CHAPTER 12: INTERGRATING THE ORGANIZATION FROM END TO END- ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING

• All ERP systems is a database, when a use enters or updates information in one module, it is immediately and automatically updated throughout the entire system.

INTERGRATING SCM, CRM, AND ERP

• SCM, CRM, and ERP are the backbone of e-business
• Intergration of these applications is the key to sucess to many companies
• Intergration allows the unlocking of information to make it available to any user, anywhere, anytime.

INTERGRATING TOOLS

• Many companies purchase modules from an ERP vendor, an SCM vendor, and a CRM vendor and must integrate the different modules together.

⇒ Middleware - several different types of software which sit in the middle of and provide connectivity between two or more software applications.

⇉ Enterprise application integration (EAI) middleware- package together commonly used fuctionally which reduced the time necessary to develop solutions that intergrate applications from multiple vendors.

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP)

• ERP systems must integrate various organization processes and be:

→ Flexible: must be able to quicly respond to the changing needs of the organization.

→ Modular and open: must have an open system architecture, meaning that any module can be interface with or detached whenever required without affecting the other modules.

→ Comprehensive: must be able to support a variety of organizational functions for awide range of businesses

→ Beyond the company: must support ecternal partnership and collaborations efforts.

ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING'S ECPLISIVE GROWTH

• SAP boasts 20000 installations and 10 million users worldwide.
• ERP solutions are growing because:

→ ERP is a logical solution to the mess of incompatible applications that had sprung up in most businesses

→ ERP addresses the need for global information sharing and reporting

→ ERP is used to avoid the pain and expense of fixing legacy systems.