How is it structured?

The IDES group comprises four subgroups. The European subgroup consists of five companies, North America has two. Latin America and Asia each consist of one company. Each of these companies has its own clearly defined business objectives within the consolidated group and is organized according to local business practices and legal requirements. Consolidation takes place across the financial areas.

For example, the French subsidiary operates solely as a sales company, or in Mexico, we represent high-inflation methods and the material ledger. The American and German subsidiaries produce goods, as well as carrying out purchasing and sales activities. Accounting and Human Resources for each individual company have been adapted to meet the particular business objectives. Germany and the United States, for example, have been set up to use flexible standard costing, whereas the United Kingdom uses static standard costing based on full costs.

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Introduction to SAP IDES - A brief

IDES – the “International Demonstration and Education System” in the R/3 System, represents a model company. It consists of an international group with subsidiaries in several countries. IDES contains application data that can be used to portray numerous business scenarios in the R/3 System. The business processes in the IDES system are designed to reflect real-life business requirements, and have access to many realistic characteristics. IDES uses easy-to-follow business scenarios to show you the comprehensive functions of the R/3 System. The focal point of IDES, however, is not the functionality itself, but the business processes and their integration.

These IDES business processes are described in detail within this online documentation. The individual demos provide you with an overview of the sample data, and contain step-by-step instructions of how to execute the individual processes.

IDES not only covers the Logistics area, but also Financials, and Human Resources. It demonstrates how the R/3 System is able to support practically all types of industries, from discrete production through to process industries, from engineering-to-order to repetitive manufacturing. However, IDES is not a sector-oriented model company. The individual processes are based on practice-oriented data for sectors such as Retailing or Aerospace and Defense. The IDES group manufactures products as diverse as elevators, motorcycles, and paints.

IDES is managed by SAP just as any regular business enterprise. SAP regularly updates the IDES data (master data, transaction data, and customizing). We also carry out period-end closing and plan with different time-horizons. Transaction data are generated to ensure that the information systems in all areas have access to realistic evaluation data. We are constantly implementing new, interesting business scenarios to highlight the very latest functions available in the R/3 System. New functions, such as internet technology, are represented and documented by IDES scenarios.

Above all, IDES demonstrates the incredible potential of the integrated applications within the R/3 System. We cover all aspects of a business enterprise, including human resources, financial accounting, product cost planning, overhead management, profitability analysis, planning, sales and distribution, materials management, production, and much, much more. We have also integrated document administration and third-party CAD systems within the IDES system. This means that you can call up and display external documents, or access CAD drawings.

IDES shows you how the R/3 System supports production processes, the supply chain, and the efficient usage of global resources. Or perhaps you would like to increase your understanding of just-in-time-production or the integration of the electronic KANBAN system in an MRP II environment? IDES provides the ideal way to learn about areas such as Product Cost Controlling, Activity-Based Costing, or integrated Service Management and Plant Maintenance. How to manage high inflation is just one of the ever-growing number of IDES business scenarios that you can choose from.

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