January 26, 1998 S AP, Oracle Ship Time-Saving Tools SAP tool cuts upgrade time; Oracle module speeds cycles By Tom Stein s SAP begins shipping the latest release of its R/3 enterprise resource planning application, the company is offering a tool that can cut hours off the upgrade time. Meanwhile, Oracle is rolling out a new module for its enterprise application suite that helps manufacturers reduce cycle times. SAP's tool, AcceleratedSAP for Upgrades, has already helped Texas Instruments' storage products group significantly shorten upgrade time. "The new tool helped us speed up the process," says Pat McGinty, director of IT for the Tustin, Calif., unit, an early user of R/3 4.0. "What used to take us over 20 hours, this time took only about 7 hours." McGinty says the too l split the upgrade process into three phases, which allowed him to do pre- and post-upgrade work-such as converting and cleaning up data-while the system was still running. Previously, this work could only be done when the system was down. R/3 4.0 and the upgrade tool will be generally available in the second quarter, according to SAP. Oracle has added the Manufacturing Flow module to its mix to bolster its enterprise suite. Flow-manufacturing techniques are designed to help companies rapidly change their production mix and volume based on actual demand. The goal: fewer bottlenecks and inventory problems. But Oracle may have a tough sell, says Harry Tse, an analyst with the Yankee Group Inc. "Flow requires manufacturers to buy into a new philosophy," he says. "They have to physically tear down their whole production line and start again from scratch." However, Tse adds that once Flow techniques are successfully implemented, they "work like magic." Component manufacturer Eaton Corp. in Clev eland seems convinced. "We're already deploying flow techniques to support supplier management, labeling, and maintenance," says Bill Muir, VP of manufacturing technologies. "We view this software as another tool that will allow us to get even better." Back to News in Review Send Us Your Feedback Top of the Page

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