Kenandy
March
2014
NEXT
GENERATION
ERP:
KENANDY’S
APPROACH
CHANGING
THE
WORLD
OF
ERP,
ONE
CLICK
AT
A
TIME
What
do
Star
Trek
and
Enterprise
Resource
Planning
(ERP)
have
in
common?
Apart
from
each
being
a
bold
adventure,
both
have
experienced
a
rebirth
as
a
next
generation.
In
recent
reports,
Mint
Jutras
describes
the
next
generation
of
ERP
in
terms
of
new
technology
that
enables:
• new
ways
of
engaging
with
ERP
• custom
configuration
without
programming
• more
innovation
• better
integration
The
next
generation
of
Star
Trek
continued
the
original
journey
but
was
faster,
more
technologically
enabled
and
more
in
tune
with
the
evolving
needs
of
the
galaxy.
When
Sandy
Kurtzig
came
out
of
retirement
in
2010
and
founded
Kenandy,
she
may
not
have
been
thinking
about
Star
Trek
but
she
clearly
wanted
to
explore
new
worlds
in
her
entrepreneurial
journey
and
boldly
go
where
no
ERP
for
manufacturing
has
gone
before.
Using
new
technology,
Kenandy
designed
its
new
ERP
from
scratch
with
a
singular
purpose
in
mind:
to
deliver
a
robust
solution
quickly
that
would
also
keep
pace
with
the
rapidly
changing
world
in
which
we
live.
DOES
KENANDY
QUALIFY
AS
NEXT
GENERATION
ERP?
Not
every
ERP
solution
on
the
market
today
qualifies
as
a
“next
generation”
ERP.
The
depth
and
breadth
of
functionality
has
increased
over
the
past
three
decades,
which
makes
it
harder
for
a
new
entrant
to
compete
in
the
market.
The
“basics”
are
table
stakes,
but
they
aren’t
so
basic
anymore,
particularly
in
the
world
of
manufacturing
where
Kenandy
hopes
to
compete.
While
other
industries
might
be
able
to
survive
with
back
office
functionality
that
is
limited
to
accounting
or
human
resource
management,
manufacturing
requires
a
much
broader
set
of
features
and
functions.
Indeed,
ERP
for
manufacturing
has
evolved
from
material
requirements
planning
(MRP)
to
manufacturing
resource
planning
(MRP
II),
to
the
full
operational
and
transactional
system
of
record
of
the
business.
Even
the
manufacturing
of
a
simple
product
can
be
quite
complex
when
you
run
lean,
but
strive
to
be
responsive
to
your
demanding
customers.
Any
ERP
vendor
today
must
compete
on
functionality,
but
that
is
not
what
makes
a
solution
“next
generation.”
It
is
the
underlying
technology
and
the
Data Source
In
this
paper,
Mint
Jutras
references
data
collected
from
its
2013
and
2014
ERP
Solution
Studies
which
are
used
to
investigate
ERP
goals,
challenges
and
status
and
also
to
benchmark
performance
of
ERP
implementations.
Over
350
responses
were
collected
for
the
2013
study.
At
time
of
publication,
the
2014
survey
remains
open,
with
over
425
responses
collected.
However,
as
additional
data
is
collected,
the
percentages
shown
in
this
report
may
change.
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
2
of
11
power
it
delivers.
But
technology
and
functionality
are
closely
related,
because
it
is
the
power
of
the
technology
platform
that
allows
solution
providers
to
deliver
more
features
and
functions
faster.
Selecting
the
right
platform
on
which
to
build
ERP
is
therefore
critical.
While
the
platform
may
not
be
immediately
visible
to
the
end
user
of
the
software,
it
is
dangerous
to
ignore
it
and
the
power
of
technology.
You
probably
never
knew
how
the
USS
Enterprise
achieved
warp
speed,
but
you
knew
that
it
could.
You
didn’t
know
how
the
transporter
beam
worked,
but
you
knew
what
happened
when
Captain
Kirk
said,
“Beam
me
up,
Scottie.”
While
neither
were
the
only
ways
to
get
from
point
A
to
point
B,
both
added
speed
and
efficiency.
