Session 2 -ERP system

1. Which departments within the company are integrated within the Order-to-Delivery process ?
2. Which steps are included in the Order-to-Delivery process ?
3. What factors would you consider when deciding whether ERP is suitable or not for a small business ?

1.
Sales and marketing department, the warehouse and shipping/logistics department are integrated within the order-to-delivery process

2.
When the company receives an order, the sales manager will check with the customer regarding the required shipment date. If same day delivery is requested by the customer, the sales manager will use SAP business 1 to access the real time inventory data to confirm the items are in stock. Then the sales manager will create a sales order. Once the sales order is ready, it will be alerted the warehouse that the order needs same day delivery, along with other special requirements. When the warehouse manager receives the sales order, he can check the completed order details, such as items ordered and customer ship to address, by using the SAP system. Next, he will apply the pick and pack feature in SAP business 1 to assign a unique serial number to this job which is useful for future checking. After that, he will use SAP business 1 to print out the delivery note and packing slip for the shipment. When the shipment is picked up by the carrier, the software will automatically update the order status. Finally, the sales manager can check through the system to see if the order has been dispatched and send the tracking details to the customer.

3.
Few factors need to be considered for small businesses using ERP:

• Some ERP systems can be very expensive which some small businesses cannot afford. They need to consider the revenue increased by implementing the ERP system against the cost of the installation.

The company should implement a suitable ERP software module since there are many different modules in the market, but not all can fit the company needs. Even if they choose the most suitable module, the ERP system usually requires the business to re-engineer some of its existing business processes. However, these re-engineering could improve the company performance.

ERP can make a good contribution to a company that contains various departments, such as account, sales and marketing and warehouse department. ERP system can integrate among different functional areas to ensure proper communication, productivity and efficiency. ERP system can also centralize the data in a single database, so that all departments are sharing the same data. This can minimize the mistakes by multi-typing on duplicated files.

• ERP is suitable for small businesses that have offices or factories in separate physical locations. This software helps them coordinate the work and monitor the progress even though the work teams are geographically separated.