Wolf Peak - Case Study Example

Finally, he approached Schwab, a man who later became the CFO of the company, and asked him to point in the direction of an accounting package that all his staff could use without disruption to the company. It led to the painful but liberating experience of installing SAP Business One, a very user-friendly program that is cheap and quick to install and one that runs in tandem with other useful programs such as Microsoft Excel. The article then goes on to list the functionality of the program, stating the ability to peruse orders by amount and date as an important factor.

The problems that occurred when Wolf Peak upgraded from QuickBooks to the newer system were that no-one understood how to use the program in question and reports could not be generated from it. It was stated that accountants spent months trying to extract information from the program. It is also mentioned that the old reports from QuickBooks could not be uploaded onto the system and therefore there was no history on the system, a problem for an SME such as Wolf Peak. These problems could have been avoided by a proper investigation into the types of accounting packages available, and getting a demonstration from the company like that mentioned later with reference to SAP Business One.

The education of the employees by the manufacturer of the new system could have been useful too, although a program that is not user-friendly may never catch on.There are several reasons why SAP Business One was preferable. Firstly, SAP Business One took only seven weeks to install, and Wolf Peak was using it successfully from this period with no delays. SAP Business One also allowed the QuickBooks entries to be put into the system easily, meaning that all the accounting system was in one place.

The compatibility with Microsoft Excel allows people from all areas of the company to see the accounts and make adjustments in a familiar program, as well as for easy printing and note-making. SAP Business One also allows Schwab to check the inventory and the price value for each item of stock, an invaluable tool for an SME. He can also see the invoices that affect the inventory, and how much stock (and the value) is left. SAP Business One also allows the company to track and develop sales opportunities, something that is invaluable to a growing SME like Wolf Peak.

The integration of all these features is useful to a company with only one main division, typical of SMEs. It may be useful to these companies to use an all-in-one business package like SAP Business One because it allows all the information to be in one place, something useful in a small company. It also allows the company to flourish without a CFO, something that Wolf Peak did until its expansion (and subsequent issues with accounting programs) required it to. It also allows more information to be spread among the employees, ensuring that there is no segregation of departments that may lead the company into disarray due to fractal business plans.

In conclusion, it is easy to see how the SAP Business One program has enhanced Wolf Peak, although at the time this case was written it was only three months into their usage. It allows integration with other programs and user-friendly interfaces, as well as offering more than just accounting software. There are loads of elements of the program that have been useful to Wolf Peak, and it got them out of an avoidable situation by replacing the second accounting program used by the company.