Asset Intensive Industries
Asset Intensive Industries
Asset intensive industries have started to be analyzed separately from other industries in the last 10 years based on significant differences on where the management focus is for those companies.
There has been some discussion on the SF forums and IRC about applicability of ADempiere to airlines.
It is important to set some of context information before the key issue of applicability can be responded.
In very simple terms, most of the industries buy goods, keep inventory, assembly products and then sell. That is where the focus of the company management is.
In asset intensive industries the key focus is on the availability of equipments, so these industries are mostly concerned with buying the right spare parts, having the right people with right skills on the right shift and executing tightly planned and scheduled maintenance services to have the best possible availability on those assets. Complexity on executing this process is further complicated by the need to drill down into the equipment hierarchy (Systems, major components, components and spare parts) in order to optimize maintenance schedules and, hence, availability.
Of course there are other considerations and differences in both industries but these are the key differentials.
The above reasons explain why the maintenance process in an Asset Intensive Industry is very sophisticated, hence the required software development for support of this process requires to be very well designed. Reusable code within current ADempiere functionality would be very limited.
A strategy to implement ADempiere in other back office areas (accounting, purchases, inventory) along with a best of breed maintenance systems could be an option to enter into the airline industry or other asset intensive industries.
Industries that are considered asset intensive industries are:
-- Transportation (e.g. Airlines)
-- Mining
-- Utilities
-- Armed forces
