West Bengal University of Technology

Summer Project Report

McPower - An ERP Implementation Scenario

At

McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited

By

Abhisek Roy
WBUT Regn No: 071360709101035 of 2007 - 2008 WBUT Roll No: 071360709035

Army Institute of Management, Kolkata

Executive Summary
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a method of using computer technology to link various functionssuch as accounting, inventory control, and human resourcesacross an entire company. ERP is intended to facilitate information sharing, business planning, and decision making on an enterprise-wide basis. ERP enjoyed a great deal of popularity among large manufacturers in the mid-to late-1990s. Most early ERP systems consisted of mainframe computers and software programs that integrated the various smaller systems used in different parts of a company. Since the early ERP systems could cost up to $2 million and take as long as four years to implement, the main market for the systems was Fortune 1000 companies. "Throughout the 1990s, most large industrial companies installed enterprise resource planning systemsthat is, massive computer applications allowing a business to manage all of its operations (finance, requirements planning, human resources, and order fulfillment) on the basis of a single, integrated set of corporate data," Dorien James and Malcolm L. Wolf wrote in The McKinsey Quarterly. "ERP promised huge improvements in efficiencyfor example, shorter intervals between orders and payments, lower back-office staff requirements, reduced inventory, and improved customer service. Encouraged by these possibilities, businesses around the world invested some $300 billion in ERP during the decade." By the late 1990s, however, sales of ERP systems began to slow. Some large manufacturers encountered problems implementing the systems, and others felt that ERP did not live up to its billing as a planning tool. Larger economic factors also influenced sales of ERP systems. For example, many companies developed close relationships with customers and suppliers and began conducting business over the World Wide Web. In addition, a growing number of companies came to value the speed and flexibility of smaller, interconnected computer systems and no longer wanted to rely on a mainframe to run ERP software. In response to these issues, the vendors of ERP systems have evolved to focus on smaller companies, develop Web-enabled systems, and expand their offerings up and down the supply chain. As of 1998, according to Loizos, there were five leading ERP vendors that accounted for 62 percent of the market: SAP of Germany; Oracle; J.D. Edwards; People Soft; and Baan of the Netherlands. For the most part, these vendors focused on large business clients and concentrated on automating manufacturing, distribution, human resources, and financial systems. The remaining 38 percent of the ERP applications market was comprised of numerous smaller vendors which served smaller business clients and focused on niche applications. ERP systems may have felt like an albatross to companies that have expensively and painfully installed them. Nonetheless, they constituted a valuable foundation for a wide range of new valueenhancing applications. In hindsight it appears that much of the value of these large systems lay in the infrastructure foundation they created for future growth based on information technology.

Scope of Study:
Here this project tries to throw some light on how ERP systems work, their nuisances regarding their implementation and their overall virtues.

Acknowledgements

Before we get into the thick of things I would like to add a few heartfelt words for the people who were a part of this project in numerous ways people who gave unending support right from the stage the idea of the project was conceived. I thank Mr. Anupum Basu, CIO, MBE for giving an unending support during the time of formulating the project and finding time from his busy schedule to answer any kind of queries when and where they occurred. Mr. Bidyut Ghosh, MBE for keeping a tab on the proceedings of the project and solving any problems or answering queries in unknown waters. To my internal guide Mr. Sudipto Bhattacharya who has always been a key-stone while formulating this project and checking it for any discrepancies and giving the freedom of thought to formulate the project. Thanks to all and many more unnamed people who have stood beside to make this project a reality.

Contents
Topics Pages

1. McNally Bharat Engineering : A Bird-Eye View 2. Enterprise Resource Planning

28

9 22

3. ERP Implementation

23 31

4. McPower Powering MBE to ERP Solutions Era

32 36

5. Research Results on Different aspects of ERP General Results McPower A Corporate View 6. Conclusion

37 43

44 45

Appendix

iii - viii

McNally Bharat Engineering: A Bird-Eye View

Overview
McNally Bharat Engineering Company Ltd. (MBE) is one of the leading Engineering Companies in India engaged in providing Turnkey solutions in the areas of Power, Steel, Alumina, Material Handling, Mineral Beneficiation, Coal washing, Ash handling and disposal, Port Cranes, Civic and Industrial water supply etc. Over 250 plants have been constructed on turnkey basis by MBE till date. The company, headquartered at Kolkata, is owned jointly by the Williamson Magor group and the G. P. Birla group and was a pioneer in India in the field of coal washing, Mineral Beneficiation and Material Handling with several first to its name. The turnkey construction activity of the company is managed by its Projects division also based at Kolkata through separate SBUs that assume responsibility for each activity from concept to commissioning. MBE also manufactures a range of equipment largely employed in the above activities, which are undertaken at two factories under the Products division of the company. One factory is based at Kumardhubi, 200 kms. north of Kolkata where large equipments are manufactured and the other factory is located at Bangalore where process equipments are manufactured. MBE has technical collaborations with some of the worlds leading firms for each of their activities. Some of our associates include Outokumpu Technologies- Finland, Soleus- France, Poltegor- Poland, TPE- Russia, Aubema- Germany, Sieb TechnikGermany, Eriez- USA, Krebs Engineers- USA etc. MBE also has two subsidiary companies EWB Kornyezetvedelmi Kft., Hungary, a fully owned subsidiary which is a world leader in ash handling systems and EriezMBE India Ltd. (EMIL) in Bangalore, a joint venture with Eriez Magnetics, USA the world Authority in Magnetic, Vibratory and Metal Detection applications. The Projects divisions at Kolkata as well as the Products division are both ISO 9000 certified.

