Information Technology in the Business Environment - Research Paper Example

? PPQ Parts Manufacturing Company of the Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) 3 Capacity Requirement Planning (CRP) 5 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) 6 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction The importance of information technology in the current business environment cannot be denied. The present business environment is characterized by high instability and turbulence. As a result of that, minor flaws on the part of the company or sluggish business process can dislodge their market position. In such cases, companies are left with no choice but to implement information technology in their operation system as a tool for streaming the business process. There are several advantages of implementing information technology in an organization. One of the biggest advantages is the reduction of cost and increase in efficiency. Apart from that, it also provides companies with the opportunity to gain better control over the operations and other activities. For a manufacturing entity like PPQ Parts manufacturing company, the significance of information technology is more. Such controls can be easily achieved by integrating certain software packages with the existing system of the company. The coordination becomes easier and rapidness of work increases. This paper aims to analyze and recommend software for the company’s materials requirements planning (MRP), capacity requirement planning (CRP), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) needs. The pros and cons of the software packages will be highlighted and on the basis of that suitable software will be recommended to the company in each of the categories. Materials Requirement Planning (MRP) Material requirement planning is an inventory control and production planning system used for the purpose of managing manufacturing processes (Heisi, 2002). Most of the MRP systems are software-based. In the context of a manufacturing industry, it should have integrated planning system for determining requirements of raw materials for production. The two of the most known software in this category are Fishbowl Inventory Manufacturing Software and E2 Shop System Software. a) Fishbowl Inventory Manufacturing Software: - Fishbowl Inventory Manufacturing Software is specially designed for the manufacturing companies for providing cutting-edge solutions related to the management of raw materials. Moreover, it also keeps record of the company’s materials requirement planning. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the software are presented below: - Advantages 1. The software is easy to use and has the ability to generate bills automatically (Fishbowlinventory, 2013). 2. The interface is user friendly and with only few hours of training employees will be able to get familiar with it. Disadvantages 1. One of the biggest disadvantages of this software is that the system requirements are too high. 2. The software is considerably more expensive than other material requirement planning software. b) E2 Shop System Software - E2 Shop System is a significant and renowned material requirement planning software. This software can be highly beneficial for the company as it gets easily integrated with the system. Moreover, this software can be used by both small and medium enterprises as well as large scale manufacturing companies. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the software are presented below: - Advantages 1. The software has the ability to carry out multiple tasks such as accurate quoting, order entry, materials management and quality control among others (marketplace, 2009). 2. This software can be used by both small and large enterprises. Disadvantages 1. Although the software greatly help companies to increase the efficiency but has a number of drawbacks. The system is highly complicated and for that reasons lot of training needs to be provided to the employees who will be using it. 2. In order to run this software, a lot of resources is required and is highly vulnerable to virus attacks and thus there is a possibility of data loss. Factors/Software Fishbowl Inventory Manufacturing Software E2 Shop System Software Cost $1,095 $995-$2000K Compatibility with current systems and work flow processes Functionality Ease of use End user support (Data prepared according to the feedback of Users) Capacity Requirement Planning (CRP) Capacity requirement planning is a process by which companies evaluates the capacity of production required to meet the changing needs for its products (Proud, 2012). For a corporation like PPQ parts manufacturing, capacity requirement planning system assists them to make production in tandem with its capacity. It greatly helps in reducing over production or at times ensures the company does not produce below the requirements. Thus, it creates a balance between the production and demand. Again, it can be realized by the integration of software package. The renowned software for this function is MIE Trak and Finesse CRP. a) MIE Trak: - MIE Trak is one of the best software solutions for capacity requirement planning. The software has the ability to successfully streamline and integrate the entire business operation. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the software are presented below: - Advantages 1. The software has the ability to integrate all the business operations such as manufacturing, sales, and engineering (mie-solutions, n.d.). 2. MIE Trak is highly flexible and thus can be easily interchanged with alternate system. Disadvantages 1. The software has several complications related to networking. 