ERP, supply chain and ‘e’ investment to return this year

70% of manufacturers plan to spend on ERP development, integration or improvement this year, and 82% on supply chain software. These are top line findings from a survey by Campaign Connections on behalf of CIM (Computers in Manufacturing) Show organiser Penton on the run up to its TEAM (Total Engineering and Manufacturing) event in November (12—14 November, NEC, Birmingham). The research covered 107 manufacturing IT purchasers and specifyers from some the biggest companies in the UK, including Airbus UK, APV Baker, Birkbys Plastics, Compaq, Delphi, Ford, Guinness UDV, ICI Paints, Jaguar Cars, Mayflower, National semiconductor, Seagate, TRW and Visteon. While its line of questioning looks somewhat leading, the results do seem to support anecdotal evidence of an increase in IT project activity over the last six months, with more to come. Caution is the watchword here: a recent survey by Benchmark Research among IT directors across all of industry and commerce revealed a less rosy overall picture, with 54% indicating they were not planning to invest in major systems in the next 12 months. So it’s by no means all large scale replacement or green field ERP implementations. Indeed, 86% of the survey’s respondents said their investment priorities would be on leveraging existing and legacy systems. But 64% also claimed they were also looking at new projects using latest generation software developments. The rationale is simply that with requirements focusing on the web, users are looking for supply chain and web-orientated applications that have only emerged over the last two years. In fact, 73% of respondents are planning to take e-commerce and e-business processes online. But there’s also more heartland stuff: the results show 54% planning to spend more on one or all of CAD/CAM and PDM, including investment in solid modelling; and 65% say they will also be spending on shopfloor automation and integration with it. Penton says that as a result of the survey it is evolving its CIM education programme to include a new ‘IT strategies theatre’, an ‘automation university’, a ‘manufacturing visions theatre’ and an ‘ERP symposium’. There’s also to be a CIM VIP programme. Penton director Charlie Salter, says: “CIM this year will offer free strategic conferences that speak to the most invested in aspects of manufacturing IT, alongside major vendors and consultancies that can make it all happen. As part of our TEAM event, visitors will also see and hear about all of this in context that applies to them.”