We are active in the textile industry as a manufacturer and distributor (B2B/B2C) and are looking for a new ERP system, ideally with an integrated online shop, due to increased requirements for the web shop with additional B2C functionalities. A cloud solution is desired.
The software should meet the following requirements:
Key functions:
Must:
- Change log
- Copy function for master data
- Central master data for all clients (chart of accounts, accounts receivable, accounts payable; accounts receivable distinguishable between B2C and B2B --> different number ranges for differentiation also possible if necessary)
- Data backup and recovery
- Report Designer (documents)
- Report Designer (evaluations)
- Form Designer
Optional:
- Multi-currency capability (documents in the foreign currency of the customer/supplier; automatic import of central bank exchange rates)
- Multilingualism (application language; document language of customers/suppliers, language for evaluations)
- Authorization concept (assignment of users to user roles; to be managed by the customer)
- Mandatory field and plausibility checks (for master data and transaction data; fields to be checked and plausibility criteria to be managed by the customer)
- File attachments (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF, image, video; assignment of files to master data records or transaction data)
Financial accounting:
Must:
- Interfaces to DATEV, ELSTER, existing financial accounting system.
Optional:
- Open items
- Payment transactions
Asset accounting:
Must:
- Interface to existing financial accounting system.
Cost accounting/controlling:
Optional:
- Actual and planned cost accounting
- Full and marginal cost accounting
- Cost types, cost centers, cost units
- Contribution margin accounting (total cost/sales cost method)
- Internal cost allocation
- Project cost accounting
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Articles/warehouse:
Must:
- Article master data (units of measure, article variants, replacement articles, suppliers, ABC classification, packaging, catalog articles, dangerous goods)
- Warehouse locations (cross-border)
- Storage locations (warehouse organization: fixed, variable, chaotic, including sorting packing lists according to ergonomic walking routes)
- Consignment warehouse
- Material requirements planning (min./max. stocks, procurement time, sales orders, production orders)
- Item reservation (stock reservation for offers or orders differentiated according to B2C or B2B)
- Warehouse valuation (FIFO/LIFO/average, devaluations, lowest value principle)
- Inventory (key date inventory, permanent inventory)
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Optional:
- Inventory optimization (ABC classification, demand forecasting)
- Transfer proposals
Purchasing / procurement:
Must:
- Supplier master data (contact persons, bonus management, price lists)
- Requirements
- Order proposals
- Inquiries
- Framework orders
- Orders
Optional:
- Intercompany
- Workflow order approval
- Workflow invoice approval
- Supplier evaluation
- Supplier complaints
- SRM (Supplier Relationship Management)
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Production:
Must:
- Manufacturing bills of materials / recipes (version management, plausibility check, approval workflow)
- Calculation (preliminary calculation, concurrent calculation, post-calculation)
- Product Information Management (PIM) (metadata, catalogs, text (description, translations, care instructions) and image management)
Optional:
- Production planning/control (PPS) (type: discrete manufacturing/process manufacturing, production type: individual/project/series/mass production, planning against unlimited/limited capacities)
- Batch/serial numbers (batch tracking)
- Variants
- Operating resources
- Resources
- Tools
- Capacity planning
- Product configuration
- Production proposals
- Production orders (order-dependent production bills of materials)
- Workflow Production order release
- External production
- Joint production
- Feedback
- Interfaces
Logistics:
Must:
- Goods receipt (goods receipt inspection, proof of origin)
- Goods storage
- Disposition
- Order picking
- Shipping orders (completed shipping orders should trigger credit card debits as confirmed)
- Returns processing
- Export processing (amounts under EUR 1,000)
- Customs clearance (export license - amounts over EUR 1,000)
- Interfaces (logistics service providers, DHL, UPS, FedEx, etc.; option to select different shipping service providers for delivery/returns (background: in B2C shipping, a return label is automatically printed))
Optional:
- Fleet management
- Freight cost accounting
- Empty container management
- Reporting (safety data sheets, Intrastat reports on goods traffic, summary report)
Marketing / CRM:
Optional:
- Prospective customer master data (duplicate check)
- Campaign management
- Lead/opportunity management
- Visit reports
- Call center
- Framework agreements
- Representatives (territory management)
