Question

A business organization would like to have competitive advantage by investing in enterprise
applications. Suggest an appropriate enterprise application for the following situations.

(a) The company would like Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing,
Accounting and Finance, and Human Resources departments to share information.
What system can they use and what will be its main features? Describe TWO
challenges the company might have in implementing this system.

(b) The company would like to understand customer preferences. What system can
enable them to do that and what are its main features? Describe TWO bene?ts the
system might give to the business organization.

(c) What system can enable the company to have the right amount of supplies at the
right time so that they do not overstock or run out of supplies? Describe TWO types
of software that support this system. Describe TWO benefits the system might give
to the business organization.

Answer 1

(a) Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the apt enterprise wide application for the integration of information of all the company's departments. ERP provides intergrated and constantly updated views on real time basis of core business processes of an organisation. It facilitates flow of information among various business processes thereby enhancing organisational efficiency.

Main features of ERP comprise: (1) Integrated module (2) Real time output (3) A common master database for all individual applications/divisions (4) Smooth flow of information across all processes (5) Technically advanced.

Disadvantage is ERP gives common platform and customised solutions are not an option thus organisations need to invest further on tailor made business solution softwares. It is an expensive organisation wide software and requires the entire organisational framework to be re-engineered as per its own module which is lengthy and disturbs the organisations intial ecosystem.

(b) A Customer Relationship Management system using business intelligence can be applied to collect past data and forecast the trends for customer preferences of the organisation. It hone current and potential customers of the company. CRM collects data from various business processes, analyses it to extrapolate it to set future customer preference trends to generate more business. Implementation of CRM approach will have positive impact on customer satisfaction and knowing your customer's mind.

Main components of CRM comprises enhancing customer experience through more effective marketing campaigns weherein the customer attaches itself immediately to the proganisations product/service. Lot of organisational tools can be excersised for designing impactful campaigns.

CRM also accounts for relational intelligence an assessment of the number of ways the company can have relation with the customer.

CRM Systems will give enhanced strategy to gain proofitable customers. Enhanced effeciency and effectiveness through more streamlined and intergrated business processes.

(c) Supply Chain Management system can be most effectively employed to enable the company to have the right amount of supplies at the right point of time so that there is no excess or defeciency. It involves controlling the movement of raw material, work in progress and finished goods from their origin till final consumption. Supply Chain Management Software and ERP software both support the SCM systems.

SCM system provides for business process integartion smoothly. It also gives better customer relationship and satisfaction management.