Browsing German translation

18.

To our knowledge, OpenERP is the only management system which is routinely used not only by big companies but also by very small companies and independent companies. This diversity is an illustration of the software's flexibility: a rather elegant coordination between people's functional expectations of the software and great ease of use.

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And this diversity is also found in the various sectors and trades which use the software, including agricultural products, textiles, public auctions, IT, and trade associations.

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Last but not least, such software has arisen from the blend of high code quality, well-judged architecture and use of free technologies. In fact, you may be surprised (if you are an IT person) to find that the download size of OpenERP is only around 6 MB. When that is expanded during installation its size is mostly attributable to all the official translations that are packaged with it, not the operating code. We've moved a long way from the days when the only people who could be expected to benefit from ERP were the owners of a widget factory on some remote industrial estate.

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Why this book?

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Many books set out to tell readers about the management of enterprise, and equally many aim to instruct the reader in the use of a piece of specialized software. We are not aiming to add to those lists because our approach is intended to be different.

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Having restructured and reorganized many businesses, we wanted our management experience to generate a work that is both instructive and practical. It was important for us not to write a manual about OpenERP, but instead a work that deals with advanced management techniques realized through these IT tools. You will see what management practices might be useful, what is possible, and then how you could achieve that in OpenERP.

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This is what we will consider OpenERP to be: not an end in itself but just the tool you use to put an advanced management system into place.

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Who is it for?

26.

Written by two CEOs who have been successful with new technologies, this book is aimed at directors and managers who have an ambition to improve the performance of their whole company's management team. They are likely to already have significant responsibilities and possess the influence to get things done in their company.

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It is likely that most readers will come from small- and medium-sized enterprises (up to a few hundred staff), and independent companies, because of the breadth of functions that need to be analyzed and involved in change. The same principles also apply to larger companies, however.