Enterprise software vendor IFS released a new version of its IFS Applications suite that the company claims offers greater support for global business models.
Enterprise software vendor IFS released a new version of its IFS Applications suite that the company claims offers greater support for global business models.The new suite—labeled IFS Applications 7.5—was introduced Monday at the company’s worldwide user conference in Berlin. “IFS Applications 7.5, which is service-oriented architecture [SOA]-based, builds on seven generations of component-based applications,” IFS CEO Alastair Sorbie said. “We’ve worked with customers to enhance the user experience as well as deliver real business benefits to improve productivity.”New features in IFS Applications 7.5 include:• Enhanced tax handling, reporting, and inventory management .In addition to accommodating country-specific regulatory requirements and multiple languages, units are automatically recalculated and standardized across several locations, allowing more accurate global inventory information. In turn, organizations can make more informed decisions using reliable data, and predict accurate sales and budget forecasts.• Risk management across multiple projects .Components to support contract-management—from estimate to execution, including financial control and planning—provide total visibility. Risk-minimizing measures allow the identification, flagging, and ongoing assessment of key danger factors, so companies can counter these early with preventative measures.• Efficient solutions for global supply chain and mixed-mode operations .New functionality allows companies to be more responsive to customer needs and the pressures of decreasing product life cycles and increasing product variability. For example, IFS Applications 7.5 keeps track of key performance indicators (KPI), such as delivery times across multiple locations, to ensure multisite production is fast and reliable.The IFS Applications 7.5 suite became available to users on October 11, 2007, and one company already began deployment.“We need to manage our supply chain across Flint Group , a manufacturer of printer’s ink, with global headquarters in Germany. “Executing this efficiently with IFS’ multisite planning capabilities means we are faster and more responsive to customers, and also reduces our working capital. Being able to use different local units of measurement as well means we can ensure consistent and accurate data across regions.”
