Fourth Shift Edition for SAP Business One now in Chinese

SoftBrands pitches its Fourth Shift Edition as a way for smaller manufacturers to get SAP at an affordable price. It’s a fairly valid point: whereas SAP Business One doesn’t, on its own, cover manufacturing operations, the addition of qualified functionality from Fourth Shift does make it a viable solution – but this is not full blown SAP. SoftBrands opened its first China office in 1989, and the company has had software products officially certified by the Chinese government since 1994. It also has some 400 customers there, including Emerson China Motor, Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, Bosch, Duracell, Kolbenschmidt, Pentair and Toledo Scale. “SoftBrands was one of the first global ERP suppliers in China, and we have a long and positive track record dating back nearly 20 years,” says Ralf Suerken, SoftBrands’ senior vice president and general manager of manufacturing. “With comprehensive local implementation and support services, and a true understanding of the needs of manufacturers in China, Fourth Shift Edition will be a leader in the Chinese market.” He believes worldwide supply-chain integration and collaboration are top priorities, and that Fourth Shift Edition for SAP Business One will be a natural fit for manufacturers with a China connection, especially if their parent organizations or key customers are already running an SAP solution. “Manufacturers in China are increasingly called upon not only to meet foreign demand, but also to serve China’s fast-growing domestic market for durables and non-durables alike,” he says. “Our partnership with a global leader like SAP means China-based manufacturers now have a solution they can’t outgrow, even as their demand profiles and their roles in the global supply chain change.”