ERP/Roadmap

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Openbravo ERP development roadmap

(Latest revision on February 25th, 2010)

Introduction and Objective

The current production release is Openbravo ERP 2.50, which was released in April 2009 and this road map assumes that release as the base line.

This road map focuses on the planned content for Openbravo ERP 3.0, planned for production release in January 2011.

Beyond that production release, Openbravo plans the following:

• Openbravo ERP 3.1: Q2 2011
• Openbravo ERP 4.0: 2012 (long term release)

The Openbravo ERP 3.0 roadmap focuses on features that will both maintain the product and impress users:

1. Maintain: Openbravo ERP 3.0 must maintain its technological and functional position as a leader in the open source ERP environment. Openbravo ERP 3.0 will adopt technologies that support this, while the functional core of Openbravo ERP 3.0 will be maintained, prioritizing issues that support the next objective.
2. Impress: Openbravo ERP 3.0 must impress the Openbravo community through its ease of use and clear functional flows. This includes updating the user interface, extending and enhancing specific core workflows, and reducing the functional footprint to exclude workflows that are not considered core.

Feedback on this roadmap is welcome. Please express your comments in the Open Discussion forum.

Audience

The audience for this document is the global Openbravo ecosystem, including partners, users and prospective customers.

Deliverables

Openbravo ERP 3.0 is planned for general availability on 10^th January 2011.

In advance of this release it is planned that there will be three Release Candidates (RCs):

• RC1: 10^th July 2010.

• RC2: 10^th September 2010.

• RC3: 10^th November 2010.

Incremental delivery of functionality allows continuous validation with community, customers and partners.

Narrower Functional Base

Openbravo ERP 3.0 will be based on a narrower functional footprint than previous releases. This release will focus exclusively on the key flows required by the large majority of customers, with the aim of:

• Eliminating complexity from the product;
• Perfecting the core functionality;
• Improving adoption rate and successful implementations.

The narrower functional footprint will cover the following flows:

1. Order-To-Cash: The blood flowing through every commercial entity is customers orders. All businesses are exist to make money from selling products (or a service, which can be considered as a type of product in our context). Like other core processes, Order-To-Cash can be broken down into two main sub-processes
   1. Order To Shipment: The information included typically an order number and date, shipping and receipt dates, a customer purchase order number, the buyer's name and address, the shipping address (if different), and a list of the items ordered, including quantity and warehouse storage location.
   2. Customer Invoice To Cash: Billing a sales order creates a record of debt owed to you by your customer for a sale. When you bill a sales order, your accounts receivable ledger increases by the amount of the bill. When the bill has been paid, the Cash is increased.
2. Procure to Pay: This process refers to an external supplier. It usually starts with a purchase requisite from one of the departments in your organizations (for smaller companies that step is often omitted), which is converted, after some price and terms negotiation with your vendor, to a purchase order which is sent to your vendor. The vendor, usually upon receiving your order will ship you the ordered products (not necessarily all the products you ordered are shipped to you as it depends on the products’ availability) together with an invoice. The invoice will be paid by your accounting team, and the process will be completed.
   1. Requisition to receipt - indirect for accounting: Demonstrates the business processes for creating and authorizing requisitions, issuing, authorizing and distributing purchase orders, and receiving goods for Indirect Materials (e.g., Consumables, Expense Items).
   2. Supplier invoice to payment: Demonstrates the business processes of receiving, recording and paying its supplier invoices. This flow enables users to enter, approve and manage supplier invoices, credit memos and debit memos, resolve invoice holds, and issue Employee and Supplier payments.
3. Bank Statement to Bank Reconciliation: Demonstrates the business processes for entering and reconciling bank statements with cash transactions from accounts payable and accounts receivable and cash balances in the general ledger.
4. Period End Close to Financial Report: Demonstrates the business processes for entering journals, importing all subsystems journals, generating recurring, allocation, reversals and suspense journals, posting journals, and reconciling account balances and closing accounting periods. It also contains business processes for the production of internal and external financial reports.
5. Customer Return to Credit: Demonstrates the business processes for returning items from a customer for credit. This flow enables users to create a return authorization of a damaged or defective product and record a credit memo for the return transaction.
6. Customer Return to Replacement: Demonstrates the business processes for returning items from a customer for replacement of a damaged or defective product, receive the product back to the warehouse, and process the receipt of a replacement product.
7. Supplier Return to Debit: Demonstrates the business processes for returning items to a supplier for debit. This flow enables users to create a Returned Material Authorization (RMA) for the return of a damaged or defective product and record a debit memo for the return transaction.
8. Supplier Return to Replacement: Demonstrates the business processes for returning items to a supplier for replacement of a damaged or defective product, send the product back to the supplier, and process the receipt of a replacement product.
9. Collection: Written notification of the pending amounts, meant to prod past-due customers to make a payment. Collection letters are sent usually one after another, with the tone and language getting more direct with each successive letter, until at least some payment is received. An effective letter of collection achieves its purpose without destroying the customers' goodwill that was painstakingly acquired over the years. Also called dunning letter.
10. Wall to Wall Accuracy Physical Count: Scheduled inventory of all material in a warehouse. This type of inventory is recommended only at those activities where the range and depth of stock is small and a complete inventory can be easily performed.
11. Asset Acquisition to Dispose: Global asset life, from acquisition to dispose, with its specific depreciation rules.
12. Budget to Analysis: all about taking a holistic approach for managing budget to achieve a single view of the company. It will provide an opportunity to meet the business goals emphasizing aligning strategic and operational objectives in addition to monitoring and managing business measurements.

