Analysis and

Framework to
Enterprise Topic 1

Information
Systems
  Information touches all human activity
 We live in the “information age”
 Information is an important resource to an
organization
 Represent the organization’s tangible and intangible
resources and all transaction relating to those resources

Information  Information influence the manner an organization

operates
and Systems  The information systems is the mechanism used to
deal with and control the information resource
 Define
 Information Systems?
 Information Technology?
 What are the differences between the terms?
An organizations is a group of people who make up a
body for the purpose of administering something
An organization includes a corporation, government or governmental
subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or
association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest,
or any other legal entity.

An enterprise is an organization created for

business ventures
An enterprise is comprised of all the establishments that operate
under the ownership or control of a single organization.
An enterprise may be a business, service, or membership
organization; consist of one or several establishments; and
operate at one or several locations.
Enterprise Information Systems (EIS)
 Enterprise information systems, or enterprise systems for short, are systems
that help managers and companies improve their performance by
enabling them to seamlessly share data among departments and with
external business partners.
 Enterprise systems allow workers to access and analyse real-time
information and transaction processes across the entire organization
 An EIS is a particular category of DSS designed to maintain decision-making
at the top of an organization
 It facilitate a top-level management function
 i.e the Managing Director gets an accurate macro-picture of operations, and a
synopsis of what competitors are doing
 These systems are by and large trouble-free in effortlessly accessing
information in ways that can be rapidly absorbed via graph, charts, etc
Enterprise Information Systems (cont.)
 Integration across different areas: enterprise systems integrate data
from key business processes into a single system
 Operation efficiencies
 Management effectiveness: every transaction entered only once;
automated management of work flow
 Globalization
 Enterprise systems in global environment: systems have support
 Local accounting practices
 Local laws
 Local HR regulation
An integrated system can bring in standard in conducting business
processes irrespective of where it’s done
Reasons Companies Migrate To
Enterprise Systems
• High maintenance costs
Maintaining and upgrading legacy systems are some of the most difficult challenges facing
CIOs (chief information officers) and IT departments.
• Business value deterioration
Technological change weakens the business value of legacy systems that have been
implemented over many years and at huge cost.
• Inflexibility
Monolithic legacy architectures are inflexible. That is, these huge systems cannot be easily
redesigned to share data with newer systems, unlike modern architectures.
• Integration obstacles.
Legacy systems execute business processes that are hardwired by rigid, predefined process
flows. Their hardwiring makes integration with other systems such as CRM and Internet-based
applications difficult and sometimes impossible.
• Lack of staff
IT departments find it increasingly difficult to hire staff who are qualified to work on
applications written in languages no longer used in modern technologies.
  Conventional packages are very much restricted –
known as “legacy systems”
 A Legacy Information Systems can be defined as
“any information system that significantly resists
modification and evolution”
How EIS (Brodie, 1995)

Differs from  It has much less features and less flexible options
 EIS packages are radically different
Conventional  There are back office and front office concepts

Package  Back office – looks after the raw material, financial

issues, logistics and other internal matters
 Front office – interacts directly with the customers – ex:
eCRM
EIS is an Integrated Application

EIS generate a robust

Most large IS today foundation for
EIS application is a
consist of many integration of
powerful tool for an
independent heterogeneous
enterprise
application applications, protocols
and formats

It also facilitates in
It connects the logistics,
analysis of business
financial function,
perspectives and help
supplier and customers
in building databases.
  Early ERP system focused on manufacturing
companies before expanding to support all sorts of
organization
 EIS facilitates enterprise-wide integrated information
systems covering all functional area and performs

Concept of core corporate activities and enlarges customer

services

EIS  It can take care of planning, manufacturing, sales

and marketing
 The concept is to integrate legacy systems within a
coordinated integrated system
 Use database systems which are integrated with each
other
 Best business practices – it seek a compilation of the best business process
applicable worldwide

Beyond the enterprise – in supply chain applications, the EIS should not be
confined to the enterprise boundaries but should provide on-line connectivity to
the other business entities working with the enterprise.

