ERP IMPLEMENTATION

ERP Implementation



ERP Implementation

Introduction

Detailing the definition of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can be likened to the story about six blind men and the elephant. Each man is touching a different part of the elephant, but none is seeing the whole animal. The moral of the story is that there could be many interpretations depending on context and perspectives (Umble & Umble, 2002, 25).

Enterprise resource planning is a key part of the IT dominated environment of the present business world. It helps increase productivity, reduce costs and meet functional challenges in business enterprises. Therefore, demand for enterprise architects is growing in the IT industry. It is an expert enterprise resource planner who deals with the complexities spanning across business information, process and software. Simply, the importance of enterprise resource planning is undeniable.

This paper is aimed at discussing the evolution and importance of information systems and Enterprise Resource Planning, and how the two concepts relate to each other. The paper presents a brief description of the various aspects of the two concepts with special reference to the implementation of the ERP in present business environment.

Background

The first step in implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is to understand the definition, purpose, and functionality of ERP. Unfortunately, that task is not as easy as it sounds. ERP systems represent different things to different organizations, vendors, and individuals. Defining ERP is difficult because there are many variations of the term within the manufacturing literature (Songini, 2000, 10). In addition, a wide variety of software companies advertise various versions of “ERP systems” with different modules and functionality configurations.

To further complicate the matter, the concept of ERP is quickly merging with e-commerce, e-supply chain, and knowledge management. In spite of these difficulties, an understanding of the various components of an ERP system is necessary for comprehending how to best teach the ERP system to executives, managers, office workers, and shop floor personnel (Bartholomew, 2002, 58). Employees must understand the nuances of ERP to adopt it quickly and integrate it into the organization. Without an understanding of the ERP system by the people in the organization, a successful implementation is difficult, perhaps impossible. One place to start is to look at a traditional definition of an ERP system.

Role of Business and Conceptual Modelling

Today's world is characterized by globalization and the rapid advance of information technology. To face such unprecedented change and survive, enterprises have to continuously review their products, services, and relations with the environment. Information systems, which have now become an integral part of business, are relied on to assess the quality of products and effectiveness of services.

Unfortunately, very often software system does not properly support businesses. The causes may be poorly-defined assessment of requirements, deficiencies in proper business understanding by the software design team, or even the nature of the business (which may change so often that the software simply cannot keep pace). According to Davenport and Short (1990), the relationship between business process design and information systems has never been fully ...