Seradex ERP Target Markets
I'm looking at many ERP packages why is Seradex the top ranked ERP system?
How much does an ERP system from Seradex cost?
Can I buy individual modules?
How long does an ERP implementation take?
We're being quoted prices from under $10,000 to over $250,000. How much should we spend on an ERP System?
What industries and company sizes is Seradex ERP suited for?
What Software and Hardware is Required for Seradex ERP software?
Can Seradex ERP handle Multi-Company, Multi-Division and Multi-Plant Requirements?
Can Seradex handle Multiple locations or Multi-Locations?
Does Seradex ERP offer any E-Commerce capabilities
Is your software available outside of the US and Canada?
Can Seradex handle global commerce issues like multi-currency and sales taxes?
Why doesn't Seradex develop its own accounting modules?
What is MTO ERP?
Is your software compliant with GAAP Inventory Requirements?
Does your software support Percentage of Completion?
I'm looking at many ERP packages why is Seradex the top ranked ERP system?
The three main reasons Seradex is the top ranked ERP system are:
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Software Functionality - superb functionality to meet all your business process requirements
• Technology platform - ensures the system has the lowest total cost of ownership
• Proven Implementation Control - ensures you get up and live quickly
Seradex ERP offers the functionality, technology platform and implementation expertise to help you realize the full benefits of an ERP solution.
go to the topHow much does an ERP system from Seradex cost?
Seradex software is priced by module as well as additional charges for training and implementation. The total installed costs range from $40 to $200K. Our products are very competitive with systems that offer comparable functionality. Our customers have been extremely pleased with the implementation time required to go live.
Fixed Pricing programs are available. Please contact Seradex for more detailed pricing information.
go to the topCan I buy individual modules?
Modules can be purchase individually. Some modules have integrated functionality and must be purchased together. Please contact us to discuss your individual requirements.
go to the topHow long does an ERP implementation take?
Invariably, every company president wants top know the answer to this question. The answer depend on several factors.
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Project Management and adhering to the Seradex Rapid Implementation Process (RIM)
• The time and effort required to gather the required information to populate the ERP database
• The ability of your organization to adapt to change
RIM is a proven methodology that ensures you get live on time and on budget. Seradex has experienced project managers, top notch technical support as well as classroom, on site and remote training programs.
Seradex has had implementations that take less then 12 weeks and some organizations have taken over 12 months. We are one of the few ERP companies who will warn you that if you don't use project management controls you may never get live. This is not a function of the software but of your organization. This statement applies to any ERP package you select.
go to the topWe're being quoted prices from under $10,000 to over $250,000. How much should we spend on an ERP System?
Every company should buy the least expensive product that satisfies your requirements. The first place to start is to define your requirements. In many cases we have found that most companies do not have the internal expertise to do this well.
At a minimum your prospective software vendors or consultants should assist with you with this process. Selecting new software is costly, time-consuming and complicated. It's difficult to meet the needs of every department and determine true capabilities versus promise... especially from multiple sales presentations and impressive proposals.
Welcome to the world of ERP - and please remember buyer beware and please educate yourself! We would recommend you consider the following:
•
The actual software cost will be a minor portion of the total installed cost. On top of software license cost there is outside consulting and training as well as man years of internal staff time. Focusing solely on software costs may prove to be false economy in the long run.
• The technology base is a significant factor - older technology has a limited life.
• You are about to enter a long term relationship with your software vendor - look closely
• Specify the consultant(s) assigned to your project - what is their background - are they an employee or contractor?
• Document all vendor answers to your questions and have this form part of the contract
• Ask to vendor to provide a detailed project plan for the project including what resources you need to supply
After the project ensure your relationship is managed fairly. At the start of the project you will control the levers of internal staff allocation and invoice payment. After you go live the power base moves entirety to your vendor. You will have problems ranging from minor (additional training) to major (your system is down). You need to make sure that you can call on your vendor for fast service at a fair price.
go to the topWhat industries and company sizes is Seradex ERP suited for?
We have customers in industries ranging from doors and window manufacturing to bird feeders to CNC machinery. Seradex is found in a wide range of SIC codes our systems are commonly found in make to order industries that require Product Configuration. However you will find Seradex in many industries including discrete, make to stock, make to order, configure to order, assemble to order, and contract manufacturers.
Seradex can be found in many countries and has full multi-currency capabilities as well as the ability to deal with US, Australian, Canadian and European Sales Taxes.
Check out our Vertical Industries section for a complete list of the applicable manufacturing sectors.
Currently Seradex is used in companies with annual revenues that range from $5 Million to $50 Million.
go to the topWhat Software and Hardware is Required for Seradex ERP software?
Seradex ERP software operates well on commonly found hardware and software infrastructure. You will need a network server running Windows 2003 Server. You will need a copy of Microsoft Office 2000+ for some users, Crystal Reports Developer Edition version 10, a database license for Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2 or Oracle. You will also need a 100 mbs network. Workstations and Servers should be Intel P4 with 512 mb of RAM. A high speed internet connection, firewall, virus scanner and tape backup are also required.
go to the topCan Seradex ERP handle Multi-Company, Multi-Division and Multi-Plant Requirements?
Yes, many of our customers run Multi-Company or Multi-Division operations. Seradex ERP provides extensive Multi-Plant capabilities throughout all applications. Multiple divisions can exist in a single company, and multiple companies can exist in a single business entity.
Each division contains its own sales, purchasing, engineering, inventory, cost, supply and demand records.
Financial statements can break out each plant, each division, each company as well as providing consolidated statements.
Please contact Seradex to discuss your specific requirements and the Seradex ERP Modules required.
go to the topCan Seradex handle Multiple locations or Multi-Locations?
Yes, many of our customers run Multi-Location or Multi-Division operations. Seradex ERP provides extensive Multi-Plant capabilities throughout all applications. Multiple divisions can exist in a single Location, and multiple locations can exist in a single business entity.
Each division contains its own sales, purchasing, engineering, inventory, cost, supply and demand records.
Financial statements can break out each plant, each division, each Location as well as providing consolidated statements.
Please contact Seradex to discuss your specific requirements and the Seradex ERP Modules required.
go to the topDoes Seradex ERP offer any E-Commerce capabilities
Seradex ERP offers a completely web-enabled solution. E-Commerce requires a solid and current technology platform. There is a lot of vendor hype coming from ERP suppliers. The fact is, when the Internet frenzy hit, many ERP vendors, including heavy weights SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle, began repositioning some of their ERP products as E-commerce products. In reality, most of these applications were merely Web-enabled versions of the vendors' back-office applications — hardly true E-commerce platforms.
E-Commerce requires sharing data with customers, suppliers, partners and employees. This sharing can require the simultaneous use of many technologies including:
•
XML Data
• Web Applications for Shopping Cart, Customer Status or Vendor Delivery Schedules
• EDI for Automotive Suppliers
• Batch Files
• Microsoft or Citrix Terminal Server for Remote Sales Reps
• CAD Drawings for Customers or Suppliers
Seradex uses Microsoft .NET technology as the framework of our ERP solution to ensure there are no technological barriers to E-Commerce.
For more information, see our E-Commerce module
go to the topIs your software available outside of the US and Canada?
We ship our software all over the world. Our multi currency and sales tax functionality allows our software to be utilized in many countries.
go to the topCan Seradex handle global commerce issues like multi-currency and sales taxes?
Seradex ERP offers complete multi-currency functionality. In today's global economy your system must allow you to conduct transactions with customers and vendors with their currencies. The robust multiple currency and sales tax capabilities offered by Seradex are unmatched in the industry.
Multi Currency
•
Unlimited number of currencies including the Euro
• Use either the spot, average rate or user selected rate
• Match a future's exchange rate to specific Invoice and Purchase Transactions
• Default currencies by customer and vendor
• Foreign exchange gains/losses (both realized and unrealized)
• Many Standard Reports include source and home currency
• Automatic landed cost calculations including duty, freight and overhead
Sales Taxes
• Up to 5 levels of Sales Tax
• Sales Tax calculation by Sales Order, Invoice or Purchase Order line item
• Override default taxes
• Support for GST, State and Federal Taxes, VAT and product/customer/vendor matrix taxes
• Unlimited Tax Authorities, Tax Groups, GL Accounts and Tax Rules
Why doesn't Seradex develop its own accounting modules?
