How BPM differs from an ERP

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How BPM differs from an ERP

Here in this blog I would like to explain about BPM, Business Process Management and how it differs from an ERP.

ERP is focused on integration of information across business functions (like HR, Procurement & Sales) by sharing a common database. Whereas BPM is a business practice focused on enterprise level workflows and aimed at optimizing, improving and automating business processes. We can describe BPM as a process-intelligent layer that may or may not integrate with ERP.

To explain about ERP, consider an example business activity – Sale of ‘n’ Qty of product ‘X’ to the customer ‘Y’.

A basic ERP is made up of 3 things:

1.    a set of data capturing / representing facts about the company (stores data of sale – Qty n, Product X and Customer Y)

2.    a set of rules governing what to do when the facts happen (inventory updates when sales like stock Qty reduces when sales)

3.    a mechanism & medium to communicate with business users (such as an ipad to display an invoice)

Now to explain BPM, consider an example business process – Set of activities

A Purchase Order from customer receives by Sales Dept; Inform store for delivery

Preparing Delivery note from Store Dept; Inform Accts

Sales invoice from Accounts Dept.

BPM is made up of 3 things:

1.    a set of rules to govern activity in a business process (a flow sequence or specific rules, see the above example)

2.    a place to store "state" - i.e. for every item in the process, where is currently is according to the rule described in point 1 (as per above example to know whether you are waiting for delivery note or finished it or on the invoice)

3.    a mechanism to communicate state to the business user and provide instruction on what to do next. Also a place to intercept system activity and trigger a human response. 

So you have 2 options:

1.    Implement an ERP having BPR capabilities and customize to suite your business processes; develop embedded workflow to manage your business process – change management costly and lack of BPM other features

2.    Implement ERP and BPM – here change management faster. Also BPM can integrate with ERP and having capabilities of DMS fully integrated with OCR and Barcode modules.

All reputed ERPs having embedded workflow, the system has the facility to manage the business process to a certain extend. However, if you’re looking for the flexibility that comes with changing processes, this is very expensive and is faster in BPM, that is why SAP providing BPM adaptors to meet the customer expectations. BPM also covers processes that fall completely outside of ERP systems such as Correspondence Management, Project Management, and Action Tracking. 

In brief, BPM plays an important role in making an ERP system agile and adaptable to the dynamic needs of the business. Even though BPM is getting more popularity; still it is in the 'nice-to-have' zone.

Argus ERP Features

Argus ERP is an Integrated Management Information System, which will be customized and implemented in accordance to the requirements of a business enterprise. The system will provide the following required features:

       General Features

       Opening Entries

       Daily Routines

       Financial Accounting

       Purchase

       Sales

       Inventory Control

       HR and Payroll

       Job Costing

       Fixed Assets

         1.   General Features

Ø  Multi Division

Ø  Multi Company

Ø  Multi Sites

Ø  Multi Users

Ø  Add/ Edit/ Delete/ View / Print access rights for users

Ø  Administration section to manage the system and its users

Ø  Security management for accessing companies/ sites/ modules/ files/ documents/ reports

Ø  System Alerts/ Reminders for important expiries/ to do things

Ø  Audit Trail – User wise / Action wise / Document wise

Ø  Easy customized report generation with lot of features

Ø  Easy Search Engines for master data & transactions

Ø  Advanced report tools used to generate flexible reports

Ø  Drill down view of reports that enables the user a better reporting experience

Ø  Easy Administration Charges distribution option for those having sister companies

Ø  Sister Company Matrix, displays summary of sister company transactions for reconciliation

Ø  The system is fully integrated to accounts from various modules, generates accounting journals automatically during document preparation time itself or with proper approval options

Ø  Easy Month ending option to finalize the data, restricting modifications on the finalized data

Ø  Easy Year ending option, generates year end voucher automatically, nullifying income & expenses and passes the net value to profit and loss account

Ø  Open and 100 % Customizable at any point of transaction

         2.   Opening Entries

Ø  Opening Stock Items (Site wise)

Ø  Opening Stock Ageing

Ø  Opening Post dated cheque issued

Ø  Opening Post dated cheque received

Ø  Opening Customer Invoices

Ø  Opening Supplier Invoices

Ø  Opening Account Balances

Ø  Opening sub ledger account break ups

Ø  Opening historical data of Employees (Allowances with each revisions & Leaves)

  