While
Kenandy
chose
to
build
an
ERP
solution
from
a
clean
sheet
of
paper,
in
order
to
compete,
it
needed
to
find
a
way
to
add
both
speed
and
efficiency
to
the
development
process.
Kenandy
chose
to
build
on
the
Salesforce
Platform
to
deliver
both.
And
in
doing
so,
its
customers
also
benefit
from
speed
and
simplicity,
which
together
yield
efficiency.
ERP:
EMPOWER
REAL
PEOPLETM
Speed
and
efficiency
are
prerequisites
for
delivering
on
the
first
element
of
next
generation
ERP:
providing
new
ways
of
engaging
with
enterprise
software.
Traditionally,
users
have
engaged
with
ERP
through
a
hierarchical
series
of
menus,
which
require
at
least
a
rudimentary
knowledge
of
how
data
and
processes
are
organized.
Hopefully
this
organization
reflects
how
the
business
processes
and
the
enterprise
itself
are
structured,
but
with
a
hierarchy
of
menus,
there
are
no
guarantees
that
navigation
is
intuitive
or
that
business
processes
are
streamlined
and
efficient.
When
processes
within
ERP
are
clumsy
and
inefficient,
employees
spend
more
time
trying
to
work
around
the
system,
rather
than
working
with
it.
Cynics
like
to
refer
to
ERP
not
as
“enterprise
resource
planning”,
but
as
“Excel
runs
production.”
Sandy
Kurtzig
strives
for
a
different
goal
where
ERP
stands
for
“empower
real
people.”
For
that
to
happen
you
need
to
reach
both
up
and
down
the
corporate
ladder.
Traditionally,
a
small
percentage
of
employees
of
any
company
ever
put
their
hands
directly
on
ERP,
and
this
select
group
almost
never
included
top-‐level
executive
decision-‐makers.
But
the
speed
of
required
decision-‐making
and
the
consumerization
of
IT
are
making
this
unacceptable.
While
the
percentage
of
employees
with
direct
access
to
ERP
used
to
be
very
small,
Mint
Jutras
research
shows
that
today
that
percentage
is
holding
steady
at
about
50%.
And
we
are
also
seeing
evidence
of
increased
executive
engagement
(Figure
1).
While
in
the
past
it
was
very
unusual
for
top-‐level
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
3
of
11
executives
to
lay
their
hands
on
ERP,
the
2013
ERP
Solution
Study
signaled
a
change
with
almost
half
of
participants
(47%)
indicating
top-‐level
execs
have
access
to
and
use
ERP
regularly.
Preliminary
results
from
the
2014
study
show
this
trend
continuing,
with
a
30%
jump
in
executives
with
full
access
to
ERP.
Figure
1:
Executive
Access
to
ERP
Source: Mint Jutras 2013 and 2014 ERP Solution Studies
So
how
does
Kenandy
empower
real
people?
It
relies
on
the
Salesforce
Platform
to
deliver
a
user
experience
that
is
appealing
to
the
younger
work
force
that
has
grown
up
on
the
Internet.
And
in
making
the
solution
appealing
to
the
millennials,
it
also
makes
it
easier
for
the
older
crowd
to
use.
It
recognizes
there
are
“mobile”
and
“social”
users
as
well,
both
of
which
are
addressed
by
the
platform.
The
Salesforce
Platform
provides
a
simple
user
interface,
using
a
single
screen
approach.
Its
popularity
with
(non-‐technical)
sales
teams
(using
Salesforce)
is
a
tribute
to
this
simplicity.
No
sales
person
is
going
to
read
a
manual.
If
it
is
not
intuitive,
it
doesn’t
get
used.
And
yet
more
and
more
companies
today
are
successful
in
requiring
the
use
of
sales
force
automation
(like
Salesforce)
as
a
prerequisite
for
getting
paid.
No
opportunity
in
the
system
means
no
commission.
And
yet
ERP
is
not
sales
force
automation.
While
selling
is
not
necessarily
easy,
the
process
of
managing
contacts
and
opportunities
is
far
simpler
than
processes
like
planning,
scheduling
and
production
or
managing
cash
flow.
