SWOT analysis of ERP Service providers

ERP FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY List of ten companies providing ERP services for Construction Industry. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Microsoft Dynamics SL SAP Business All in One Sage MAS 100 Penta Construction ERP Epicor Maestro QAD Vista by Viewpoint ERP for Construction Industry by EResource AccuERP by Accusol Technologies Private Limited

This link might be useful in choosing an ERP software for a business. http://findaccountingsoftware.com/expert-advice/roadmap-to-successfully-evaluate-and-select-erpsoftware/

1 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF MICROSOFT DYNAMICS SL Microsoft Dynamics SL is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system designed for project-based small and medium-sized businesses. It has industry-specific capabilities for professional services, government contractors, distribution, construction management, and other vertical markets. Microsoft Dynamics SL was originally developed by Solomon Software with the title Solomon IV for Windows.

Strength 

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Microsoft Dynamics SL has applications for financial management, business intelligence, collaboration, field service, IT management, and project management, as well as a business portal application. Dynamics SL is very flexible and powerful. It collaborates vert well with all other Microsoft features and services. it handles government contracting very well. MS have done a great job of implementation and ongoing support. Reports are written in Crystal and can be modified. It has sections within it devoted to the balance sheet side of forecasting.

Weakness  

Some quirks that one has to figure out, such as the attachment functionality. Aging software technology (some 16-bit code remains).

Opportunities  

It is best option for mid-market. As it is associated with MS and mean a lot to them in terms of revenue so one can say it is going a to have a longer life and constant upgrades.

Threat  

Sometimes the depth of features means that it is time-consuming to implement and learn. Make a list ahead of time of the critical areas of financial processing. Go over the list and make sure the software meets all the needs.

2 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF SAP BUSINESS ALL IN ONE SAP for ECO i.e. Engineering, Construction and operation solutions reflects 30 years of experience and providing leading edge solutions to meet needs. With SAP solutions one can improve the performance of all business processes within project and facility life cycles.

Strength     

SAP is very experienced in successfully implementing ERP. They are more reliable than any other alternatives. SAP ERP is a complete end-to-end solution which handles all the core functions of the business including Inventory, Finance, Purchasing, CRM etc. It ensures complete visibility and better control to help run your business. Very helpful and easy to reach support system.

Weakness  

There are always so many options to choose from making it difficult to cop up with in the beginning. Works only with windows with MS SQL server or oracle.

Opportunities  

With SAP ERP it is easier to access help content, support adding modules etc. SAP covers most of business so customizing this product properly can be beneficial.

Threat 

Due to better company reputation and experience one may fall in to the trap causing extra cost.

3 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF SAGE MAS 100 Sage 100 ERP (Formerly branded as Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200) is an ideal ERP system for small and midsized businesses with between 10-250 employees. It is typically recommended to companies with annual revenue of between 1 million to $100 million.

Strength    

Visual Process flow offer novice or advanced users a graphical interface that show the steps necessary to complete business process. There is a large number of add-ons available for purchase that can provide vertical functionality. It was originally build on windows thus very compatible with it. Its modular design allows user to add whatever functionality is needed.

Weakness    

Exporting various stuff doesn’t work very well. Scheduler doesn’t work much well after many manipulations. JobOps is unable to handle UOM conversations very well Invoice session need a lot more improvements.

Opportunities   

It is very easy to learn and self-teach. Yearly update makes it feel latest every time. It is quite easy to use and flexible considering its hardware requirements

Threat    

It is unable to split payroll checks between direct deposits and paper check Yearly update makes it bit expensive to go on with. It is not robust as SAP or MS Dynamics There is no written or PDF user manual.

4 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF PENTA CONSTRUCTION ERP Delivered via cloud hosting or on premise, PENTA provides functionality for construction management, service management, multi-company accounting, project management, equipment management, mobility and enterprise content management.

Strength    

It is pretty intuitive to use and one does not get confused with new setup tools. Support available for upgrade and learning is very easy assisted by support team. It is well-engineered product. Support team is experienced and knows the industry.

