Disclosing this Baan Info Systems chief executive officer (CEO) D Bharath said the company has bagged 11 new accounts in the second quarter of 1998, making it the fastest growing ERP solutions provider in the country. The company has also bagged its first major order from a public sector undertaking (PSU) -- the Rs 63-crore Chandigarh-based Semi Conductor Complex Ltd. The company plans to adopt a three-tier marketing strategy. While Baan will sell its products directly to industry leaders it will undertake strategic supplies through system integration partners and network supplies via Baan resellers.

According to Baan Company India director (R&D) S Ramanathan the parent company has invested around Rs 50 crore during the current year for its R&Doperations in the country. The Hyderabad R&D centre, the only one the company has outside the Netherlands, is at present developing an aircraft maintenance product called Baan Maintenance. This will be released in the fourth quarter of this year, he added.

Explaining the reasons why ERP has taken time to be accepted by Indian business houses, Bharath said the earlier government policy that restricted competition and sheltered selected companies was to blame. "If a large company has no real competition, as was the case under the policy raj, there is no need for that company to look internally to streamline its business processes. Today, as more companies battle for the same customer, it is crucial for them to look closely at themselves to understand how to get a better product to market faster than their competitors. ERP is now a strategy for survival," he added.

To check the mushrooming unauthorised ERP institutes in the country, Baan has decided to set up initially authorised training centres (ATCs) inthe metros, he added. In Bangalore the ATCs will be set up by its channel partner Ashok Leyland Information Technology Ltd (ALIT) and some others.