CDC Software today announced an update of its Ross Enterprise ERP software aimed at improving usability and interoperability, lowering IT maintenance costs, and increasing visibility throughout the manufacturing enterprise.

The new release, Ross Enterprise 6.3, leverages CDC’s Smart Client technology, which includes a browser-like interface combined with extensive functionality and processing logic in the background, and provides deeper integration with Microsoft desktop applications, letting users extract data from Ross ERP through the familiar front ends of Office, Outlook, SharePoint, and other Microsoft products.

The integration to familiar desktop tools such as Outlook and Office drives up user comfort and adoption, said David Cahn, vice president of product strategy at CDC Software, in an interview with Managing Automation. CDC Software plans to “extend those integrations with Microsoft Office even further in the future,” he added.

The new Smart Client-based user interface gives users throughout the enterprise — from sourcing through order to cash — the flexibility to configure their desktops with information appropriate to their particular functions.

Other new features in the new Ross application, which is designed for process manufacturers, are said to provide greater visibility into production and supply chain operations. For example, the company has added a process and production flow inquiry that workers can use to check material availability, based on scheduled dates and manufacturing requirements. The expanded visibility into existing and projected inventory availability enables manufacturers, for instance, to accurately quote shipping targets on new orders.

Previous versions of the Ross software allowed access to the same data, but with 6.3, users can now view all the information on a single screen, Cahn said.

That “ability to serve up the right information at the right time is sharp,” said Simon Jacobson, AMR Research senior research analyst, who noted that knowledge workers would be the ones who will benefit most from the Smart Client interface. “If you’re doing a 20-second process, you don’t want to spend two minutes getting the data,” he said.

In addition, CDC Software added a project accounting module in version 6.3 to enable users to manage projects and meet financial reporting requirements over the life of the project. Users can streamline their management of direct costs and expenses associated with a project, such as new product development, capital projects, quality testing, or compliance with government regulations.

A landed cost feature in Ross 6.3 factors in costs related to material, such as freight, insurance, handling, and duty, when users value inventories at the time of receipt. And a product costing enhancement provides flexibility in valuing different types of inventory using various costing methodologies within the same warehouse.

The new Ross application is expected to carry a lower total cost of ownership through centralized system administration, lower deployment costs, and reduced maintenance requirements when installing system upgrades, according to the company.

CDC Software’s process industry customers, especially in the food and beverage industry, are looking for products to help them make their plants more profitable, as they feel the squeeze from both customers and suppliers, according to Cahn. Customers are pushing back on pricing while suppliers are holding firm on cost increases. “Companies are looking for margin improvements more than cost efficiencies,” and better tools can help them manage their existing products and “drive new products more aggressively into the market,” he said.

One customer, Troy Grove, CIO of Berner Foods, offered a testimonial for CDC’s announcement. “We are especially excited about the Microsoft Smart Client user interface option and the new costing features in this new product since it gives us even stronger visibility into our demand, inventory, levels, and actual process and product costs,” he said.

AMR’s Jacobson saw the new release as a “smart move” to protect Ross’ installed base in the food and beverage industry. “There’s a small cadre of [software] suppliers that offer what [those manufacturers] really need. People want to maintain their investment,” he said, pointing to the flexibility offered by the new user interface. The Ross update, he said, will continue to solicit the loyalty of customers.

CDC Software plans to move aggressively into broader geographies and additional vertical markets in the process industry, as well as improve its scalability in the markets it already serves, according to Cahn. Asked whether discrete manufacturing is a target for the company, Cahn said, “It’s on our roadmap, but longer term. Not in the next two years.”