2. What is Enterprise Management Systems (EMS)? Explain the challenges and opportunities in business environment of today.

ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (EMS) Computer, electronics, communication, and audio video technologies have converged closely to produce a new style of operating business. The dynamic business environment of today is full of challenge and opportunities. The dependence on the information, as driving energy source, is increasing. Every business activity has additional dimensions, viz., speed and time. The business needs of today are beyond the transaction processing. It requires an instant real time response in every case, wherever it occurs.

The word enterprise is chosen to convey that it encompasses the larger business community covering all the players and their participation in the business. The system is extended beyond the Corporate boundaries. In such a scenario, the system which you are designing is an enterprise wide. It must catch an event, interpret it and trigger the action, and communicate it across to the enterprise. Since, business is information hungry, it must have an ability to sense the situation and act accordingly. When the business requires online information to make the informed, knowledge based decisions and have them executed in the business operations in acoordinated manner, it has to take support of many other systems.

Take a simple example of customer order received in the Company, which requires instant processing. In the very beginning acceptance possibility needs to be assessed and the customer should be informed immediately. Next step will be ordering the material on the vendor, booking the order and scheduling the same on shop floor for production, updating the business status and informing the marketing representative for monitoring the activities. All this requires operations and management of a couple of system besides the normal sales application. It needs the management of EDI systems to get hooked to the customer and vendor for a quick information communication. It also requires the management of interfaced system such as CAD/CAM,MRP etc. It also requires event monitoring and updating system such as the Paging, Internet and the Imaging Systems.

Take another simple example of employee management, where the arrival of the persons or their absence raises a number of triggers in the Organisation. The well-known attendance recording system monitors the employee movement from all angles- availability, assigning, security, permissions, and salary7 and wages.

In the business today, the demand is a paperless operation, a wireless communication as, a result of fully transparent and automated operations at all centres in an integrated and coordinated manner taking care of the business, actions and decision needs. To support such demands of the business, systems of information processing and communication are needed. These systems may be automated or mechanized interfaced with the other system for data communication and processing. There should also be audio video and imaging systems for bring realism in information and remote sensing system for security and communication.

Thought the tools, the technologies, and the well designed solution and system are available to support all such needs of the business, what is needed is an integrated solution out of these technologies and the system offering an enterprise wide management support. Such an integrated solution is called as the Enterprise Management System(EMS). the following systems, which, when implemented in an integrated manner for coordinated and cooperative function of the business, give rise to the Enterprise Management System, i.e., EMS. ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning Systems. EDI: Electronic Data Interchange System for commerce, communication and action. CAD/CAM/CAE: Computer Aided Design, Manufacturing and Engineering Systems for Production Management AMS: Attendance Management systems, i.e., employee attendance and presence management for the role management or Data Capture Systems on floors, in stores, at gates, etc. DMS: Document Management Systems, viz., imaging, copying and text management and dispatching document DBMS. CMS: Communication Management Systems, such as, paging, cordless, mobile telephone system and the audio video systems. SMS: Security Management System such as the close circuit television, alarm or warning systems, movement tracing systems, etc.

In the EMS, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system plays the role of front running system. The major decision making and its execution takes place through the ERP. It is a system of managing all functions of the business with information support coming through the ERP. It handles the operational systems to run the business and provides the required inputs to planning and control system handled by the middle management. With the internal sources of information and the use of information from the external sources, it provides a decision support information for strategic planning and control to the top management.

The ERP is supported by various other support systems which manage, independently, the specific requirements and simultaneously provide inputs to the ERP. The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system assists the ERP in connecting two systems electronically for E-Mail. Documents Transfer, Data Transfer, etc. it is designed to handle the commercial functions of the business popularly known as the electronic commerce. It also acts as a gateway to interact with the vendor, the customer, and the other associated institutions of the organizations.

The CAD/CAM/CAE, I.E., the Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacture/Compute Aided Engineering systems are the systems which handle design, manufacturing and engineering functions. It will provides the drawings and design engineering information to the ERP in its execution of manufacturing, purchase and inspection functions. They are also equipped with the database management facilities and there database act as a back up support to the ERP.

The AMS, i.e., Attendance Management System keeps track of the employee related information for personnel planning, availability and scheduling. It provides static information about an employee through the human resources management system and the current dynamic information such as his or her presence, shift rotation, the kind of job handled the cost and so on.

