INFO245: Introduction to Enterprise Resource Planning ERP

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INFO245Introduction to Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP)
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Todays Objectives

• Introductions
• Your expectations
• Course Overview
• Answer the questions
• What is ERP?
• Why should we study it?
• How does ERP create value/benefit organizations?
• Is ERP a magic bullet for organizations?

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Introduction - Neil

• From Antigonish went to X (84)
• IS professional 20 years industry experience
• Project Management
• System Architecture/Design
• Data Warehousing/Information Management
• Hiring manager
• 4.5 years teaching at X (6 overall)
• Systems Analysis, Database, Intro to IS and ERP
• finishing PhD
• Topic The influence of end-user metadata on user
  attitudes and level of use in a data warehouse
  environment (pretty arcane)

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Your Expectations

• Please tell me
• Your name and home town
• Year/program
• What is ERP?
• What would you like to learn about ERP?

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Admin

• Office Hours (Fall Term)
• Tuesday  1 - 4
• Thursday  1 - 4
• Location NH107
• Web page http//people.stfx.ca/nfoshay/
• Phone x5425
• Email nfoshay_at_

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Course Objectives

• This is an introductory course in Enterprise
  Resource Planning (ERP) and is normally taken in
  the second  year  by Information Systems or
  Business Students.
• At the end of the course, students will have an
  understanding of the importance of ERP systems to
  modern organizations as well as an understanding
  of the complexity associated with developing and
  implementing ERP solutions.  
• Students also gain some hands-on experience,
  through lab exercises, with a leading ERP
  package, SysPro.

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Textbook
Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Systems,
Life Cycle, Electronic Commerce, and Risk Daniel
E. O'Leary Published October 2000 Hardback
ISBN 0521791529
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Grading

• Quizzes (2) 30
• Group Term Paper 20
• Final Exam 25
• Assignments 15
• Written and lab
• Class Participation 10
• Come to class
• Get involved in discussions
• EASY marks..

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One more thing.

• Week of Oct 1 only one class not sure if Mon
  or Wed. yet
• You will do research for your term paper, create
  a proposal, due Oct 10.
• I will provide an overview of the term paper

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• What topics will this course cover?
• Introduction to ERP
• The Challenge.Business not Technical Issues
• The Value.Business Processes and its all
  about the DATA
• Features and Evolution
• Vendors Market
• ERP Implementation
• Project Management
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Change Management
• Lab Component
• Well use SysPro provide an introduction to
  software.
• 4 - 5 sessions in the lab starting in mid-Oct.

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• What is ERP?
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are
  powerful software packages that enable business
  to integrate a variety of disparate functions.
  In particular, ERP systems can provide the
  foundation for a wide range of e-commerce based
  processes,
• OLeary, D. Enterprise Resource Planning
  Systems Life Cycle, Electronic Commerce,
  and Risk

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Why Study ERP

• It affects most major business enterprises and
  many small and medium businesses
• 60 of very large corporations use SAP (an ERP
  vendor)
• Increasingly, smaller organizations are adopting
• Its out there, and its very likely you will work
  with one in some capacity
• Borg
• It changes behavior of competitors and partners
• Competitors adopt to survive?
• Partners/Suppliers adopt to keep business
• It enforces best practices and aids reengineering
• Best practices built in (lots of choice)
• dont iterate, obliterate
• It changes the nature of consulting firms and IS
• HUGE portion of revenue from ERP consulting
• It is challenging to implement and cost is high
• Its growth has made it the predominant software

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• How does ERP create value?
• It integrates a broad range of business functions
• It influences companies to use best practices
• It allows diverse enterprises to standardize
• It stops data redundancy and synchronization
• It provides simultaneous access to real-time data
• It facilitates communication inside and outside
  the enterprise
• It provides a foundation for e-commerce

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Disadvantages of ERP

• ERP implementation is very difficult. There is a
  change in the way business is done. From a
  business function approach to a process approach.
• ERP systems are very expensive to implement. Can
  take years and cost 10s of millions of dollars.

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Disadvantages of ERP

• It takes time to realize the benefits of an ERP
  system, approximately 8 months after
  implementation.
• Control issues
• Share information that was once closely guarded
  (i.e., their information).
• Make decisions they were never required to make.
• Both of these issues can lead to resistance,
  redundancies, and errors.

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Disadvantages of ERP

• ERP systems are strategic solutions. In essence
  some companies are betting their future on a
  successful ERP implementation.
• If the implementation fails, the consequences to
  the company can be disastrous.
• Companies have gone out of business as a result
  of a failed ERP implementation effort.

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Magic Bullet?

• System Integration
• Improved understanding across users
• Less flexibility
• Data Integration
• Greater accuracy, real time access
• Harder to correct

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Magic Bullet?

• Better methods
• More efficiency
• Less freedom creativity
• Expected lower costs
• System is highly efficient when implemented
• Expensive and complex to implement high rate of
  failure
• Hidden costs

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Hidden Costs

• Training
• Critical, but effort and cost is often
  underestimated
• Integration and Testing
• Links between modules and between ERP software
  and external systems
• Customization
• Expensive, complex, dangerous
• Data Conversion
• Consultants
• Staffing
• Need best and brightest from business how to
  replace them?
• Implementation team needs to stay in place
• Delayed ROI
• Post-ERP Depression
• All change and upheaval impact on
  organizations morale