         3.   Daily Routines

Ø  Receipt Voucher

 Multiple Cheque Entry

 Cash, Cheque and Bank Transfer payment modes

 Prepayment Option & it can be settled later through Set of AR

 Against Customer Invoices and full or partial settlements

 Discount Allowed option during settlements

 Easy View of Customer Balance / Statement Details

 Invoices Due/ Credit Limit info

 Receipt printing general/ pre-printed format

Ø  Payment Voucher

 Multiple Cheque Entry

 Cheque and Bank Transfer payment modes

 Prepayment Option & it can be settled later through Set of AP

 Against Supplier Invoices and full or partial settlements

 Discount Received option during settlements

 Easy View of Supplier Balance / Statement Details

 Invoices Due/ Credit Limit info

 Payment printing

Ø  Set of AR

 Settlement of customer invoices with advance receipts

 Settlement of customer invoices with credit notes

 Easy selection through pending list & do settlements

Ø  Set of AP

 Settlement of supplier invoices with advance payments

 Settlement of supplier invoices with debit notes

 Easy selection through pending list & do settlements

Ø  Set of AP and AR

 Settlements, if customer and supplier represent same party

 Settlement of customer invoices with supplier invoices

 Easy selection through pending list & do settlements

Ø  Petty Cash Voucher

 Tracking of Petty expenses

Ø  Cash Transfers

 To Bank/ adjusted to any account

 View available cash book details for reconciliation

Ø  Card Transfers

 To Specified bank card account

 View available card transaction details for reconciliation

         4.   Financial Accounting

Ø  Chart of Accounts

 Multi Account Categories with unlimited sub levels

 Tree structure/ Graphical view of categorized chart

 Sub Ledgers with multiple control accounts

 Support various Sub ledger types like Bank, Customer, Supplier, Employees, Vehicles, Sister Companies, Sales man, Partners, Agents, Tenant, Property, Unit, Contractor, Project, Job, Stock Category, Stock Item, Share, LC, Cost Center, Profit Center, Investor, Furniture, Equipment, and any user definable.

Ø  Journal Voucher

Ø  Recurring Journals

Ø  Cheque Handling

  PDC Payable

  PDC Receivable

  Cheque clearing (From/To Bank)

  Cheque bouncing

  Cheque returning to Party

  PDC Block Options (With Modified Date/Reason)

Ø  Bank Voucher

  Bank Charges

  Bank Interest

  Bank Misc. Charges

  Bank Mutual Transfers

Ø  Bank Reconciliation

Ø  Accounts Receivables

Ø  Accounts Payables

Ø  Customer Ageing Analysis Detail / Summary

Ø  Supplier Ageing Analysis Detail / Summary

Ø  Balance Summary (Salesman wise / Party wise / Date wise)

Ø  Month Ending to close monthly transactions

Ø  Year-End & Closing JV’s (Auto generated Closing Journals)

Ø  Previous year full data history and view reports

Ø  Various Reports

  General Ledger

  Sub Ledger Summary

  Statement of Account

  Day Book

  Bank Book

  Cash Book

  Petty Book

  Accounts Transaction Summary

  Voucher Type wise summary

  Ageing Analysis Detailed & Summarized

  Outstanding Statement of Accounts

  Sub Ledger wise PDC List

Ø  PDC Reports

  Bank wise PDC Report

  Bank wise Monthly Report

  Sub-ledger wise PDC Report

  PDC Summary Report

  Cheque Register

Ø  Other MIS Reports…

         5.   Purchase/ Procurement

Ø  Purchase Requisition

  Customer wise / As per Reorder Report

  Purchase Requisition from various sites

Ø  RFQ ( Request For Supplier Quotation)

  Single Document preparation for many Suppliers

  Direct Fax / Email

Ø  Suppler Quotation Entry

  Supplier wise Price Booking

  Comparison of Prices with other Quotation/PO

  Comparison Report for Approval / Filing

Ø  Purchase Order Processing

  Listing for purchase Requisition Items

  Easy RFQ Document preparation

  Easy PO Document preparation

  Easy Search Engines for priority based item selection

Ø  Purchase order (PO)

  Local / Import

  Easy preparation from Requisition & based on RFQ prices

Ø  Purchase order cancellation

Ø  Goods Receipt Note (GRN)

Ø  Supplier’s Invoice

Ø  Product Costing

  Purchase Cost (Supplier’s Invoice)

  Shipment Expenses

  Cash / Credit Expenses

Ø  Purchase Return

Ø  Various Purchase Reports

         6.   Sales  & Delivery Management

Ø  Quotation

Ø  Sales Order (Customer LPO)

  Converting Quotation in to Sales Order

  Product / Purchase Plans

Ø  Cash Sales

  Cash/ Cheque/ Card Payment Modes

  Direct / Against Customer Orders

  Product Delivery to Customer sites

Ø  Sales Invoice

  Credited to Customers

  Direct / Against Customer Orders

  Product Delivery to Customer sites

Ø  Delivery Order Management

  Delivery Status – New/ Assigned to Driver/ Delivered/ Blocked

  Delivery Address, Schedule, and Assigned Driver details

Ø  Delivery Note

Ø  Delivery Return

Ø  Price List

Ø  Cost Of Sales

Ø  Sales Return (Credit Note)

Ø  Various Sales Reports

  

         7.   Inventory Control

Ø  Multi Location (Store)

Ø  Weighted Average Costing/ FIFO/ LIFO

Ø  Landed Cost, Last Purchase Cost, Last Sale Price

Ø  Grouping/Categorization of Products

  Brand / Category / Group / Type

Ø  Product wise bin/storage location

Ø  Stock Transfer Note

Ø  Stock Adjustment Note

  + / - Adjustment of stock

Ø  Physical Count & System Updating

Ø  Price Inquiry

  Product wise

  Customer wise

Ø  Location wise stock

Ø  Various Reports

  Stock Ledger

  Stock Valuation Reports

  Group wise, Category wise, Location wise,

  Product wise, Supplier wise, etc.

