FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP

(BECAUSE THAT’S ABOUT TO CHANGE)

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

TABLE OF CONTENTSWhat’s wrong with ERP? ................................................................................................5

ERP is complex. ................................................................................................................6

And what about your people? .....................................................................................7

ERP is expensive..............................................................................................................8

ERP is inflexible. ...............................................................................................................9

So, how do we fix it? ....................................................................................................10

Making ERP work for your business............................................................................11

Think differently about your user experience. ....................................................11

Think differently about connectivity. .....................................................................12

Think differently about what makes you unique. ..............................................12

Think differently about flexibility. ............................................................................13

Think differently about choice. ................................................................................13

Think differently about success. .............................................................................14

Think differently about your ERP partner. .............................................................14

Infor—A different kind of partner. ..............................................................................14

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

Let’s face it: There’s nothing sexy about ERP. It’s been around forever. It’s big. It’s tough to use and maintain. It’s not flexible enough to do exactly what you want it to do.

Or is it?

INFOR™ DOESN’T THINK IT HAS TO BE THAT WAY. Keep reading to

find out how we’re turning ERP into a system that’s every bit as agile and

flexible as your business.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

WHAT’S WRONG WITH ERP?ERP has been the backbone of the IT business system for manufacturing companies for more than 20 years. It’s grown from basic order processing, inventory management, and accounting to cover more business processes than it was ever intended for.

And that’s where the problems begin.

Manufacturers like you have challenged the breadth of ERP with new business processes that go beyond the walls of your company to include your customers, suppliers, and co-manufacturers. Keeping pace has meant technology overhauls, customizations, and specialty apps. All this has lead to an uphill battle for your IT department—disruptive upgrades and technology transitions; complicated, costly implementations, customizations, and integration projects; a constant state of technology flux, as your ERP system struggles to keep up with your rapidly changing business requirements.

One thing is certain: You’re under greater pressure than ever before. As a result, your business requirements are changing constantly.

IDC Manufacturing Insights recently conducted a worldwide study of over 700 small and medium-sized enterprises in the discrete manufacturing industry across four sectors and in eight countries. According to this study, European and North American manufacturers believe that achieving operational excellence has become more complex. The pressure to reduce costs and improve productivity is a top priority, and perfecting the customer experience from bid to fulfillment is a critical

business need. Respondents in China reported the same priorities and concerns, but also reported struggling with handling demand volatility and planning, complying with regulations, and inadequate IT systems.1

What you’re probably thinking is that ERP is:

�Complex

�Expensive

� Inflexible

1 IDC Manufacturing Insights, Pierfrancesco Manenti and Megan Dahlgren, “Beating complexity, achieving operational excellence,” July 2010, p.1. 5

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

ERP IS COMPLEX.ERP complexity in some ways is simply mirroring business complexity. And business complexity is fueled by many forces—some positive, such as innovation and the need to adapt; some negative, such as increased regulation and compliance. According to 58.9% of Western European and North American respondents to the IDC study, complexity is a critical issue regardless of the size of the business.2

With complexity comes fear—fear that your business can’t keep up; fear that you don’t have the right ERP system in place to keep you competitive; fear that your ERP system isn’t agile, connected, or intuitive enough for your people to get their jobs done.

Chances are that even though you’re afraid of the complexity, you’d never consider simplifying or eliminating your ERP system. Business leaders like you know that you have to innovate and change to stay on top—and complexity is just the price you pay.

So, instead of trying to eliminate complexity (impossible, right?), you talk about “coping with complexity,” and “managing change.” If you had the right tools and technologies, you could support the changes to your complex business and supply chain models, and free the positive forces of innovation from the chains of complexity that bind them. Because where complexity exists, innovation cannot thrive.

Your ERP solutions need to come down firmly on the side of innovation, and not add further complication by being inflexible, tough to adapt, expensive, and time consuming to upgrade.