Comprehensive – it should be able to sustain a variety of enterprise functions and

must be suitable for a wide range of business enterprise.
Common
EIS Flexibility – an EIS should be flexible to act in response to the changing needs of
Features an enterprise. The client server technology enables EIS to scamper across various
database back ends through Open Data Base Connectivity (ODBC).

Modular & Open - The EIS system must have open system architecture. This
means that any module can be interfaced or detached whenever required
without affecting the other modules. It should hold up multiple hardware
platforms for companies with heterogeneous collection of systems. It must also
support some third-party add-ons
Appendices
The Concept of Porter Value Chain in Organization
An Organization
Michael Porter (1985) states that:
“Every firm (or organization) is a collection of activities that are
performed to design, produce, market, deliver its product or
services.”

Management

Economic Resources Organisational Goods and Services

People Processes Products
Money Market, Services
Material Develop, Produce and Payments
Machine Deliver Products and Contributions
Land Services Information
Facilities Support Customers Other Effects
Energy Other Processes
Information
The Value Chain
The concept of value chain was proposed by Porter (1985).
Value chains can only be understood in the context of the
business unit.”

The value chain is a model that describes a series of value-

adding activities connecting a company’s supply side (raw
materials, inbound logistics, and production processes) with
its demand side (outbound logistics, marketing, and sales).

The value chain diagram depicts the activities within the

organisation.
The Value Chain

S Administrative Coordination & Support Services

E
C
O Human Resource Management
N
D
A Technology Development
R
Y
Procurement of Resources

P
Marketing
R Inbound Outbound Customer
I Operations and
Logistics Logistics Service
M Sales
A
R
Y
The Value Chain
Primary activities
Inbound logistics : all process associated with receiving, storing and
disseminating inputs to the production process of the product or
service.
Operations: all process associated with transforming inputs into
output.
Outbound logistics : all activities associated with distributing the
products or services to customers.
Marketing and sales: activities which provide opportunities for the
potential customer to buy the product or service.
Customer Service: all process associated with provision of service .
The Value Chain
Secondary activities
Administrative Coordination & Support Services: administration and
general management for overall planning and control.

Human Resource Management: activities associated with

recruiting, training, developing, appraising, promoting and
rewarding of personnel.

