Making the decision to put in an APS system isn t easy. As one vendor put it, some manufacturers would rather upgrade a piece of machinery than install another software application in hopes that it will help run the shop floor more efficiently. The experts say installing an APS system is more a cultural challenge than a technical one. Minn. An ERP system for the most part mimics the business process that was already in place. With APS the company is going to have to change the way it works.
Few people are willing to change.
N.H. Lilly says it is the only ERP vendor that has an APS application embedded into its product. But getting manufacturers to use APS isn t an easy sell. And they are happy with it. In an economy that has been one of the best in history, manufacturers are a little gunshy about changing what they do until you start feeling the pain, says Lilly. Celia Fleischaker, director of product marketing for Epicor Software Corp., Irvine, Calif., agrees that deciding to go with an APS system is a little more difficult than with an ERP system.