Weakness   

Penta is not always ready to implement their product with newer technologies say or tablets. Current UI is usable but somewhat dated. establishment of an active user group to better facilitate the sharing of information across the entire user base.

Opportunities   

It has a very wide scope so one should look properly before implementation. The integrated applications that specifically address the construction industry and its support of union payroll and reporting. While the product is good for the field transactions, it has some limitations on the actual accounting side.

Threat  

Dates are inconsistent in Penta Construction ERP which makes it difficult for users. It is a contract based service so its utility must be fully evaluated in details before opting for Penta.

5 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF EPICOR Offering supply chain management, manufacturing, and sales and marketing features, Epicor is a market leader in construction ERP solutions. Epicor is highly customizable; users should take advantage of their add-on modules for CRM, QPM, and PLM, especially. Epicor is made by E2B, which prides itself on tailoring software solutions to each company’s needs.

Strength       

It can be installed locally, self-hosted or be used on cloud. Highly customizable Good supply chain management capabilities. Strong retail functionality. Good global capabilities such as multi-currency management and internationalization. Multi-company, inter-company and consolidations processing. Integrated customer relationship management (CRM) software.

Weakness   

They charges a lot of money from time to time when ever any kind to customization is needed which is kind of forcefully advised by company. North American VAR channel strategy inconsistent and confusing. North American user adoption.

Opportunities  

It comes with strong manufacturing capabilities and thus can be easily used in case a firm is doing some off track work. Try to evaluate if it covers most of your business because customize this product it is hard and expensive.

Threat  

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In order to thrive, Epicor needs to develop a strategy that reenergizes sales in India while capitalizing on their successes in the rest of the world. As an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) they are in the awkward position of competing with their primary technology vendor: Microsoft Server Products and development tools are highly utilized in their core products yet they compete directly against the Microsoft Dynamics product family. If partner doesn’t know the tool completely it can cause a lot of troubles ahead.

6 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF MAESTRO Maestro*ERP is specifically designed to optimize the way a construction company operates in order to ensure continued success even as the company changes and grows.

Strength       

Very good and helpful support system. Training provided is top notch and extensive. The software itself has enough built-in power and flexibility Strong retail functionality. It can handle all kinds of retail, distribution, or manufacturing scenarios, like for small or medium company. Budget Maestro is capable of generating fairly accurate balance sheets and cash flow statements, in addition to income statements. It has sections within it devoted to the balance sheet side of forecasting.

Weakness 

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It is the need to build up inventory before a selling season and to do this for many different products and different selling seasons. Multi-company, inter-company and consolidations processing. Financial statements and reports utilizing proper accounting format rules can be very hard or impossible to attain by generating them within Budget Maestro One has to export the reports out to Excel and apply the spacing, headers, underlining, and so on inside Excel. There are some bugs in software from the beginning which haven’t been resolved yet.

Opportunities  

Analytics Maestro is an Excel add-on so that you create and format all your needed standard and custom reports inside Excel. Push for a reasonable money-back guarantee period that gives you time to truly try setting up and generating your budget within the software.

Threat   

It's a bit pricey for small size company. A lot of users have reported multiple issues while upgrading their system. Maestro doesn’t concern much for their business in India, so only online based services can be availed in India.

7 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF QAD Sage 100 ERP (Formerly branded as Sage ERP MAS 90 and 200) is an ideal ERP system for small and midsized businesses with between 10-250 employees. It is typically recommended to companies with annual revenue of between 1 million to $100 million.

Strength    

Financials offered by QAD is best in its class. It is well internationalized product which works very well across the globe instead of being any country specific. QAD grants customer choice in delivery. It uses same coding and functionality for cloud and all other delivery methods.

Weakness    

QAD is more manufacturing centric and focused ERP provider. It doesn’t support multi-tenant. Business process automation provided by QAD is behind it competitions. Installing upgrades may turn out to be a cumbersome process sometimes.

