proALPHA

Overview

proALPHA is an ERP built for mid-market manufacturers and distributors, covering sales planning, order management, purchasing, materials management, production, logistics, service, project management and finance on one database. Around that core sits a Business Application Suite adding financial management, human capital management, spend management, digital shopfloor, CRM and marketing. Financial accounting produces balance sheets and profit and loss statements for any number of companies and currencies, maps the German commercial code alongside IFRS and US GAAP, and traces every posting from purchasing, sales, materials management or production back to its source document. That source document lives in the integrated DMS, where emails, receipts, invoices and design drawings are attached to a business transaction by drag-and-drop from any department. Other processes include quality management, a product configurator, PDM/PLM with CAD integration and a business intelligence module. Integration runs through an ERP REST API and the Integration Workbench, and deployment is offered in the Proalpha Business Cloud, on-premises or as a hybrid. The vendor names mechanical and plant engineering, automotive suppliers, electronics, medical technology, metal processing, wholesale and aerospace and defence as its industries, and reports around 20,000 customers.

Best for mid-market manufacturers and wholesalers that want documents, accounting and production in one auditable system.

proALPHA is a fit where the accounting has to survive an audit and the shopfloor has to survive a rush order, which is a narrower requirement than it sounds: the traceability from a posting back to the scanned document, and the fact that documents sit inside the ERP rather than in a bolted-on archive, is what separates it from horizontal suites at this size. The industry list is worth taking literally, since the depth is in discrete manufacturing and wholesale rather than in services or retail. Expect a licensed project rather than a signup, and expect to choose between cloud and on-premise as a real decision, because both are offered rather than one being a migration path off the other.

Key Facts

Features

Project costing

Yes, with budgeted, actual and expected costs at every stage, plus Gantt charts, work breakdown structures and multi-project views for spotting resource bottlenecks

Invoicing

Yes, payables, material withdrawals and recorded time flow automatically into project billing and cost accounting

Digital receipt capture

Yes, via the integrated DMS, where emails, receipts, invoices and drawings are attached to a business transaction by drag-and-drop

Reporting and controlling

Yes, a Business Intelligence module and Corporate Performance Management, with every posting traceable to its source document

Time tracking

Yes, via Time Management, with reported hours feeding cost accounting and project profitability

Integrations and API

Yes, an ERP REST API for embedding external applications, plus the Integration Workbench for connecting other technologies

Integrations

Integrations coming soon.

Deployment and Support

Deployment

• Cloud (SaaS)
• On-premise

Support

• Email helpdesk
• Phone

Onboarding

• Documentation and knowledge base
• Video tutorials
• Live online demos and webinars
• Personal consulting
• On-site training

Company size

• Small and mid-sized

Pros and Cons

Pricing

• Perpetual licence or subscription

  Not stated

  Quoted on request. Cost depends on the number of users, the modules licensed and the degree of customisation.

• Proalpha for SME

  Not stated

  Monthly subscription with fixed costs and a fixed project duration. Amount quoted on request.

Alternatives and Comparisons

FAQ

How is proALPHA supported after go-live?

Customer care runs on three regional hotlines, for the Americas, EMEA and APAC, and on one address, customercare@proalpha.com. The my Proalpha portal takes tickets, keeps past and current calls visible, and carries the knowledge base and the release information; access needs a login requested from Proalpha and a current contract. Product documentation, including the Application Guide, sits at docs.proalpha.com. For firms that would rather hand over parts of day-to-day ERP operation, Application Management Services cover that separately.

What training does proALPHA offer?

The Proalpha Academy runs trainings on the standard functions, self-paced e-learning with interactive video lessons, compact courses on seasonal and special topics, and individual packages with live coaching. A free one-hour online seminar runs on Friday mornings, and an Academy Suite subscription covers twelve months of learning for a whole company at a fixed price. Training at the customer's own site is offered alongside the seminars.

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