2. The system requirements are also high as it consumes a lot of resources. b) Finesse CRP: - Finesse CRP is a software solution for capacity requirement planning. It is principally designed to evaluate the impact of MRP orders against the production capacity of the firm (Essfinesse, 2013). Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the software are presented below: - Advantages 1. The software can be customized to meet the specific needs of the users. 2. Work scheduling is also possible with this software solution and hence plays a crucial role in augmenting the growth of the company. Disadvantages 1. In order to operate this software, one needs to have strong technical knowledge. 2. The software is expensive in comparison with other capacity requirement planning software. Factors/Software MIE Trak Finesse CRP Cost $2,000 $2500-3000 Compatibility with current systems and work flow processes Functionality Ease of use End user support (Data prepared according to the feedback of Users) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a system by which organizations integrates the external and internal management of information through the whole organization (Leon, 2008). An ERP solution embraces manufacturing, finance/accounting, customer relationship management, sales and service, etc. In simple terms, these systems automate the organizational activities by integrating software application into its current system. The best known ERP solutions are OpenERP and Opentaps ERP Software. a) OpenERP: - OpenERP is known as the most efficient enterprise resource planning software due to its compatibility with every system. It can be used by every company irrespective of size and nature. Especially for manufacturing firms, it can carry out multiple tasks such as management of the manufacturing operations, scheduling of work order and manufacturing orders automatically (Opener, n.d.). Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the software are presented below: - Advantages 1. The software has the capability to compute large data sets within a short span of time. 2. The interface of the software is very simple and any employees of PPP parts manufacturing company can use it after few hours of training. Disadvantages 1. The software does not work on offline mode and hence access to the internet is necessary. 2. The software is very much expensive and is therefore generally used by large MNCs only. b) Opentaps ERP Software: - Opentaps is ERP software specially designed for the manufacturing companies. The functioning of this software is entirely dependent upon internet. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of the software are presented below: - Advantages 1. This software has the ability to enable companies design effective and efficient pricing policies. In addition, it helps in managing the business more efficiently (Opentaps, 2011). 2. The software also allows companies to automate and evaluate the sales and purchase data. In addition, the software is cheaper. Disadvantages 1. The software requires frequent updates and this may coerce companies to incur more cost. 2. The software is expensive and there are issues against the software’s after sales support. Factors/Software OpenERP Opentaps ERP Software Cost $3,800 $3,000 Compatibility with current systems and work flow processes Functionality Ease of use End user support (Data prepared according to the feedback of Users) Conclusion The paper has comprehensively evaluated the software packages in the areas of materials requirements planning (MRP), capacity requirement planning (CRP), and enterprise resource planning (ERP). In each of the categories two software packages have been evaluated and merits, demerits and certain other aspects of those software packages have been thoroughly examined. The study revealed that each of the software chosen are equally effective for the company, but there are certain differences related to the Functionality, ease of use, cost and also the system requirements. Hence, considering these factors the company is recommended to use Fishbowl Inventory Manufacturing Software (considering price and features) for MRP, MIE Trak (considering the price) for CRP and OpenERP (considering the product features, use of use and end user support) for ERP. References Essfinesse. (2013). An informed, complete planning picture. Retrieved from http://www.essfinesse.com/mod_crp.html. Fishbowlinventory. (2013). Manufacturing inventory software. Retrieved from http://www.fishbowlinventory.com/manufacturing-inventory-software. Heisig, G. (2002). Planning Stability in Material Requirements Planning Systems. Berlin: Springer. Leon, A. (2008). Enterprise Resource Planning. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Marketplace. (2009). E2 Shop System. Retrieved from http://marketplace.intuit.com/AppID-2111-Overview.aspx. mie-solutions. (n.d.). MIE Trak. Retrieved from http://mie-solutions.com/mie/index.php/ERP-Software-Quoting-Tracking-Job-Costing/mietrak.html. Opener. (n.d.). Manufacturing Resource Planning. Retrieved from https://www.openerp.com/apps/trunk/mrp/. Opentaps. (2011). About opentaps. Retrieved from http://www.opentaps.org/about-opentaps. Proud, J. F. (2012). Master Scheduling: A Practical Guide to Competitive Manufacturing (3rd ed.). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Softprovider, 2012. Importance of Business Software for an Organization. Retrieved from http://www.softprovider.com/index.php/importance-of-business-software-for-an-organization/. Read More