AsI blogged about here on BPM in Action on June 10, one of the most interesting questions in information technology (IT) management is the role of ERP vs. business process management (BPM).
Or vice versa depending on how you want to look at it.
My guest for the attached podcast is Garth Knudson, Managing Director of International Sales and Alliances at HandySoft, and he has some good viewpoints on the intersection of BPM and ERP. Garth has also been a contributing author here on ebizQ, most recently in April 2009. With 15 years broad experience with ERP and BPM users like yourselves, Knudson has focused for the past 5 years on BPM-oriented initiatives. Knudson received his B.A. from Brigham Young University, and M.B.A. from Case and a Masters of International Management from Thunderbird.
In simplified terms, Garth says he sees ERP as a way to integrate the data layer of different processes (e.g. AP/AR, Payroll, Order Entry) within larger processes (e.g., Financials, HR, SCM). The value is an integrated system. In contrast, BPM enables users to streamline processes spanning multiple divisions, systems and data sources. BPM might compete with and/or replace ERP on smaller scale projects. But BPM absolutely complements ERP by creating a "single view" into process spanning multiple groups/systems (e.g., on-boarding). The results are visibility and control.
But don't take my opinion on what he said. Take 10 minutes to listen.
-- Dennis Byron
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