By Tom Hoffman (September 14, 1998) ERP: Not just for HR anymore FINANCE Modules for bookkeeping and making sure the bills are paid on time. Examples: General ledger -- Keeps centralized charts of accounts and corporate financial balances. Accounts receivable -- Tracks payments due to a company from its customers. Accounts payable -- Schedules bill payments to suppliers and distributors. Fixed assets -- Manages depreciation and other costs associated with tangible assets such as buildings, property and equipment. Treasury management -- Monitors and analyzes cash holdings, financial deals and investment risks. Cost control -- Analyzes corporate costs related to overhead, products and manufacturing orders. HUMAN RESOURCES Software for handling personnel-related tasks for corporate managers and individual employees. Examples: Human resources administration -- Automates personnel management processes including recruitment, business travel and vacation allotments. Payroll -- Handles accounting and preparation of checks related to employee salaries, wages and bonuses. Self-service HR -- Lets workers change their personal information and benefit allocations online without having to send forms to human resources. MANUFACTURING AND LOGISTICS A group of applications for planning production, taking orders and delivering products to the customer. Examples: Production planning -- Performs capacity planning and creates a daily production schedule for a company's manufacturing plants. Materials management -- Controls purchasing of raw materials needed to build products. Manages inventory stocks. Order entry and processing -- Automates the data entry process of customer orders and keeps track of the status of orders. Warehouse management -- Maintains records of warehoused goods and processes movement of products through warehouses. Transportation management -- Arranges, schedules and monitors delivery of products to customers via trucks, trains and other vehicles. Project management -- Monitors costs and work schedules on a project-by-project basis. Plant maintenance -- Sets plans and oversees upkeep of internal facilities. Customer service management -- Administers installed-base service agreements and checks contracts and warranties when customers call for help. Related ERP terms Activities based costing A form of accounting that tries to quantify the true cost of each part of a business process. For manufacturers, it could be an alternative to setting annual standard production costs. Capacity planning The constant manufacturing of goods. It allows the manufacturer to work to nearly full capacity without peaks and valleys in the workload. Cost center acounting Process of assigning overhead costs to different business units. Overhead includes salaries, building maintenance and other costs that aren't directly related to manufacturing goods. Fixed assets Includes buildings, furniture, machinery, vehicles and other physical property that needs to be tracked for purposes such as depreciation and maintenance. Related ERP Terms Just-in-time manufacturing Having materials brought to the factory as they are needed instead of keeping them in stock. Its purpose is to cut waste. Logistics management Managing the operations of manufacturing such as distribution, plant scheduling and transportation. Manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) Coordinating the manufacturing process. It allows a variety of functions such as planning, production, distribution and scheduling to be linked together. Supply-chain management Managing supply and demand along with ordering, manufacturing, warehousing, inventory-tracking and distribution of a product. Are there technologies or issues you would like to learn about in QuickStudy? Please send your ideas to Tom Hoffman at Tom_Hoffman@Computerworld.com. Printer friendly E-mail this page QuickStudy Dictionary BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY TERMS 2-D and 3-D Graphics3G Wireless56K bit/sec. modems64-Bit Update64-bit computing_________ A _________Accrual- vs. Cash-Based AccountingActiveXActivity-Based CostingAdvanced Encryption StandardAffinity MarketingAgent technologyAggregatorsAgile ManufacturingApplets and ServletsApplication Programming InterfaceApplication ServersApplication Service ProvidersArtificial