Lessons Learned Day 2

Review of the Previous Class

ERP II is the next step after ERP and also integrates suppliers and customers into the system
SAAS is the abbreviation for software as a service and infrastructure costs are not incurred if a company chooses to go with SAAS. On demand (SAAS) providers can use different software, they may provide you with SAP, Oracle or any other software.
There is not one best provider for ERP it depends on the business needs and priorities.
One of the reasons that open source software is not so widely used is that it is relatively new and regarded as low quality (although since many eyes see the code it actually should be better).
When implementing an ERP system the majority of the costs are made up of implementation and infrastructure costs, the licensing fees are low.
With SAP add-ons are possible however the interfaces and add-ons are not supported when upgrades of SAP are available.
While implementing your ERP you should choose your core team from people who care about your company. After the implementation these people might want to leave the company for lucrative jobs since they gain relevant experience on ERP systems, as a manager attention should be paid to this subject.

CRM Siebel- Movie

Siebel is a software for CRM provided by Oracle.
With better CRM, customer data is stored and used; costs are decreased, sales and profitability are increased. This can be done by using Siebel CRM module as a tool.
Siebel has industry based applications and different client structures.

Building the ERP Business Case

There are different reasons why a company might need an integrated system for its business operations and data. Some of these reasons are;
-The need for data integrity and enhanced communication (data sharing)
-Efficiency (less resources, more accurate and higher output)
-optimizing processes
-to be able to better track information
- avoid loss due to human errors
A company should keep in mind that ERP is just a tool and by it self it does not make you more profitable or competitive also if the data entered is not good the output can not be good either. Also if a company chooses to make many changes on the software (high customization)
One major concern when implementing an ERP system should be the needs of the company in the near future. If smaller software is sufficient, the company should not try to implement a broader solution.
Implementation of an ERP system may have strategic reasons like; after a merger to integrate the companies fast.

ERP systems can bring many advantages to a company like;
Better/easier control over operations, data integration between departments/divisions/different sites, more reliable data since it is signed by the user, automatically updated accounts, automated and improved processes with the best practice of the system.

ERP systems also have disadvantages like;
High costs (implementation, infrastructure costs, usually double than estimated), failure if the organization is not ready for such a change, more costs than benefits, staff requirements and time consumption.
Lack of in house support and capabilities within the organization, no need for growth and a dynamic structure of processes/administration within a company are reasons for not implementing an ERP system.

SWOT and GAP analysis can be conducted to see if ERP is necessary and will help to achieve strategic goals of a company.
Enterprise architecture which is a framework that enables you to understand the current situation of a company and the future situation and therefore helps you plan your actions accordingly.

Everybody looking for a job should have an elevator speech.

Points to be kept in mind while making decisions should be;
Business objectives
Critical success factors
Key Performance Indicators
Benefits for all areas