Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500 – Implementation of ERP, Advantages/Disadvantages, and Improvements that ERP can give to your Business

ERP Systems Improve Productivity, Speed and Performance

Before the development of the ERP system, each department of an enterprise had their own stand-alone software that does not integrate with other applications. These individual softwares cannot synchronize with the processes of other departments which can decrease the overall productivity, speed and performance of the enterprise. These resulted to problems such as incompatible exchange standards, synchronization deficiencies, misleading of information, poor decisions and performance and many more.

Example: The financial department will have a hard time coordinating with the procurement team in planning purchases as per the availability of money.

Therefore, using a robust ERP system such as Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500 can drastically improve performance, synchronization of the workflows, standardizing all information exchange formatting, complete overview of the functions of the enterprise, optimizes global decision making, increase speed and many more.

Implementation of an ERP System

The implementation of an ERP system in an organization can sometimes be a very extremely complex process depending on the ERP software you choose. It requires a lot of time to conduct a systemic planning, consultation from experts and a well structured approach. In some large organizations it takes years to implement because of its thorough scope. Sometimes the ERP system’s implementation will make it necessary to make critical changes such as work processes and change of staff. Most organizations believe that it is practical to have an in-house IT team to do the implementation but it is strongly advised to seek consultation from certified ERP implementation consultants and experts. These experts took a lot of study and training to get accredited and certified to become ERP consultants. For Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500, the accredited experts are called Certified Sage MAS Consultants.

Companies or organizations usually used ERP vendors, resellers or consulting companies to deploy their customized ERP systems. There are three types of professional services that are provided when implementing an ERP system, they are Consulting, Customization and Support.

• Consulting Services – they are the ones responsible for the initial stages of the ERP system implementation and help the organization adapt the new ERP system. They provide training, workflow and improve the use of ERP in the organization and etc.
• Customization Services – they provide customizations in the new ERP system that fit the specific needs of the organization. There are many ways in doing this, some may need to change the codes of the ERP system while some use add-on modules for specific processes. This is important because not all organizations have the same work processes.
• Support Services – they provide professional support and maintenance of the ERP systems. They deal with troubleshoot and fix anything related to the ERP issues.

In many cases, consultation, training, customization and support services are usually done by the vendor or reseller. Most of them provide all these services.

The ERP implementation process has five major stages: Structured Planning, Process Assessment, Data Compilation & Cleanup, Education & Testing and Usage & Evaluation.

1. Structured Planning: is the first and most important stage where a qualified project team is chosen, present business processes are studied, internal and external flow of information are being examined, essential goals and objectives are being set and an extensive implementation plans is formulated.
2. Process Assessment: is the secondly most important stage where the potential software capabilities are being analyzed, manual business processes are determined and standard working procedures are composed.
3. Data Compilation & Cleanup: helps in identifying data that is converted to useful information that can are essential. The compiled data is then examined for accuracy and consistencies while other useless data will be deleted.
4. Education & Testing: helps proofing the ERP system and educates the users with the ERP architecture, usage and functions. The complete database is being tested and verified by the project team using several testing methods and processes. A comprehensive in-house training is conducted and given to all concerned users.
5. Usage & Evaluation: the last stage of the ERP implementation process. Once the ERP system is live in the organization, the project teams continuously monitors and checks the system for inconsistencies and for any errors.

Advantages of ERP Systems

There are many advantages of implementing an EPR system. A few of them are listed below:

• A perfectly integrated system chaining all the functional areas together
• The capability to streamline different organizational processes and workflows
• The ability to effortlessly communicate information across various departments\
• Improved efficiency, performance and productivity levels
• Enhanced tracking and forecasting
• Improved customer service and satisfaction

Disadvantages of ERP Systems

While advantages usually outweigh disadvantages for most organizations implementing an ERP system, here are some of the most common obstacles experienced:

• The scope of customization is limited in several circumstances
• The present business processes have to be rethought to make them synchronize with the ERP
• ERP systems can be extremely expensive to implement
• There could be lack of continuous technical support
• ERP systems may be too rigid for specific organizations that are either new or want to move in a new direction in the near future

MTSI opens doors for you, we will be honored to be your Sage MAS 90 reseller | MAS 200 reseller and Sage MAS 90 partner | MAS 200 Partner.

Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP and Sage MAS 500 ERP, meet the requirements of an ideal ERP System architecture

Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200, Sage MAS 500, the technologically advanced ERP system, accounting and business management software

Before we talk about the leaders in the ERP industry, such as Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500, it is appropriate to discuss the ERP system as a whole to have a better understanding on what they can do and how they benefit your business. Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP is the integration of complex solutions which includes Information Technology, Business Management (including accounting, distribution, manufacturing, E-Commerce and etc. in most cases) and specific business objectives and processes. To make it simpler, ERP is simply using IT to make business run more efficiently and productively. It is a comprehensive computer system that manages all internal and external resources including all assets, finances, processes, operations, logistics, materials, human resources and many more. The ERP system architecture is built to have a coordination of all departments and consolidation to all business operation in one unified enterprise-wide system environment.It gives management with an extensive analysis of the overall business operations which in turn can influence their plans and decisions in a more productive way.
The core of the ERP system is a centralize data storage that obtains information from and supplies information into the other different applications operating on a universal computing platform. ERP acts like a brain that controls the nervous system.

Today, the industry’s leading ERP systems are Sage MAS 90 for small-size market, Sage MAS 200 for the mid-market and Sage MAS 500 for the larger market. These three ERP systems were developed by Sage Software, a software developer giant specializing in business management solutions and ERP. Sage MAS 90 was the first of the three, released in 1985 as an accounting software which successfully dominated the market by its fast distribution through the niches. After further technological innovations and increase in demands in the accounting software industry, Sage MAS 200 was released to cater to mid-size markets and offers a thin-client architecture with higher performance capabilities. Sage MAS 500 ERP was then initially released in 1996 to cater the needs of the larger markets. Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500 evolved from accounting software into a powerful ERP software.

In a large business or enterprise setting, information is gathered from different departments or server stations, sometimes even from multiple geographically distant locations. Data accumulated from different locations makes information synchronization difficult and this where the ERP software comes in. Sage MAS 90 can handle users from different locations in a local network through a LAN-based system, while Sage MAS 200 specializes in multiple locations and is ideal for users who work on the field where several users can login at the same time and/or remotely.
As the term ERP means Enterprise Resource Planning, it originally came alludes to the way corporations or businesses utilize their overall resources and this is what Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200 aim to achieve. In the past, ERP systems were only done in larger organizations and industrial types of companies. However, the use of ERP has changed as the years passed. In the present, ERP systems are applicable to many businesses, regardless of nature and size. This is where Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200 fits in, they cater the needs of the market.

ERP softwares nowadays are designed to process enterprise wide functions and information and integrate them into a single unified database. In the past, businesses use different softwares that handle different business functions. This kind of conventional practice makes things complicated and expensive. Imagine spending one software for human resources, another software for inventory management, and another one for accounting. Stand alone softwares are no longer advisable these days. Worse thing is, these solutions do not integrate with one another because in most cases they are develop by different software developers and they don’t have integration capabilities. In the modern world, ERP systems such as Sage MAS 90 ERP, Sage MAS 200 ERP and Sage MAS 500 ERP can handle all functions by just using one software.

Speaking of multi-function integrations, Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500 can cover up accounting, manufacturing, distribution, HR and payroll, E-Commerce, Time and Project Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Business Intelligence, bar coding, logistics, warehouse management and many more. There are a lot of other modules and extended solutions you can add on to cater your specific business need. With Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500, all functions can be done in a single umbrella of the ERP system.

Integration is Key to ERP Systems

Integration is one of the main features that make the synchronization of different business functions to be called an ERP system. Business communications, information distribution and processing are made easier plus a significant increase in productivity, speed, efficiency and performance. These are the things that Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500 never failed to deliver. The main goal of an ERP system is to acquire information and processes from the different departments of an organization and combine them for easier access and efficient workflow.

