My company needs a mini-ERP.

[s***@gmail.com]

My retail company is currently doing approx. 7 million dollars per year
in sales, through a call center and website, and have 19 employees.
Our current system is really terrible, and is unable to integrate with
our shipping software (UPS worldship) or our website. We are looking
for an integrated solution so we can avoid double data entry, have
better inventory tracking, etc. We don't have a ton of money to spend.

I have been doing a lot of research and have narrowed it down to 2
companies, iCode and Coresense. I have found a lot of bad information
regarding iCode in forums (including in this group) and in reviews. It
seems a lot of companies never actually end up implementing iCode's
Everest after purchasing the software for $50,000+. However, I like
the fact that Everest is hosted in-house.

With Coresense, it is a different issue. This is a relatively new
company (4 years old), founded by 2 ex RPI students, who are now
approx. 22 years old. They have brought in a more experienced CEO, but
I assume they still run the company. I have found a lot of information
on the founder of the company (Richard Gabriel), but cannot really find
any non-sales related reviews, article or forum posts online. The
Coresense software looks unbealievable on paper, and I am having
trouble believing.

Does anyone have experience with either of these two software
companies? Or can you provide information about a company that I have
overlooked?

Thank you in advance.

[eplanet]

You might want to take a look at Interprise Suite.

Not only is it free, but it is written in the new Microsoft .NET
platform (which is the future of all Microsoft technology). It is a
client / server application like everest, but can also run via web
services allowing you to connect remote offices and employees.

They also have a UPS module in the application that replaces worldship
- it uses the new UPS Web Services. Its actually better than worldship
since you can setup multiple computers to process UPS shipments.

You may want to save yourself some real money and check them out
http://www.interprisesuite.com/

[b***@accllc.com]

I may have a solution to fit your needs and budget. Please contact me
so I can learn more about your business and your software needs.
Thanks!
Brad Rojas
Advanced Computer Concepts, LLC
225-253-3177

[badbrd]

You might want to take a look at compiere. Compiere seems to be the
major open source erp/crm product out there with 750,000 downloads or
something like that. It is consistently ranked as one of the top 10
most active projects at sourceforge.net (the world's largest open
source project website).

Compiere's capabilities are pretty deep. For example, a web store
built on its technology is automatically linked to the order entry
system and will thus drive your fulfillment process the same way a call
center order does. I believe that integration with your system is
feasible. POS with scanners can be integrated for retail. It is built
with java technology and currently runs on oracle. It will run on any
major platform...windows, unix, and linux and could be hosted in-house
or via a co-location service over the net. The main developer of the
program worked for various erp companies (oracle, sap, etc.) over the
years and thus has deep experience in the industry. It is definitely
serious software.

While compiere is open source, and is therefore free to download and
use, guaranteed support is provided by various commercial entities such
as Compiere, Inc. and its partner network. I believe that support and
an embedded oracle license would run your company around $3000-$5000 a
year or so, which is probably a bargain when compared to proprietary
offerings. Migrating your data from one version of the software to
another is included as part of the support. Your real costs in taking
advantage of the software are then based on your own ability to
understand and customize the software to your own needs. There are a
growing number of people out there who could provide this service for
you. The costs for this aspect of the implementation would be
comparable to proprietary implementations...but overall you probably
end up saving money and getting powerful technology that will continue
to evolve for years to come. Perhaps most importantly, using a major
open source product such as compiere is good risk management, as your
erp software doesn't become hardware when some vendor goes belly up.
Please don't misconstrue this as bashing any of the products you
mentioned as I don't know anything about them. My point is that the
aformentioned risk is always there when dealing with proprietary
software. With open source, as long as the project remains under
development, you control your own destiny, as you can always hire a
developer who is familiar with the product.

Take a look at www.compiere.org for info on the product, and
www.compiere.com for info on paid support. I don't work for compiere
but am just someone who has been working with it for some time. Feel
free to contact me if you need more info. I've recently been getting
into the business of doing consulting with this product and am
interested in assisting someone with an evaluation of the product. I
am soon to be based in NYC and have an office in Chicago as well.

Post by s***@gmail.com
My retail company is currently doing approx. 7 million dollars per year
in sales, through a call center and website, and have 19 employees.
Our current system is really terrible, and is unable to integrate with
our shipping software (UPS worldship) or our website. We are looking
for an integrated solution so we can avoid double data entry, have
better inventory tracking, etc. We don't have a ton of money to spend.
I have been doing a lot of research and have narrowed it down to 2
companies, iCode and Coresense. I have found a lot of bad

information

Post by s***@gmail.com
regarding iCode in forums (including in this group) and in reviews.

It

Post by s***@gmail.com
seems a lot of companies never actually end up implementing iCode's
Everest after purchasing the software for $50,000+. However, I like
the fact that Everest is hosted in-house.
With Coresense, it is a different issue. This is a relatively new
company (4 years old), founded by 2 ex RPI students, who are now
approx. 22 years old. They have brought in a more experienced CEO, but
I assume they still run the company. I have found a lot of

information

Post by s***@gmail.com
on the founder of the company (Richard Gabriel), but cannot really find
any non-sales related reviews, article or forum posts online. The
Coresense software looks unbealievable on paper, and I am having
trouble believing.
Does anyone have experience with either of these two software
companies? Or can you provide information about a company that I have
overlooked?
Thank you in advance.

[enterpriseswguru]

Check out microERP by Altaprise, Inc. They have recently open sourced
their product. We have been using it for about 4 years. I have an
small mfg firm (~4Mil revenues). Works great. Feel free to contact
me. They are at www.altaprise.com