Interior opts for SAP's ERP

The Interior Department is joining a growing number of federal agencies

adopting commercial enterprise resource planning solutions for their human

resources and financial systems.

The department has chosen SAP Public Sector and Education Inc. to design

a prototype human resources ERP solution. The prototype is due in August.

An enhanced version that includes capabilities for training, qualification,

skills banking and application tracking will be available for evaluation

by the agency about a year later, said Uli Werner, vice president of Partners

and Solutions Support at SAP.

Interior's current system serves 200,000 civilian employees. The department

and Integrated Concepts and Research Corp. will analyze SAP's R/3 standard

ERP system to see how it can be incorporated at the agency. The system may

need to be customized to meet some federal requirements, Werner said.

"If the human resources program succeeds, I anticipate we will discuss with

the Department of Interior expanding our services," Werner said. That could

include payroll and other financial management services, he said.

Interior officials were not available for comment.