So
while
ERP
can
inherit
features
such
as
web-‐based
access
and
intuitive
navigation,
it
must
go
further
than
this
to
really
provide
new
ways
of
engaging
a
very
diverse
audience.
Different
disciplines
and
different
types
of
users
expect
different
experiences.
Those
who
spend
the
day
heads
down
doing
data
entry
require
the
ability
to
minimize
clicks
and
tabs,
search
extensively
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
4
of
11
and
even
type
ahead.
This
type
of
audience
might
prefer
what
Kenandy
refers
to
as
a
“grid
design.”
On
a
different
note,
a
sales
or
support
person
out
in
the
field,
communicating
through
a
mobile
device,
needs
to
maximize
the
value
of
the
limited
real
estate
on
a
small
screen,
but
still
have
immediate
access
to
a
full
view
of
a
customer,
including
history.
And
an
executive
needs
a
customized
collection
of
key
performance
indicators
(KPIs)
displayed
graphically,
that
takes
advantage
of
touch
technology
to
drill
down
to
the
detail.
According
to
Charlie
Merrow,
CEO
of
Merrow
Sewing
Machine
Company,
a
family-‐owned
business
in
Fall
River,
Massachusetts,
Kenandy
has
brought
“unprecedented
visibility”
to
the
entire
company.
“Kenandy
lets
us
see
what
is
really
going
on
in
our
business.
We
have
the
system
running
on
three
50-‐inch
flat
screens
in
our
lobby.
Plus
in
each
department
there
is
a
giant
flat-‐screen
with
dashboards
showing
what
is
going
on
in
that
particular
area
–
how
many
invoices
need
to
go
out,
what
packages
are
shipping,
what
products
are
in
production.
We’ve
never
had
access
to
this
breadth
and
depth
before.
It’s
really
extraordinary,
and
it’s
making
an
enormous
difference.”
So
Kenandy
can
be
on
your
desk,
on
a
“big
screen”
or
in
your
pocket.
Not
exactly
your
traditional
ERP
user
experience.
The
Salesforce
Platform
also
enables
collaboration
by
connecting
people
to
the
business
and
to
information.
For
years,
salesforce.com
made
a
big
deal
out
of
its
“social”
capabilities
but
the
manufacturing
community
is
just
now
appreciating
social.
While
a
hot
topic
among
pundits
and
industry
“influencers,”
the
perceived
value
was
lost
on
many,
particularly
in
manufacturing.
Traditionalists
distinguish
between
a
business
event
and
a
social
event,
between
a
business
conversation
and
a
social
chat,
between
a
business
colleague
and
a
friend
or
social
acquaintance.
Many
didn’t
“get”
that
social
is
really
just
shorthand
for
new
and
improved
ways
of
getting
and
staying
informed
in
a
collaborative
way.
And
who
doesn’t
want
that?
By
building
an
ERP
on
the
Salesforce
Platform,
these
social
and
mobile
aspects
are
built
in.
Kenandy
doesn’t
need
to
use
its
own
precious
development
resources
for
that.
It
can
concentrate
on
what
it
knows
best:
ERP
for
manufacturing.
And
yet,
in
spite
of
its
collective
knowledge
and
expertise,
it
is
important
to
not
develop
a
solution
like
ERP
in
an
ivory
tower.
And
therefore
Kenandy
needs
to
actively
engage
not
only
with
its
prospects,
but
also
its
customers.
For
that
type
of
engagement,
it
needs
to
build
an
active
community.
This
was
something
Sandy
Kurtzig’s
prior
company
was
very
good
at
–
so
good
in
fact
that
the
MANMAN
(ASK’s
product)
community
has
outlived
the
company
and
lives
on
even
today.
Can
Kenandy
replicate
this
kind
of
success?
Odds
are
in
favor
of
doing
just
that.
The
MANMAN
community
was
built
on
word
of
mouth,
local
and
regional
user
groups
and
an
annual
conference.
Not
“Kenandy
lets
us
see
what
is
really
going
on
in
our
business….
We’ve
never
had
access
to
this
breadth
and
depth
before.
It’s
really
extraordinary,
and
it’s
making
an
enormous
difference.”