Please notice that the following functionality will be removed from the core product:

• Project management
• Manufacturing
• MRP

Differentiation of Community Edition and Professional Edition

Openbravo ERP 3.0 is going to be available both in Community Edition and in Professional Edition. In both cases the core functional footprint is the same and mapped to the 14 flows above. Users of the Professional Edition, however, can enjoy additional functionality in the form of both premium features and extended features:

• Premium features: features included in the core footprint but disabled in the Community Edition. The purpose of these features is to raise awareness among users of the existence and benefits of the Professional Edition and to provide incentives for its adoption.
• Extended features: features available as commercial modules and therefore only available to Professional Edition users.

In addition to functional differentiation, Openbravo ERP 3.0 Community Edition will also sport a different branding.

Openbravo ERP 3.0 Core Functional Footprint

This section focuses on a description of the ERP 3.0 functional footprint, available to both Community Edition and Professional Edition users.

Key:

• - Core: Included in the Core, licensed under Openbravo Public License
• - Open Source Extension Module: Same as core from licensing and support perspective
• - Core Premium Feature (zero cost): Same as core from licensing and support perspective, requires a Professional Edition to use, zero cost
• - Commercial Extension Module or Premium Feature: Requires a Professional Edition to install and use, licensed under Openbravo Commercial License, zero cost
• - Commercial Extension Module: Requires a Professional Edition to install and use, licensed under Openbravo Commercial License, at additional cost

Maintain Features
Left padding in document number
Financial reports review
Period status view
Easier creation of period end entries
Summarized period end entries
Impress Features
Advanced Payables and Receivables Management: Financial accounts management Automatic payment status management Payment methods with associated business logic Bank statement reconciliation redesign Electronic bank statement reconciliation Easy view of payment status of an invoice Easy view of invoicing / delivery and payment status of a SO
External document templates
Quick Sales Order Pad
Simplified Manual GL Journal
Reversing GL Journal
Financial invoice transaction (specify an account for invoice lines)
Tracking when documents are sent
Credit holds
Spain Community Localization Pack

These new features will further improve the core flows:

1. Order-To-Cash:
   1. Order To Shipment: Enhanced with External document templates, and Credit holds.
   2. Customer Invoice To Cash: Enhanced with Advanced Payables and Receivables Management, External document templates, Tracking when documents are sent and Financial Invoice Transaction.
2. Procure to Pay:
   1. Requisition to receipt: Enhanced with External document templates and Tracking when documents are sent.
   2. Supplier invoice to payment: Enhanced with Advanced Payables and Receivables Management and Financial Invoice Transaction.
3. Bank Statement to Bank Reconciliation: Enhanced with Advanced Payables and Receivables Management.
4. Period End Close to Financial Report: Enhanced with Financial Reports Review, Simplified Manual GL Journals, Period Status View, Easier creation of period end entries, Summarized period end entries, Reversing GL Journal and Spanish Professional Localization Pack v.1.4.
5. Customer Return to Credit.
6. Customer Return to Replacement.
7. Supplier Return to Debit.
8. Supplier Return to Replacement.
9. Collection: Enhanced with Advanced Payables and Receivables Management and Credit Holds.
10. Wall to Wall Accuracy Physical Count.
11. Asset Acquisition to Dispose.
12. Budget to Analysis.

Openbravo ERP 3.0 Core Platform Improvements

This section focuses on a description of the ERP 3.0 platform improvements, available to both Community Edition and Professional Edition users and resulting in a more compelling experience for end users, developers and implementors.

Impress End Users Features
New User Experience: Tabbed Panels Records can be viewed and edited on tabs, with different parallel tabs in use at the same time, thereby supporting user multi-tasking. Master Detail Splitting the screen vertically in parts. The top part shows the header (either grid of form), the part below shows the children, etc. Layers Support for (1) grid (2) form (3) summary layers. My Workspace A home tab containing user specific information, such as searches or bookmarks. Top Navigation The menu bar will contains the following types of navigations and shortcuts: Application Menu Bookmarks Saved searches Recent A quick launch menu to create new records. A quick launch menu to jump to existing grids. Column Search Supporting implicit AND and explicit OR boolean searches. Toolbar Extend to support specific action buttons dependent on the type of object. Grid Display The columns size and order can be changed using drag & drop. The column order can also be changed using the keyboard, most likely via a pop-up. Column settings (width, order and visibility) is saved automatically on exit per user per view type Columns can be filtered by clicking the column header once (ascending), twice (descending) Multiple rows can be selected at once, using CTRL/SHIFT -click or the check boxes in front of each row. Grid Scrolling Improved performance. Grid Edit Possibility to edit (copy and paste) fields directly in the grid Forms Forms will be extend to support different layouts. In-form Meta Data Configurable meta data such as attachments, notes, linked items, audit data. UI Selectors Selectors using an identical grid display and search functionality as the in-page grids but will be presented in a layer (pop-up / light box). Custom (other) pages Pages that do not fit in the grid or form categories will follow a template design. Messages area A message area shows help, hints and system messages. Click Tips and Zooming Field labels will have a pop-up that is invoked on click. It has shortcuts to: Associated records Create new record Field description Other customizable links Enhanced user info, log on status and organisation Enhanced browser capability Compatible with IE7.0+, Opera & Chrome (on top of Firefox) Fits in 1024 x 768 without horizontal scrolling All critical tasks can be executed using the keyboard
Impress Developers Features
Integration with jBPM engine (not committed yet)
Ability to add custom actions in toolbar from modules
Process windows defined in the Application Dictionary
Report launch windows defined in the Application Dictionary
Field entity in the Application Dictionary (better support for defaults, calculated fields, contextually mandatory fields, etc.)
Enhanced Client Export
Trial license for commercial modules
Client-specific concurrent user control