Do you make your own electric motors or telephones? Probably not. It is not your your core competence and you can buy these for less than you can make them.
The prevailing view in the ERP industry is that you must develop your own financial in house for the following reasons:
•
To achieve full integration
• To eliminate 2 maintenance fees
• To reduce integration headaches
• To avoid problems when the accounting vendor or the ERP vendor upgrades to a new version
Seradex has taken a unique approach and integrates to industry standard accounting systems. Seradex has links available to ACCPAC, Great Plains, BusinessVision, Macola and QuickBooks. It is Seradex's objective to provide the best software at the lowest cost to our customers. The above mentioned accounting systems all have over 100,000 existing installations - so their products are proven, feature rich and all have their own extensive support networks.
As an example ACCPAC International is a $100 Million US company specializing in financial accounting. Walmart uses the ACCPAC General Ledger! ACCPAC has over 300 3rd party solutions. A software company would have to invest $10's of millions of dollars to develop a feature rich system like this. Quickbooks has sold over 1,000,000 systems based on its ease of use and great customer support.
One of our selling points is that you don't have to switch your accounting system. It is also easy for you to hire local staff that are already familiar with the accounting modules. This saves you time and money. It also saves us from devoting development resources to areas that are already well served. As a final note many of our competitors that do offer accounting modules are missing key functionality. In many cases things like audit trails, multi currency, security, and data integrity are missing entirely or very weak.
go to the topWhat is MTO ERP?
MTO stands for Make to Order. In this mode of manufacturing no finished product is kept in inventory. When a customer places an order the company produces the item specifically for that customer. All job shops operate as MTO manufacturers. Other modes of manufacturing include engineer-to-order, assemble-to-order, make-to-stock, repetitive and mixed-mode. For different product lines a single company may operate in several of the modes simultaneously.
As companies implement lean manufacturing many companies are making the transition from make to stock (MTS) towards make to order (MTO).
go to the topIs your software compliant with GAAP Inventory Requirements?
Inventory is an asset: held for sale in the ordinary course of business; in the process of production for sale; or in the form of materials or supplies to be consumed in production or in rendering services. The inventory of manufacturing entities is raw materials and consumable stores; work in progress and finished goods, awaiting sale. Inventory does not include work in progress arising from completion of a construction contract. This is recognized in accordance with requirements for construction contract accounting.
Initial measurement of inventories is at cost. The cost of inventory includes: the cost of all materials that enter directly into production and the costs of converting those materials into finished goods. The direct materials costs include, in addition to the purchase price, all other costs necessary to bring them to their existing condition and location. The cost of raw materials and consumables including transportation charges, import duties, insurance, warehousing and handling costs, reductions made for trade discounts, rebates and other similar items.
Subsequent to initial recognition, entities should measure inventories at the lower of cost or net realisable value.
Cost should be determined based on specific identification for goods not ordinarily interchangeable or those segregated for specific projects. Specific identification costing is not appropriate for inventories of homogeneous products, such as raw materials to be used in production and spare parts that have often been purchased at different prices. Weighted average or FIFO may be used to determine the cost of such inventory. Any method that produces a result consistent with the principles in the standard is acceptable. Whatever application method an entity uses, it should apply that method consistently.
The requirements to measure inventory at the lower of cost and Net Realizable Value (NRV) forces the recognition of losses as they occur. Write-downs to NRV may be triggered where selling prices have declined or costs of completion or direct selling costs have increased. Some products may have become damaged or some may be held in quantities that will not be sold in a reasonable period. In these circumstances the inventories should be written down below cost to expected recoverable amounts.
Seradex offers a great deal of power and flexibility in your preferences for inventory costing. Please consult your project manager and outside auditors for a discussion of your the implementation choices available.