Charlie
Merrow,
CEO,
Merrow
Sewing
Machine
Company
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
5
of
11
only
does
Kenandy
hope
to
be
able
to
deliver
a
full
customer
list
for
references
(as
ASK
did
for
many
years),
but
also
has
many
more
tools
at
its
disposal
to
support
that
community,
including
a
one-‐stop
customer
portal
(called
the
Kenandy
Community).
Its
ability
to
engage
with
the
community
either
as
a
whole,
or
personally,
one
customer
at
a
time,
has
never
been
more
technology-‐enabled.
PERSONALIZING
WITH
CLICKS
NOT
CODE
The
Kenandy
team
has
decades
of
experience
with
both
ERP
and
manufacturing.
It
knows
how
inherently
complex
that
world
can
be.
While
all
manufacturers
face
similar
challenges,
they
also
have
unique
ways
of
dealing
with
those
challenges,
and
in
doing
so,
actively
seek
differentiation
in
their
individual
markets.
What
company
today
doesn’t
believe
it
is
unique
in
some
way?
Being
different
used
to
mean
customization
and
with
traditional,
older
generation
ERP,
this
meant
programming
changes,
mucking
around
in
source
code
and
building
barriers
to
upgrade
and
innovation.
To
qualify
as
a
“next
generation”
ERP,
most,
if
not
all
of
this
customization
must
be
done
without
ever
touching
a
line
of
source
code.
Configuration,
tailoring
and
personalization
should
replace
customization.
Kenandy
likes
to
say
it
can
personalize
with
“clicks,
not
code.”
This
means
adding
fields,
changing
workflows,
rearranging
the
screens.
This
is
an
absolute
necessity
in
a
Kenandy
environment
because
it
is
delivered
only
as
multi-‐
tenant
software
as
a
service
(SaaS).
In
a
multi-‐tenant
environment,
multiple
companies
use
the
same
instance
of
(hosted)
software.
Of
course,
data
is
protected
from
access
by
other
companies
(tenants),
but
any
“customization”
is
generally
delivered
through
configuration
settings,
which
vary
per
company.
Figure
2:
What
level
of
customization
do
you
believe
you
need?
Source: Mint Jutras 2013 ERP Solution Study
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
6
of
11
Mint
Jutras
research
finds
multi-‐tenancy
is
one
of
those
features
that
most
end
users
don’t
understand
and
don’t
necessarily
care
about.
But
they
do
care
about
the
benefits
it
delivers:
massive
scalability
and
flexibility
of
an
elastic
cloud.
But
they
are
unwilling
to
sacrifice
their
ability
to
be
unique.
To
better
distinguish
between
configuration
and
customization,
Mint
Jutras
posed
the
question
to
ERP
survey
participants,
“What
level
of
customization
do
you
believe
you
need?”
Respondents
were
allowed
to
select
any
or
all
of
the
options
presented.
Their
responses
are
shown
in
Figure
2.
Kenandy’s
architecture
allows
you
to
modify
business
processes
and
the
user
experience,
including
screens,
dashboards
and
even
the
device.
This
doesn’t
require
programmers.
Simplicity
and
this
“Do
It
Yourself”
aspect
were
among
the
primary
reasons
Blue
Clover
Devices
selected
Kenandy.
These
features
became
obvious
to
Blue
Clover
during
its
trial
run
of
the
system.
“I
immediately
saw
how
easy
it
is
to
add
and
extend
capabilities
with
Kenandy,”
said
Pete
Staples,
President
and
Co-‐founder.
“I
was
convinced
that
this
was
something
we
could
manage
pretty
much
on
our
own,
and
that
had
a
strong
appeal
to
us.”
While
the
other
system
Blue
Clover
was
considering
had
many
positive
features,
“We
felt
like
we
would
have
to
hire
them
to
do
everything
for
us,
and
that
just
made
us
nervous.”
Since
implementing
Kenandy,
Blue
Clover
has
found
it
easy
to
add
its
own
customized
objects,
including
samples,
test
reports
and
regulatory
certificates.
These
new
objects
are
not
only
connectable
and
searchable,
but
also,
all
customizations
are
protected
when
Kenandy
does
its
upgrades.
