Re: Newbie -- BPCS-L

Al Mac comments

Kim

# 1 you go visit my write up at http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/2002/11/08/bpcsDocSources.html and recognize that it is incomplete and long overdue for a rehaul, but I think it is a good start for any newbie. I may post additional stuff later, or off-line just to you, on what else is out there.

#2 you share this exchange and the following remarks with your boss, because there is an implied deeper question here

Consider two companies competing head to head. One of them is using a GREAT ERP (such as BPCS 405 CD) but the staff working with the ERP have LOUSY EDUCATION in that ERP.

The other company is using a STINKER of a LOUSY ERP but the staff have GREAT EDUCATION in how to use it, and their education includes formal ERP PDM MRP II JIT QC ISO TOC etc. classic education, such as how exactly can you work LEAN MANUFACTURING with MRP (similar to the educational debate 10 years ago about integrating MRP and CAP)

The second company, the one that has the training for all its people to get the best value out of the product, and also about what they are trying to accomplish, that company will beat hands down in competition with the company whose people often do not know what they are doing, and are totally unaware that most ERP vendors provide a product that is a poor simulation of ERP theory. (e.g. BPCS's PDM is garbage compared to real PDM theory. It is good enough for most manufacturers.) If a company is on the hunt for a better ERP they ought to know what the real thing is, and not judge reality just on the basis of what they not like with their current package.

The same principle applies when you have personnel working at a vendor that provides some add-on product or service to an ERP. This is one of the reasons for mass exodous from SSA maintenance to third party support. When you call the so called experts and the person on the tech line does not understand YOUR version or YOUR platform, or we programmer identify exactly where in the source code there is a pattern of error and cite the programming manual as to what rule is being violated here, and they still don't get it, and this type of problem is systemic as opposed to an occasional exception to the rule, that sends a chilling message regarding the value of tech support from that outfit. Oh yes, we got great service when we were on SSA tech support, lots of problems solved, but also lots of problems we gave up on SSA tech support comprehending.

Now Kim, your company is at similar risk. SSA screwed up by saying on the one hand we are going to support this or that version on this or that platform, then on the other hand not staffing tech support with people who could handle them, or not structuring tech support to match up people so that when they get a call from a customer on something other than the dominant species, match that call with someone who knows that one. Your company COULD screw up by having people on staff who are not provided with the best education out there in ERP etc. general theory, and individual ERP in specific.

Your company has a GREAT product, which is familiar to many on this list, but it is in competition with several other companies offering similar packages. GREAT products alone do not win the competition. Look at IBM vs. Microsoft. IBM has 1st rate products plus 3rd rate marketing. Microsoft has 3rd rate products plus 1st rate marketing. Microsoft is the winner.

Now for your company to avoid risk of becoming the IBM of Microsoft competition, all the personnel there need to have high quality education in ERP Theory, how your company products and services fit into that, and each of the ERP you personally involved in supporting or working on.

There is out there what I would call ______ UNIVERSITY (fill in the blank with ERP BPCS MAPICS you name it) but most companies and people working in the ERP profession just cannot afford to attend, especially in the current recession. I contend that your company and yourself cannot afford not to attend.

Al Macintyre http://www.ryze.com/go/Al9Mac Find BPCS Documentation Suppliers http://radio.weblogs.com/0107846/stories/2002/11/08/bpcsDocSources.html BPCS/400 Computer Janitor at http://www.globalwiretechnologies.com/

Clare wrote

Hi Kim,

There is some documentation inside BPCS - if you type DOC at a menu this
goes to a menu where you can print out a logic manual and runbooks for each
module in BPCS. If there seems to be nothing there it means you need to
generate the index (only takes a few minutes).
Unbeaten Path also have great manuals, the Overview manual gives you the ERP
background as well. Their website is http://www.unbeatenpathintl.com/ and
they also work with JDEdwards.
Al  Mac on this list has lots of documentation around BPCS, I'm sure he'll
supply the references.
There is an ERD that comes with ASSET, SSA's code generator, I may have it
somewhere. Which version of BPCS are you working with? V6, V8, or maybe v4
or even V5?
I also have a great PC package which contains all the file relationships for
a version, and you can get this from these guys, http://www.essltd.org/ or
e-mail tony.cregg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hope this helps,

Clare

Clare Holtham
Director, Small Blue Ltd - Archiving for BPCS
Web: www.smallblue.co.uk
IBM Certified AS/400 Systems Professional
E-Mail: Clare.Holtham@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Mobile: +44 (0)7960 665958

----- Original Message -----
From: "Young, Kim"

> Hello,
>
> I'm a newbie at ERPs.  I support an ecommerce software that interfaces
with
> BPCS and other major ERPs, ie, we call the bpcs program and code some
logic
> to fetch the records from the data files.
>
> I would like to acquire a deeper knowledge of bpcs.  Is there a way to
have
> a business overview of BPCS?  Does anyone has some ERD or DFDs that can
help
> me?
>
> Thanks a bunch
> Kim.
>
> Systems Support Analyst
> Ironside Technologies