Manufacturing and distribution companies business drivers dont change. Now as ever, businesses need to reduce costs, to deliver faster and to keep profitable customers. ERP has provided vital support to these objectives within the organisation, and will continue to do so. But without the integration of all internal business processes and the involvement of suppliers and customers, traditional ERP on its own can never deliver the full benefits expected of it.

Gartner Group coined the term ERP II to connect traditional, inward-facing ERP with the vital integrations with suppliers and customers – and also the integration of new functions and applications within the business, to provide more streamlined processes that can provide ever faster responses to customer demands.