Week 4 Project

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Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

ERP systems support organizations in their business plans while solving real business issues. The decision to implement an ERP system within an organization is justi�ed with a return on investment (ROI) analysis. Some of the best areas for ROI in ERP implementations are providing better job order quotes and reducing inventory costs. The ability to meet deadlines is critical for keeping customers satis�ed while avoiding excessive shipping costs. Several questions arise when we determine ROI. They are:

Are we making business decisions manually without the bene�ts of the current software?

Is paper the usual means we use to transfer information between departments?

Are we losing market share because we spend more time �ghting �res than satisfying customers?

Do we fail to ship most products on time or to the correct place with errors at normal surface shipping rates?

If the answer to these questions is yes then you probably need to invest in ERP software. New ERP software means new procedures and processes. Start with streamlining procedures. Team building is another important step. Make sure that the separate departments are working towards a common goal and not to the detriment of other departments.

The four broad types of incremental returns for businesses from their ERP investment are:

Money returns

Time returns

Knowledge returns

Brand returns

ERP systems support the following business processes:

Marketing & Sales

Production & Manufacturing

Human Resources

Accounting & Finance

Each business is different and may have an opportunity to improve their:

Sales lead development

Product development process

Purchase cost reduction

Capital utilization

Capacity utilization

Productivity

Let us discuss the bene�ts and challenges faced by organizations when they implement ERP systems.