Product/Technology Development: all activities related to products

and process development.
Procurement: function responsible for purchasing goods, services,
and materials required as inputs for the production process.
Enterprise System
Development
Topic 2
Historical background
 Enterprise information systems can be traced back to inventory
control packages, material requirements planning (MRP-I), and
manufacturing resource planning (MRP II).
 MRP-I : Material Requirements Planning which was the historical
background of ERP; its purpose being to tap inventory i.e raw
material planning etc.
 MRP-II : Manufacturing Resource Planning which looks after
production-related activities. The concept of MRP-II evolved to look
after the shop floor and distribution management activities.
 ERP : Enterprise Resource Planning has a broader role and is not
confined to one department but has an elaborate purview.
 ERP-II or MRP-III : Money Resource Planning or ERP-II emphasises
more on planning of capital or managing the situation when surplus
money arises.
Historical background
Journey from MRP to EIS
Evolution of ERP
 ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is an industry term for the
broad set of activities supported by multi-module application
software that helps an organization in the important parts of
its business.
 ERP integrates the old isolated computer systems in Finance,
Human Resource, Manufacturing and Warehousing, and
replaces them with a single unified software program
organized into software modules.
 Some of the initial ERP providers include SAP, PeopleSoft and
Oracle.
 Other ERP players includes: BaaN, QaD, IFS, Siebel, JD-
Edward, Makess, Ramco, Microsoft Dynamics and Compiere
Material Requirements Planning
(MRP-I)
 MRP begins with three documents
 A forecast for end-items being assembled needed by time-
period
 A bills of material (BOM) describes the components that go
into an assembled product
 It lists each part in a hierarchical tree, by quantities required for
each sub assembly, all the way up to the final end-item
 Inventory records describing quantities of each component
on hand is needed, as well as ordering policies with vendors
and lead times
Material Requirements Planning
(MRP-I)
Manufacturing Resource Planning
(MRP-II)
 MRP-II is a method to plan all resources for a manufacturer
 It focus on manufacturing process
 Variety of functions are tied to it, including order processing
as in MRP, business planning, sales and operations planning,
production plans, master production scheduling, capacity
requirements planning, and capacity planning.
 MRP-II systems are integrated with accounting and finance
subsystems, to produce reports including business plans,
shipping budgets, inventory projections, and purchase plans.
 A major purpose of MRP-II is to integrate primary functions (i.e.
production, marketing and finance) and other functions such
as personnel, engineering and purchasing into the planning
process to improve the efficiency of the manufacturing
enterprise.
Manufacturing Resource Planning
(MRP-II)
ERP and ERP Modules
 ERP systems are “commercial software packages that facilitate the
integration of transaction-oriented data and business process
throughout an organization”
 Often called the back office systems – indicating that customers
and the general public are not directly involved
 Comprises of modules such as material resource planning, human
resource, finance, manufacturing, logistics, distribution, inventory,
shipping, invoicing and accounting on a single database
 Control many business activities such as sales, delivery, billing,
production, inventory management and human resource
management
 ERP software cater to a wide range of industries such as
manufacturing, services (software vendors, hospitals), government
departments and others
Characteristics of ERP
ERP Modules
 SAP Modules
 Oracle
Modules
Comparative Coverage between
MRP, ERP, EIS
 Characteristics of three broad periods of software evolution, from MRP
through ERP and on to EIS
Exercise:
Draw a flowchart that depicts these processes and departments that
are handling it
Implementation Life
Cycle
Topic 3
Introduction
 EIS are the software tools used to manage all the data
of the organization and to provide information to those
who need it when they need it.
 EIS application is a name for formerly developed ERP
systems which take account of all parts of a business,
using normal Internet browsers as their clients.
 Consideration of EIS development life cycle enables
identification of critical issues
 Implementation of the developed system is an important
phase where the old or manual system is replaced fully
or partially by a new system
EIS Components

Internet
Connected
EIS
Component
 Selection of packages:
 With a proper research, the company has to select
a good ERP package that suits the company and
their business needs,
 With degree of matching and customization it can
provide business stability and future assistance of
the software provider
 Project Planning
 Clear and realistic plan for the process
 Includes scheduling timelines and deadlines for
projects, identifying roles and assigning
responsibilities for the ERP implementation process.
 Analysis GAP
 Important and crucial steps in the ERP life cycle
 GAP analysis is the analysis done to create a clear
and complete model to identify the current state
of the company and the direction it will head to in
the future depending on the business goals of the
company.
 Re-engineering:
 Where the human factor of the business comes to
spot light.
 Involves many changes and alteration in the
number of employees and job responsibilities
which should be performed carefully as it directly
affects the efficiency of the company.
 Training:
 Having a group of employees who are well
trained and familiar with the new system is
essential
 Training employees for the ERP system after
considering the following qualities; willingness to
change, the ability to learn new thing quickly
and accurately and familiarity with new
technology.

 Testing:
 Test real life extreme scenarios like user error
detections, system overload, simultaneous
multiple user log-ins, data security and more
 Help the company to identify errors, bugs and
weak links before the implementation.

 Application:
 After the data conversion and data base work is
over, the implementation of the new ERP system
will be done and then, the old system will be
removed.

