Chapter 1. Introduction

When a company talks about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), it’s talking about a top-to-bottom transformation of the way it operates, does business and faces the future. Changes are set in motion regarding how the company is managed, how it serves customers, and how it reacts to the marketplace. Such a transformation will ultimately affect the fundamental ingredients of success that are directly involved: greater customer satisfaction, reduced cycle time, increased productivity.

In this wide perspective, a new information technology infrastructure is part of a large moving picture that can involve reengineering business processes, overhauling the roles, responsibilities and daily routines of personnel and implementing application software. However, this does not happen overnight and as companies are realizing all over the world, help is needed. From the time that an ERP requirement is identified through implementation and beyond to operations, IBM and J.D. Edwards will help you enhance your business processes.

A company’s decision to implement the enterprise software and modules of J.D. Edwards’ SCOREx (supply chain optimization and real-time extended execution) is predicated on the desire to reduce the incremental cost of adding new business and provide its customers with superior service and extended business processes throughout the supply chain. When it comes to running J.D. Edwards’ applications, IBM has the leading technology and the depth and breadth of experience to provide your customer with a total solution. The customer’s business needs may dictate a stand-alone configuration or a mix and match of AS/400 models, Netfinity servers, RS/6000 servers and IBM Network Stations. When it comes to quality and choice, IBM is the only alliance partner for J.D. Edwards that can fulfill UNIX, Windows NT, and OS/400 platforms.

ERP solutions from J.D. Edwards have helped thousands of businesses across the world translate good ideas into good business practices. Today, a great idea is J.D. Edwards’ OneWorld and IBM Netfinity systems. Both offer you the fully integrated, rich business functionality J.D. Edwards is known for, matched with the scalability, the power, and performance of IBM Netfinity running Windows NT Server.

It’s been two decades since IBM and J.D. Edwards teamed up to deliver flexible ERP solutions that dramatically improve the management of factories, inventories, people, and equipment. With J.D. Edwards’ OneWorld and IBM Netfinity systems, you will leverage the mutual strengths of two industry leaders to streamline the flow of information among your employees, customers, suppliers, and partners. IBM and J.D. Edwards have managed operation offerings, and IBM’s service organization installs J.D. Edwards’ software.

© Copyright IBM Corp. 1999

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IBM B73.3 manual Introduction