Manufacturing collaboration to be Mapics’ multi-system theme

Mid market enterprise software vendor Mapics says visitors to the CIM Show will get early sight of its two extended enterprise applications, its supply chain management system and its maintenance and calibration management software. First up is the latest release of its ERP system for the iSeries including its new framework, ‘Power Architecture’, which moves the system towards ‘collaborative commerce’ and easy integration through Java and XML. Power Architecture’s power derives from its enabling of Mapics users to share information with whoever via whatever – thin clients, web browsers, traditional client-server, PDAs, mobile phones, as well as business transactions using XML. Second is the firm’s Extended Enterprise Application for NT and Unix users, which provides thin client, appliance independent direct connection into the ERP backbone via the web. It means that any authorised user or partner can access real time data any time – leading to tighter global supply chain relationships and a foundation for building on incremental e-business and collaborative technology whenever suits. As for Mapics’ Theory of Constraints (TOC) based supply chain application, the firm says it will demonstrate its pragmatic approach to resource management and utilisation, showing how it finds problems and provides management information to help optimise productivity.