The Ideal ERP System

An ERP system can only be qualified to be ideal for an enterprise wide solution if it can integrate all the below organizational processes with a central database and a fused computing platform.

Accounting and Financials

Accounts payable, accounts receivable, bank reconciliation, fixed assets, general ledger, cash management, and billing (contract/service).

Manufacturing

Work order processing, engineering, resource & capacity planning, sales order, material requirements planning, workflow management, inventory management, shop floor management, quality control, bills of material, manufacturing process, etc.

Distribution

Sales Order, purchase order, inventory management, return merchandise authorization, credit card processing bar coding and many more.

Human Resource

Recruitment, benefits, compensations, training, payroll, time and attendance, labour rules, people management

Supply Chain Management

Logistics management, inventory management, supply chain planning, supplier scheduling, claim processing, sales order administration, procurement planning, transportation and distribution

Projects

Costing, billing, activity management, time management and expense

Customer Relationship Management

Sales force automation and marketing, service, commissions, customer contact, customer service and after sales support

Data Warehouse

This is where information is stored and can be accessed by the organization, suppliers, employees, customers and authorized personnel. This is the database and in most cases, it is located and stored on a server which can be accessed remotely.
These are some of the core requirements for an ideal ERP system architecture. Sage MAS 90, Sage MAS 200 and Sage MAS 500 have all these prerequisites.

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The History of MAS 90 and MAS 200

Sage MAS 90 ERP popularly known as Sage MAS 90, MAS 90 or MAS90 is an accounting software, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, Business Management Software created by a software company called Sage.

MAS 90 has a long history in the making, its design evolve so that it can work with different platforms. MAS 90 was first released in the 1985 by a software company called State of the Art, Inc. also known as SOTA. Later it became Sage Software then Best Software then again Sage Software then finally just Sage. MAS in MAS 90 stand for Master Accounting Series and the 90 means for the 90’s. So basically it means Master Accounting Series for the 90’s. MAS 90 was originally designed to run on an Apple operating system. There was also a DoS version for MAS 90 during the 1990s. MAS 90 version 1.3 was the first Windows version for MAS 90.

MAS 90 became popular, through the successful development of a marketing channel which was made up mostly of Certified Public Accountounts (CPA’s). It rivaled other accounting softwares which allowed it gain a significant market share. MAS 90 was used by these accounts which made them familiar with its functionality. They later recommended MAS 90 to their client base. Later, when technological innovations were constantly developing and rules of Accountant’s independence and objectivity became stricter, most CPAs stopped reselling MAS 90. At present, MAS 90 is sold by Sage’s distribution channel through a network of independent software consultants or resellers which is popularly known as MAS 90 reseller.

MAS 90 mainly targets the wholesale distribution industry and its innovations are constantly geared towards wholesale distribution and warehouse management niche. However, later there were other MAS 90 modules provided for other industries such as Manufacturing and E-Commerce. Other modules include HR and Payroll, CRM integration, Time and Project Management and many more.

MAS 90 runs in a LAN-based Windows system while MAS 200 works in a client-server through Windows 200x and SQL Server environments. This feature is also known as “thin-client”.

MAS 90 and MAS 200 are the same softwares but MAS 90 is intended for up to 10 concurrent users while MAS 200 is capable of handling up to 50 concurrent users. MAS 90 is ideal for business that has an average of $1 million to $50 million in annual revenue while MAS 200 is intended for businesses with an average of $1 million to $100 million in annual revenue and have around 10-500 employees. MAS 200 is also ideal for companies who have agents and employees on field work.

The latest version of Sage MAS 90 and Sage MAS 200 is version 4.4 and is expected to be release by the first quarter of 2010. So this is a background of the history of MAS 90 and MAS 200.

MTSI opens doors for you, we will be honored to be your Sage MAS 90 reseller / MAS 200 Reseller and Sage MAS 90 partner / MAS 200 Partner