Sentai
June 15, 2007 based on a 180 Systems interview with Sentai – Things are generally improving in the ERP marketplace, but according to Sentai, they are on a roll. I asked why. The biggest change was a rewrite to their user interface. Rather than the old character based/Windows screen scraper look, they now have a thin client that looks like Windows and runs under both Windows and Linux now and possibly other operating systems later. Thin client means that only the user interface commands move from workstation to server, which dramatically improves remote performance.
Sentai has also embedded Cognos reporting, OLAP (On line Analytical Processing using PowerPlay) and portal services into their system. This overcomes the traditional problem facing many ERP systems in being data rich and information poor. They have also embedded many of the key elements of CRM in their system, which overcomes the problem of working with third party systems that are not integrated.
Sentai focuses on distribution companies. They claim that they can beat the competition on handling distributors with large volumes of data – not because of the underlying database but because of their thin client and their handling of mass price and cost changes and ability to automate vendor price uploads. Sentai will also appeal to distributors that are dragged into supporting EDI as they make it affordable with a small upfront charge for each trading partner and a small fee for each transaction. Sentai also includes their own integrated eCommerce and warehouse management systems.
Sentai is doing well in Edmonton, Florida and Cuba. We predict that Sentai will expand their geography as the word gets out about their capabilities.
June 15, 2007 based on a 180 Systems interview with Sentai – Things are generally improving in the ERP marketplace, but according to Sentai, they are on a roll. I asked why. The biggest change was a rewrite to their user interface. Rather than the old character based/Windows screen scraper look, they now have a thin client that looks like Windows and runs under both Windows and Linux now and possibly other operating systems later. Thin client means that only the user interface commands move from workstation to server, which dramatically improves remote performance.
Sentai has also embedded Cognos reporting, OLAP (On line Analytical Processing using PowerPlay) and portal services into their system. This overcomes the traditional problem facing many ERP systems in being data rich and information poor. They have also embedded many of the key elements of CRM in their system, which overcomes the problem of working with third party systems that are not integrated.
Sentai focuses on distribution companies. They claim that they can beat the competition on handling distributors with large volumes of data – not because of the underlying database but because of their thin client and their handling of mass price and cost changes and ability to automate vendor price uploads. Sentai will also appeal to distributors that are dragged into supporting EDI as they make it affordable with a small upfront charge for each trading partner and a small fee for each transaction. Sentai also includes their own integrated eCommerce and warehouse management systems.
Sentai is doing well in Edmonton, Florida and Cuba. We predict that Sentai will expand their geography as the word gets out about their capabilities.
posted by 180 Systems at 9:22 PM 0 comments 