2 IDC, p. 1. 6

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

AND WHAT ABOUT YOUR PEOPLE?When your IT solutions can’t keep pace with your business’s pace of change, you create an unhealthy imbalance between technology and business needs, between your IT community and the business people. And when your IT people and your business people aren’t on the same page, it’s your business that takes the hit. That same IDC report revealed some worrying gaps between the priorities of the CIO, the CEO, and the COO—business managers placed more emphasis on financial budgeting, supply chain, and customer relationship management, while CIOs placed greater spending emphasis on security.3

As your systems grow older, more arcane, and more complicated, can you find enough skilled resources to keep your systems up and running?

If you need to expand your system or upgrade it, does your business have to grind to a stop until your systems are squared away?

Your customers aren’t going to wait for that. And neither are your profits.

If you’re like most manufacturers, you need to contain costs, increase employee productivity, and improve your performance—that’s not going to happen if your people can’t use your complex ERP system, keep it running, or keep your business moving along at the pace of change.

A recent MPI Group study found that the most important operations objectives among manufacturers were to contain/reduce production costs (59% of respondents cited it as “highly important”) and contain/reduce purchasing costs (51%). A majority of manufacturers—76%—reported that increasing employee productivity was either “highly important” or very important.4

How can you increase your employee productivity when your employees can’t even figure out how to efficiently use your ERP system?

3 IDC, p. 21.4 The MPI Group, “Manufacturing Growth Study Executive Summary: Strategies for Recovery and Renewal in 2010 and Beyond,” 2010, p. 4. 7

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

ERP IS EXPENSIVE.Chances are that as your business has grown, so too has your ERP system. If you’re like most manufacturers, your ERP system has turned into something of a giant octopus—tentacles reaching out across multiple locations, multiple networks, multiple databases, and so on.

Your manufacturing facility in Hong Kong runs its own database, feeding one very important set of information back to your ERP system—located in your HQ in Dallas. Then, you need the financials from the database running in London; the shipping info from the database in Sao Paulo....and on, and on.

Every one of those connections costs. Equipment. People. Maintenance. Time. And lots of money. And if one of those connections should go down....well, that’s too scary to even consider.

Connections are a necessary evil in a modern business. Remember that old paradigm about how all the information you need should be contained within a single database or a single system? It’s dead and buried. Today, we just accept that the information we need to make decisions goes beyond the boundaries of our ERP system. Chances are, you’re using demand data from your customers’ systems, product data from your partners’ systems, and delivery data from your suppliers’ systems.

You need access to information without borders and you can’t afford to spend too much time or money to get access to that information—or worse—lose visibility into those systems and miss out on the close collaboration you get by tightly integrating your systems with those of your business partners.

And what about customization? Your business isn’t like everyone else’s. To get your ERP system to work the way you do, you may need to change it—either by adding modules or solutions, changing the configuration of the ERP system, or ultimately resorting to custom coding. These can cost you in time, money, and possibly productivity.

You may not have the expertise you need in house to add in those customizations. So, that means paying an ERP expert to analyze your business processes, tell you how to change them to better match your ERP system’s processes, tweak that ERP system, and then train your employees in what they now need to do to get their jobs done. This could mean you just lost those unique, differentiating business processes that set you apart from your competitors in the first place.

AND THERE GOES MORE TIME, MORE MONEY, AND MORE PRODUCTIVITY.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

What does a $50M ready meals producer have in

common with a $500M manufacturer of medical equipment? �WELL, NOT A LOT.

ERP IS INFLEXIBLE.Traditionally, ERP systems have been one-size fits all. What if your business processes don’t work the way the ERP system does? Well, change them. If your people don’t work the way the ERP system thinks they should? Train them to work differently. Any of this sound familiar?

What does a $50M ready meals producer have in common with a $500M manufacturer of medical equipment? Well, not a lot. Except they’re possibly using the same ERP system to run their businesses. But why? Their sales, production, supply, and accounting requirements couldn’t be more different, yet they’re forced to accept a common ERP denominator.

Then, there’s the inflexibility that crops up with the “on-premises” or “SaaS/cloud” decision.

Cloud applications are certainly quicker to deploy. Maybe you’re opening a new plant, and need to hook it into your existing ERP system. Your original system is running on-premises in your original plant location. But, you want to move fast and you don’t want to invest in another complete installation at the new plant (remember that expense thing you just

read?). You want to take your ERP to the cloud and be up and running in days not months.

