELECTION

Software selection is a major milestone in the journey to improved performance. MRP II is part of the foundation that must be in place to become a World Class Competitor. D. R. Rice Company provides in in-depth, unbiased approach to selecting software being marketed as MRP II and ERP systems.

Our basic approach is to help make you self-sufficient in evaluating and selecting software. Our consulting and education focuses on understanding both the process of evaluating software, and the functionality that must be present to make MRP II a success in your company.

We arm your people with the tools to do an independent, in depth evaluation, and then coach them through the process.

Here’s how the process typically works:

One day meeting to discuss objectives and the status of the project-to-date, before the research and analysis phase begins.

Four day MRP II and Supply Chain Management Workshop (2 to 4 weeks later). This is a tailored class covering fundamental concepts of Supply Chain Management, Resource Management and Logistics, Sales & Operations Planning, Master Scheduling, Sales Planning and Demand Management, Materials Requirements Planning, Data Management, Capacity Management, Plant Scheduling, Supplier Scheduling, Financial Integration, and Performance Measurement.

One to two day Software Survival Seminar (immediately following). The Software Survival Seminar covers problems and pitfalls, determining the functionality needed to support MRP II and other key business functions, the evaluation process, etc. Here’s an outline of the normal content:

Problems and Pitfalls

Trends in Software

What to Expect Today

Upgrading versus Replacing

Functional Requirements of MRP II

Evaluating Software and Making the Decision

Negotiating Contracts

Surviving Software That’s Already Chosen, Accommodating Existing Systems and Pockets of Excellence.

One day follow up meeting (2 to 4 weeks later) to review and finalize functional requirements list, identify initial candidates, finalize the strategy to contact suppliers for first cut evaluation.

One day follow up meeting (2 to 4 weeks later) to cut the list to 3-4 finalists (if necessary).

Follow up meetings about every 2-4 weeks to review progress and findings, coaching on how to conduct software analysis, coaching on contract negotiation, etc.

INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF MRP II AND ERP SOFTWARE FUNCTIONALITY

We are also staffed to conduct in-depth evaluations of MRP II/ERP software on a contract basis. Primary features of these evaluations include:

Written from the consumers point of view. We put ourselves in the consumers position and asked "what would we have to do to make the software actually work for resource planning and scheduling. If a package does not provide the proper and normal functionality required to operate effectively, our evaluation explains the problem and indicates the way the software should be modified to provide the proper functionality.

Based on a standard accepted industry-wide. Software packages are compared to the functionality defined in the MRP II Standard System. This Standard System is based on what has been proven to work by companies operating at Class A levels of performance.

Comprehensive and in-depth. A surface analysis of software packages is inadequate to anticipate and eliminate surprises in putting the system on the air. The Standard System is approximately 350 pages long. Individual evaluations usually range upwards from 75 pages.

Clear, concise, with a point by point format. The MRP II Standard System and the individual evaluations cover each of the functions that should be included in an MRP II system. The format of the evaluations was carefully chosen to be clear to the user and provide an easy comparison of one software package to another. A summary is provided for each functional topic to condense the main points of the topic.

Based on extensive experience with MRP II and MRP II software. We've worked with a number of Class A MRP II companies, and in the last 20 years, have been involved in hundreds of software decisions that led to successful implementations. The opinions expressed in the software evaluations come from a huge block of experience in making MRP II and ERP systems work.

TOPICS COVERED BY THE EVALUATIONS

Software evaluations cover the following functions:

	Basic architecture
	Sales & Operations Planning
	Demand management and forecasting
	Master production scheduling and rough cut capacity planning
	Material requirements planning
	Capacity requirements planning
	Distribution resource planning
	Bills of material
	Inventory transactions
	Scheduled receipts systems
	Plant and work center scheduling
	Purchasing and supplier scheduling
	Financial planning interfaces
	Simulation
	Performance measurement
	Human engineering

Over the years over 50 commercial software packages have been evaluated, written up and offered as off-the-shelf software evaluations. Today however, most software is evaluated on an as needed basis for a specific client.

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D. R. Rice Company

9326 Lake Shore Drive • Brentwood, TN 37027 • 615-221-2196 • riceco@riceco.us

	Written from the consumers point of view. We put ourselves in the consumers position and asked "what would we have to do to make the software actually work for resource planning and scheduling. If a package does not provide the proper and normal functionality required to operate effectively, our evaluation explains the problem and indicates the way the software should be modified to provide the proper functionality.
	Based on a standard accepted industry-wide. Software packages are compared to the functionality defined in the MRP II Standard System. This Standard System is based on what has been proven to work by companies operating at Class A levels of performance.
	Comprehensive and in-depth. A surface analysis of software packages is inadequate to anticipate and eliminate surprises in putting the system on the air. The Standard System is approximately 350 pages long. Individual evaluations usually range upwards from 75 pages.
	Clear, concise, with a point by point format. The MRP II Standard System and the individual evaluations cover each of the functions that should be included in an MRP II system. The format of the evaluations was carefully chosen to be clear to the user and provide an easy comparison of one software package to another. A summary is provided for each functional topic to condense the main points of the topic.
	Based on extensive experience with MRP II and MRP II software. We've worked with a number of Class A MRP II companies, and in the last 20 years, have been involved in hundreds of software decisions that led to successful implementations. The opinions expressed in the software evaluations come from a huge block of experience in making MRP II and ERP systems work.