- Field service
- Commissioning
- Online marketing (social media, blogs, forums, instant messaging)
- Mobile data capture
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Sales:
Must:
- Customer master data (alternative delivery addresses, group structures, contact persons, customer rating/classification, credit limit, bonus management)
- Sales and revenue planning
- Shipping cost calculation
- Customer complaints (returns and return tracking)
- Invoices and collective invoices (including pro forma invoices)
- Credit notes
- POS solution (freely configurable keyboard, customer display, payment methods)
- E-commerce/web shop (B2B, B2C, wish list, order history, payment methods, evaluations)
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Optional:
- Credit check
- Sanctions list check
- Sales price determination (sales prices/discounts depending on customer/customer group/item/item group/quantity, calculation of production/surcharges/discounts)
- Offers (credit limit check, stock reservation, contribution margin calculation (margin check))
- Framework orders (contribution margin calculation (margin check))
- Orders (credit limit check, inventory reservation, order-related parts lists, replacement items in case of unavailability - distinction between B2C/B2B client; important: conversion of several individual orders (B2B) into a collective order)
- Drop shipping
- Campaign prices
- Intercompany
Service:
Optional:
- Service article master data
- Service planning
- Service offers
- Service contracts
- Repair orders
- Regular service and maintenance
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Human resources:
Optional:
- Personnel master data
- Personnel resource planning
- Payroll accounting
- Travel expense accounting
- Time recording
- Access control
- Applicant management
- Personnel development
- Reporting
- Interfaces
Other functionalities:
Must:
- Scanner (for packing lines, article management, inventory, and goods returns)
- Document management (DMS) (storage structure, field structure/indexing/classification, versions, full-text search, workflows, records management, integration with Office products)
- Data transfer from legacy system (master data and transaction data)
Optional:
- Operational data recording terminals
- Business process management (BPM)
- Quality management
- Workflow management (master data creation/changes, purchase order/invoice approval, production order approval, payment approval, graphical modeling/display, proxies)
Central interfaces:
Optional:
- Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, Outlook)
- EDI (Electronic Data Interchange)
- Telephone connection / TAPI
- Business Intelligence (BI)
Webshop:
Must:
- SEO optimization (URL, meta tags, rich snippets)
- Search engine (can an external search engine be integrated?)
- Filter option (various product attributes can be selected as filters. (Gender, multiple categories, product attributes such as: size, weight, length, color, new products, top sellers, availability...))
- Layout templates
- Product presentation (images, videos, zoom, 360-degree view)
- Product detail page
- Customer reviews
- Product comparison function
- Wish list function
- Product quick view
- Availability (functionality may only be displayed in B2B mandates)
- Delivery time (functionality may only be displayed in B2B mandates)
- Shortage function (display of quantity still available (...there are 3 items of this size left...), for B2C application)
- Item suggestions
- Upselling (“optional” function)
- Cross-selling
- Recently viewed products
- Curated products (it is possible to create and display product sets (e.g., when clicking on a product in the set))
- Guest order
- Interfaces/function
- ERP component (either the web shop is integrated or there are existing interfaces)
- Interface to ERP
- Transfer of existing login data (end customers can log in with their existing login; currently email address as username)
- External payment service provider
- Interface/plugin to email service provider
- B2B functionality (different price lists and tax settings are possible)
- Blog functionality (content management options (image/text/video))
- Rights/roles concept with access (e.g., users have different permissions; agent role: user has access to different/defined B2B accounts with one login)
- Multilingual
- Duplicate check during registration (email address) (email is username during registration)
- Voucher functionality (generic, customized, and personalized)
- Marketplaces (which interfaces exist? e.g., Amazon, eBay)
- Shipping service providers (which interfaces exist? DHL, UPS, etc.)
- Track-and-trace systems (available for shipping service providers?)
- Web tracking (interfaces/integrations available for Google GA4, Facebook Insight)
- PIM
Approximately 15 software workstations are required (approx. 10 concurrent users).
Note from SoftGuide: Specifications and a questionnaire for software providers can be requested from SoftGuide if required.