 Maintenance:
 Involving constant maintenance of the system
 Employees will learn to face and deal with
system related problems while the system should
be updated corresponding to the future
updates of the software solution provider.
Impact of EIS Projects – the hidden cost

• Initial software cost

• Initial hardware cost

• Dual system requirements

• Annual support fees (15-20%)
• Data migration
• Software de-bugging and patch
application
• Software upgrades
• Network architecture upgrades
• IT staff increase
• Business disruption (lost productivity)
• Business process re-definition
• Process management
• Consulting fees
• Training
• Software customizations
• Software integration
• Implementation teams turnover
Guidelines for EIS Implementation
 The implementation process of an information system is highly
risky, one-half to two-thirds of implementation project fail
 Project leaders need to formulate a strategy
 Duration of implementation: 6 months up to 5 years (or more)
 Implementation guidelines:
1. Understand your corporate needs and culture
2. Complete business process change
3. Provide strong leadership
4. Choose a balanced team
5. Select a good implementation methodology
6. Train every one
7. Commitment to adapt and change
Implementation Strategies:
Pilot Implementation

With this strategy, the new system replaces the old one in one operation but only on a
small scale. For example it might be tried out in one branch of the company or in one
location. If successful then the pilot is extended until it eventually replaces the old
system completely.
 Advantages:
 Easy to control, the pilot can be halted at any time.
 Easy to evaluate because the new and old systems are both running.
 Low risk, if a small-scale pilot fails then not too much has been lost.
 Easy to train staff by letting them learn new skills on the pilot system.
 Disadvantages:
 It can be slow to get a pilot to completely replace the old system.
 A pilot may not show up problems that a full-scale implementation would. This is
because a system can work well as a small-scale pilot but has difficulties when it is
scaled up to a full operating system with more realistic volumes of data to be
processed.
Implementation Strategies:
Bing-Bang (Direct) implementation

With this strategy, the changeover is done in one operation, completely replacing the
old system in one go. This usually takes place on a set date, often after a break in
production or a holiday period so that time can be used to get the hardware and
software for the new system installed without causing too much disruption.
 Advantages:
 The most rapid of all the strategies, provided it works!
 Less risk of confusion between old and new systems.
 Disadvantages:
 Most stressful for the users - the old system has gone so there is no going back if they
have difficulties.
 Most difficult to train staff on as the new system was not in place to learn on before
the change over.
 Most stressful for the developers - all the data and files from the old system will have
to be converted ready for use on the new one.
 Most risky - if the new system does not work properly then there is nothing to fall
back on.
Implementation Strategies:
Phased Implementation

With this strategy, the new system is brought in stages (phases). If each
phase is successful then the next phase is started, eventually leading to the
final phase when the new system fully replaces the old one.
 Advantages:
 Very structured, each phase can be fully be evaluated before moving onto
the next one.
 Lower risk, a well planned and controlled introduction of the new system.
 Easy to train staff by letting them learn new skills on each phase as it is
introduced.
 Disadvantages:
 Slower than direct implementation.
 Although each phase is easy to evaluate, you have to wait until all the phases
are complete before you can evaluate the whole change over.
Implementation Strategies:
Parallel Implementation

With this strategy, the old and the new system are both used alongside each other,
both being able to operate independently. If all goes well, the old system is stopped
and new system carries on as the only system.
 Advantages:
 If there are initial problems with the new system then the old one can still be used.
 Both systems can easily be compared.
 Easy to train staff by letting them learn new skills on the parallel system.
 Easy to evaluate because the new and old systems are both running.
 Disadvantages:
 Expensive - both systems are being run as fully operating versions so both are doing
the same job. This may mean duplication of staff and hardware.
 Some risk - there is a greater chance of confusion or errors if the two different
systems are being run side-by-side.
Implementation Methodologies
 Vanilla implementation approach
 Minimal customization of EIS packages
 Customization
 The vendor software is modified to fit the practices of the user
organization

