SAPanopticon April 2017

What makes an ERP system suitable for Industry 4.0?

The topic of Industry 4.0 is becoming increasingly important for providers of enterprise resource planning (ERP). 71% of the ERP manufacturers and resellers surveyed are already developing their software solutions for Industry 4.0 applications.

This is the conclusion of a recent study conducted by the Mittelstand 4.0 Competence Center Dortmund in cooperation with the Supply Chain Engineering department of the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics IML.

As part of the market study, the researchers surveyed 40 German, predominantly medium-sized ERP manufacturers and partner companies. The flexibility of the ERP system to integrate data from cyber-physical systems (CPS) into the ERP environment is rated as sufficient by 46% of the study participants. Many ERP providers consider it important to record and process the data generated by CPS at production level.

However, many perceive the high volume of data associated with Industry 4.0 applications as problematic. Providers are responding to this challenge by expanding their business intelligence and business analytics functions.

The Fraunhofer IML market study shows that ERP systems will continue to play a central role as a data hub and integration center for companies.

The study provides an insightful overview of the current assessment of ERP providers with regard to future functions and features, the role and relevance of ERP systems and the development of the ERP market.