Staples
goes
on
to
say,
“Kenandy
is
like
Legos
whereas
the
traditional
ERP
systems
are
more
like
a
stack
of
lumber
and
blueprints.
With
Kenandy,
it’s
fundamentally
easier
to
put
things
together
and
make
them
work.”
Kenandy
also
allows
you
to
extend
the
solution
with
your
own
added
applications
built
on
the
platform
or
purchase
pre-‐built
extensions
from
the
Salesforce
AppExchange.
Merrow
Sewing
Machine
Company
did
just
that,
purchasing
an
extension
built
on
the
Salesforce
Platform
to
manage
repairs.
According
to
Merrow’s
CEO,
it
was
integrated
with
Kenandy
by
“one
of
our
smart
guys,
who
doesn’t
have
a
programming
bone
in
his
body.”
BEYOND
THE
INITIAL
IMPLEMENTATION
While
this
level
of
personalization
and
configuration
is
important
when
Kenandy
is
first
being
implemented,
it
becomes
even
more
so
as
life
goes
on.
Today’s
manufacturers
are
bombarded
with
change,
whether
as
a
result
of
growth,
regulatory
requirements
or
just
the
desire
for
continuous
improvement.
Change
doesn’t
halt
once
you
implement
ERP.
In
fact,
the
need
for
change
may
accelerate
as
new
functionality
and
new
technology
opens
doors
for
growth
and
improvement.
“I
immediately
saw
how
easy
it
is
to
add
and
extend
capabilities
with
Kenandy.
I
was
convinced
that
this
was
something
we
could
manage
pretty
much
on
our
own,
and
that
had
a
strong
appeal
to
us….
Kenandy
is
like
Legos
whereas
the
traditional
ERP
systems
are
more
like
a
stack
of
lumber
and
blueprints.
With
Kenandy,
it’s
fundamentally
easier
to
put
things
together
and
make
them
work.”
Pete
Staples,
President
and
Co-‐founder,
Blue
Clover
Devices
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
7
of
11
And
yet
managing
change
has
traditionally
been
an
obstacle
to
achieving
the
goals
of
an
ERP
solution.
The
2014
ERP
Solution
Study
found
this
to
be
the
number
one
challenge
with
the
vast
majority
(82%)
rating
it
as
moderately
to
extremely
challenging
(Figure
3).
Figure
3:
The
challenge
of
changes
to
ERP
as
a
result
of
business
change
Source: Mint Jutras 2014 ERP Solution Study
The
ability
to
handle
this
kind
of
change
was
the
primary
reason
Big
Heart
Pet
Brands
(formerly
Del
Monte
Foods)
selected
Kenandy
to
support
its
recent
acquisition
of
Natural
Balance
Pet
Foods.
“One
of
the
many
reasons
Del
Monte
selected
Kenandy
was
that
we
wanted
a
flexible
system
that
easily
adapts
to
business
changes,
such
as
acquisitions,
while
also
offering
enterprise-‐class
capabilities,”
said
David
McLain,
Senior
Vice
President,
Chief
Information
Officer
and
Procurement
Officer,
Big
Heart
Pet
Brands.
Kenandy
attributes
this
post-‐implementation
agility
to
the
flexibility
and
extensibility
of
the
platform
and
Stuart
Kowarsky,
Vice
President
of
Operations
at
Natural
Balance
seems
to
be
a
big
fan.
“At
Natural
Balance
and
in
our
corporate
systems,
we’re
replacing
a
patchwork
of
applications
with
one
unified,
extensible
solution
that
will
grow
and
scale
with
Big
Heart's
needs.”
But
Kenandy’s
ability
to
accommodate
change
is
not
only
attributable
to
the
platform,
but
also
to
how
it
has
architected
the
solution
on
top
of
that
platform,
with
a
unified
data
model
that
takes
full
advantage
of
the
power
of
business
objects.
“WIDE-‐BODY”
OBJECTSTM
Legacy
ERP
solution
data
models
consisted
of
an
extensive
number
of
tables.
Joining
those
tables
together
reflected
relationships
between
data.