The DMS, i.e., the Document Management System is designed to keep important documents in the database foe viewing, sending messaged, and for documenting support in the transactions handled. The system provides text edit facility for document manipulation for the purpose of transaction handling. In the ERP it is used for cross- checking the key information and also to confirm the authenticity of the transaction. It handles the document access, editing, copying and mixing the information and sending the information to the various destinations for execution. It uses scanning, imaging, work flow automation and Document Data Base Management System.

The CMS or the Communication Management Systems re used for tracking the important resource for action. These resources are located, altered and advised to act from the location where they are. Their attention is drawn to an event and advised to act to handle the situation. The ERP uses the CMS, as a tool, for all its communication needs of recording an event. The SMS, i.e., Security Management System handles the security, entry access requirement of the business operations. It may be a person, a vehicle, or material, its movement, availability and access if tracked, monitored, and guarded for security and

safety. It provides a support to the ERP by clearing the situation to act further. A truck will not be allowed to enter unless it is an authorized one, and then it will be weighed and its weight will be transferred to the ERP for processing further information. An employee movement can be restricted or prohibited to select areas before his time is recorded and sent to the ERP for further processing.

These six systems together act as the support systems to the ERP . All these systems are extensively used for the main purpose for which they are installed. Each one of them have a specific technology to handle the function and are equipped to capture, store, process and transfer the data of the ERP. Each of these systems operate on their native systems and are interfaced to the ERP through the gateway by using a specific software. These systems are a part and parcel of the ERP System network. 3 .Discuss how Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System provides methodology resource needs for a given business plan to achieve certain business objectives. ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANING (ERP) SYSTEM The ERP system deals with the planning and use of resources used in the business. The resources are finance, materials, manufacturing capacity and human resource. The ERP provides methodology of assessing the resource needs for a given business plan to achieve certain business objectives. It also helps to execute the strategies, plan, decisions, and actions in a time bound manner. The ERP provides a support system in the transaction processing, updating, and reporting across the functions. The ERP is a package encompassing all major functions of the business. The product is generic in nature and is supposed to incorporate the best business practice, generally followed in most of the companies. of assessing the

The product philosophy is to implement the system as it is with some customization which may be typical to the customer requirement. The system design of the ERP is integrated with the features and functions providing an enterprise wide solution to handle all the process functionalities. For example, it provides capability to process the purchase order from ordering to bill processing, and also meets the information needs of purchase, stores, manufacturing accounts and finance.

The ERP packages build information base and provide knowledge base for planning and control of the business through the business function management. The ERP is the main system, Interfaced or assisted by the other systems in the organization. These systems may stand alone or from a part of the manufacturing or commercial processing systems.

These systems provide the database to the ERP or support the ERP by the basic data input directly or through the data transfer, for example, the manufacturing system module of the ERP is interfaced with the Drawing, Engineering database for query, viewing and usage of the drawings and it accepts the data of work order by process operations, for costing and for building the standards for the future.

The architecture is client/server and uses object oriented technology for design and development of the system. These packages are RDBMS based with the front end tools. The key benefit of the ERP is that it provides an integrated solution for all the requirement of the business. It addresses the issue of data integrity, information transparency, seamless integration and information communication. Simultaneously it respects the organizational hierarchy of authority, while conducting the business transactions through the system.

The implementation of most of the ERP packages begin with the enterprise modeling which defines the enterprise structure, the authority function, the processes and the business rules. The enterprise model is the platform the ERP system implementation.

The ERP solutions are available on the Unix Plstform and also on Windows NT. The solution is structured in the modular fashion to cover the entire business operation. A typical ERP package solution has following modules: 1. Sales, Marketing, Distribution 2. Manufacturing 3. Stores Management 4. Finance 5. Personnel 6. Maintenance 7. Purchase, Inventory 8. Planning and Control

These modules are designed for data capture, data transaction validation, it analysis, accounting updating and reporting. All the ERP solutions provide report writer for the use to create the reports. The standard reports like the trial balance, the stores ledger, the employee attendance report, the income tax return, eyc. Are provided with the solution at a generic level.

The ERP features are many. The important ones are security authorization, referencing responsibility, and the implementation of the business rules. These are provided to safeguard the business of the organization from illegal practice and also to protect the valuable information from misuse. These features help to keep the system, the information and the data integrity at the highest level. The ERP isactivated by its users. The security is built for authorized usage and also for selective access.

