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The enterprise resource planning involves the process through which a business organization manages and integrates all its functions for proper operations. An ERP management information systems integrate areas such as planning, purchase and supplies, inventory, finance and sales (Tarhini, Ammar, & Tarhini, 2015). ERP is an essential component for the operation of a business organization. It is a software that functions as the central nervous system of the organization. It collects the information about various activities in the organization and state of different divisions and therefore makes it available to be used in the operation of the business for productivity purposes. The information on the system is added by the valid users and therefore any other valid user can access the information at any time.

As an IT manager, my organization will use ERP for monitoring and maintaining various functions in the organization (Leon, 2014). The entity will use ERP to maintain its inventory and assets. As a manager, I will also use ERP to assess the labor in the organization and therefore put in place measures that encourage proper allocation of human resources in the organization. I will also promote marketing of the products and services thus improve sales in the organization. ERP will be an essential component in the management of various services in the organization. Examples of the ERP include the tier one systems such as E-Business Suite that are used in operations of larger companies (Chang et al.,  2015). Tier two systems are meant for the mid business activities. They include IFS applications and Glovia G2. The tier three systems cover the medium-sized to small business operators.

Various advantages are associated with the use of Enterprise resource planning. These include improving the productivity (Chofreh et al., 2014). ERP provides essential information that helps in the proper management of the activities. The action improves productivity. It also streamlines processes because processes can be easily managed and monitored from a single point. It also gives accurate forecasts. The software gives the users the information and data that they can utilize an accurate forecast. Forecasts are essential as they help organizations to prepare well for the future.

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ERP

Enterprise recourse planning is same like a brain as it integrates different departments across a company in a centralized manner. It enables agility by connecting information from everyone, every department and every process throughout the entire enterprise.

This means communication a full picture of your valuable resource and eventually confident business decision. ERP is controlling and coordinating every part of your business from quotation to delivery and invoicing providing you with the full information necessarily to effectively manage you business process.

Function organizational structure:

The functional structure of an organization is division of organization into functions, which is also called as departments.

·        Every department is accountable for a set of activities which are closely related with each other.

·        The following are some of the typical departments of the modern organization:

1.      Purchasing

2.      Production

3.      Warehouse

4.      Sales and marketing

5.      Research and development  

6.      Finance and accounting

7.      Human resources

8.      Information systems

Functional structure is so common. The reasons are discussed below:

·        The main reason for widely using functional structure is the responsibility is allocated for every department. Thus, not a specific person or department is responsible for a function.

·        People in every department should have specialized in knowledge and skills.

·        Sometimes, many departments are in charge for a function and it is called cross-functional.

For Example: warehouse and human resource department team up to do a function.

Advantages of ERP System:

1. ERP systems enable management to view visibility and understand the better/faster collaboration across all the departments.

2. ERP systems helps order tracking, inventory tracking, revenue tracking, sales forecasting and related activities.

3. ERP systems are advantageous mainly for a company spread globally.

4. ERP system is more secured with centralized security policies applied to each Transaction, which can be tracked and maintained.

5. ERP system helps to Automate and integrate internal workflow from one department/function to another, to ensure a smooth transition and quicker completion of processes. It ensures that all the inter-departmental activities are properly tracked and none of them is ‘missed out’.

6. There are various modules in an ERP system like Finance/Accounts, Human Resource Management, Manufacturing, Marketing/Sales, Supply Chain/Warehouse Management, CRM, Project Management, etc.

7. A centralized reporting system to extract, review and analyze the data with statistics/status etc. across all functions/departments in the organization.

8. ERP is a modular software system, flexible to implement either a few modules or many modules based on the requirements of an organization. If more modules implemented, the integration between various departments would be easier and better use.

9. Since a Database system is implemented on the backend to store all the information required by the ERP system, it enables centralized storage/back-up of all enterprise data.