Operations and Information Management - Report Example

Operations and information management By + Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the automation of company’s core business in an attempt to help the business concentrate on the effectiveness and simplified success. Open source ERP is software that has allows its codes to be accessed by the public. The open source model gives room for companies to access the ERP system codes and customize it using their IT rather than incurring extra costs of purchasing a whole package that might not be fully utilized  (Baye 2000). Other expenses that can be due to use of Open Source Planning include paying for licensing and maintenance. A real ERP comes as a full package with all modules and functions included and one only need to enter data once, and the whole system knows about it (Brady et al. 2001). An ERP system automates and incorporates core business such as taking customer orders, scheduling tasks, keeping stock records, financial data, sales, distribution, supply chain and human resource management. For ERP to be convenient and helpful choice to the organization, the organization should possess IT staffs that are competent with desired knowledge and skills relating to programming (Hossain et al. 2002). Enterprise Resource Planning is essential for the business due to many reasons; 1) The software aids in the definition of business processes and making ensuring they are followed all through the supply chain. 2) Protection of vital business information through clearly defined roles and security access 3) It enables one to schedule workload based on existing orders and predictions. 4) It avails tools to give a high level of service delivery to a customer. 5) They help in decision making through data transformation. Benefits of ERP to the organisation ERP incorporation into the business comes with many advantages that will help the propagation of the organization and provision of a competitive advantage to the company. Some of the benefits of having an ERP to the company are; it firstly it facilitates integration of all processes of activity. Incorporation of the ERP into all the business activities fully is mandatory for the company to attain the full benefits of the software. The integration begins from planning and programming to the manufacturing and distribution of the various products produced. Additionally, mechanization boosts productivity (Johnson and Scholes 1999). Business processes are efficient when mechanisation has been incorporated into its features. ERP makes the means more competent, minimizes errors and fastens overall operations. Moreover, it saves people from doing tedious tasks such as balancing data. Additionally, there is an overall increase in performance and incorporation of inefficient business processes by the ERP. The aggregate constructive acquired, when business operations integrate, is larger performance by the organization (Leon, 2008). Makelts reports and the analysis done by the ERP are of a high standard compared to those provided in the manual way. Boardroom reports will be of high quality as well as the organization appraisal, which will improve performance, in the long run. The ERP integrates the entire supply chain of the business. ERP spreads to suppliers and customers of the company guaranteeing full visibility and efficiency across the supply chain. Due to the above reasons, ERPs will benefit Makelt in its operations (Nah, 2002). Challenges faced by ERPs and their Solutions Despite the many benefits of ERPs, there are challenges that come with its implementation that Makelt will face: a) Application of the desired ERP is sometimes difficult. Organizations tend to enforce the implementations at once because this will result in confusion and commotion. However, Makelt can deal with this challenge by conducting the implementation in stages and not at once (OLeary 2000). b) There is inadequate training before and after the implementation. The staff are required to be knowledgeable about the about using the ERP. Inadequate training will lead to inefficiency in application, and it will automatically not work. IT will also result to dismiss of work and incomplete functions. Makelt should embrace proper training procedures to enhance chances of success when incorporation an ERP software in their business. c) Inadequate detailed analysis of the necessities will result in the unavailability of certain essential ingredients. This might affect the processes and eventually decrease the output and profitability of the business Makelt should analyse the requirements keenly with the help of an expert where necessary (Shanks et al. 2003). d) Lack of backup from the top management often leads to failure. Management is responsible for critical decision making in the organization regarding procurement, spending of cash among other decisions. Lack of management support will result in unwanted frustrations in the workplace. Furthermore, it leads to delayed operations and unsuccessful decisions. It is essential that Makelt’s senior management support the project fully to ensure attainment of desired results. e) There are incompatibility issues that may derail the integration process. Different suppliers are with different implementation of ERP modules by companies. There should be a designed manner in which compatibility issues should be by Makelt because incompatible modules will not work or will not perform as desired. f) ERP application will create overhead costs in case the requirements were properly deliberated on during the planning phase. Therefore, before Makelt embarks on the affecting the ERP, a comprehensive plan containing a summary of the requirements should be made. This will reduce chances of failure in the long run. g) Inadequate investment in infrastructure puts the ERP project in jeopardy. It is very critical because ERP application modules need a good processing speed and enough storage. Non-allotment of sufficient budget to the required infrastructure will result in decreased application rate and other software complications. Makelt should allocate adequate budget to service the infrastructural needs of the project. Makelt Company should also enhance hardware and software security because it is similarly vital to the business (Shtub 2002). h) The users do not see the value of the improvements. This happens when they cannot see the how importance it is to them. Makelt should involve everybody at all levels of the organization to make them feel part of the project. i) A lot of work is being used in trying to work on native cultural and institutional dissimilarities. The key problems limitation is the dissimilarities between the nation and local market condition. Recommendation; inform fourth shift ERP My recommendation for Makelt is fourth shift ERP software. Fourth Shift ERP software offers small and medium sized manufacturers with easy to use manufacturing software that improves efficiency. The software services specific needs of manufacturers ranging from chemical, rubber and plastic, medical device, pharmaceutical to foods and beverages among others (Sumner, 2005). Fourth Shift ERP software helps to raise stock turns. This is the number of times that a company’s inventory turns over per year. Stock turns are a metric commonly used in supply chain metrics. Additionally, the software helps manage payables and receivables, upgrade on time delivery performance and alleviate production disturbances. Moreover, Fourth Shift software brings improved internet workability such as e-centres that put in place transaction and collection of data. Fourth shift enhances interdepartmental communication by