The ERP usage can be controlled at all levels, viz., the data, transaction, information and analysis level. The security system of the ERP is built around the OS security and the additional features are provided while designing the system. It provides access and updating rights to the users as per the control requirement of the management.

Authorisation is a feature provided for ensuring that the transaction is completed with regards to the business rules set by the management. The system provides the mapping capability to tie the data, information or process to the user. This means that only the aothorised user sign, the transaction is not posted in the system for further processing and usage. For example, in the purchase order transactions the price and discount are confirmed by one user, the terms are decided by the other users and the purchase order is signed by the third user. The system provides defined levels to the users and the purchase order is signed by the third user. The system provides defined levels to the users and these are no limitations on the number of levels. Referencing is a feature, provided for tracking the chain of events for monitoring, progress cheking and control. For example, if one wants to check the status of customer order, the referring feature helps to link the customer order to work order to delivery note to Excise gate pass to bill. It is possible to establish the link through cross reference of the transaction number or code of the previous transactions. For example, a work order will give a reference of customer order, a delivery note would give a reference of work order, a bill would give a reference to a delivery note and customer order. The feature does not allow the transaction to proceed unless such references are established. BENEFITS OF THE ERP 1. Better management of resources reducing the cost of operations.

2. Planning at function and process level. Simultaneous increase in the productivity of the business possible. 3. Customer satisfaction increase due to shorter delivery cycle. Closer contact with the customer. 4. Simultaneous atomization of the decision centers because of instant inducement through triggers or updates. 5. Business operations transparency between business partners cutting down the execution time of critical business operation. 6. Intelligent ERP download the decision making at lower level, releasing the burden on the middle management. 7. Due to faster processing technology and SQL, management can see the information in their perspective and take different view of the business. 8. Due to strong interface capabilities, the human resource can be utilized better due to access to information across the databases distributed over the organization. 9. Since, the ERP design is proactive, it make the management alert at a number of points demanding the decision or action. 10. The processes become faster due to work group technology and application of work flow automation 11. Due to the support technologies like EDI, E-mail, office automation, paperless office is a newer possibility as communication is faster and systems get connected directly. 12. The ERP still remain a valid solution with the expansion of business as it is a scalable architecture 4. What are the major problems in the ERP implementation? Express your views in detail.

ERP IMPLEMENTATION The ERP implementation, generally, follows the waterfall mode approach. Once a firm order is received the implementation begins with kick-off meeting between the vendor and the organization. In such meeting the organizational issues are taken care of. Since it is a long term activity a preliminary planning is done to start the implementation. Requirement Definition and Description (RDD)

Though, initially, the study has been carried out by the vendor, more in-depth study is taken up jointly by the vendor and the project in-charge of the organization.

In this phase of study the user are contacted for their requirement specifications. These requirements may be of the data, information, function, features, processes or reports. It is necessary to understand them to evaluate the ability of the ERP solution to satisfy these requirements.

Since, the ERP is designed as a standard package, it after requires changes and modifications to suit the requirements of the business.

All the ERP packages provide standard features, functions lists of the package used. These lists are examined vis--vis the requirements and new document is prepared called as the deviation RDD.

Once the deviation RDD is made, it should be approved by the authorized person in the organization. The purpose of such a document is to freeze any requirement to carry out further changes in the package.

In the evaluation of standard RDD, two kinds of changes emerge, one major, where the ERP design needs to be changed. Such changes are time consuming and the vendor may charge additionally for such requirement fulfillment. Other changes may be minor and may not affect the design of ERP. The minor changes are cosmetic and / or in presentation, and they are generally at the lower end of the process. The changes are like the field change, the report format modifications, and the computing process and so on. The advantage of preparing the RDD and a deviation there from in that the users of the ERP get committed to the solution as they have thought the standard requirement provision of the ERP and the deviation required in the provision. In this process, the resistance to change is eliminated, due to direct involvement of the users and the decision makers.

The another distinct advantage of the RDD and the deviation from the RDD, is that it provides the revised specifications clearly to the designer and the developer to bring out the changes required in the design of the ERP. It also further helps to assess the work load arising out of the changed requirement.

