Improved supply-chain and warehouse management capabilities will be added to forthcoming software from Acacia Technologies, the IBM AS/400 enterprise resource planning software division of Computer Associates International Inc. (CA).
Unveiled at a worldwide customer meeting in San Diego Aug. 3, Acacia's PRMS (ERP system) release 9.0 and its Warehouse Boss 6.0 warehouse management package (WMS) offer improved linkage for manufacturers to both suppliers and customers. On Aug. 2, Acacia, with headquarters in Lisle, Ill., signed up its 100th new customer since becoming an independent business unit of Islandia, N.Y-based CA in April 1996.
PRMS 9.0, now being tested by some Acacia users, will include such enhancements as a vendor-managed inventory function, allowing users to track and replenish products delivered to their customers; consolidated invoicing, enabling multiple orders and shipments to be combined into a single invoice; and self-bill invoicing/evaluated receipts, so that both receivable invoices and payments can be processed via electronic data interchange.
Warehouse Boss, Acacia's WMS, also gets some new wrinkles in version 6.0. These include enhanced radio frequency receiving capabilities, resource reporting and activity tracking, assembly management for warehouse pickers putting orders together, and proactive replenishment planning.
