Integration
seamless integration of all the information flowing through a company – financial and accounting, human resource information, supply chain information, and customer information.
Packages
Enterprise systems are not developed in-house
• IS life cycle is different
1. Mapping organisational requirements to the processes and terminology employed by the vendor and
2. Making informed choices about the parameter setting.
• Organisations that purchase enterprise systems enter into long-term relationships with vendors. Organisations no longer control their own destiny.
Best Practices
• ERP vendors talk to many different businesses within a given industry as well as academics to determine the best and most efficient way of accounting for various transactions and managing different processes. The result is claimed to be “industry best practices”.
• The general consensus is that business process change adds considerably to the expense and risk of an enterprise systems implementation. Some organisations rebel against the inflexibility of these imposed business practices.
Some Assembly Required
Only the software is integrated, not the computing platform on which it runs. Most companies have great difficulty integrating their enterprise software with a package of hardware, operating systems, database management systems software, and telecommunications suited to their specific needs.
• Interfaces to legacy systems
• Third-party bolt-on applications
• Best of Breed Strategy
Evolving
Enterprise Systems are changing rapidly
• Architecturally: Mainframe, Client/Server, Web-enabled, Object-oriented, Componentisation
• Functionally: front-office (i.e. sales management), supply chain (advanced planning and scheduling), data warehousing, specialised vertical industry solutions, etc.
• Typical architectural components
• Tech Stack - Internet Computing Architecture
• Why implement an ERP System?
• To support business goals
– Integrated, on-line, secure, self-service processes for business
– Eliminate costly mainframe/fragmented technologies
• Improved Integration of Systems and Processes
• Lower Costs
• Empower Employees
• Enable Partners, Customers and Suppliers
• How should we implement ERP systems
Obtain the right mix of people, processes and technology!!
• How should we implement ERP Systems?
• People
– Project Structure
– Should be aligned to processes
• Process
– Implementation Process (outlined in detail)
– Adapt your processes to those of the ERP.
• Technology
– Hardware
– Software
– Integrated Systems
• Process