Opportunities    

QAD’s prime focus is on cloud delivery making it easily available for everyone. They constantly enhance their product and its features. They have very nice new product release pace. Modules for managing CRM and HR are rated too good almost everywhere.

Threat    

They are very slow in adapting consumer technologies in user Interface. It doesn’t consider many ERP opportunities seriously. Mobile deployment is a field of lack for QAD. No specific construction management module.

8 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF VISTA BY VIEWPOINT Vista by Viewpoint (formerly known as Viewpoint V6 Software) is a full-featured suite of solutions designed to allow contractors to efficiently manage all areas of their operations. Built for medium- to large-sized contractors, Vista features integrated project management and accounting; collaborative cloud based capabilities including BIM, to share and mark up drawings among internal and external stakeholders; estimating with digital takeoff and bid management, service management, resource management, and mobile field management.

Strength    

Wide system with many functionalities that suit different type of construction companies. Massive list of reports that allow you to analyze different aspects of a Project/Contract. Gives the owner total visuals on all his financials. Creates accountability for Project Managers. It is reliable and easy to use for all the departments.

Weakness    

It is hard to tailor specific needs into one. Report writing is a difficult and cumbersome process. Help content and training available are not very nice to use. Software covers a huge amount to aspect which makes it difficult to use.

Opportunities   

A very robust product y a solid company with decent customer support. Encourage all facets to get involved, not just IT, or just accounting. Need full cooperation from IT, Accounting, PM, and HR. Microsoft platform, integration is also great.

Threat  

Implementation setup is too long. Consulting cost for implementation is too expensive. Sometimes the issues can take a few days to get feedback on. Mainly if the issues are not critical or emergency issues.

9 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF ERESOURCE It is a comprehensive ERP solution designed by taking utmost care with core functionality of the industry in mind. Core functional areas such as Project Monitoring and Control, Sales Management, Tendering, Bill of Quantities, Purchase and Supplier Management, Onsite Engineers Portal, Material Management, Labor and Contractors Management, Accounts Management and Human Resource Management have been given extra care and prominence.

Strength     

Comprehensive cost estimation while maintaining a detailed and reliable cost history centrally. Estimation through the use of central libraries, historic cost records and time and materials worksheets. Review of the engineer’s estimate of probable cost, produce a proposal bid item list for inclusion in the bid documents. Issue prime contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, potential change orders, and change orders, then release these items to accounting for review, approval, and use. Access subcontract and PO status, initial and revised totals, pending and approved changes, and amounts invoiced, retained and paid.

Weakness     

This software is basically a clubbed version of other available software at high price. It takes a lot of time and resource to add specific needs into one. Report writing has to be done from scratch for each project. Help content availability is not very extensive. Software does not cover huge amount to aspect.

Opportunities   

All activities right from pre-construction stage to post construction stage can be captured and monitored. Management can access and manage onsite activities from anywhere anytime. Scheduling interface similar to MS Project Interface has been provided with grant chart view.

Threat  

Estimates are independents and are to be generated for each task based on respective quantities. All different activities can be defined as different assemblies. Associated with each assembly is bill of quantities, labors, turnaround time for completion.

10 By: Rahul Sheokand

SWOT ANALYSIS OF ACCUERP AccuERP is versatile ERP software for small business that satisfactorily serves need of different industries in India. It is innovative ERP system to reduce total cost of ownership and eliminate outdated processes, which drain precious resources.

Strength    

AccuERP have decent customization options. It is relatively cheaper than alternatives available with similar features. Different modules have very nice financial management capabilities. Reports are very easy to create.

Weakness    

It is very difficult to customize AccuERP for unique projects and need. Features available in basic version are very less to meet the need of even mid-sized industry. It is difficult to integrate multiple modules in order to customize for project specific needs. There are not so many options available for report customization.

Opportunities 

AccuERP have potential to act as very powerful and useful ERP if customization is done properly.

Threat 

AccuERP looks like a week ERP choice due to scarcity of content available online.

11 By: Rahul Sheokand