2,327 research outputs found
Bridging the Gap Between Organisational Needs and ERP Functionality
International audienceWe argue that ERP installations are difficult to align to specific requirements of the enterprise because of the low level at which ERP functionality is described. We raise this level from a functional description to a goal-oriented one. We use SAP R/3 to illustrate this. A SAP goal expresses the task that a SAP function carries out and abstracts away from the performance of this task. Since a SAP goal can be achieved in many ways, we introduce the notion of SAP strategies. We organise goals and strategies as a directed graph called a map. We illustrate the map with the Materials Management Module of SAP. In order to evaluate and compare the use of the map with the functional approach, we develop an evaluation framework. The evaluation and comparison is presented. The materials management map is then used to align the SAP module to the stores and purchase department of an academic institute
The real SAPÂź Business one cost : a case study of ERP adoption in an SME
This paper reports on a UK based service management Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) that invested into SAPÂź Business One. The action research case study highlights the real cost and difficulties faced in moving to the one single SAP system and the process that was followed in
order to identify third-party vendors that can integrate or customise SAPÂź Business One. This paper highlights the additional costs required to ensure a âfit-for-purposeâ solution to close the gap between strategic needs and the
existing SAP Business One solution. The gap itself is illustrated by highlighting 10 key functionalities expected by the given service management SME. The actual implementation cost of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) was found to be approximately double the initial SAP costs. The real costs involve time for, among other things, process reengineering, strategic decision making, software add-ons, staff-training, project-management and software
maintenance
Employing Knowledge Transfer to support IS implementation in SMEs
Information systems strategy is an increasingly important component of overall business strategy in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The need for readily available and consistent management information, drawn from integrated systems based on sound and upgradeable technologies, has led many senior company managers to review the business case for root-and-branch systems replacement. However, implementing new information systems (IS) is not easy and many projects fail or fall well short of expected outcomes. Key to successful implementation is getting the strategy right in the first place and then implementing it in a controlled manner to ensure the delivery of benefits. This article discusses three IS projects in different SMEs, where the UK's Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme has been used to transfer relevant expertise from the university sector to help with strategy development and systems implementation. The experience has led to an outline method for IS strategy development for SMEs and guidelines for the adoption and adaptation of mainstream project management and software package evaluation tools. It is hoped that this will help other SMEs to achieve IS strategy development and implementation more effectively in terms of timescale, cost control and benefits delivery
Using a knowledge management evaluation framework for improving an ERP system - a Hong Kong construction industry case study
Organisations need to rely on leadership, information support and human capital in order to ensure a knowledge advantage over their competitors. Knowledge management (KM) provides organisations with sustainable competitive advantage, because it becomes extremely difficult for an organisation to cut expenditure and increase revenue by simply reengineering its business model. Project delivery and success has been traditionally viewed and measured as management of a three-legged stool, with the legs defined as cost, schedule and quality. However, KM can be linked to success by organisations becoming more effective as well as being more efficient.This paper uses a KM framework, the Knowledge Advantage (K-Adv), developed initially for use by construction organisations. It assesses the impact of leadership and its supporting information communication technology infrastructure on the ability of people (by effectively creating, sharing, disseminating and using knowledge) to facilitate sustainable competitive advantage.A case study that is presented is based upon the experience of a leading construction company using an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system to demonstrate the effectiveness of KM from a cost management business unit perspective. Results are evaluated using a capability maturity model (CMM) - that forms the core of the K-Adv tool - to help improve processes that meet the needs of the organisation operating in a highly dynamic business environment. The case study is part of a broader doctoral research project that uses action learning to facilitate and measure ERP improvement.<br /
System implementation: managing project and post project stage - case study in an Indonesian company
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Integrating information and knowledge for enterprise innovation
It has widely been accepted that enterprise integration, can be a source of socio-technical and cultural problems within organisations wishing to provide a focussed end-to-end business service. This can cause possible âstraitjacketingâ of business process architectures, thus suppressing responsive business re-engineering and competitive advantage for some companies. Accordingly, the current typology and emergent forms of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) technologies are set in the context of understanding information and knowledge integration philosophies. As such, key influences and trends in emerging IS integration choices, for end-to-end, cost-effective and flexible knowledge integration, are examined. As touch points across and outside organisations proliferate, via work-flow and relationship management-driven value innovation, aspects of knowledge refinement and knowledge integration pose challenges to maximising the potential of innovation and sustainable success, within enterprises. This is in terms of the increasing propensity for data fragmentation and the lack of effective information management, in the light of information overload. Furthermore, the nature of IS mediation which is inherent within decision making and workflow-based business processes, provides the basis for evaluation of the effects of information and knowledge integration. Hence, the authors propose a conceptual, holistic evaluation framework which encompasses these ideas. It is thus argued that such trends, and their implications regarding enterprise IS integration to engender sustainable competitive advantage, require fundamental re-thinking
Risky business: when a CRM vendor masqueraded as an ERP specialist
Taking a social shaping perspective we unpack the development trajectory of a packaged software
product to show, that contrary to mainstream accounts, design is not completely specified a-priori and
that the process continues throughout implementation, and use. We show how developers, in this case
third party vendors, can continue to engage in shaping packages during implementation and also how
users contribute to the development effort. In particular, we illustrate how a customer relationship
management package application targeted at a particular organisational function was configured to
make an enterprise wide system and the key role of the vendor in this effort. To do this we refer to a 3-
year qualitative field study of an expanding United Kingdom based consultancy company undergoing
extreme ICT related change. This empirical research is used to explore an often ignored phenomenon,
that of the role of vendors in appropriating ICTs and the potential risks they bring. Through this, we
highlight the plight and responsibilities of low-level organisational actors in this process in
cognisance of the fact they usually have a minor role in ICT selection but become a major player in
dealing with vendors at the implementation stage when the devil is truly in the detail. The risks we
identify relate to: vendor sales pitches of products as specifically related to their capabilities and the
products they put forward; the calling upon of organisational resources by vendors; vendor
knowledge of the application are and the actual âsocialâ, âtechnicalâ and âorganisationalâ capabilities
of vendors to deliver a working product. We also point to the risks managers in vendor and consumer
organisations create by placing their staff in difficult conditions within appropriation processes. The
implications of our work centre on the need for further research related to: vendor/developer risks of
packaged software, custom and open source projects; notions of professionalism and ethics in the
software industry and project working conditions
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