Compiere's Open Source ERP and CRM Solution Meets Distribution Industry's Demand for Flexibility, Lower Costs, Higher Margins
Software supports lean distribution cycles and helps improve customer service
Redwood Shores, Calif. – Jun. 3, 2008 – Compiere, Inc., the global leader in open source business solutions, today announced its open source ERP and CRM solution is meeting the current demands of companies in the distribution industry looking to reduce inventory costs, improve customer service and grow margins. Compiere provides comprehensive IT automation for distribution companies' order management, inventory control, purchasing, financial management and service operations. The advantages from Compiere's product and business model offer distribution customers a highly configurable ERP solution and powerful economic advantages, such as no up-front license fees and freedom from vendor lock-in.
"We understand the importance of cost control in today's lean distribution environment, and we continually work to provide our customers with the technology they need to deliver excellent customer service while reducing operating costs," said Don Klaiss, president and CEO of Compiere. "Our distribution customers have vastly different characteristics - different business sizes, product lines and locations around the globe. All of them, however, use Compiere's base capabilities and configurability to roll out highly tailored business solutions quickly and affordably."
Compiere provides a different ROI for companies implementing ERP solutions by requiring a smaller investment before delivering a faster, clearer payoff, ultimately enabling long-term margin growth. Decision makers can reduce costs and improve service by better managing on-hand product levels through Compiere's inventory information and reporting capabilities.
"Open source technology, in particular Compiere's ERP solution, has provided key inventory and order management functionality with minimal costs," said Brian Schoenbaechler, president of Southern Book Company, an Atlanta-based distributor of educational publishing material. Southern Book Company's solution was designed and implemented in 2006 by Compiere partner KnowledgeBlue, who continues to provide product support and hosting services to the company.
Schoenbaechler continued, "We've increased our net margin by 10 percent during the past two years, and we're now able to expand our business by becoming a fulfillment center for a variety of products outside of what has traditionally been our primary focus."
The comprehensive view of a distributor's business operations, provided by Compiere's solutions, enables users to perform a number of different functions within one central software package, including:
- Order Management – create quotes, book orders, manage materials, generate invoices and collect cash;
- Materials Management – manage inventory receipts, shipments, moves and counts across warehouses, suppliers and customers;
- Purchasing – automate the steps from procurement to payment;
- Financial Management – automate business solution processes and manage financial records; and
- Service – accumulate and track service requests from initiation to closure.
The software also features multi-organizational capabilities for managing global businesses, including complex organizational structures and multi-currency requirements. With these capabilities, distribution companies can maintain decentralized organizational structures and hierarchies such as independent business units, subsidiaries, cost centers, product lines, accounting calendars and regions without sacrificing centralized control.
About Compiere, Inc.
With more than 1.3 million software downloads, Compiere, Inc. delivers the world's most widely used open source enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) automation solutions. Compiere's solutions enable distribution, manufacturing, retail and professional services companies to gain competitive advantage through the automation of financial, distribution, sales and service processes. With applications built on a model-based development platform, Compiere provides unprecedented adaptability, rapid deployment and low cost of ownership. The company, which offers commercial backing, support and services to its global network of authorized partners operating in more than 25 countries, is privately held and headquartered in Redwood Shores, Calif. For more information, please visit www.compiere.com.