For
example,
a
sales
order
header
table
might
need
to
be
joined
to
line
items.
In
turn,
those
line
items
needed
to
be
joined
with
the
products
being
delivered,
and
any
number
of
associated
tables
for
validation,
like
units
of
measure,
product
categories,
inventory
locations,
planning
and
replenishment
codes,
etc.
The
sales
order
also
had
to
be
joined
with
customers,
shipments,
and
invoices.
It
didn’t
take
long
for
the
number
of
tables
and
joins
to
proliferate
“One
of
the
many
reasons
Del
Monte
selected
Kenandy
was
that
we
wanted
a
flexible
system
that
easily
adapts
to
business
changes,
such
as
acquisitions,
while
also
offering
enterprise-‐class
capabilities.”
David
McLain,
Senior
Vice
President,
CIO
and
Procurement
Officer,
Big
Heart
Pet
Brands
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
8
of
11
almost
exponentially,
making
a
change
to
any
one
element
a
labyrinth
of
changes.
Kenandy
replaces
that
myriad
of
tables
with
what
it
calls
a
”Wide-‐Body”
ObjectTM
architecture.
These
objects
will
sound
quite
familiar:
orders,
invoices,
customers,
etc.
But
by
packing
lots
of
information
into
each
object,
it
significantly
reduces
the
number
that
needs
to
be
managed.
Kenandy
has
less
than
100
Wide-‐Body
Objects.
For
example,
invoice,
credit
memo
and
adjustments
share
similar
data
structures
and
therefore
can
be
expressed
as
a
single
object,
distinguished
by
embedded
fields.
Adding
fields
is
a
simple
process
and
only
has
to
be
done
in
one
place.
Changing
workflow
steps
is
equally
simple
because
the
workflow
connects
directly
to
the
objects.
Also,
these
Wide-‐Body
Objects
are
reusable
and
it
is
a
simple
process
to
make
these
changes
by
pointing
and
clicking.
No
database
administrator
(DBA)
required.
This
simplicity
is
the
result
of
Kenandy’s
addition
of
new
dimensions
to
the
objects
for:
1. Access:
The
objects
themselves
contain
information
about
their
relationship
to
other
objects.
So
when
you
access
a
sales
order,
for
example,
it
“knows”
about
the
products
and
the
customer
and
all
the
other
related
data.
This
intelligence
is
built
into
the
object
so
you
don’t
have
to
manage
the
complexity
that
can
turn
what
seems
to
be
a
simple
inquiry
into
a
complex
nightmare.
How
does
it
do
that?
It
doesn’t
really
matter.
You
don’t
know
how
the
starship
Enterprise
achieves
warp
speed,
but
you
know
that
it
can.
2. Variants:
This
is
how
Kenandy
reduces
the
overall
number
of
objects.
The
invoice,
credit
memo
and
adjustment
can
share
a
single
object
and
be
distinguished
as
variants.
Fewer
objects
are
easier
to
understand
and
manage.
3. Lifecycle:
A
single
object
can
progress
through
different
“states.”
A
product
may
be
planned,
work
in
progress,
completed,
or
shipped.
All
of
this
is
captured
in
a
single
object
container.
This
has
the
added
benefit
of
simplifying
audit
trails
and
traceability.
This
is
a
relatively
simple
philosophical
design
change,
although
it
might
take
a
little
effort
for
an
IT
department
to
wrap
its
collective
head
around
it.
But
once
it
does,
the
implications
and
the
savings
potential
are
impressive.
Think
about
refining
or
changing
business
processes
to
add
efficiency.
Think
about
the
impact
of
large
corporations
going
through
structural
changes,
merging
or
splitting
business
units.
Think
about
how
mergers
and
acquisitions
impact
ERP.
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
9
of
11
MORE
INNOVATION
TO
COME
The
ability
to
enable
change
this
rapidly
also
has
implications
for
the
on-‐going
development
of
the
product,
which
impacts
the
third
requirement
for
next
generation
ERP:
more
innovation.
In
deciding
to
build
a
new
product
from
scratch,
Kenandy
avoided
a
lot
of
the
headaches
other
longer-‐tenured
companies
face.
