Will Open Source ERP packages be reality?

Figure. Navigation in Compiere

For Whom the Bells Tolls…

Open source approach of software development has grown from marginality to a major challenge for many commercial software companies. In web applications and servers many open source packages set the standard.

Will this happen also in Enterprise Resource Planning as well? Companies and CIOs are very traditional and are not willing to risk the logistics processes by experimentation.

Compiere is an open source ERP / CRM package that challenges many commercial applications. The software is rapidly developing, but already includes amazing features built on a most sophisticated software architecture.

In order to develop ideas of future Logistics information management we installed a publicly available Compiere server at the University of Vaasa.

The system is running at compiere.techno.uwasa.fi for development purposes.

Future

The question what kind of software will companies use in future for managing their processes is an academic issues that will be studied by the Logistics Group at the University of Vaasa.

Further readings:

· Fisterra – another Open Source ERP project.

· MyWMS – open source Warehouse Management System.

· Koch, Christopher (2004). Open-Source ERP Gains Users. CIO Magazine.