New-look SSA delivers goods

By ADAM GIFFORD

Enterprise software maker SSA Global Technologies is promising the ideal of "lean manufacturing" to users of the latest version of its software.

Under its previous guise as System Software Associates, SSA struggled to extend its software from the IBM AS400 platform to also run on computers using Unix and Windows NT operating systems.

After sliding into bankruptcy, SSA was acquired by Gores Technology Group and reorganised.

New Zealander Graeme Cooksley, SSA GT's Asia-Pacific Japan president, said it was now a profitable company which could deliver on its promises.

SSA was offering a process manager or workflow tool that allowed people to look at their complete process and redefine the way they ran their business.

The company has just released Version 8 of BPCS, its core enterprise resource planning software, which runs on AS400, Unix and NT, and in the double-byte version required for systems using Asian language interfaces.

Mr Cooksley said that despite almost sinking the company, the NT version was critical for growth.

"Developing markets in South Asia and China have gone straight to Microsoft NT - the AS400 was never there."

SSA has 1200 customers in the Asia-Pacific Japan region. Mr Cooksley said it was particularly strong in the automotive after-market - the manufacturers of radiators, tyres and other car parts.

BPCS Version 8 included more than 100 significant enhancements, he said, including the lean manufacturing process (LMP) module and a trade funds management module.

"Lean manufacturing looks at the processes in an organisation and tries to cut down the steps. It tries to eliminate inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the planning and production processes, then identify anything which is not adding value."