In
developing
a
new
product,
you
don't
have
to
worry
about
keeping
any
existing
customers
happy
with
product
or
implementation
decisions
they
may
have
already
made.
You
can
start
from
a
clean
slate.
It
is
sort
of
like
building
a
new
house.
It
is
much
easier
to
start
with
an
empty
lot
and
a
design
plan,
than
it
is
to
remodel
an
existing
structure.
And
yet
Kenandy
set
out
to
build
a
very
big
and
complex
structure.
As
noted
earlier,
the
depth
and
breadth
of
functionality
needed
to
compete
today,
particularly
in
manufacturing,
is
extensive.
And
yet
Kenandy
is
being
used
in
several
companies
today,
some
mid-‐sized,
but
then
some,
like
Del
Monte,
are
quite
large.
The
platform
itself
comes
with
an
extensive
toolbox
that
accelerates
the
development
process.
The
power
of
the
platform,
combined
with
its
SaaS-‐only
delivery
model,
supports
agile
development,
managed
around
“sprints,”
a
concept
familiar
to
proponents
of
rapid
application
development.
Innovation
doesn’t
have
to
be
packaged
up
to
be
delivered
every
12
to
18
months,
but
in
shorter
cycles
that
include
scripting
a
scenario,
designing
a
solution,
building
and
testing.
Think
of
these
more
as
a
series
of
short
proof
of
concept
projects,
which
are
continually
being
delivered.
As
a
SaaS
model,
no
customer
is
left
behind
running
an
older
release.
In
an
interesting
twist
on
“agile”
and
“sprints,”
Kenandy
applies
these
same
concepts
to
the
implementation
process.
New
customers
gain
access
immediately
to
an
instance
of
the
software.
They
can
add
data,
experiment
and
test
it
out
in
a
series
of
pilots.
At
the
end
of
the
process,
teams
not
only
have
a
working
environment,
but
also
have
learned
how
to
make
changes
to
business
processes,
again
with
clicks,
not
code.
Nothing
is
cast
in
concrete
as
the
first
(or
any)
“go
live”
milestone
is
achieved,
therefore
it
encourages
and
supports
the
popular
manufacturing
concept
of
continuous
improvement.
These
were
some
of
the
benefits
Del
Monte
saw
in
its
recent
acquisition
of
Natural
Balance.
Indeed,
Sandra
Kurtzig
was
so
confident
in
Kenandy’s
ability
to
respond
quickly,
she
made
a
commitment
to
Del
Monte
to
go
live
with
Kenandy
at
Natural
Balance
just
90
minutes
after
the
acquisition
was
complete.
No,
that’s
not
a
typo
–
that’s
90
minutes,
not
90
days.
In
fact,
the
system
was
up
and
running
in
less
time
and
represented
a
complete
implementation
including
order-‐to-‐cash,
planning
and
production,
procure-‐to-‐
pay
and
financials.
Sandra
Kurtzig
was
so
confident
in
Kenandy’s
ability
to
respond
quickly,
she
made
a
commitment
to
Del
Monte
to
go
live
with
Kenandy
at
Natural
Balance
just
90
minutes
after
the
acquisition
was
complete.
No,
that’s
not
a
typo
–
that’s
90
minutes,
not
90
days.
In
fact
the
system
was
up
and
running
in
less
time
and
represented
a
complete
implementation
including
order-‐to-‐
cash,
planning
and
production,
procure-‐
to-‐pay
and
financials.
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
10
of
11
BEYOND
ERP:
BETTER
INTEGRATION
As
Kenandy
and
other
ERP
companies
continue
to
expand
their
solution
footprints,
you
might
start
to
wonder
where
ERP
ends
and
other
applications
begin.
The
vast
majority
of
companies
using
ERP
today
prefer
a
single
integrated
suite
from
a
single
vendor,
although
many
will
be
cautious
before
sacrificing
functional
requirements
for
ease
of
integration
or
a
single
vendor
(Figure
4).
As
a
result,
integration
capabilities
have
become
that
much
more
important.
Figure
4:
Preference
is
high
for
an
integrated
suite
Source: Mint Jutras 2014 ERP Solution Study
A
whole
cottage
industry
of
sorts
has
sprung
up
around
the
Salesforce
Platform,
with
several
companies
specializing
in
integration.