As soon as the new RDD is prepared, the process design starts implementing the changes. The moment the changes are required the processes of design coding; testing, etc. come into picture for execution. The changes of made, are then tested on a sample data and other steps of unit testing, module testing and system testing for complete integration are taken. After establishing the requirement definition and description (RDD) and mapping it with the standard RDD of the ERP solution, the DRDD (Deviation RDD) is prepared for changes in the solution and implementation. The implementation steps are given as follows: 1. A user meeting is arranged to explain the ERP and process of implementation. 2. The RDD and the DRDD is explained for understanding and approval. 3. The resource to carry out the changes in the system, generally, known as customization is provided. This could be business specific and customer specific. 4. The DERP (Deviation ERP) solution is tested. 5. The solution on the recommended platform is loaded. 6. The solution is tested on a sample data of substantial nature.

7. The solution is then demonstrated to the users for their understanding and confirmation. 8. The users are trained to run the solution and resolve the difficulties in operations of the system solution. 9. The change over from the manual system to the ERP solution are meticulously planned, taking care of the cut off dates, the opening balances, the data transfer etc. 10. A logbook of the system usage is kept to note down the problems, solutions and modifications carried out to make the solution more efficient and effective. 11. Standard reports like checklists, ledger, trial balance, and sales analysis are taken to confirm the integrity of the ERP solution. 12. The standard documentation of the ERP solution is changed to the changed version of the ERP. 13. The system performance is checked in terms of speed, response, etc. and the ERP solution and / or the hardware is turned for improving the performance of the solution. 14. After three to four months working, a review meeting with the user is conducted, taking the support of the log system for the purpose of improvement, confirmation and finalization of the ERP implementation. The major hassles in the ERP implementation are due to:

1. The resistance of the users in the acceptance of standard ERP solution. 2. The limited awareness of the users and the appreciation of the Information Technology applications. 3. The ability of the users to change over from the old conventional systems to the technology based new systems. 4. The level of acceptance of the standard business processes incorporated in the system. Lower the acceptance, longer the implementation time, resulting into a loss of efficiency and effectiveness of the solution. 5. A lack of clarity on the business requirement, the customer focus and the strategy of business and its impact on the ERP solution. 6. The ERP implementation is carried out without properly evaluating the business processes and practices through business process reengineering and is preceded by restructuring of the organization. 7. The choice of the ERP solution. Not all the ERP solutions are appropriate for the organization. Each solution has its own peculiarities in terms of design, architecture, and technology, coverage of business scope, functions and features. Some solutions are good for certain type of business and industry and not for all the businesses and industries. Ideally, the choice should be based on the ERP fit for the organizations, functions and features. Higher the fit, better is the solution from all angles. It the fit is higher, the customization will be less and the user acceptance will be higher. In short, the implementation cycle would be short.

There is a qualitative change in the MIS design due to the complexity of the business operations and the risk involved in handling the business. The management focus is shifting from the function to the process, i.e., the management requires the information support in the process management and not in the function management.

The MIS is now required to maximize the process productivity and performance. The decision making support is required for the process optimization. The decision models are built across the business management functions. Besides the normal MIS reports required for the top management, the Top Management also needs a set of the additional reports, where the critical business processes and the critical success factors are a focus area. The ERP solution caters to this requirement very easily. The ERP solution is an integrated solution. The solution operation is seamless, disregarding the hardware or the software platform. The ERP solution takes care of data integrity and consistency across the organization, which may have multiple locations.

In todays competitive world, the shift of decision making is towards strategic management of the business. The ERP solution, due to its scope and coverage, and supported by a variety of tools, enables Strategic Management based on the strategic information for decision making.

The management attention on the focused area is easily possible. The conventional MIS design is more or less embedded in the ERP solution. They provide all the routine reports at any time for the middle management of the organization. The ERP, over and above this, provides executive information for the strategic management of business. It further helps to formulate the strategies to achieve these goals taking its implementation further.

The ERP design provides transparency to the users of information giving them an access to the sensitive information to locate, define and resolve the problems. The ERP enables the work group management efficiently and effectively. The effective uses of the variety of tools, like the data replication, the work flow automation, the EDI/D-mail, the data warehousing, the EIS, the bar coding, and the paging systems are built in ERP. The effective use of these variety of tools also speeds up processing, cuts down the operation cycle time and raises the ability of the management to take decisions. Once the ERP is built in the organization, it takes care of the data, the information and its storage and, therefore, provides the capability to modify the Management Information System from time to time as per the changing information needs.