The question is to customize or not?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Alternative
EIS Development Methods
No Method Advantages
1 Develop in-house Best fit with organizational
needs.
2 In-house Gain commercial
development with advantages combined with
vendor supplements organizational fit.
3 Best-of-breed Theoretically gain best of all
systems.
4 Customized vendor Retain flexibility while
system keeping vendor expertise.
5 Selected vendor Less risk. Relatively fast. Least
modules expensive.
6 Full vendor system Fast. Less expensive.
Efficient,
7 Application service Least risk. Least cost. Fastest.
provider Least subject to vendor
change.
Disadvantages
Most difficult to develop.
Most expensive. Slowest.
Difficult to develop. Expensive.
Slow.
Difficult to link modules.
Slow. Potentially inefficient.
Slower. Usually more expensive.
If expand, long run-time & higher
cost
Inflexible.
At the mercy of ASP. No control.
Subject to price increase.
Managing Risk on EIS Projects
 Risk is a potential failure point
 There are thousands / millions of potential failure points on EIS
project
 E.g untested technology, untested staff, political landmines, nature’s fury,
etc
 Five steps to managing risk:
1. Find potential failure points or risks
2. Analyze the potential failure points to determine the damage they might
do
3. Assess the probability of failure occurring
4. Based on the first three factors, prioritize the risks
5. Mitigate the risks through whatever action is necessary
Discussion Question

 You are an IT manager in a large retailing company.

 Your company has decided to implement ERP software in all its 5
branches nationwide.
 You are given 1 year to complete the project.
 The modules selected to be implemented are Finance, Logistics and
CRM.
 Discuss what kind of development method and implementation strategy
that you would choose and give the reason why.
Business Process
Reengineering and
Best Practices
Topic 4
Introduction
 Business Process Reengineering (BPR):
“A deep-seated rethinking and radical redesign of
business process to accomplish dramatic enhancement
in significant measures of performance, such as cost,
quality, service and speed”
 BPR is usually the primary driver in EIS implementation
 BPR is frequently used by companies in financial trouble
to cut costs and return to productivity
 The risk is that the company may jeopardize future
growth
Introduction
 Business Process are methods, steps and activities
performed to complete a job
 A process is a logical set of related activities taking
inputs, adding value through doing things, and creating
an output
Strategic Business Process
5 Measures of Excellence in
Executing Business Processes

• Customer Satisfaction
• Cost Reduction
• Cycle and fulfillment time reduction
• Quality
• Differentiation
• Productivity
Business Process
 There are two kind of processes
1. Operational processes
2. Infrastructure processes
 Operational processes have to do with
accomplishing typical business functions, including
product development, order management, and
customer support
 Infrastructure processes are more administrative,
such as establishing and implementing strategy, and
managing many aspects of the organization
including human resources, physical assets, and
information systems
Typical Business
Process
Reengineering
 Principle of reengineering is to “formulate all the
course of action that is the best in class”
 Reengineering is not
 Downsizing
 Getting rid of, only unnecessary job
 Merely “restructuring”
 Mechanization
 Reengineering an organization or a department in
an organization
Reengineering
 The driving force behind reengineering is the 3 C’s:
 Customer
 Competition
 Change
Reengineering
A typical business process would key in the details
into the computer once an order has been received
before checking on the customer’s credit.
Subsequent steps would include taking the goods,
from the warehouse, packing and arranging for
mode of delivery.

None of these, however, is of any value or interest to the

customer who is only concerned with the end result of
these tasks which is delivery of goods
Reengineering
 Reengineering is concerned with questioning the fundamentals of what
you do and the services you distribute
 Risk increases with the scope of work involved
Business Process Reengineering

Manual Business Process

Business Process Reengineering

Automated Business Process

Business Process Management (BPM)

• A management system used to support

continuous BPR initiatives for core business
processes over time
• Important components of BPM:
• Process modeling
• Business Activity Monitoring (BAM)
Business Process Management (BPM)

• Business Process Management Suite (BPMS)

