SOFTCOMP.docx

1、SOFTCOMPSOFTWARE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSESSUN SYSTEMSFeedback from Group the day after the presentation Overall 10 at 80% Overall 1 at 90% Overall 2 at 95+%STRENGTHSSupport and ImplementationMulti lingualMulti currencyInternationalVAR SupportCentralized code and change control15 consultants speak Spa

2、nishTraining in English, special arrangements can be made to train in SpanishHelp Desk 7 by 24 with Spanish speaking help personnel9000 sites in 165 countriesUsers in Mining, Manufacturing, Services, and PharmaceuticalsFocus on international AccountingModular software allows for different languagesC

3、an be run from a PC LAN, client/server, of different operating environmentsNo period closingFlexibility to design support hierarchy Customer to VAR to Sun Customer to HQ to Sun Customer to SunDaily up to date balances in the ledgerConversion to other computers is simple Backup from the existing plat

4、form and restore to the new platformImplementation is supposed to be fast and quick to learnIts a software of high technology that needs little technological knowledge to operate User oriented - high function / low overheadThey have a tutorial on the productStatutory drivenISO 9000 certified5 disket

5、tes for the PC version of the packageIdentical functionality for all versionsOn line real time ledger, no tape postings, no period end closingProject trackingExtremely strong multi-currencyTraining available in on site and off siteUp to 4 languages concurrently in a single installationDesigned for l

6、ow infrastructure at install siteExpandable account number structure (cannot exceed 50 in total)Sun Systems(continued)General“What-if” feature, Rough posting choiceUser friendly, flexible, report writerCan consolidate by reports of by creating a company to capture the dataAll translations done in la

7、nguages selected Spanish - help, error messages, etc.Can import Report Writer data down to PC spreadsheet software Can also take actual transactions to tool programsCan export transactions - Balance Detail or SummaryVision feel and look pretty goodGood multilingualSecurity OK (not great)In its multi

8、currency, it keeps all historic recordsAbility to export data to Excel or Lotus to work with and make monthly reports or graphsIndividual and group level securityFASB 52 compliantGeneral LedgerWill keep both amounts balancedDetail exportAbility to track multiple budgetsRough book to store interface

9、data temporarily - looks goodEasy to setup / copy to a new locationVery friendly to work with to make changes according to the countryTotal FlexibilityAbility to revalue budgetsAbility to enter one sided entries to a work fileFixed AssetsSecurity can be included in amount user can issue purchase ord

10、er for making supervision to approvalDocument Generation - forms toolsVarious depreciation forms This is good to handle SLKP and the statutory in country requirementsIn various currenciesCan be linked to M&DThey have several reports in order to print them for our records (Presently doing this manual

11、ly)Provides capability to segregate/select assets for reporting purposes (e.g., Not report low capital assets in Costa Rica, under $1000)Sun Systems(continued)Purchasing and A/P ScenarioDollar securityVendor set-up securityVendor HistoryAmendments to Purchase OrderAssigning PO# when PO releasedIts l

12、inked purchasing / receiving / AP Better controls (Presently done manually in Mexico)The reports or PO are adaptable to be printed as we want to fit a particular established formWEAKNESSESSupport and ImplementationU.K. research and development - Time Zone differences coordination of problem resoluti

13、onHelp Desk / Problem Management - Process is weak / best effortProblem support and access to problem / help information is mediocre Not an easy mechanism for planning upgrades or determining impact of changeAll programming is centralized in EuropeDevelopment group developed in the UKNo INFORMIX Dat

14、abaseThey have a 24 hour response to a question Sometime we need an answer right awayNo textile companies have used the systemNo current HR role outGeneralNot clear how to handle year end, physical vs. calendarClear down - to remove old data has to be scheduled all data must be in production for rep

15、ortingReport Writer rather crypticEDI linkages - not a pretty high important requirementGeneral LedgerAccrual reversals - should be done at exchange rate of previous month without requiring new accountExtreme flexibility causes complication Requires more training, setup, implementation, planning, an

16、d pilot activitiesFixed AssetsNo specific field for Tag NumberCode has 10 charactersProvides only “basic” tracking, not capital moneySun Systems(continued)Purchasing and A/P ScenarioNo Requisition System, but can work around itNo Vendor PerformanceNet terms printed on Purchase OrderPartial DeliveryR