  Product Movement Report

  Stock Status Report

  Stock Ageing Reports

  Reorder Level Report

  Purchase order Status Reports

  Pending PO report detailed

  Pending PO Summarized

  Supplier wise purchase order report

  Supplier wise Purchase Order history

  Sales Analysis Report

  Customer wise Sales Analysis

  Salesman wise Sales Analysis

  Product wise Sales Analysis

  Category wise Sales Analysis

  Fast/Slow Moving Report

  Top Selling (N) Products

  Pending Sales Order List

  Pending Delivery Orders

  Day books

  Purchase day book

  Sales day book

Ø  Other MIS Reports

         8.   HR and Payroll

Ø  Departments

Ø  Designations/ Nationality/ Religion/ Job Category/ etc

Ø  Employee Master

  Personal Details

  Contact Details

  Job Details

  Identification Details – Passport/ Visa/ RP/ Health Card/    Driving/ Insurance/ Sponsor

  Allowance Details – Present/ History

  Deduction Details – Present / History

  Leave/ absent/ Air Travel Details

  Asset belongings / Dependent Details

  Qualifications/ Experience Details

  Employee Photo & Sign

  Attachments Details – copy of certificate documents

Ø  Employee Leave Management

Ø  Employee Internal Transfers

Ø  Passport Place Management/ Employee Info Change Management with historical data

Ø  Employee Card Renewals with history – RP/ Passport/ Health Card/ Insurance/ Driving

Ø  Employee Leave Applications/ Approvals

Ø  Employee Rejoins

Ø  Employee Status Change Info – present/ On vacation/ Retired

Ø  Allowances/ Benefits

Ø  Salary Advances/ Deductions

Ø  Attendance – Daily/ Monthly/ Overtime

Ø  Overtime Daily Entry

Ø  Job/ Project wise entry

Ø  Monthly Salary – Easy processing based on fixed / attendance/ monthly deductions/ recurring data

Ø  Employee Job Contracts

Ø  Pay slip printing/ Salary Pay cover printing

Ø  Salary Transfer to bank letters

Ø  Leave Settlement / Final Settlements

Ø  Various Reports

         9.   Job Costing/ Project Accounting

Ø  Job/Project Cost Levels

Ø  Categorized Cost Codes

Ø  Categorized Cost Centers

Ø  Job/ Project Master File

  General Details

  Nature of work/ Customer Details

  Retention/ Pay Terms Details

  Start Date, Expected finish date, projected amount

Ø  Project Budget List

  Project Level wise/ Cost Code wise

  Option to control project expenses with in budget

  Possible variations at any time through revisions

Ø  Budget Revisions

Ø  Project Contract

  General Details

  Project Transactions

  Project Terms and conditions

  Project Invoice Details

  Retention/ Pay Terms/ Customer Receivables

Ø  Project Expenses

  Cost Center Details

  Cost Code/ Project Level wise

Ø  Project Inspection/ Status

Ø  Project Invoices

  Cost Code wise

  Project Completion time / based on project completion %

  Cost of Sales & Revenue identification

Ø  Material Used for Projects (integrated to Procurement)

Ø  Labour Cost for Projects (Integrated to Payroll)

Ø  Vehicle Expenses – Projects

Ø  Equipment Expenses – Projects

Ø  Rental Expenses (Vehicle/ Equipment) - Projects

Ø  Project Subcontracts

Ø  Retention/ Pay Terms/ Subcontractor Payables

Ø  Project Budget Control & Cost Analysis

Ø  Project Expenses – Actual Vs Budget

Ø  Project Profit Analysis/ Variance

Ø  Project Ledger

Ø  Various Reports

        10. Fixed Assets

Ø  Furniture/ Equipment Categories

Ø  Furniture/ Equipment Master

Ø  Vehicle Master

  Vehicle General Details

  Road Permit Issue/ Expiry, Insurance Issue/ Expiry

  Vehicle Handover history

  Vehicle Insurance History

  Accidents/ Damages/ Service / Maintenance

  Traffic Violations/ Penalties

Ø  Asset Master Details for Vehicle, Furniture & Equipment

  General Details

  Depreciation Details

  Purchase Info/ Sales Info

  General Ledger Account Details

Ø  Opening Furniture assigned to custodians (Office Locations/ Employee/ Property/ Project)

Ø  Purchase Asset – vehicle/ Furniture/ Equipment

Ø  Furniture/ Equip Assigning to custodians

  Easy selection to assign

  Placed in/ Location details, if required

Ø  Asset Disposals

Ø  Asset Sale

Ø  Asset Depreciation Posting

Ø  Asset Transactions

Ø  Easy Search Engine for Vehicle/ Furniture/ Equipment Details

Ø  Furniture Listing- All/ Custodian wise/ Stock wise

Ø  Various Reports