JD Edwards has unveiled a set of enhancements to the
company's business applications lineup, and released details of its
forthcoming aquisition by PeopleSoft.
At the Quest Global 2003 user conference PeopleSoft outlined its
strategy, which would be to fold the companies' existing
application portfolios into three categories: an AS/400 line, which
will include JD Edwards' World products; a mid-market lineup; and a
collection of products for the enterprise.
PeopleSoft chief executive officer Craig Conway said PeopleSoft
intended to protect customers' investments and not force them to
abandon existing JD Edwards installations.
"The choice should always be elected and not mandatory," he
said, claiming that the two companies can do more as one
organisation than as separate operations.
The company also unveiled enhancements to its flagship JD
Edwards 5 lineup, including its ERP, supply chain management and
CRM modules.
Lenley Hensarling, group vice-president of product management at
JD Edwards, said these enhancements are designed to help customers
with more business-process-specific capabilities.
For instance, the applications have been modified to support
tracking processes unique to consumer packaged goods and to comply
with federal regulations. The CRM applications will also now have
pre-integrated analytical capabilities to assist users in better
understanding sales and marketing operations.
In keeping with this approach, JD Edwards' SCM 9 applications
have been boosted to assist distributors and manufacturers. The
changes include latest planning, pricing and order management
features.
Marc L Songini writes for Computerworld