17、equisition / Approval process would be nice, through not a requirementTerms not stored at the PO, Invoice level, only at the supplier levelNeed the payment terms days to be printed on the PODont have receiving inspection capabilitiesPrepaysNo performance vendor statisticsCOMMENTSSupport and Implemen

18、tation40 consultants 15 in SpanishSupport 12 hours per day at each support locationInitial call back within 24 hoursIn the support and implementation area, it seems to be good. They already have experience in Mexico and South America, will be good to talk to some of the customers that are already us

19、ing this package in the countries we need this system to work$40M sales 65% from VARsSupport cost runs 7-18% for direct supportMexican VARs cover the CaribbeanGeneralThree report writers 1. Financial Analysis 2. On line using Vision from Sun Systems (Drill down analysis) 3. Financial tables - most c

20、omplex report writerPeriod cleardown removes detail and replaces with account balances by periodGeneral LedgerDuanes revalue ledger questionsFixed AssetsNot clear on how to pass scheduled ID or even Tag NumberSun Systems(continued)Purchasing and A/P ScenarioNon PO purchase / invoice direct input als

21、o short method, quick input method can be usedIt has general requirements of Purchasing system food for the several tools it has to work withAlso covers the SLKP and 807 facilities requirementsThey are able to provide the purchase requisitions and the terms days on the PORevaluation at point of paym

22、ent - seems complexQUESTIONS(Robert Rath)In Vision, Can data access be restricted by view/update by subgroups? Can person belong to more than 1 group? Is decimal and thousand separator get by language/country or by database? Are different companies stored in separate tables, or is company # part of

23、key?User defined fields, such as import permit number?Create checks to prepay?Windows DDE Cut/Paste?One important issue is the fiscal / calendar month closing periods.In general, it seems very good, and friendly to accommodate to the necessities on each site and with the generalities on accounting,

24、just needs to be adjusted to each statutory requirements for each countryOverall is a good system to handle the F/A records both for SLKP requirements and for the country requirementsFOURGENSTRENGTHSSupport and ImplementationCommitment to development CASE base Percent of staff - 70 of 130100% employ

25、ee owned companyThey offer strong support for problems with wide hourly time tableThe Mancera group is a very strong firm in systems, accounting, legal matters with partners or people working in the rest of the Central Americas and the Caribbean countriesQuality control in translationsGeneralVery st

26、rong architecture and design featuresSecurity excellentThe translation of the Spanish screens is very good, understandable and detailedThe report writer can be handled by a bilingual person to customize the reportsModifications to one release can be reapplied to subsequent releasesCustomizableStrong

27、 upload and download capabilitiesGood windows interfaceSupported by various different architecturesError log featureIt is not required to close a period to run a P&LGeneral LedgerThe set up steps has a lot of flexibility according to our needs To set up the chart of accounts, etc.Based on informatio

28、n keyed in, they have a great tool to see the monthly results on charts, great for decision making and reporting to HOP level, plant level or countryGood solid packageMass journal entries optionsThe DSS tool is available in SpanishFixed AssetsSub assetsLocation flex keys (up to 5 segments)Pretty goo

29、d control of Fixed Assets for the SLKP side and the offshore locationsGood CIP controlHandles asset tagsPurchasing and A/P ScenarioGood requisition functionItem flex key concept (7)Pre-pays2, 3, or 4 way matchingPurchase requisitions tracking to PO to checksMatches invoices against several POsPurcha

30、se requisitions authorization limitsCatalog processWEAKNESSESSupport and ImplementationLimited Hot Line, 5 by 12Spanish support of 4Assumes internal Help Desk as the 1st tier support levelTelecommunications for update patches may not support shop locations Non-special response to turn around time an

31、d historyWeak support strategy for statutory requirementsLack of installs in our 807 geographic area Basically Mexico & PR only at presentThey are not working directly with other countries other than Mexico (in Central America and the Caribbean)Train the trainer courses, nothing for the end userRegulatory enhancements or “localizations” are extensions of productMost regulatory components are not done, especially in MexicoSupport structure is slanted toward SLKP internal sta