Aiming to improve systems and use information technology more efficiently, Toronto-based Maple Leaf Foods has signed a multi-million dollar agreement with System Software Associates (SSA) Canada Corp for the BPCS Client /Server object-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
BPCS Client/Server is a cross-platform set of objects and business rules for the IBM AS/400 and RS/6000, the Digital Alpha and the HP 9000 platforms.
It runs on top of Oracle, Informix and DB2/400 relational databases for Unix, NetWare 4.0 and OS/400 on the server, and Microsoft Windows on the desktop.
According to George MacPherson, Maple Leaf Foods` VP, information services, his company chose BPCS Client/Server because of its functionality, integrated applications and object technology.
Maple Leaf Foods will be using BPCS Client/Server`s core capabilities - reconfigurable order management, multi-mode manufacturing, supply chain management and financial applications - on the IBM AS/400 platform.
"My mandate was to significantly improve and standardize information systems,"
MacPherson said. "We have a small corporate staff overseeing a $3,2 billion complex and this requires systems to be able to produce consistent information to the corporate body.
BPCS Client/Server provides the framework for our overall information systems strategy.
"While most of Maple Leaf`s business units had at least chosen the AS/400 as the standard hardware platform, in each case the main application was different.
Maple Leaf Foods will be centralising 80% of its IS at a data centre in Mississauga, Ontario.
This will include support for BPCS Client/Server and much of the company`s hardware and network operations.
According to MacPherson, Maple Leaf Foods has started implementing BPCS Client/Server in its Maple Leaf Meats and Shur-Gain businesses.
The company plans to move Maple Leaf Foods International, Maple Leaf Foods (USA) and Maple Leaf Poultry on to BPCS Client/Server.
According to Andrew Barkla, SSA country manager, object-oriented technology is becoming a key driver in the ERP marketplace.
"Objects are now rolling out into the industrial sector and are going to provide companies like Maple Leaf with a lot of flexibility and more importantly business agility," Barkla said.
Note: This article originally appeared in ComputerWorld.
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