So, now that we have seen a toolkit to help you shortlist different ERP vendors for purchase, it is also important for you to know that there's a new ones about the ERP modules that you can buy from vendors. So, companies can buy ERP modules to accomplish business processes. But, you should know that every vendor out there may develop the modules quite differently. So, let's take a look at this example of CRM, Customer Relationship Management module. Almost all vendors that offer a CRM module will be able to help execute business processes within the fulfillment process. However, in some vendors, they have also included the feature of asset management within a CRM module, and this is because Asset Management is also a kind of customer service. So, as you are going out to purchase ERP modules, it's required that you need to consider what are the different business processes or features that each company allows its modules to cover. In a different example we see on the screen here, is that of the ERP core module. Across all different vendors, you will see that the ERP core module is able to handle core business processes that involves procurement, production, fulfillment, financial and managerial accounting. At the same time in some specific instances, vendors have made it such that the core ERP module is also able to handle some business process within the inventory warehouse management, material planning, asset management, and also human capital management. At this time you might have a question after seeing these two slides. In a sense, the ERP core module is able to fulfill fulfillment processes. At the same time, the CRM module appears to also be doing the same thing. So, is it true that the CRM module is redundant if you have a ready ERP core module? The answer is no, and the reason behind that is because the core ERP module has to be only operating in the space of fulfilling the most basic features within fulfillment. Whereas, the CRM module allows its users to handle the most sophisticated business process and fulfillment. An example of that could be that the core ERP module takes care of sales orders coming in through the traditional route which is through physical meetings and also phone calls with clients, but CRM adds to that by allowing the salesperson to handle sales orders coming in through online channels. So, it's still valuable to have a CRM module. So,knowing that there are differences across vendors as they offer different modules, it is important to note that there are two main strategies to purchase and to implement ERP systems. The most simple case companies could choose to purchase all of their ERP modules from a single vendor, and that is known as the Best of Suite strategy. They could also alternatively choose to purchase different sets of modules from different vendors, just as we see in this picture here. In this case here, the company has chosen to purchase the ERP core module, along with the SRM and SCM module from one single vendor, and then to top that off, they purchased the CRM module from a second vendor, and the PLM module from a third vendor. This is known as the Best of Breed strategy because what the company is really doing over here is picking the best set of modules from providers that are well-known in the industries for such functionalities. It is also worthwhile for you to think about the pros and cons of each of these two strategies, and I'll leave that as an exercise at the end of today's session. Finally, to check your understanding of Best of Breed and Best of Suite, let me read to you this particular recommendation provided by Gartner, ''Few, if any organization source order business applications from one vendor, because no single software provider can supply all the functionality required to automate every business process.'' So, in this case is Gartner advocating for Best of Breed or Best of Suite? So, if your answer is Best of Breed, then you're on the right track because what essentially Gartner is saying over here is that most of the organizations are buying their ERP solutions from multiple vendors, and that relates to the best of breed solution that we have talked about earlier. So, with that we've come to the end of our third session. I hope you've enjoyed our time together in studying ERP systems. I look forward to seeing you in our next and final session of ERP. Have a good day
