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I disagree with you - Figure out your process and automate with software. Your software will only be as good as your process. There are mid-market ERPs that ar

I disagree with you - Figure out your process and automate with software. Your software will only be as good as your process. There are mid-market ERPs that are 30 years old or more (specifically, Dynamics NAV comes to mind). These software solutions implement the processes that have been honed by humans for more than a thousand years. It is much easier to innovate elsewhere. I am curious which specific ERP packages you have found to be innovative.

nitrogen 10y ago
Perhaps the commenter meant the software that runs on the product (if it's a product that runs software)?
- banjomascot 10y ago
  If that is the case, I find it hard to disagree with the comment then.
kriro 10y ago
Figuring out the process is a complex task. A complex task that (imo) is very likely to be solved better by some sort of AI approach than human tinkering. That's where I see software innovation in production. Having an efficient lab/simulation toolkit where you can constantly improve your processes (probably a human/computer hybrid).
- exolymph 10y ago
  > A complex task that (imo) is very likely to be solved better by some sort of AI approach than human tinkering. Citation extremely needed.
- pjc50 10y ago
  Automated Taylorism is going to be the bane of our lives. The non-AI version of "gamification" and endless metrics is bad enough.
- arethuza 10y ago
  I'm not sure that the actual manufacturing processes are that amenable to the application of AI as they are typically dictated by the actual physical work being done. However, scheduling and, in some environments, pricing in ERP systems can benefit from more advanced techniques though not sure that the ones I have seen would qualify as "AI".
arethuza 10y ago
Saying that NAV is 30 years old is like saying Unix is almost 50 years old - while true in one sense it is missing the fact that these systems have been in constant development since then.
lmm 10y ago
I find it's easier to improve your process when it's in software form than not. Software development should absolutely be an iterative process, but prototyping in software and then continuously improving works a lot better than trying to design in non-software, IME.
Gibbon1 10y ago
> I disagree with you - Figure out your process and automate with software. When I read this an instant thought was the software you develop is also a constraint on your process. Really easy to paint yourself into a corner.

nitrogen 10y ago

Perhaps the commenter meant the software that runs on the product (if it's a product that runs software)?

banjomascot 10y ago
If that is the case, I find it hard to disagree with the comment then.

kriro 10y ago

Figuring out the process is a complex task. A complex task that (imo) is very likely to be solved better by some sort of AI approach than human tinkering. That's where I see software innovation in production. Having an efficient lab/simulation toolkit where you can constantly improve your processes (probably a human/computer hybrid).

exolymph 10y ago
> A complex task that (imo) is very likely to be solved better by some sort of AI approach than human tinkering. Citation extremely needed.
pjc50 10y ago
Automated Taylorism is going to be the bane of our lives. The non-AI version of "gamification" and endless metrics is bad enough.
arethuza 10y ago
I'm not sure that the actual manufacturing processes are that amenable to the application of AI as they are typically dictated by the actual physical work being done. However, scheduling and, in some environments, pricing in ERP systems can benefit from more advanced techniques though not sure that the ones I have seen would qualify as "AI".

arethuza 10y ago

Saying that NAV is 30 years old is like saying Unix is almost 50 years old - while true in one sense it is missing the fact that these systems have been in constant development since then.

lmm 10y ago

I find it's easier to improve your process when it's in software form than not. Software development should absolutely be an iterative process, but prototyping in software and then continuously improving works a lot better than trying to design in non-software, IME.

Gibbon1 10y ago

> I disagree with you - Figure out your process and automate with software. When I read this an instant thought was the software you develop is also a constraint on your process. Really easy to paint yourself into a corner.