Enterprise information systems and Carolina Turkey - Essay Example

? Case Study & Section Number of Enterprise Information Systems Enterprise information Systems and Carolina Turkey In this fast moving world where globalization is almost everywhere and company operations are not limited to single market place,the business atmosphere is not as easy to tackle as it was some years before. The business of today needs strong and planned strategies in order to maintain a good and organized setup.To remain competitive, companies need to generate ideas which give them the edge over rivals through competitive advantage. A good information system is one way to maintain a competitive edge over rivals. In this course, we learned different ways to implement information systems to make the operations and all business units get aligned and produce maximum efficiency for the enterprises. In the initial stage of course we learned evolution of enterprise systems, types of enterprise systems, what are the types of data in enterprise systems and strategic use of information resources. Later we learned the Procurement Process of an enterprise, how information systems and automation are applicable in the system, and how we can maximize productivity and end result through this application. Then we learned Architecture and infrastructure, concept of Cloud Computing and the concepts of fulfillment. In latter part of the course we learned about ID application in detail for the production department and how we can improve productivity through routing, monitoring, how to control information and security of the information. One of the most key concept of IS was discussed is Sourcing, we learn what is in-sourcing, out-sourcing, off-shoring and advantages of these key concepts and application within the enterprise. We also learn how we can integrate multiple models and multiple operations through IS. In the last sessions, we learn about the management of the information, governance of the IS organization and key concepts of project management. All these theories and concepts are backed by case studies and these studies allowed us to learn some practical implication of the concepts in enterprises of the real business world. SAP Carolina Turkeys Do you think it would be possible to handle this kind of volume without an ERP system? The volume of Carolina Turkeys is very high; it can be managed without an ERP system but this operation will not be efficient. Customers may get delayed results, chances of errors and fraud will be high, internal control and management efficiency will also be at stake. ERP system in the enterprise is necessary when the company is dealing with multiple vendors, a broad range of customer portfolios and dealing in various markets. To improve manufacturing output and efficiency and continual monitoring, the company can use different accounting systems available for the organization to control the costs, information and different transactions. Likewise, control reports in an ERP system can be useful if a proper underlying structure is established and management uses the resulting control reports properly to monitor and improve internal controls and management and operational activities (Turner and Owhoso, 2009, p. 42). In what ways did Carolina Turkeys change their business processes? Carolina Turkeys adapted SAP as an ERP solution and transferred their all operations to the new system and integrated all the business units and operation activities to SAP. This automation and adaption of information system allowed them more controlled operations.Their busy hotlines, which receives customer complaints and issues, were almost ended due to the high efficiency given by this SAP adaption. This model will help organizations to achieve their goals and objectives by having more control over their operations, business processes and information. This system generates reports for control deficiencies and administrators can review these reports regularly to improve affected control. Reports are helpful to achieve high level internal control and help to achieve strategic goals and outside compliance(Turner and Owhoso, 2009, p. 42-43). Does 7 months to implement sound like it was too long or too short? After deciding to implement ERP system in the company, the next step is to decide which module should company adapt and what areas or business units need support of these modules. These implementations concern many areas, such as; how this whole package of ERP will be introduced to the company, what will be the project completion date, and what will be the resources needed and required management (Bancroft et al, 1998). There are several methods of implementing the system, but generally it takes long period of time and many risks are also involved in this transformation process; seven months are a very small span of time for such a company with a broad range of operations.If this transformation is successfully done that time period does not matter,the only matter is what are the end results, and it should be positive. Were there any issues with their implementation? No, there was not a single issue while implementing the system because in a medium size company implementation is quick. The company which helped the Carolina Turkeys implement SAP has complete knowledge of the market and industry and all went smoothly. In fact, Carolina Turkeysdid not miss the single transaction and all went perfectly. What was Deloitte’s role in the SAP implementation? Deloitte’s role in SAP implementation was pivotal, because they knew about the industry, the company’s integration requirement, and the knowledge about the software was also great. They took just few months to implement the whole system, not years. More importantly was they implemented successfully, which benefited the company the most. Find and discuss a company that wasn’t as successful in implementing SAP. With proper research this should be at least 1-2 pages. ERP platforms allow companies to minimize costs, increase work efficiency as well as allow faster reaction towards changes in the market (Turner and Owhoso, 2009, p. 42-43). The use of ERP is important for companies. Companies can reduce costs, it also help to perform operations more effectively, more flexible to adapt changes in marketplace and avoid un-necessary expenses by safeguarding the assets (Turner and Owhoso, 2009, p. 50). Jeweler Shane Co., one of the famous multistate jewelry-store chains in the USA. Company mainly deals in jewelry made of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and pearls. Company import these jewels from different countries and sell these products to broad range of customers. Company has many stores in different states and company also involved in online sales to different destinations. Company almost own 20 stores in 13 different states of United States (Bizjournals, 2010). The multistate operations of this company arises the need of SAP implementation. To make business operations more efficient, company adapted SAP and made huge investments to shift its current system to SAP. Unfortunately, company was failed to adapt the software successfully and ultimately, this failure lead them to bankruptcy. The company almost infused $25 million for adapting the system and got nothing and in the end blamed the software for the failure of the business. The co-CEO of the SAP denied the allegation and said it’s nothing wrong with the software but the inefficiency of consultancy firms who hired people who do not have complete knowledge of the software and the failures are mostly due to the adaption of wrong consultancy firms. He also added that the new versions of the software are much easier to adapt and implement (Krangel, 2009). References Bancroft, N.H., Seip, H., &Sprengel, A. (1998). Implementing SAP R/3: How to introduce a large system into a large organization. Manning. Bizjournals, (2010). Jeweler Shane Co. emerges from bankruptcy, Retrieved June3, 2011, from: http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/news/2010/12/21/jeweler-shane-co-emerges-from.html Krangel, E., (2009), Another High-Profile SAP Failure: State Of California, http://www.businessinsider.com/another-high-profile-sap-failure-state-of-california-2009-2 Turner, L.D. and Owhoso, V.,(2009). Use ERP Internal Control Exception Reports to Monitor and Improve Controls, Management Accounting Quarterly, 10, 3, p. 42-43 Retrieved June3, 2011, from: Read More