IBM, MAPCIS Partner On ERP For Manufacturers

IBM has joined in an alliance with manufacturing solutions provider MAPCIS to use IBM servers and middleware with MAPICS's ERP application to provide integrated support for new functionality ranging from customer relationship management to supply chain management. The goal is to help MAPICS customers improve customer service, lower costs, and improve responsiveness to the market.

The agreement, announced Monday, will increase product offerings for enterprise and small and medium-sized business customers of MAPICS ERP for IBM eServer iSeries systems. MAPICS will use the web services capabilities in IBM's WebSphere Application Server to enable customers to share applications with resident systems in their IT infrastructure.

The first product to come out of the alliance, MAPICS CRM for iSeries, will be released later this year. The integration between the MAPICS ERP application and these extensions will be built on IBM middleware, including IBM WebSphere Application Server and IBM DB2 Universal Database.

"This approach enables our customers to share critical business information across their extended enterprises, while reducing the cost and complexities of managing their systems," Alan MacLamroc, chief technology officer for MAPICS, said in a statement.

"Through our expanded strategic alliance, IBM and MAPICS will provide mid-size manufacturers with the solutions to help them improve business performance, increase competitive advantage and deliver increased value for their customers and shareholders," said Marc Lautenbach, general manager of IBM global small and medium business.