Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition launches in SA, Asia

The Sage Group has announced that Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition, its pre-packaged ERP solution that is dedicated to the midmarket, has launched in South Africa and will soon be available in Singapore and Malaysia. Over the past year, Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition has been launched in Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, South Africa, French-speaking African countries, and is now available in a total of 30 countries.

“In order to meet this challenge, Sage has launched Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition that offers the same fully functional ERP suite but includes a predefined implementation framework that is designed for the African business,” says Keith Fenner, Vice-President of Sales for Africa, Softline Accpac and Sage MMD Africa.

With Standard Edition, Sage ERP X3 delivers a feature-packed solution that is easier to use and faster to implement, thus reducing the overall cost of ownership. The aim is to help accelerate the deployment of the ERP solution in smaller businesses with less than 50 concurrent users.

Christophe Letellier, CEO of Sage ERP X3, commented: “The demand of Asian midmarket enterprises to enhance and align their systems with business growth and expansion is increasing. In addition, the governments of these countries are strongly encouraging automation of business processes in order to grow the economy in this region. South Africa also has many fast-growing businesses that require a cost-effective and easy-to-implement ERP system.

“Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition is aimed at the growing business needing a flexible ERP solution that provides an option to expand and enhance the system as a company grows, using minimal IT resources. Another key benefit of Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition is the absence of spending significant resources on training, as the product is incredibly easy to use and deploy, that enhances the user-centric focus of the solution.”

Quinta do Noval is an AXA Group company that operates across Europe with a strong focus on the quality of its wines. Founded in 1715, the company is one of the major historic Port houses, renowned for its Vintage Ports, and since 2006 for its Duoro wines. Filipe Salgado, Financial and Administrative Manager at Quinto do Noval, commented: “We chose Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition for several reasons. We had previously used a Sage solution and were very satisfied, but we also needed an ERP that we could implement and operate quickly, anywhere in the world. This is the main reason why we chose Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition. Given our processes and activities, it is extremely important for our sales team to be able to access the system and applications - to verify orders or see stocks available - from wherever they are. Initially we decided to run two systems in parallel to minimise risk, but the data migration process was extremely smooth, seamless and we had no loss of data.”

Michael Breckle, Managing Director of Omega Refrigeration, a recent customer in South Africa, comments: “The implementation process has been relatively short as the solution was live in only 44 days, but we are already starting to reap the benefits that Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition has to offer. We are planning to expand the system during 2012, quite confident that the process will further enhance our needs in Omega Refrigeration.”

Comepa Industries, based in France, has been using Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition since 2009. Gilles de Beauvais, CEO of Comepa Industries, states: “Without a doubt, the all-new Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition has a more modern and user-friendly look and feel than the old one and boasts an easier learning curve. Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition has given the sales dimension an edge over production, which is actually a true reflection of our business. Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition also offers a high-performance production management feature, although we are only scratching the surface of its leading-edge capabilities. The product gives us a clear view of inventory levels and shows us what progress has been made on our subcontractors' work orders. We have also been able to set up a general system to keep tabs on quality, which is essential in today's world. Generally speaking, Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition lives up to every one of our expectations.”

Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition is a Sage ERP solution with a broad scope of operation (distribution, financial and manufacturing) targeted at companies looking for rapid implementation with reduced costs and manpower. It is specifically designed to support these companies in becoming more efficient and productive and it does so with minimal human and financial resources, using extensive pre-configuration and orientation by role/company through interactive graphical processes: Sage Visual Processes.

It provides a comprehensive, embedded methodology kit with more than 100 deliverables to structure the project scope, organise the participants, manage decisions, anticipate risks, ensure quality and success (budget and deadline), realise the knowledge transfer to the customer, guide user requests and guarantee strictness with flexibility. Pre-configuration and a library of over 440 reports save time when setting up, and a proven, integrated deployment methodology ensures that commitments and lead times are met.

The preset elements within Sage ERP X3 Standard Edition are organised by role with linked processes. The product also employs a framework and an embedded set-up wizard tool (with over 200 processes) to accelerate implementation - these capabilities result from best practice sharing from its customers that have up to 50 users.