All the solutions use the client-server architecture in the solution, where the data processing, and the application level processing logic is taken care in the server level giving freedom to the user, as a client, to define the problem and evolve the solution using the front-end tools. The front-end hardware and the tools are so powerful that an individual can develop his own MIS based on his decision making information needs beside the usual MIS like corporate, functional, etc. the decision maker can operate as an individual in isolation from the others, if need be.

The ERP through such an MIS design improves the decision making skills of the individuals very effectively. It provides autonomy in global system operations. With the ERP, the MIS design is more flexible highly decision intensive and efficient.

ERP along with other systems becomes an EMS, MIS design uses ERP which in turn uses other systems for inputs in terms of data capture, transaction processing and data base creation, MIS

in ERP environment is a sophisticated design serving the needs of the organization.

5.Write an essay on MIS approach to industrial production system. Successful management of a firm requires different types of information. The part of information that refers to business monitoring should be checked, accurate, and timely, in order to serve the management in making good business decisions. The information on monitoring business activities in a firm to be used by the management can be obtained by the production management information system. The exhausting manual work on copying, correspondence, Calculations and data inputting can be transferred to the computer, minimizing the possible errors of data processing. Based on the information contained in different reports obtained by using the production management information system, the management will have the following Possibilities: Manage business results instead of expecting them without having any influence on them; Take timely corrective measures for achieving the planned business policy objectives; Make good business decisions based on timely and reliable information. The final result of the information system in wood processing and furniture manufacturing firms is the information presented through reports to the users at all management levels. The reporting system is the final result, the last link of the information system. Its quality will depend on the quality of preceding transaction information system. The management information system is designed for all firms that deal with production, regardless of their size, industrial branch, or product type. The following facts should be taken into consideration while applying the production management information system to a firm: The listed tasks are the basic ones, but not the only ones. Depending on the specific features of the firm, There are always additional requirements that should be taken into consideration; Firms should create their own report forms according to their production circumstances. Although the estimated term of eight days needed for obtaining the report by the information system is considered appropriate, it can be shortened, depending on the degree of the firms information technology and the expedience of its bookkeeping/financial staff. As explained above, the possibility of establishing the information system in a firm will depend on the Availability and quality of the transaction information system, which contains the basic database needed For the functioning of the information system. In the process of defining the tasks of the information System, all staff is expected to participate actively. They should help in creating different reports, because Only they have a complete insight into all data. Information system usually has many connections Lines and a large number of carriers of business and technical information. Information system has a complex structure. It consists of subsystems which represent an integral part of the system and are closely connected with it. Production management information system represents Efficient automatic system, which integrates and saves all information into data bases, and consists of all relevant companys data. Production management information system could

Enable the development of variants for the managements decision making as well as routine decision making, and simulation of system behavior after certain Actions Management Information systems have evolved over many years from estimating and Invoicing into complex systems collecting performance data from throughout a print factory. More recently, the advent of the Job Definition Format has seen MIS take a starring role in Production workflows, while links to websites offer e-commerce and greater customer contact. In an ever more competitive printing sector, being able to offer excellent, fast or economically priced print isnt enough anymore. Printers also have to look to their bottom lines, which mean tighter control of costs. To do this they need to know how to analyze the real costs of jobs, both to create more accurate estimates and quotations but also to understand which jobs are profitable and where savings in production cost can be made. Many printers currently get by quite happily using price lists and spreadsheets to calculate quotations. However, a dedicated management information system (MIS) can provide much more detailed tracking and calculating of costs, which can then be fed into estimating and quotation Some MIS have built-in accounts modules; more often theyll export in a format acceptable to standard business accounts systems. Costing is essentially the mirror image of the estimating process, taking actual timings and material consumption, adding the fixed costs and calculating the real cost of production to the printer. If shop floor data collection is used, its records might be used to override the estimated values. Results can be passed straight to the accounts system for billing, oritmay require some human adjustment where the margins passed onto the customer are increased or reduced for a variety of reasons. Real costs can also be used for analysis of individual jobs or patterns of jobs over time. This in turn can be fed back to Produce more accurate estimates, and also used in forward business planning say to Decide on whether an expensive new press would pay its way or whether to get a few More years out of an existing one thats already been paid for.