And
of
course
Kenandy
and
Salesforce
are
quite
seamlessly
integrated.
An
opportunity
in
Salesforce
can
easily
and
automatically
be
converted
to
a
sales
order
in
Kenandy.
But
you
don’t
have
to
use
Salesforce
in
order
to
achieve
this
level
of
integration.
Kenandy
can
be
integrated
with
any
CRM.
Integration
is
not
limited
to
CRM
but
might
include
any
number
of
other
applications.
Natural
Balance
for
example
integrated
its
financials
to
Hyperion
running
at
Del
Monte
corporate.
Kenandy
has
published
Web
APIs,
creating
an
open
architecture
by
which
content
and
data
are
shared
between
communities
and
applications.
Integration
is
also
simplified
because
of
the
logic
embedded
into
its
Wide-‐Body
Objects.
SUMMARY
Like
the
starship
Enterprise,
whose
five-‐year
mission
was
to
explore
new
worlds
and
“to
boldly
go
where
no
man
has
gone
before,”
early
versions
of
ERP
charted
new
territory
for
enterprise
applications.
It
evolved
from
MRP
(material
requirements
planning)
to
MRP
II
(manufacturing
resource
planning)
Next
Generation
ERP:
Kenandy’s
Approach
Page
11
of
11
and
then
boldly
set
out
to
conquer
the
“final
frontier”
of
ERP,
managing
not
a
small
piece
of
the
enterprise,
but
the
enterprise
itself.
The
new
journey
Kenandy
has
embarked
on,
this
next
generation
ERP,
is
a
far
cry
from
legacy
ERP
solutions
of
the
past.
Not
wanting
to
be
constrained
by
legacy
code
or
preconceived
notions,
it
started
with
a
clean
sheet
of
paper
to
design
a
whole
new
solution.
But
this
new
company
knew
better
than
to
take
a
further
step
back
in
designing
its
own
development
platform.
Instead
it
chose
a
platform
that
has
already
proven
itself
in
terms
of
power,
flexibility
and
reliability.
When
Sandy
Kurtzig
stepped
down
from
her
first
venture
(The
ASK
Group)
she
left
behind
a
loyal
following
within
the
manufacturing
community,
where
trust
is
not
easily
given,
but
is
hard
earned.
Can
she
attract
the
same
kind
of
following
in
her
new
venture?
In
order
to
compete
in
this
new
era
she
will
need:
ü A
proven
technology
platform
that
allows
users
to
engage
with
ERP
in
new
and
different
ways,
with
intuitive
and
visually
appealing
user
interfaces,
which
don’t
rely
on
intimate
knowledge
of
how
the
system
or
the
data
is
structured.
She’ll
need
a
platform
that
opens
doors
to
a
whole
new
level
of
executive
involvement…
Check
ü A
system
that
is
easily
custom-‐configured,
eliminating
invasive
customization
that
prevents
companies
from
moving
forward
with
updates
and
upgrades…
Check
ü To
deliver
innovation
at
an
increased
(and
impressive)
pace,
supported
through
the
use
of
web-‐based
services,
and
object-‐oriented
data
models…
Check
ü Good
integration
capabilities
that
provide
a
seamless
user
experience
across
the
enterprise…
Check
Manufacturers
stuck
on
older
technology
with
limited
functionality
might
well
consider
saying,
“Beam
me
up,
Sandy.”
About
the
author:
Cindy
Jutras
is
a
widely
recognized
expert
in
analyzing
the
impact
of
enterprise
applications
on
business
performance.
Utilizing
over
35
years
of
corporate
experience
and
specific
expertise
in
manufacturing,
supply
chain,
customer
service
and
business
performance
management,
Cindy
has
spent
the
past
8
years
benchmarking
the
performance
of
software
solutions
in
the
context
of
the
business
benefits
of
technology.
In
2011
Cindy
founded
Mint
Jutras
LLC
(www.mintjutras.com),
specializing
in
analyzing
and
communicating
the
business
value
enterprise
applications
bring
to
the
enterprise.