• An integrated set of applications used for BPM
• Emerging Trend of Social BPM
• Technologies enabling employees to collaborate
across functions internally and externally using
social media tools
Reengineering options
Clean Slate Reengineering
• Everything is designed from scratch
• Follows selection of software that best supports the new design
• Processes are reengineered based on identified needs and
requirements of the organization
• Has no pre-defined constraints
• More expensive than technology-enabled reengineering
• More responsive to organization needs
Reengineering options
Technology-Enabled Reengineering
• First the system is selected and then reengineering is conducted
• Known as constrained engineering
• Faster and cheaper than clean slate engineering, because the
software does not have to changed
• Design the organizational system around the abilities of the
vendor software
• Involve the most change in organizational practice, thus the
most complications for training
Reengineering options
Business Process
Exercise

From the business processes listed in the tables on the next slides, do
the following:
1. Choose one process
2. List down its complete activities
3. Draw a manual flow chart of the current activities
4. Proposed a BPR approach by drawing a flow chart of the
automated process
5. Submit in Ms Teams -> Class Notebook -> Tutorial 4
Accounting Business Processes
Managing accounts payable
Managing accounts receivable
Reconciling bank accounts
Managing cash receipts
Finance Business Processes
Managing account collection
Managing bank loan applications
Producing business forecasts
Applying customer credit approval and credit
terms
Marketing Business Processes
Managing post-sale customer follow-up
Collecting sales taxes
Applying copyrights and trademarks
Using customer satisfaction surveys
Managing customer service
Managing invoice billings
Managing petty cash
Producing month-end close
Producing virtual close
Producing property tax assessments
Managing stock transactions
Generating financial cash flow reports
Handling customer complaints
Handling returned goods from customers
Producing sales leads
Entering sales orders
Training sales personnel
Production/Operations Management
Business Processes
Processing bills of materials
Processing manufacturing change orders
Managing master parts list and files
Managing packing, storage, and distribution
Processing physical inventory
Managing purchasing
Human Resources Business Processes
Applying disability policies
Managing employee hiring
Handling employee orientation
Managing files and records
Applying healthcare benefits
Managing pay and payroll
Managing quality control for finished goods
Auditing for quality assurance
Receiving, inspecting, and stocking parts and materials
Handling shipping and freight claims
Handling vendor selection, files, and inspections
Producing performance appraisals and salary adjustments
Managing resignations and terminations
Applying training and tuition reimbursement
Managing travel and entertainment
Managing workplace rules and guidelines
Overseeing workplace safety
Management Information Systems
Business Processes
Antivirus control
Computer security issues incident reporting
Training computer users
Computer user and staff training
Applying disaster recovery procedures
Applying electronic mail policy
Generating Internet use policy
Managing service agreements and emergency services
Applying user workstation standards
Managing the use of personal software
ERP Functional Modules
Topic 5
 Small, Medium and Large Enterprise
Vendor Solutions
 The flexibility which ERP offers is definitely a very big
advantage which interests the small business. Flexibility
and the real time control over the price and the jobs are
the key features for a small sized company.
 Concise reporting is also a main factor which decides
the quality of the company.
 Based on these needs, ERP vendors have made
installation of the related software as very less complex
with much less manual job needed.
 Small, Medium and Large Enterprise
Vendor Solutions
 With ERP, businesses were able to monitor the time of
production, cost, employee activity, overall performance of
the company and many more crucial information.
 Before setting up ERP systems, small business must first identify
the business requirements. The impact which the ERP is going
to have on the business should be well analysed. Cost factor
involved in implementation should be set aside initially.
 Once the requirements are well planned, then comparison
can be made on different vendors available and the vendor
which provides cost effective service and be opted.
 Small, Medium and Large Enterprise
Vendor Solutions
 Organizations are implementing Enterprise Resource
Planning system to streamline their internal business
process and for smooth flow of data between the
different functional departments like inventory,
purchase, production, accounts, etc. The different
functional modules of the ERP software look after the
respective functional department.
Functional Modules of ERP Software
• ERP software is made up of many software modules.
• Each ERP software module mimics a major functional area of an
organization.
• Common ERP modules include modules for
 Product Planning
 Parts and Material Purchasing
 Inventory Control
 Product Distribution
 Order Tracking
 Finance
 Accounting
 Marketing
 Human Resources