A short overview of some of the considerations outlined by the FASB in "Inventory Costs an amendment of ARB No. 43, Chapter 4" follows:
In keeping with the principle that accounting is primarily based on cost, there is a presumption that inventories should be stated at cost. Inventories are presumed to be stated at cost. The definition of cost as applied to inventories is understood to mean acquisition and production cost, and its determination involves many considerations. Although principles for the determination of inventory costs may be easily stated, their application, particularly to such inventory items as work in process and finished goods, is difficult because of the variety of considerations and problems encountered in the allocation of costs and charges.
For example, variable production overheads are allocated to each unit of production on the basis of the actual use of the production facilities. However, the allocation of fixed production overheads to the costs of conversion is based on the normal capacity of the production facilities. Normal capacity is the production expected to be achieved on average over a number of periods or seasons under normal circumstances, taking into account the loss of capacity resulting from planned maintenance. The actual level of production may be used if it approximates normal capacity.
In periods of abnormally high production, the amount of fixed overhead allocated to each unit of production is decreased so that inventories are not measured above cost. The amount of fixed overhead allocated to each unit of production is not increased as a consequence of low production or idle plant.
Unallocated overheads are recognized as an expense in the period in which they are incurred under some circumstances, Other items such as;
• Idle Facility Expense
• Excessive Spoilage
• Double Freight
• Rehandling Costs
• Scrap And Waste Materials
May be so abnormal as to require treatment as current period charges rather than as a portion of the inventory cost. Also, general and administrative expenses should be included as period charges, except for the portion of such expenses that may be clearly related to production and thus constitute a part of inventory costs. Selling expenses constitute no part of inventory costs.
It should also be recognized that the exclusion of all overheads from inventory costs does not constitute an accepted accounting procedure. The exercise of judgment in an individual situation involves a consideration of the adequacy of the procedures of the cost accounting system in use, the soundness of the principles thereof, and their consistent application. In the case of goods which have been written down below cost at the close of a fiscal period, such reduced amount is to be considered the cost for subsequent accounting purposes.
GAAP and Physical Inventory Counts
Both GAAP and IRS rules require a physical count once a year. For more information on GAAP and Physical counts:
Physical Inventory Best Practices WhitePaper
Does your software support Percentage of Completion?
Yes Seradex offers extensive support for companies that required Percentage of Completion functionality.
What is Percentage Of Completion?
Percentage of Completion is based on ratio of the accumulated job cost relative to total estimated cost. This cost-to-cost ratio determines revenues earned to date, which when charged for costs, yields job profit for the period. The Work in Process or WIP Schedule lists individual job billings, revenue recognized to date, estimated cost to complete, actual costs, percent complete and profits. Percentage of Completion Accounting benefits project based companies by recognizing equity and earned revenues on jobs in progress. This equity is recognized in the current asset account Costs and Estimated Earnings in Excess of Billings on Uncompleted Contracts. A company's working capital is decreased by the current liability account Billings in Excess of Costs and Estimated Earnings on Uncompleted Contracts.
The Percentage Of Completion method is appropriate when:
•
A high level of certainty exists regarding expected cash flows
• A reliable basis exists for determining the percentage completed at the end of the accounting period
Why use Percentage Of Completion?
Companies that deliver contracts that take several months or longer to complete need to use Percentage Of Completion for Revenue Recognition and Inventory Valuation. This approach will ensure that you can plan for profits, control those plans, and measure the results.
Percentage Of Completion provides the best measure of operating results in terms of revenues, costs, expenses, and profits. Bankers will often require statements based on Percentage of Completion Financial Statements, supported by Completed and In-Progress Job Schedules. Strong Estimating abilities are also critical. What is current GAAP for project based companies?
Under GAAP, there are two methods of accounting for income on long-term contracts:
• The Completed Contract Method"
• The Percent of Completion method
In the Percent of Completion method, revenues, expenses, and gross profit are recorded each accounting period as described above. When the estimates of costs to complete and the percent complete are considered dependable, the percentage of completion method is preferred because it recognizes that the earnings process is continuous.
For more information see the Job Costing Module:
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