In a move that strengthens an ongoing relationship and knits manufacturing execution capabilities more tightly into the ERP fold, SAP AG unveiled an agreement with Visiprise Inc. to resell Visiprise's flagship MES software.
Starting immediately, SAP will offer the Visiprise Manufacturing software directly to its discrete manufacturing customers under the name "SAP Manufacturing Execution by Visiprise." SAP already has an alliance with Visiprise under which it brings the MES provider into key accounts where an MES system is needed, much like its relationships with other MES and automation vendors, including Siemens, Invensys plc's Wonderware division, and GE Fanuc Automation, among others.
Visiprise software helps manufacturers plan, define, control, execute, and analyze manufacturing operations from a single environment. Visiprise Manufacturing had already been designated an SAP xApps Certified, Powered by SAP NetWeaver solution, which is a certification level given to certain SAP partners. As part of their expanded agreement, the SAP Manufacturing Execution by Visiprise offering leverages the SAP xApp Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence (SAP xMII) composite application to integrate directly with SAP applications, company officials said. SAP also audited source code and tested scripts to technically qualify the Visiprise product to run as part of a core SAP system, officials said.
Sudipta Bhattacharya, SAP's senior vice president of solutions management for SCM, PLM, and manufacturing, said the global reseller agreement elevates the Visiprise partnership to the next level and provides "significant value to customers that want to drive both global coordination as well as local execution across their manufacturing networks."
In an interview with Managing Automation, Bhattacharya said, "The agreement is a response to customer feedback and filling in white spaces."
Vivek Bapat, senior director of solutions marketing at SAP, said the expanded Visiprise relationship will make it easier for customers to integrate MES capabilities with SAP systems. "It is transparent to the customer," he said. "There's no separate P.O. [purchase order], which makes it easier [for] the customer to buy the product."
SAP isn't the only enterprise software vendor taking steps to build closer links to MES systems. While SAP is seeking partnerships to offer MES capabilities, chief rival Oracle Corp. is building MES functionality directly into its e-Business Suite. In E-Business Suite 12, for example, Oracle included MES workstations for manufacturing operators and supervisors along with MES functionality for specific manufacturing verticals. PLM vendors are also creating tighter ties between their enterprise systems and MES suites. UGS PLM Software, now a division of Siemens Automation and Drives Group, intends to marry PLM and MES capabilities as part of its long-term PLM product roadmap, and PTC introduced some MES capabilities as part of its Windchill 9.0 upgrade, announced earlier this month.
The vendors' efforts come at a time when manufacturers are taking a fresh look at MES. According to a recent survey by AMR Research Inc., spending on manufacturing operations systems in 2007 will capture the second biggest piece of the software budget, outrun only by ERP. From 2006 to 2007, manufacturing software investments are expected to grow faster than ERP, CRM, SCM, and performance management, the AMR survey shows.
By creating a tighter relationship with Visiprise, SAP is looking to deliver all aspects of plant functionality, according to Simon Jacobson, senior research analyst at AMR. SAP's challenge, however, will be to play loyal to its other MES partners. "While Visiprise is a solid MES product, it fits within specific types of manufacturing scenarios," he said. "If SAP wants to fulfill multiple modes of manufacturing, they?re going to have to continue to resell other MES products as well."
SAP's Bhattacharya said the company will continue to do just that, and ultimately, "the customer will make the decision."
Visiprise, which also holds some level of reseller partnerships with UGS and PLM vendor Dassault Systemes, believes the new SAP arrangement will be a boon to its customer base and instrumental in helping it build out an enterprise offering.
"More than two-thirds of our installed base runs SAP, and they would love to procure the product through SAP," said Carter Johnson, Visiprise senior vice president, corporate development. "From a business perspective, we've been partners with SAP for two years, and we've seen a lift in business access we get from [that partnership]. This is an even better offering."
MA Senior Editor Stephanie Neil contributed to this story.