GBI Enterprise Resource Planning

By using various enterprise resource planning initiatives, the organizational can reach new levels of efficiency in how it uses its economic resources as well as in how its core operations are carried on. The essence of the enterprise resource planning suite of applications is to collect, process and manage data from different parts of the organization so that management can take optimal steps towards wholesome efficiency. Such efficiency would incorporate operational, management decision making as well as a plethora of other activities critical to the manufacturing process. Majority of enterprise resource planning systems are central to the operation of the organization. This significance stems from the fact enterprise resource planning systems provide management with stable integration of core business processes while continually updating said processes.

Because of their reach and importance to organizations, the enterprise resource planning system implemented often includes complex information gathering and processing components. These challenges must be considered prior to implementation if success is to be achieved, as the system is then designed to acquire optimal performance levels in spite of existing obstacles (Somers & Nelson, 2001). The organization is a system in its own right, which is designed to pursue certain goals with the financial resources of its investors. As such, no corporation would facilitate substantial outlay of economic resources unless there is an equally substantial return involved. For this reason Sun, Yazdani and Overend (2005) that success or failure of an enterprise resource planning implementations is easy to determine by considering the extent to which the newly installed system contributes towards the achievement of predetermined corporate goals.

OUTCOME OF THE ERP EXERCISES The enterprise resource planning system is complex and could even confuse seasoned employees. For first time users like students in the SAP ERP exercises, these complexities came to the fore in a big way. The exercises covered many aspects of the enterprise resource planning system employed by the Global Bike Group. With a focus on practicing how to use Global Bike Group data and the company’s enterprise resource planning software to work out the production planning and execution functions of the company, it was paramount that the group of students followed given instructions to the letter. Besides the production planning and execution functionality mentioned above, the exercises covered many other areas in which the system is used, with controlling of workflow, costs, benefits and other critical business decision variables the most prominent.

It was pertinent that the class makes accurate forecasts, with predicted variables including the amount of labor hours needed to complete given batch of bikes, the expected demand for our touring bikes, and even the approximate factory overheads to be consumed in producing our batch. b) Creating operations plans. The class developed plans for the manufacturing services to be undertaken as well as planning for the sale of produced bikes. On the manufacturing front, we prepared the material master record to guide our planning for input demand as the production continued. To accomplish this, we relied heavily upon the historic consumption values existing in the Global Bike Group production system. Another essential component of manufacturing execution relates to complying with the requirements list.

The planned orders are ideally fulfilled using the available stock of inputs, but the execution process must decide whether to go on with production should the inventory level of manufacturing inputs be too low to meet normal production requests. The manufacturing activity is fully executed when all the planned orders generated by the master production schedule have been fully converted into production orders already fulfilled. Production–Process Industries This phase of the Global Bike Group production system coalesces the production activity with the many processes involved in achieving the final process. The goal is to remove possible bottlenecks and unnecessary overhead cost units that can be done away with. However, that also makes it difficult to use, making the final objective of this study even more essential.

The class got a close up to the live SAP system used by the GBI, and with a detailed orientation on how to navigate the SAP user interface to boot. EVALUATING ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING Leon (2014) believes the business organization needs integrate software systems provided by enterprise resource planning systems to achieve its financial and performance objectives. The systems work on economic resources both within and outside the company to create a conducive environment that increases the likelihood for success, including diverse financial resources, physical assets and even human capital (Leon, 2014). Combined with empirical management of business processes, enterprise resource planning would help curb the effects of theory of diminishing returns as far as business processes, systems and other applications are concerned, creating a culture of consistently high performance for as long as the processes remain vital to achieving the collective goal (Monk, 2012).

Using enterprise resource planning systems eliminates the possibility of operational backlogs hence bottlenecks as many processes are automated and run concurrently despite performing vastly different tasks. b) Creates interdepartmental collaboration There are several ways for a business to succeed amid today’s intense competition. The pinnacle of those options, argues Palmer and Short (2008), lies in unity of direction and command. By using enterprise resource planning in its ordinary operations, the Global Bike Group guarantees that every department will work towards the common goal, as the system allows for enhanced collaboration across divisions. The data entered into the enterprise resource planning systems is collected from every division in the organization, then processed centrally and consistently updated (Bughin & Chui, 2010). Similarly, Monk and Wagner (2012) considered the amount of financial resources expended to maintain the system to be too high, and therefore limiting use of an enterprise resource planning system in small and medium size business entities.

There remains a likely that the resource planning system brings along certain incremental overhead costs incurred to maintain the system through activities like the required information technology infrastructure, upgrading the wide area network needed to operate the system among others (Yusuf, Gunasekaran, & Wu, 2006). Further, the accrual accounting method favored in most manufacturing companies mean the organization would not enjoy any cost savings as the cost of installing the system is amortized. b) Systematic time wasting during implementation Deploying the enterprise resource planning system consumes significant time which could have been used for other purposes. Momoh, Roy and Shehab (2010) estimate the complete system implementation takes between one and three years, a long time to get one system off the ground, regardless of how important it is.

The hands-on approach to learning the controlling function was especially well received, with management accounting being one of the trickiest parts of understanding the accounting function in a multinational organization. The peak of our interest, however, was when the workings of the SAP system came to the fore. Complicated though it may be, but no one can downplay how essentially the entire system of enterprise resource planning, the associated processes and applications are to the organization achieving its goals. With this background information, majority of the class appreciated the opportunity to learn about the system, and more importantly, how to operate it by navigating the friendly but detailed interface. CONCLUSION The enterprise resource planning system is an essential component in the company setting, but more so where the company performs its own production activities.

Palgrave. Chung, B. Y. , Skibniewski, M. J. McKinsey quarterly, 4, 3-8. Dezdar, S. , & Sulaiman, A. Successful enterprise resource planning implementation: taxonomy of critical factors. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 109(8), 1037-1052. CAIS, 35(3). Imai, M. Gemba Kaizen: A commonsense approach to a continuous improvement strategy. McGraw Hill Professional. Kamhawi, E. , & Kerzner, H. R. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons. Leon, A. Cengage Learning. Morris, M. G. , & Venkatesh, V. Job characteristics and job satisfaction: understanding the role of enterprise resource planning system implementation. B. , & Short, J. C. Mission statements in US colleges of business: An empirical examination of their content with linkages to configurations and performance. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 7(4), 454-470. , & Tauber, D. Critical success factors in enterprise resource planning systems: Review of the last decade.