Chinese tech behemoth Huawei has announced its transition from legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to its internally developed MetaERP. Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei previously mentioned the company's switch to in-house operating systems, databases, compilers, and languages, as well as the development of the MetaERP management system during a March 20 ceremony in Shenzhen.
MetaERP, a cloud-based ERP system, is critical to Huawei's operations. The company has progressively shifted its R&D to its tools, constructing a software development production line encompassing the entire software development process.
Huawei first implemented the MRPII system in 1996 and subsequently expanded to the ERP system through several iterative upgrades. For over two decades, the old ERP system has been the foundation of Huawei's enterprise operations and rapid growth.
After being added to a U.S. trade blacklist in May 2019 over alleged security concerns that Huawei disputes, the company faced difficulties sourcing items made with U.S. technology, including ERP tools from Oracle Corp. Consequently, Huawei lost access to its previous ERP system and other vital operation and management systems.
The development of MetaERP was prompted by these challenges. The system, built with Huawei systems like EulerOS and GaussDB, is described as "cloud-native, future-oriented, ultra-large-scale." MetaERP is now live and handles 100% of Huawei's business scenarios and 80% of its business volume, as reported by the company.
Since December of last year, Huawei has been steadily releasing software and hardware development tools and services. To date, the company has launched 11 tools and services. Among the publicly released tools are CodeArts Req, CodeArts TestPlan, CodeArts Check, CodeArts Build, CodeArts IDE Online, CodeArts Repo, CodeArts Artifact, CodeArts Pipeline, and CodeArts Deploy.
Huawei's Rotating Chairwoman and CFO, Sabrina Wanzhou Meng, remarked, "We wouldn't have been able to build MetaERP without the support of our partners. Innovation is only possible with an open mind, and thriving is only possible when we work together."
Meng was referring to strategic partners like Kingdee, Yonyou, and Qi An Xin, who assisted Huawei in developing the core enterprise business system during the ERP switchover.
Interestingly, Ren Zhengfei's earlier speech hinting at the MetaERP announcement led to a drop in shares for several domestic ERP manufacturers, including Kingdee and Yonyou, on March 20.
Huawei's development of a proprietary ERP system comes as Chinese firms face increased scrutiny and limitations in the sector. Meanwhile, China's high-end ERP domestication rate remains relatively low, with foreign companies like SAP and Oracle holding over 50% of the market share. According to a report by Chinese research agency Forward-The Economist, SAP had the highest market share of high-end ERP software in China in 2021 at 33%, followed by Oracle at 20%.
