QAD Internationalization

QAD Internationalization functions let you configure multiple international environments using one generic set of functions. Other international demands are met using standard QAD application solutions. These types of functions are described in the following sections:

Globalization presents challenges to global manufacturing companies. QAD Enterprise Edition helps companies master these challenges by offering a solution that accommodates international variations in language, financial practices, business practices, and regulatory compliance.

Traditionally, ERP systems provided support to international customers using the localization approach, in which specific solutions are developed for individual country requirements. This approach has a number of limitations:

• Localizations are often developed independently of each other, resulting in incompatibility with other localizations.

• Similar enhancements can be developed in different localizations, resulting in duplication and inconsistent customer solutions.

• Localizations are not always available on all product releases.

• Localizations are often developed as a solution for one application in a product suite, making it difficult to release product suites in certain countries.

• Localization changes to source code require rework, recertification, and retesting of customizations for each release.

• Localizations can change methods of operation and accounting processes and therefore require special review in light of requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley and Medical compliance (Part 11).

The move away from this approach toward internationalization is also driven by legal considerations and by the need for cost reduction:

• Companies now pay more attention to Internal Controls and Corporate Governance compliance, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US in particular has resulted in greater focus on the risks involved with operating remote business units.

• One core ERP system reduces costs in a number of ways. World-class finance organizations tend to rely on a single chart of accounts, use half the bank accounts of typical companies and do fewer budget iterations. Less effort is required in documenting internal procedures for a single system, and compliance verification and internal auditing are easier when there are fewer and more standardized procedures to check. Many global manufacturing companies are therefore moving to a so-called core-model approach, in which the IT implementation including customizations is standardized across the corporation.

QAD Internationalization addresses these issues, by maintaining a single generic product in which processes and systems are standardized, and functions optimized across the global company:

• Financial data in multiple languages is stored in the database and supports local legal or business requirements.

• Business flows common to multiple countries are implemented in multiple domains and entities. This flexibility reduces the time and cost involved in repeated system configurations.

• Support for specific local legal or business practices is achieved by selecting specific configuration options or settings while still using the same set of functionality.

• The application single code base provides easier development of core model, which not only reduces costs but also makes it easier to implement Shared Services across country boundaries.