• Organizations often selectively implement the ERP modules that are

both economically and technically feasible.
Functional Modules of ERP Software
• However, it is not necessary that every enterprise system
application will have all modules mentioned above.
• Some business organizations approach ERP software company
with their enterprise resource planning software requirements and
ask them to study and design enterprise system software as per
their business requirements.
Functional Modules
ERP Financial Module

Both for-profit organizations and non-profit organizations benefit

from the implementation of ERP financial module. The financial
module is the core of many ERP software systems. It can gather
financial data from various functional departments, and generates
valuable financial reports such balance sheet, general ledger, trail
balance, and quarterly financial statements.
ERP Manufacturing Module

This module includes product designing, bills of material (BOM),

cost management, workflow, etc.
ERP Production Planning Module

In the process of evolution of manufacturing requirements planning

(MRP) II into ERP, while vendors have developed more robust
software for production planning, consulting firms have accumulated
vast knowledge of implementing production planning module.
Production planning optimizes the utilization of manufacturing
capacity, parts, components and material resources using historical
production data and sales forecasting.
ERP Purchasing Module

Purchase module streamline procurement of required raw materials. It

automates the processes of identifying potential suppliers, evaluating
supplier, negotiating price, awarding purchase order to the supplier, and
billing processes. Purchase module is tightly integrated with the
inventory control and production planning modules. Purchasing module
is often integrated with supply chain management software.
ERP Inventory Control Module

This module aids in managing the company's resource inventory and the product
inventory. It helps in handling the replenishment of the product and maintenance
of the stock levels of the products. The inventory control module monitors the
inventory stock present at the different locations like at the warehouse, office and
stores. The module can manage the inventory of raw materials used for product
planning. It enables the company to plan the future production and keep a stock of
products which go below critical level.

Inventory module facilitates processes of maintaining the appropriate level of

stock in a warehouse. The activities of inventory control involves in identifying
inventory requirements, setting targets, providing replenishment techniques and
options, monitoring item usages, reconciling the inventory balances, and reporting
inventory status. Integration of inventory control module with sales, purchase,
finance modules allows ERP systems to generate vigilant executive level reports.
ERP Sales Module

The sales department is an important area for the organization.

Revenues from sales are live blood for commercial organizations.
Sales module implements functions of order placement, order
scheduling, shipping and invoicing. Sales module is closely integrated
with organizations' ecommerce websites. Many ERP vendors offer
online storefront as part of the sales module.
ERP Marketing Module

ERP marketing module supports lead generation, direct mailing

campaign and the promotional activities.
ERP HR Module
HR (Human Resources) is another widely implemented ERP
module. It can be used as an independent module. HR module
streamlines the management of human resources and human
capitals. HR modules routinely maintain a complete employee
database including contact information, recruitment process,
payroll, salary details, attendance, training, performance
evaluation and promotion of all employees. The module handles
the history of the employee, tracks the employees laid off and aids
in rehiring of the employees. Advanced HR module is integrated
with knowledge management systems to optimally utilize the
expertise of all employees.
• Each of these above functional modules of ERP software plays an
important role. The organizations can choose to implement some of the
modules or all according to their requirements.

• The companies opt for the modules which are technically and
economically feasible to them. These modules streamline the flow of the
communication across the company by integrating the various functional
departments.

• The enterprise resource system is bound with all these functional modules.
These distinct yet seamlessly integrated modules cover most of the
functional needs of an organization. The functional modules of ERP
software help to achieve efficiency of operations, cost savings and help to
maximize the profits.