Gerhard F. Knolmayer & Peter Mertens 
Supply Chain Management Based on SAP Systems 
Order Management in Manufacturing Companies

In recent years, Supply Chain Management (SCM) has become one of the most widely discussed issues on top management`s agenda. One essential precondition for the implementation of SCM concepts are powerful information systems. Many manufacturing companies deploy the logistics modules of the SAP R/3 system. In 1997 SAP enlarged its focus beyond Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems and started an SCM initiative, which resulted in the Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO) system. Today, APO has become one of the main components of the my SAP.com solutions. This book describes the principles and methods of intra- and inter-company SCM with reference to Release 4.6 of the SAP R/3 and to Release 3.0 of the SAP APO system. It also discusses potential future developments of these widely used software systems. The final chapter of the book contains an annotated overview of the most valuable online resources dealing with SCM.