Neural NetworksAsynchronous Transfer ModeAuthentication_________ B _________Balance SheetBalanced ScorecardBandwidthBenchmarkingBiometricsBluetoothBridge FinancingBusiness Continuity PlanningBusiness MetricsBusiness Process OutsourcingBusiness intelligence_________ C _________CD-R and CD-RWCORBACable modemsCache MemoryCapital AssetsCareer Opportunities in Enterprise Resource PlanningChange ManagementChannel ConflictsChip MultiprocessingChurnClusteringCollaborative CommerceCommon Gateway InterfaceCommon Information ModelCompetitive IntelligenceCompilers, Interpreters and BytecodeCookiesCopper microprocessorsCopyrightCorporate BarterCorporate portalsCustomer Acquisition CostsCustomer Relationship ManagementCycle Time_________ D _________Data MiningData VisualizationData WarehousingData and Image CompressionDepreciation and AmortizationDesktop Management InterfaceDesktop videoconferencing resourcesDigital CertificatesDigital Subscriber LineDigital WrappersDigital versatile discDigital walletsDirectoriesDirectory Services Markup LanguageDiscounted Cash FlowDisintermediation/ReintermediationDistributed Component Object Model (DCOM)Document managementDomain NamingDue DiligenceDynamic HTML_________ E _________E-Commerce DistributionE-Commerce StrategiesE-MarketplacesE-MetricsE-business ModelEBITDAERPEaster EggsEaster EggsEconomic value addedElectronic GovernmentEmbedded MicroprocessorsEmployee Stock OptionsEncryptionEnterprise Application Integration_________ F _________Fault-tolerant ComputingFibre ChannelFiguring ValueFile Transfer ProtocolFirewallsFlat-Panel DisplaysFlow Manufacturing_________ G _________GNOMEGPSGenerally Accepted Accounting PrinciplesGeographic information systemsGigabit EthernetGlobalization_________ H _________Handheld PCs_________ I _________IMAPIP MulticastingISDNImage and video compressionInfiniBandInfomediaryIntangible AssetsIntellectual PropertyInternational frame relayInternet Application IntegrationInternet Protocol SecurityInternet Protocol Version 6Internet Service ProvidersInventory Allocation_________ J _________JavaJava AppletsJava Database ConnectivityJavaBeansJiniJust-In-Time Manufacturing_________ K _________KerberosKernel technology_________ L _________Layer 3 switchingLeading Economic IndicatorsLinuxLoad Balancing_________ M _________M Bytes, MHz and MoreMP3Management Service ProvidersManufacturing Execution SystemsMarket CapitalizationMarket ValuationMass CustomizationMassively Parallel ProcessingMemory Leaks and Garbage CollectionMessage-oriented middlewareMetadataMicrosegmentationMiddlewareMobile Commerce_________ N _________NUMANet Present Value (NPV) and Cost of CapitalNetwork AppliancesNetworking HardwareNext Generation Input/Output_________ O _________OLAPObject-enabled databasesOnline Profiling_________ P _________PCI-XPacket-Switched vs. Circuit-Switched NetworksPeer Group AnalysisPoint-to-point tunneling protocolPolicy-based NetworkingProfit Centers vs. Cost CentersProgramming LanguagesProxy ServersPublic-key encryption_________ Q _________Quality of service_________ R _________RAIDRandom-access memoryRelational DatabasesReturn on investmentRisk ManagementRmon analysis_________ S _________S/MIMESWOT AnalysisScalabilitySearch EnginesSecure Electronic TransactionSecure Sockets LayerServer PartitioningService-Level AgreementShared ServicesSignal-to-Noise RatioSilicon On InsulatorSimple Object Access ProtocolSingle Sign-OnSmart cardsSmart phonesSpamSpeech RecognitionStatement of IncomeStorage Resource ManagementStorage VirtualizationStorage-Area NetworksStrategic ManagementStreaming technologyStructured FinancingSubordinated DebtSupply-chain applicationsSymmetrical Multiprocessing_________ T _________TCP/IPTechnology-enabled sellingThin clientsTool Command LanguageTotal Cost of OwnershipTracking StocksTransaction ServersType Fonts_________ U _________UCITAUniversal Serial BusUnix/NT integration_________ V _________VLIW MicroprocessorsVRMLValue-Based PricingVendor Managed InventoryVenture CapitalVirtual CorporationVirtual private networksViruses, Worms, Trojan Horses and ZombiesVoice over data networks_________ W _________WAPWeb Content ManagementWeb CrawlersWeb HostingWeb PersonalizationWeb Site GlobalizationWeb-based groupwareWikiWikiWebWireless Markup LanguageWireless data technology_________ X _________XHTMLXMLxDSL