Aptean licensing is the set of contract terms under which Aptean sells industry-specific enterprise software, mainly to manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The product directory on aptean.com groups the portfolio into ERP (food and beverage, distribution and retail, fashion and apparel, equipment dealer management, process manufacturing, industrial manufacturing), MES, EAM, transportation management, warehouse management, PLM, retail planning, supply chain planning, compliance, and a set of business solutions such as payments, EDI, shipping, CRM, workflow and business intelligence.[10] Many entries are brand-named editions, such as the Made2Manage, Traverse, Ross and ProcessPro editions of its ERP.[10] The legal documents reflect that mix: a common contract frame, plus product-specific terms for Respond, Logility, EDI, Ship and Pay.
Contract stack
Aptean publishes its terms in an “Aptean Legal Center”, one page per region. Each page lists a Master Solution Agreement (MSA) with General Terms and Conditions, additional exhibits for SaaS Subscription, Software License Terms, Professional Services, Equipment and Renewal Terms, product-specific terms (GenomeQuest, Respond, EDI, Ship, Pay), Hosted Services Terms and a Third Party Terms centre.[1] The page itself says to refer to the Order Form for direction on which listed terms apply.[1]
The North American MSA says exhibits “may be incorporated into this Agreement from time to time through Order Forms signed by the Parties”, and signing an Order Form confirms that the Agreement governs the purchase.[2] Catalog proof: Exhibits are incorporated through Order Forms. The English-law MSA has the same structure and is governed by the law of England and Wales rather than Georgia.[14] The deeper article Aptean Master Solution Agreement and contract structure covers order of precedence, payment, audit, assignment and data terms.
Editions
Aptean does not publish an edition matrix with prices. The editions that matter for licensing are the delivery forms set by the Order Form.
| Delivery form | Governing exhibit | Deeper article |
|---|---|---|
| On-premise perpetual or term software | Software License Terms Exhibit, plus Maintenance Services | On-premise licences, Maintenance and renewals |
| SaaS Subscription | SaaS Subscription Exhibit | SaaS, Premium SaaS and Hosted Services |
| Premium SaaS Subscription | Premium SaaS Subscription Terms and Conditions | same |
| Hosted Services for licensed software | Hosted Services Terms | same |
| Product services (Respond, Logility, EDI, Ship, Pay) | Product-specific terms | Respond, Logility, EDI, Ship and Pay |
| AI Products and Services, AIaaS | AI Products and Services Subscription Exhibit | AI products and AIaaS |
Product pages describe deployment in marketing terms. Aptean Distribution ERP is described as available in cloud and on-premise deployments, and Aptean Food & Beverage ERP Enterprise Edition is described as built on Microsoft Dynamics 365.[13][12] The contract, not the web page, fixes what a customer is entitled to.
Metrics
The MSA defines a “License Configuration” as the particular components, licence metrics, optional modules and languages of the Software set out in the Order Form. It names three families of metric and says the list is not exhaustive.[2] Catalog proof: License Configuration sets the metrics in the Order Form.
| Metric | Aptean wording | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|
| Named User License | An individual with a unique user login account for a component of the Software; one login per person | Named User License |
| Concurrent User License | The maximum number of users that may access the Software at any one time | Concurrent User License |
| Transaction, Server, Device, Database or Application License | A specified number of those units set in the Order Form | Transaction, Server, Device, Database or Application License |
| User (SaaS) | Any individual accessing or using the Software or SaaS Subscription | User (SaaS Subscription) |
| Case License | Per-case licence with a yearly maximum number of Cases | Case License |
| Trading Partner, document, line item | EDI monthly subscription and tiered transaction fees | EDI Trading Partner subscription |
The SaaS Exhibit defines a User as any individual accessing or using the Software or SaaS Subscription.[4] The Respond Exhibit counts Cases, not people.[6]
Counting / floors
Floors come from commitments, not from published minimums. Three rules recur across the exhibits.
- Subscription quantities are fixed for the term. The customer pays for all licence types that give access to Users for the entire Subscription Term, whether or not access is used, and can reduce Users or other licence types only at the end of the term.[4] Catalog proof: SaaS user licences are paid for the whole term whether used or not.
- Maintenance cannot be reduced. For on-premise software the customer may not reduce the number of licences covered by Maintenance Services.[3] Catalog proof: Maintenance cannot be reduced and auto-renews yearly.
- Early cancellation accelerates fees. Cancelling a Long Term Subscription or Term Maintenance commitment early makes the outstanding annual fees for the Commitment Period payable.[5] Catalog proof: Early cancellation of a Commitment Period makes remaining annual fees payable.
Aptean also reserves the right to verify the number of SaaS Users at the end of each month.[4] Catalog proof: Aptean may verify SaaS User counts monthly.
Virtualization & partitioning
Aptean’s agreements have no processor, core or partitioning metrics. The on-premise licence is for installation “on a certain number of servers owned or leased by Customer”, and the customer may not use the Software on a service bureau or time-share basis, or “host, virtualize or otherwise provide access to” individuals who are not permitted to use it.[3] Catalog proof: Hosting, virtualizing or service bureau use is restricted. Executable copies beyond one archival copy may be used for development and testing only: Executable copies may be used for development and testing only.
Cloud / BYOL
There is no bring-your-own-licence programme in the documents reviewed. Aptean maintains the SaaS Subscription at a third-party internet service provider and hosting facility,[4] and third-party components follow their own terms. The MSA says use of Third Party Software is governed by the terms that come with it, terms published at legal.aptean.com/third-party-terms, or terms published by the owner.[2] The Third Party Terms index lists the Microsoft Cloud Agreement, Online Service Terms, Product Terms and Online SLA alongside third-party product EULAs.[11] Where an Aptean product is built on Microsoft Dynamics 365, the Microsoft side is a separate licensing question; see Dynamics 365 licensing.
Programs
| Programme | What it does | Catalog row |
|---|---|---|
| Long Term Subscription and Term Maintenance | Multi-year commitment at discounted fees, with early-cancellation payment | Long Term Subscription and Term Maintenance commitment |
| Automatic one-year renewal | Terms renew yearly unless 90 days notice is given | Automatic one-year renewal |
| Software Evaluation License | Testing licence with no support | Software Evaluation License |
| Premium SaaS Subscription | SaaS with customer customizations at the customer’s risk | Premium SaaS Subscription |
| Partner-resold SaaS | End User terms for SaaS bought from a reseller | Partner-resold SaaS (VAR) terms |
Audit and compliance
The MSA lets Aptean audit “Customer’s records and computer systems that are relevant to Customer’s use of the Software or Equipment” during the term upon reasonable suspicion of misuse, during normal business hours and on reasonable advance notice.[2] The wording is narrower than a routine annual audit clause. Catalog proof: Audit right on reasonable suspicion of misuse. In practice the monthly SaaS User verification and the Maintenance licence floor are the counting controls that usually matter. See Software licence audit for the general concept.
Out of scope
This overview does not cover Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Azure licences that sit under some Aptean products, partner or reseller price lists, or Aptean’s data protection addendum. It also does not reproduce the third-party and legacy EULAs listed in the Third Party Terms centre. Aptean’s own price lists are not public except the EDI and Ship schedules, so no list prices are stated here for other products.