Answer of week 2 question: If the IT Department want to adopt an ERP system, they should first see what kind of resources they have in order to support the new system and also consider the implementation failures. A lot of companies fail to implement ERP systems and that is why this company have to analyse what are the possible failures that might arise when implementing the system. The possible failures which might occur are customizations. Every ERP project has its own unique customizations. It is the customization which makes the ERP system capable of working according to the needs’ of a particular business and its business processes. However, this customization process is expensive and sometimes because of this the project is not completed by the deadline and also the budget is gone over the estimated one. Customization also makes the software vulnerable and difficult to maintain. Changes are necessary in later stages when the system is being implemented in the company due to inadequate requirements. When evaluating the right product for the company in order to support the system, the IT Department might be confused due to a various range of products available in the market. Also, choosing the right product might be difficult because a lot of products will have the same functionalities and capabilities to support the system but the longevity of the products might not be the same. So, the Department have to analyse from a range of products and make sure the selected product meet all the requirements with the resources of the company. After that, they can recommend the right product to the CEO of the company.
Answer of week 3 question: If a business has business processes which does not match with a commercially available ERP system, then the business should not adopt the ERP system because that would result in confusion with operating the system with unchanged business processes. If the business processes are not re-engineered, then the new system would not be supported by the processes and it will not work for the organisation. The business will survive but it will face loss every moonth and little profit. Adopting an ERP system means changing the business processes so that the business can improve its performance in the long-run. On the other hand, if the business does adopt the ERP system without changing its business processes, then they will have to make a lot of changes within the ERP system. They will have re-organize the functions of the system in order to cope with the business processes. However, in the long-run, this approach may not be suitable for the business because sooner or later the business has to change its business processes to support the ERP system due to the changes in the marketplace and arrival of new competitors.