providing a similar language to employees and increasing output by availing a systematic, disciplined approach to critical manufacturing activities. Additionally, it provides an ample set of tools that will run production, operations finance, how the work is and the relationship between the suppliers and their clients (Zaveri, 2009). Reasons for selection of fourth shift ERP software Fourth shift is designed to help production businesses improve their operational quality, speed, and reliability . This is because they want to attain upgraded desired output. Some of the benefits Makelt will get from Forth shift include; a) Timely transportation to overseas b) Upgraded exact figure of stock information c) Reduction in the lead-time duration d) Increase in inventory turns, and the entire manufacturing cycle will improve. Fourth Shift ERP will help Makelt realize faster returns on investment and lasting innovation through a joint effort of experts, equipment, approaches and competent partners. Improves the sales procedure The software would enable registration of Makelt’s website to ask for information, signing for market platforms, submitting personal and demographic information, and asking for a prompt call back from a sales person carrying out their businesses online. Doing away with mistakes and miscommunication All the data and interaction of the clients will be amalgamated into one centralised database to make sure everyone gets the same regular data, doing away with frequent miscommunication and mistakes. Power most aspects of sales, the relationship in the client’s service and marketing The data that is given by Makelt’s employees, customers and business partners will be channelled to the appropriate people in the organization for prompt management or development. Upgrading the relationship of the customer Relevant material concerning Makelt’s clients will be incorporated in the system. This may include customer needs, difficulties and favourites, which will help find answers and give more worth and maintain the connection between the customers and the company for as long as possible. The software will also help progress the approaches of the business. The system will capture valuable information about clients and use it to regulate the company’s products. Partners together with the staff can manage logical results online This will assist to assess marketing projects, back up cases, look into opportunities and then make use of this insight to make critical and accurate business choices that will improve it. Availability Information can be available on desktops, Windows CE devices and notebooks so that any staff member can have a look at it whenever they want. Constancy, safety and compatibility Fourth Shift CRM will improve Makelt’s routine, make use of scalability, ease supervision and lower the total cost of possession. This will be achieved by making use of the SQL structures. Amalgamation The advantage of the 32-bit applications is that it entirely amalgamates Windows desktop, Microsoft Windows NT, and mobile computer together with the server of Microsoft BackOffice Servers. Moreover, the application also amalgamates the prize winning, which is an industry that is commended Pivotal CRM software with the Fourth Shift ERP support. Approaches used in arriving at fourth-shift Observation Having interacted with several Enterprise Resource Planning for about three months in a very busy manufacturing company and getting involved in several tasks that require the use of a fourth shift, it is the best suited for Makelt. Makelt operates at full capacity, and fourth shift will improve efficiency and output at the same time. New branches will also benefit extensively from this ERP. This is because it has a package that enables communication between companies in different locations. Experiment During my execution of various tasks in the company in the organization like placing orders, receiving orders and processing of accounts payables and receivables among other tasks, I have confidence that fourth-shift will serve Makelt appropriately. Security measures can also be affected appropriately to prevent unauthorised access. This is done by creating a portal for every user in different departments with everyone having their passwords. The bottom line of the research on the benefits of the fourth shift is that a lot of paper work is eliminated thus speeding up business processes. Additionally, the fourth shift is a user-friendly ERP. Comparisons Another available ERP is like the sage, pastel and quick books are inferior to fourth shift. These soft wares are vulnerable to security threats. There are no apparent measures to prevent the ERP’s, and if they are available, they are not sufficient. Furthermore, there are complexities that accompany these ERPs. For instance, I had to attend classes for a long time before getting to have an idea of using them. Another aspect making these ERP’s unsuitable compared to fourth shift is that they are not economical. Every customer wants to get the value of their money, and they do not result in a faster rate of paying back return on capital employed. Fourth-shift has a team that offer excellently after-sale services, which in return increase customer satisfaction. This aspect is not common in these other ERP soft wares. Desk research I collected materials from different sources that contained relevant information and explanations of various types of ERP’s. Participants in those articles were mainly users of those ERP’s, and they provided an invaluable contribution to their experiences. Others were IT experts who have knowledge of various soft wares and can identify their vulnerability and the extent they are designed to cope with threats. Interviews I interviewed individual vendors of all these ERP had and did a comparison with the findings and fourth shift still proved the best option among them. I also interviewed the users of this software. There were conflicting feedbacks. Users of fourth-shift were very comfortable with the ERP as opposed to those using pastel, quick books and sage. ERP soft wares are important for every business due to the many reasons highlighted above. Many companies operating like Makelt have embraced the ERP technology, and they have realised these benefits. Makelt should adopt fourth shift Enterprise Resource Planning in order to maintain their capacity that is already full without much difficulties and at lower costs. It will help in the realisation of their goals (Johnson and Scholes, 1999). References Baye, M. (2000). Managerial economics & business strategy. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Brady, J., Monk, E., and Wagner, B. (2001). Concepts in enterprise resource planning. Australia: Course Technology. Hossain, L., Patrick, J. and Rashid, M. (2002). Enterprise resource planning. Hershey, PA: Idea Group Pub. Johnson, G., and Scholes, K. (1999). Exploring corporate strategy. London: Prentice Hall Europe. Leon, A. (2008). Enterprise resource planning. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill. Nah, F. (2002). Enterprise resource planning solutions and management. Hershey, PA: IRM Press. OLeary, D. (2000). Enterprise resource planning systems. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Shanks, G., Seddon, P., and Willcocks, L. (2003). Second-wave enterprise resource planning systems. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. Shtub, A. (2002). Enterprise resource planning (ERP). Boston: Kluwer Academic. Sumner, M. (2005). Enterprise resource planning. Upper Saddle River, N, J.: Prentice Hall. Zaveri, J. (2009). Enterprise resource planning. Mumbai: Himalaya Pub. House. Read More