Day 1 Learnings

- ERP is the term used to describe a comprehensive information system designed to integrate all the business processes found in an enterprise.

- ERP is a computer system that integrates application programs in finance, sales, manufacturing, inventory & supply, human resource management, and other functions in the entire enterprise.

- ERP system providers can be classified into three major categories such as; major players, smaller ones and open source.

- Major players: These companies are the pioneers of the ERP market. The well-known examples of this category are S.A.P. and Oracle companies. The major features of this category are as follows:
Strong support is provided
Many consultants are dedicated
These firms are well-known and trusted
They have got the advantage of international know-how
According to other categories they are extremely expensive

- Smaller ones: These companies are generally localized and small-scaled. According to major players, they are cheaper and easier to adjust. They are more flexible.

- Open source: This category provides free service because of its shared open-source software codes and therefore it has many volunteers working on the improvement of the system. However, they are lack of support, because they are not institutional providers and they don’t have a support system except the help forums that are provided online.

- S.A.P has a three-tier structure that consists of client workstation, web server plus the application server and the database server.

- ERP implementation: In the ERP implementation process, at first the investment of the project should be accomplished including the company CFO or the financial authority. And then a specified core team should complete the implementation process. This core team is generated from; the workers from the workflow level, the necessary top managers of the company (department managers or directors) and the linking workers between the top level and workflow level, the ERP provider’s consultants, I.T. managers of the company, and the champion which will undertake the responsibility of the project when necessary.
- The interaction and communication between the core team and the consultants are important because after the implementation process the consultants complete their task in the firm and commit to another project. Therefore, the company is left on its own. So, the managers and the workers of the project must have the expertise to continue on-going ERP process.

%70 of the I.T. implementations are resulting with failures
The symptoms are as:
- The troubles with meeting the requirements.
- The project budget balancing failures
- Failures due to time constraints
- The resistance to use of the product