PricewaterhouseCoopers has released ExpressPac, an implementation automation package PeopleSoft systems it claims will accelerate installation by as much as 75% in the discrete manufacturing, consumer goods, and retail industries sectors. Theoretically, a firm could get the system up and running within a day, says Mary-Sue Rogers, European PeopleSoft leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers Management Consulting Services. In practice, she says, PwC expects implementation times to be under three months, as opposed to the six to nine months customarily seen.
ExpressPac is available at PwC sites in the Asia-Pacific, North American and European regions. Rogers says that pricing is based around ‘the Chinese restaurant approach,’ which makes software and implementation obligatory spends and hardware optional. The hardware component to the deal is supplied by Sun and Hewlett-Packard. Although no firms have yet signed for the service, Rogers expects contract sizes for $500,000 companies to be around the $1m mark. PwC intends to release similar software for higher-education before the end of this year.
