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SAP AG has announced the availability of the third enhancement package for its ERP application, SAP ERP. Released incrementally and “at no charge to existing customers,” the product lets customers access new software features via a download to switch on as needed, “without touching mission-critical core systems.”

 

The software vendor also said more than half of the enterprise services bundles created for the third enhancement package were developed “through efforts of the SAP ecosystem of partners and customers.”

 

SAP officials say the incremental delivery is a value benefit for customers in the latest release of SAP ERP (release 6.0). “Customers can consume innovation at their own option,” company officials say, “switching on the innovation they require at a pace of their choosing and business case.”

 

The enhancement package has updates in the retail, trading, and public services sectors, as well as enhancements to core ERP modules, including financials, human capital management, procurement, corporate services, and sales and service.

 

For the public sector, it adds functionality to enable grant management, tax and revenue management, tax return processing, shopping cart commitment, and item hierarchies.

And for the retail and trading industries, it has modules for global data synchronization, merchandise and assortment planning, retail method of accounting, product lookup in the customer order management process, and other features.

  

SAP officials say there have been over 4,000 go-lives since January 2007, including GISA GmbH in Germany, HT Media in India, and Valero Energy Corporation. The firm also announced that its third enhancement package includes over 50 enterprise services bundles, groups of existing services interfaces for various modules.

 

“Software applications managers need ways to make ERP more relevant to business users to maintain support for next-generation ERP projects,” said Jeff Woods, research vice president, Gartner. “Making users wait until the next major ERP upgrade cycle for new functionality isn’t a user-oriented practice.”

 

Last week Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based Hobby Lobby selected SAP to provide a product platform and a clear product road map to “help the company manage operations and continue to grow,” according to SAP officials.

 

From its beginnings in a 300-square-foot retail location in Oklahoma City in 1972, Hobby Lobby has grown into nearly 400 retail stores in 32 states, with projected sales of $1.8 billion in 2008. It wanted a platform to enable “rapid response to market and customer demands,” as well as help reduce total cost of ownership.

 

Hobby Lobby has selected SAP’s flagship enterprise resource planning software, SAP ERP, to replace its existing JD Edwards software. The retailer was particularly attracted to the application’s “model of incremental upgrades via enhancement packages,” according to SAP, which will provide Hobby Lobby a “stable core system and the ability to add new functionality and capabilities” without disrupting operations.

 

“A flexible product platform that allows for incremental enhancements based on business needs and a clear road map for the future is critical to the long-term success of Hobby Lobby,” said Jeanne Cotter, CIO, Hobby Lobby.