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Todd Doren Brewton Enterprises System Implementation

System implementation is a process that occurs when an old system is replaced by a new one. For this case, a new ERP system is to be implemented so as to replace almost all of the computer applications currently in use by the company. There are several stakeholders involved during the implementation process, and each performs different roles. For this case, the key stakeholders will play a pivotal role in the success of rolling out the ERP system for the entire company. The first key stakeholder will be Mark Brewton, Chief Executive Officer. In the business world, most companies have an individual who acts as the leader and plays a crucial role in laying out the strategic policies of the organization. For our case, the Chief Executive Officer will be a stakeholder by virtue, and he will offer an oversight role as well as developing the ERP implementation team and assessing its overall performance. The CEO will also be responsible for project approval and other budgetary issues and will also ensure that all stakeholders fully participate in the ERP system implementation (Zack, 2012).

The second key stakeholder will be Barbara Scharer who’s the Chief Financial Officer for the company. In most cases, the CFO’s major interest in the implementation of a new ERP system is to initiate discussions that eventually lead to the investment and roll out of the proposed system. For our case, The CFO will be in charge of the financial management section of the proposed ERP system. The Chief Financial Officer will also be interested in the budget proposal that will be submitted by the IT director and will be responsible for its approval. The third stakeholder will be Mike Benson, the Information Technology Director. The IT director and his team will be responsible for the day to day operations of the ERP software and the infrastructure that connects all employees to the ERP system. He will also be involved in coming up with the proposed budget, and this makes him an interested party.

The fourth key stakeholders will be the sales and advertising team led by Jennifer Morales, the Sales, and Advertising Director. The Sales and advertising team will be involved in the software implementation process, and this is because they play a crucial role in connecting the company’s prospects with customers. Their interest would be to ensure that appropriate actions will be taken to guarantee the selection of a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system which fully integrates with the ERP system and its implementation process. Finally, the last stakeholders will be the users and employees at the company. Generally, new systems bring about change in any business due to the implementation of a new and different set of business processes and this mostly leads to change resistance (Bosilj, 2005). For this case, user input during the implementation process will be essential in fulfilling all requirements and harmonizing all issues raised as well as providing a channel for users to interact with ERP system before it’s finally rolled out.

If properly applied, the ERP system will have the potential to offer competitive advantages, streamline operations and empower consistency among different departments in the company. However, implementing an ERP system can bring numerous challenges for all stakeholders involved. These challenges lead to complexities and failure in implementation (Seo, 2013). For this case, the first challenge anticipated while working with the above stakeholders is the lack of effective communication, and this is because during the implementation process there tends to be a communication failure between all the stakeholders involved and this often leads to unmanageable workloads and non-promising environments. To counter this, during the ERP implementation process all stakeholders must communicate effectively, and the project manager should organize for meetings where all users must communicate effectively and their opinions harmonized. Another challenge is employee morale. Employees assigned to ERP projects are often put under the stress of long working hours with extra workload and sometimes no off days. For this case, this is anticipated since the ERP system will be massive and spread out within different geographical locations. The stress can decrease the stakeholders' potential and hamper the implementation process. To counter this, the company's management and leadership which includes the CEO, CFO, and human resources director must provide flexible working hours to achieve better results.

The human resources needed to implement the ERP system will consist of different individuals performing different roles, and the first one is the project manager. The project manager will be involved in managing scope, budget, and timing and will also be involved in assisting in gathering requirements from users and documenting all business processes. The second human resource needed will be the system administrator who will be responsible for the collective setup and technical aspects of the administration of the ERP system. The third human capacity needed will be the IT director and his team whose main role will be to assist with installation and configuration of the system and also providing technical training to all employees. The final human capacity needed will be the technical support team who will assist employees and customers with ongoing operational issues. This team will deal with the continuing needs of both users and customers during implementation and even after roll out.

Computers and network resources need to use the ERP system in production mode will include small and fast PCs together with fast and reliable servers which should be hosted in an expanded server room in the IT department. The ERP system should also be customized to ensure that future releases and updated from the vendor are easy to be integrated into the deployed system. A database that supports all the ERP application should also be built and integrated into the network. A network should be setup using CAT 5 cables which support fast speeds of up to 1000Mbps.

References

Bosilj-Vukšić, V., &Spremić, M. (2005). ERP System Implementation and Business Process Change: Case study of a pharmaceutical company. CIT. Journal of computing and information technology, 13(1), 11-24.

Seo, G. (2013). Challenges in implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in large organizations: similarities and differences between corporate and university environment (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

Zach, O. (2012). ERP system implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises.