ERP- ENTERPRISE RESOURCE

PLANNING – GROUP 3
 CASE STUDY
Water Gremlin started by making lead fishing sinkers and
then expanded into lead acid battery terminals for agricultural,
automotive and marine markets

• Water Gremlin’s old ERP was causing inefficiencies

• Delays in manufacturing and gathering financial data

•Only one person in the organization knew about the working

of the old ERP which posed a threat

•Finding an ERP to fit the manufacturing company required

executive support
 REASONS FOR THE CHANGE IN THE
OLD ERP?
•Need of a system which could provide insights into how well the business
was operating

• With the old system he had to wait till the end of the month to know the
financial standing

• Inaccessibility of a lot of valuable data through the old ERP

• Insufficient amount of management information out of the existing system

• Information was isolated and not shared in a timely way

•Some departments preferred creating their own spreadsheets rather than

entering the data into the ERP
 TESTING THE WATERS

 Numerous ERP packages were available

 Varying s/w combinations to handle tracking orders,

manufacturing process, sales contacts, and other company
data

 It’s a six-figure kind project. Four pg memo

 But managers still had to be convinced regarding its

efficiency

 Schulz went for a three pronged approach

 THREE PRONGED APPROACH

 Internal research at Water Gremlin to help define the

need

 Need assessment used to narrow down ERP product

choices

 Hiring consultant to provide objective guide

 TAP THE EXPERTS (1/2)

 Interviewed 4 consultants familiar with ERP s/w and

manufacturing processes and selected Minnesota Tech

 First tool-Accounting Software library

 need analysis program that narrows ERP choice by answering
4000 questions
 Sells for $1400 and evaluates 150 programs

 Asks users to define business requirement by ranking

them
 TAP THE EXPERTS (2/2)

 Another s/w program-SoftSelect

 It addresses macro-level issues

 It produces a printout showing which s/w would work

along with short explanations
 THE REAL DEAL

 Shortlisted 5 Vendors

 User Involvement – Provided with demonstration scripts

 Factors being looked for short listing

 Customization
 Demonstrations to include real examples

 Based on responses scheduled demonstrations with three

vendors
 ERP SELECTION TIPS

 Upfront planning : needs assessment, creation of

selection committee, rigorous research, regular updates,
timelines

 Delay in purchasing a new ERP

 Collaborative approach

 Treat only as a software

 WHAT MATTERS THE MOST ?

 Ease of use

 Service and dependability

Software upgrades
Duration of providing support
Training after implementation
Right off the shelf (minimum customization)
 WHAT IT COST WATER GREMLIN ?

 18 months
9 months - research
10 months - training and implementation

 Money
$10000 for consultancy
$100000 for ERP solution
 LEARNING FROM THE CASE

 ERP very critical for organization

Intensive research required
Consultants can help in selection
Minimum customization
Look for aspects like support, installation, training.
User interaction must – Don’t let vendors impact
your selection decision
Manage change in organization