Openbravo ERP 3.0 Premium Features

This section lists features that are candidates to become Premium functionality, distributed as part of core but disabled in the Community Edition.

This is an initial list and the final decision of which features will become Premium is not yet finalized.

Premium Features
Configurable My Workspace supporting personalized information, such as graphical components showing KPIs across all domains.
Advanced Search, including saving of searches
Complete audit of data changes (available in 2.50 as well, starting from MP12)
Commercial module compatibility (available in 2.50 as well, starting from MP6)
Openbravo Support connection (easy support request in context)
System backup
Life cycle management automation (development, test, production)

Openbravo ERP 3.0 Extended Features

This section lists extended features delivered as commercial module that expand the capabilities of the core application in different ways:

• Increased depth: features that add advanced capabilities to the core business flows
• Increased breadth: features that expand the functional footprint of the application beyond the core flows.
• Improved experience: platform features that improve the experience of either users, developers or implementors.

Improved Depth Extended Features
Accruals and Deferrals (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP10)
Mass Advanced Payments (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP6)
Business Partner Debt Consolidation (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP6)
Booking Control (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP9)
Timing of VAT
Advanced Asset Management (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP14)
Dunning (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP14)
Inter-company Documents (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP10)
Accounting Tabs for Transactions (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP10)
Improved Breadth Extended Features
Human Capital Management Common
Project Management
Manufacturing
MRP
Employee Vacation Management
Openbravo POS Connector
Improved End User Experience Features
Query Generator (for end users)
Dashboard & Interactive Reporting integration (not committed yet)
Improved Implementor Experience Features
Initial Data Load (available on 2.50 as of 2.50 MP8)
Easy Extensible Attributes
Web-based BPMN editor (not committed yet)
Web-based end user oriented report designer (not committed yet)

Documentation

• System Administrator Manual
• Configuration Manual
• User Manual
• Developer Manual
• On-line Help

Version Upgrade

Upgrade from Openbravo ERP 2.50 must be supported.

Openbravo ERP 3.0 must support portability of modules from Openbravo ERP 2.50. This means that modules developed on Openbravo ERP 2.5 will be available on Openbravo ERP 3.0.

Distribution and Licensing

Openbravo ERP 3.0 will be licensed via OPL.

Supported Platforms and System Requirements

These system requirements are the latest available at the time of publication of this Planning Document.

The final system requirements will be stated definitively before QA begins on the project.

Cloud Appliance

The professional Cloud Appliance will include the following software:

• Openbravo ERP 3.0
• Openbravo ERP software stack:
  • PostgreSQL 8.4
  • OpenJDK 1.6
  • Apache Ant 1.7.1
  • Apache Tomcat 6.0.24
  • Tomcat Native 1.1.20
  • Apache httpd 2.2.9
  • mod_jk 1.2.28
  • APR 1.2.12.
• Web based administration console.
• OpenSSH 4.9p1 (client and server)
• etc.

Available for the x86 (32bit) and x86_64 (64bit) architectures.

Ubuntu package

Repository: Partner or Universe

Ubuntu version: 10.04 LTS, Lucid Lynx

Openbravo ERP 3.0 software stack included in the Ubuntu 10.04 repositories:

• Tomcat 6 commons
• Ant 1.7.1
• PostgreSQL 8.4
• Open JDK 1.6

Available for the x86 (32bit) and x86_64 (64bit) architectures.

Custom Installation

The following combinations of operating systems, hardware architectures and databases are supported.

Operating Systems

• Linux
  • Ubuntu (Multiple server configuration only, either using the package or manually. For single server configurations see the Ubuntu package)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x

• Microsoft Windows
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008

Architectures

• x86
• x86_64
• IA-64

Databases

• Oracle 11g Standard or Enterprise editions (limited to Red Hat and Windows)
• PostgreSQL 8.4

Stack

• Open JDK 1.6
• Apache-Tomcat 6.0.x
• Apache-Ant 1.7.1

Browsers

• Firefox 3.x+
• IE7, IE8
• Chrome 5+
• Safari 4+
• Opera 10.0+