But you can’t. You learn that the on-premises ERP system you invested in doesn’t work in the cloud and you’re forced to buy a different system—one that only works in the cloud. The two systems don’t look alike; don’t behave the same; and they don’t communicate with one another. What good is that? Why should you have to accept that a system that works in the cloud has to be different from the one you use on premises?

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

SO, HOW DO WE FIX IT?By making your ERP system more user-friendly, more connected, more flexible, more cost effective, and better tailored to your business.

Easier said than done, you say? We don’t agree.

It’s time to put an end to rigid, limited, overpriced, complicated ERP solutions. You deserve business software that’s the right size and shape for your business.

You need a solution that lets you focus on serving your customers, driving costs out of manufacturing, and growing revenue, not struggling with your ERP systems and adding to your complexity worries.

You need to preserve your ERP investment for the long haul. According to the IDC survey, manufacturers keep their ERP system for 10-15 years on average, so you’re going to need it to grow with your business.5 That means having the flexibility to adapt your systems to your company’s unique needs—today, tomorrow, as you move forward.

And to compete globally, you need to have access to information without borders. You need your ERP system to easily connect to other systems and to the specialized applications you need to support your differentiating business processes. Regardless of your deployment choice—on-premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment—you need a common system that can be deployed the way you want it to be and that can share information for complete visibility.

Finally, let’s not forget the force that makes it all work—your people. Your users are accustomed to the user experiences of the Internet, smart phones, and desktop applications. They expect to be able to work with any

system with minimal training. And they want access to the information they need, when, where, and how they need it, even if the information is from multiple sources at the same time—the on-premises ERP system, the Internet, or a customer’s portal in the cloud.

You’re literally betting your business when you choose a business software system. If you make a bad choice, you’ll live with the costs and consequences for years. You need to know that you’re choosing a system that you can trust through all possible business conditions—a system that can grow with you.

You also need to work with a partner that knows the demands of your business down to the finest detail and is totally committed to your success. You need a partner with a solid and proven track record of innovating, delivering, and supporting customers in your industry.

Let’s forget what we think we know about ERP and look at how a new approach and new technology can change things.

5 IDC, p.16. 10

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

MAKING ERP WORK FOR YOUR BUSINESS.Infor ERP changes the equation—taking ERP from a big, bloated, inflexible solution to one that’s personal, flexible, and adaptable. It starts with the most important piece of the puzzle—you, the user.

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT YOUR USER EXPERIENCE.You have information hitting you from all angles, every day. You access different systems, each with its own navigation, its own sign-on.

What if you no longer had to visit dozens of places to find what you need, and log on to every one of them individually? With Infor ERP you have one place to go. One place to sign on. The information you need is brought to you according to your role or your job function. Prioritized actions guide you to the urgent tasks of the day. Interactive charts monitor your key performance indicators and give you the actionable information you need at a glance. You’ll work quickly, productively, confidently.

To make things even easier, Infor ERP is already familiar to you. We’ve re-defined the user experience by leveraging Microsoft® SharePoint® and Silverlight® technology to provide a unified look and feel across ERP, Dashboards, Analytics, and other Infor Strategic Applications, such as Expense Management, Asset Management, and Performance Management. This seamless environment makes it easier to follow your business processes across various functions and systems based on your role, without having to learn different ways to navigate the system to do your job.

Our innovative user interface enhances your software experience without disruption by combining Infor ERP software with a limitless range of our strategic solutions, along with cloud services and web services, all on a single screen. You get a role-based user interface with common navigation and commands to bring you a more powerful, flexible, and useable solution than you’ve ever seen in an enterprise ERP system.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT CONNECTIVITY. Demand the right to work together simply.Systems need to talk to each other to give you the 360° view of information you need. Infor ERP includes our groundbreaking ION technology, which creates a connective fabric to blend the traditional features of your ERP business software, office applications, and strategic solutions into a single, seamless whole.

