Proteínas involucradas en la estructura del cromosoma

An understanding of ERP systems is required in order to ensure that ERP system functionalities are correctly established and that their functionalities are not over-exaggerated or underplayed. This section discusses the historic background to ERP systems and outlines the functionalities included in most standard ERP systems available off-the-shelf. This leads into section 2.3.3 which discusses the motivation behind ERP system adoption in hybrid service and manufacturing SMEs.

2.3.2.1 Introduction to ERP systems

When implemented successfully, ERP systems link all areas of the service company, including financial systems, stock management, order management, human resources and stock distribution to customers and external suppliers into an efficient integrated system with real- time data available to users (Al-Mashari et al., 2003, Beheshti et al., 2014). The potential benefits for manufacturing companies adopting an ERP system include visibility of raw materials and finished goods, an increase in operating capital as a result of holding optimal quantities of raw materials and stock (Xue et al., 2005). Other benefits include the availability of information about the customer ordering history which can be used for a more efficient forecasting of raw material and finished goods (Escalle et al., 1999, Marvel et al., 2005, Kakouris and Polychronopoulos, 2005).

Although large organisations, such as Eastman Kodak and Cisco Systems, have benefited from implementing ERP systems, many organisations are coming to terms with the realisation of discovering that their ERP implementations have not yielded the expected results (Kanaracus, 2013, Trunick, 1999a, Cummings, 2011, Gargeya and Brady, 2005, Beheshti et al., 2014).

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Expectations raised by the resellers, companies who resell ERP systems, have either been exaggerated or the resellers have failed to properly scope and understand the business process requirements of the intended users (Beheshti et al., 2014). A study conducted by Trunick (1999a) indicates that approximately 40% of all ERP systems implementations can be described as being partially implemented and approximately 20% of attempted ERP implementations are labelled as complete failures, as judged subjectively on the perspectives and expectations of the stakeholders. A more recent statistic according to Kraemer (2012) suggests that between 55% and 75% of ERP systems implementation are perceived as failure due to their inability of meeting expected results.

2.3.2.2 Evolution of ERP systems

In order to gain a better understanding of the reasons why it is essential to adopt and implement appropriate ERP systems in a hybrid service and manufacturing SME, a fundamental understanding of the evolution of ERP systems is required. ERP systems are the vehicles through which an organisation can achieve a seamless integration of processes across functional areas with improved workflow, standardization of various business processes, improved order management, accurate accounting of inventory and better supply chain management (Jacobs and Bendoly, 2003). Although this understanding of ERP systems is based on the original concept of ERP systems usage which is typically from manufacturing (Chen, 2001), service and logistic organisations are increasingly adopting ERP systems in order to benefit from business process improvements and re-engineering (Beheshti et al., 2014). ERP systems functionalities are constantly evolving and expanding to accommodate the differing types of businesses that adopt these systems. Having originated primarily from material resource planning (MRP) in the early 1980s, MRP systems expanded to become company-wide systems capable of handling not just material planning and control, but also planning and controlling almost all of the organisation’s business processes (Chen, 2001). ERP systems started to gain popularity in 1994 when a German-based company produced a system called SAP with release R/3 as its next generation software. In the following years companies started to invest billions into ERP systems offered by SAP and other ERP system developers such as Oracle, JD Edwards and

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While the names and functional abilities of ERP systems may differ from one software vendor to another, a typical ERP system integrates the functions illustrated in figure 2.3 by allowing its modules to share and transfer information seamlessly and centrally within a single database.

Fig 2.3 An overview of ERP systems Adapted from Chen (2001) Box 1

Financials

Acct Receivable and payable Cash management

General ledger

Product-cost accounting Profitability visibility

Executive information system

Box 3

Sales and Marketing (CRM) Business Partner Mngt Order management Sales and Opportunity Mgnt

Sales planning Pricing analysis After sales Box 2

Operations & Logistics Production planning Materials planning (MRP) Bill of Material (BOM) Inventory Management Quality management Project management Purchasing Vendor evaluation Purchasing Shipping Box 4 Human Resources Payroll

Staff info management H/R time accounting Travel expenses

Staff training management

Supplier CRM Customer CRM Box 5 Service Service management Customer Equipment Mgnt ERP

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In box one there are six functionalities which work together to provide robust financial functionality. ‘Account receivable and payable’ is the first and is the part of the ERP system that keeps track of invoices sent and payments received. ‘Cash management’ is the second aspect of the ERP system which provides it with visibility of the opportunity cost of having cash as compared to reinvesting it. ‘General Ledger’ is the third aspect of the system and is where the source and target accounts are set up which drive the various transaction in the ERP system. The fourth aspect is product-cost account and this is based on the accounts set on the General Ledger (GL), which also provides visibility of associated expenses. The fifth aspect is profitability, visibility of which provides more information about the costs associated with making a product or delivering a service, and as a result provides a true account of the profit associated with that product or service. The final common functionality is the Executive Information System, which provides the management group with visibility of the information they require to make strategic managerial decisions.

The next group of functionalities in box two are purchasing, operations and logistics which relate directly with the supplier. Suppliers are managed using the customer relationship management (CRM) functionality within an ERP system. The first attribute under operations and logistics is production planning which involves the administrative processes within a manufacturing business. It also incorporates the notion that sufficient raw materials, staff and other necessary items should be made available to ensure that the finished goods are ready on specification and within the required time. The next functionality is the bill of materials, which specifies the components and specifications of each component required to manufacture a particular item to specific requirements and under certain constraints. Material planning involves making a forecast to ensure that raw materials are available in time from the right suppliers. Quality management and project management are parts of the ERP system that ensure that adequate planning is put into the production cycle to ensure that finished goods conform to the required specifications and standards. Purchasing involves the management of procurement from suppliers, management of these suppliers and prompts payment in accordance with the contract.

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In box three, the third group of attributes is sales and marketing, which constitute a major element of ERP systems and serve as the customer relationship management (CRM) functionality, which deals with customer’s records and contacts, customer orders and customer satisfaction. Business partner management is the functionality within an ERP system that holds the customer’s data. Order management involves taking orders from the customer and ensuring they conform to the customer requirements as well as being delivered within the specified time frame. The next attribute is sales and opportunity management, which handles the relationship between business partner data, business partner customer order history and the forecasting of future orders. Pricing analysis ensures that pricing is strategic and is geared towards the profitability of the item being sold. Finally, after sales is the function within the ERP system that allows the organisation to maintain customer satisfaction level in order to retain and to win new business so as to achieve business growth and strategic expansion (Rigopoulou et al., 2008).

2.3.3 Hybrid service and manufacturing SME motivations for implementing an