PeopleSoft Inc. today announced PeopleSoft® EnterpriseOne Rapid Start 8.11. Ideal for small to mid-size manufacturers, PeopleSoft Rapid Start combines PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne applications, consulting, education services, hardware and financing into an easy-to-deploy enterprise offering. The new release of PeopleSoft Rapid Start extends existing Financial, Distribution and Manufacturing functionality by providing companies with new, comprehensive solutions for Human Resources (HR) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne Rapid Start is sold through PeopleSoft’s direct sales force and its distributor channel partners. CD Group, a PeopleSoft partner and ERP consulting firm, sells and implements the Rapid Start solution. “Our customers in the SMB space have been clamoring for a solution like EnterpriseOne Rapid Start,” said Don Landrum, vice president of CD Group. “Many competing solutions with pre-configured business processes can’t be modified once installed. The software must be ripped out and replaced as a company grows. The flexibility delivered in the Rapid Start solution enables business processes to be changed as a small or mid-sized company grows without re-installation or re-licensing.”
The PeopleSoft Rapid Start solution enables software installation and platform-specific technical configuration in as little as one day, and complete software deployments in as few as four weeks. The solution leverages implementation services and industry-specific solution training from PeopleSoft Global Services and select PeopleSoft partners. New functionality in PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne Rapid Start 8.11 includes:
*EnterpriseOne Rapid Start for HCM: Manages time-intensive tasks throughout all stages of the employee lifecycle—from hiring the right people and developing their skills to monitoring performance and rewarding their contribution to the organization. The solution has defined user roles for key manufacturing industry professionals, including equipment operator, plant manager, controller, human resources manager, and administrative assistant. In addition, pre-configured business processes include recruit employees, hire employees, benefits enrollment, process employee timecards and pay employees.
*EnterpriseOne Rapid Start for CRM: Manages key customer-facing business functions, including sales force automation, and order, warranty and service management, enabling companies to increase revenue through effective customer relationships. The solution has defined user roles for key CRM professionals, including a company’s case manager, case administrator, contract manager, contracts administrator, warranty manager, warranty administrator, customer service representative, and customer service manager. In addition, pre-configured business processes include track leads, manage sales quotes, create and track sales orders, track shipments, manage cash receivables, track support incidents, mange service contracts, and manage warranty claims.
“As a growing company, we wanted to take advantage of industry-specific applications without putting the burden on our IT resources,” said Fred Hauenstein, vice president, corporate administration, Cannon Equipment. PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne Rapid Start helped us reduce risk and delivered faster time to value because we had a complete solution that includes software with pre-configured business processes and implementation services. We applaud PeopleSoft for enhancing the functionality of Rapid Start with its latest release.”
“Today’s demand-driven manufacturers realize the impact that effective customer service and employee management can bring to the bottom line,” said Les Wyatt, group vice president and general manager, PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne. “With the addition of CRM and HR to our Rapid Start solution, we are enabling small and mid-size manufacturers to optimize their workforce for increased productivity and improve profitability through better management of customer relationships.”
PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne Rapid Start 8.11 will be generally available in December 2004. The solution is available on Intel, IBM eServer iSeries, UNIX and Linux-based platforms.