Connect your software to any resource you need to do your work. Our technology lets your employees work together by letting your systems work together. And Infor ION makes that possible by integrating and managing your data easily—no matter where the data resides, no matter which application created it. Whether it’s an Infor solution or a non-Infor one. It’s all the same to us. We let you choose. We don’t make you compromise.

And, Infor ION is not just about connectivity. The same foundation also delivers:

�Event Management and Alerts to be your “eyes and ears” on your business

�Task Management to use triggers to guide you to your most urgent decisions

�Workflow to oversee the business process (and give you the flexibility to change this as you need to)

Infor ERP and ION deliver you the advanced interoperability and management tools that used to be available only to the biggest corporations. Your systems and your people simply work together.

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE.We don’t believe one ERP system fits all—businesses can be worlds apart in the challenges they face and the processes they follow. Your ERP system needs to acknowledge

that, and work the way you want to work—not the other way around.

You’re successful because you offer unique products and services to your customers. Your business software should help you make the most of your uniqueness and not force you into cookie-cutter uniformity with every other business. When you choose a software partner with solutions designed for your unique industry requirements and organization size, you’ll be ready to enhance and capitalize on the qualities that make you what you are—and what you want to be.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT FLEXIBILITY.Infor’s approach to building software makes ERP as flexible and inclusive as possible. By building business software in a modular, event-driven structure, you get a system in which all the parts connect without limiting each other (and without limiting you).

Suddenly need to get a few more percentage points on productivity? You’ll want a specialized scheduling solution. Just expanded your distribution channel and added warehousing capacity? You’ll need an advanced warehousing system to get the most of this precious new asset. Oh, and an intelligent forecasting and planning system to ensure you have just the right stock levels in that warehouse.

You’ll get new flexibility because your ERP software will readily include information from a wide variety of specialized systems, such as supply chain management, expense management, financial and strategy management, so you can adapt and grow your business.

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT CHOICE.You can get more value from your software when you can choose the way you get it. You’ll get raw power at top performance with a maximum range of choices from our on-premises solutions. Our cloud offerings reduce your costs and let you work from anywhere on any platform. You can also choose hosted or subscription solutions to get the best of both worlds. Infor combines cloud apps with on-premises apps so smoothly that your users won’t know one from another. But they’ll instantly know how to do what they need to do. Your whole company will get more done faster with less effort.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT SUCCESS.You can’t afford to risk your business on bloated, old-school enterprise software. Some software vendors can disregard the pains of manufacturers like you. They usually ignore the realities of your budget and IT resource limitations as well. Infor knows that a growing company needs great business software just as much as a firm with a big IT staff and a giant budget. We build rock-solid solutions that install quickly, upgrade easily, and run right every time.

THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT YOUR ERP PARTNER.When you choose Infor, you get a company that believes in the importance of constant innovation and on maintaining a laser focus on our customers. We deliver business software that is simple to buy, easy to deploy, and convenient to manage.

And we work closely with our customers to address their toughest business challenges—on premises, in the cloud, wherever they arise. That’s what makes us different.

But we don’t ignore our roots—the 35 years of innovation and experience delivering ERP systems in your industry give us a detailed understanding of what your business needs to grow. You’ll profit from our industry knowledge indefinitely.

INFOR—A DIFFERENT KIND OF PARTNER.See for yourself how different Infor ERP is. Find out more.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)

THERE IS A BETTER WAY.

At Infor, we work with a core belief. We believe in the customer. We believe that the customer is seeking a better, more collaborative relationship with its business software provider. And a new breed of business software: created for evolution, not revolution. Software that's simple to buy, easy to deploy, and convenient to manage. Our 70,000 customers in more than 100 countries stand with us. We look forward to your sharing in the results of our belief. There is a better way. For additional information, visit www.infor.com.

Infor Corporate Headquarters | 13560 Morris Road | Suite 4100 | Alpharetta, Georgia 30004 | USA | Phone: +1(800) 260 2640

Copyright © 2011 Infor. All rights reserved. The word and design marks set forth herein are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Infor and/or related affiliates and subsidiaries. All other trademarks listed herein are the property of their respective owners. www.infor.com.

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FORGET EVERYTHING YOU THINK YOU KNOW ABOUT ERP(Because that’s all about to change)