VISION
MBE will emerge as one of the best-in-class organizations in the area on infrastructure development, continuing to consolidate the ongoing process of expansion and venturing into new areas of business maintaining all the way, a high standard of corporate governance. It will rapidly enhance its growth in turnover & net worth, sharing benefits among all its stake holders and assuring customers of quality in all its product & services.

MISSION
Our Mission will be to achieve 1. Enhanced effectiveness of our people in all functional areas. 2. Long tem co-operation & partnership with vendors & associates to expand the base for production of goods & services. 3. Adequate R&D facilities to provide innovative designs & methods of production. 4. Excellence in all our business operations through an all-pervasive Total Quality Management Programme. 5. Improved communication internally as well as with customers & other stake holders, through appropriate use of information technology and an effective information security management system.

Historical Background
MBE commenced business as McNally Bird Engg. Co. Ltd. in a serene township at Kumardhubi (near Dhanbad) as the Indian arm of McNally Pittsburg, USA one of the then leading companies in the world engaged in the construction of coal washeries and Mineral Beneficiation plants with the erstwhile Bird & Company, a British Managing Agency acting as secretary and managers. The company started with expatriate Americans taking care of major Engineering, Design and Manufacturing functions. MBE was a pioneer in the country in its initial areas of business, viz Coal preparation, Mineral Benficiation and Bulk Material Handling and there are several firsts attributed to MBE. Some of the major milestones in the history of MBE are given below: Some benchmarks 1961- Company was established as a joint venture between McNally Pittsburg, USA and Bird & Co. 1968 Designed and built the longest Cross Country Conveying System in India for 800 TPH Coal Handling Plant of Thermal Power station at Talcher, Orissa. 1970 - First indigenously designed Mineral Beneficiation Plant in India for beneficiation of fluorspar was built for Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd. at Kadipani, Gujarat. 1970 - First Carbon Paste Plant built indigenously, for Indian Aluminum. 1972 Name changed to McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited. 1979 Built the first indigenously designed 700 TPH Coal Washery for Bharat Coking Coal Ltd. at Sudamdih, Jharkhand. 1980 - Company taken over by the Williamson Magor Group. 1981 - Designed and built the first indigenous 5500 tph High Speed Rapid Loading System with Silo at Jayant Coal Handling Plant, U.P. 1989 - G. P. Birla Group acquires 24% stake in the Company. 1995 to 1998 Projects and Products Divisions awarded ISO 9001 certification by RWTUV, Germany.

1998 Entered into Open cast mining sector and secured an order for 20,000 tph shift able conveying system followed by orders for conveyors and Bucket wheel excavator, Spreader etc from Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Tamil Nadu. 1999 - Joint Venture formed with Eriez Magnetics, USA, worlds leading manufacturers of magnetic, vibratory and metal detection equipment for manufacture of their products in India. 2000 Received order for first Dense phase pneumatic conveying system for ash handling in India from Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Tamil Nadu. 2001 - Obtained our first major order for Water Management in a joint venture project for combined water supply to 674 habitations in Tiruchirapally District, Tamil Nadu. 2002 - The first Indian Company to manufacture and commission a 700L capacity Bucket Wheel Excavator. 2002 Designed, manufactured and successfully commissioned the worlds largest Apron Conveyors for aluminum industry at Angul for Nalco. 2002 Entered into a licensing agreement with Kone-cranes Heavy Lifting Corporation VLC Corporation for technology transfer for design, engineering, manufacture, erection & commissioning of a range of Port Handling Equipment. 2002 Acquired 100% control over Eroterv-Waagner-Biro, Hungary, now known as EWB Kornyezetvedelmi Kft., world leader in Pneumatic conveying Technology. 2004 Designed, built and commissioned Indias largest capacity Level luffing cranes at Kandla Port. 2005 - Built and commissioned in global record time of 14 months a complete leadzinc beneficiation plant for M/s Hindustan Zinc Agucha mines. 2005 Built and commissioned again in global record time of 19 months a Green Anode plant for Bharat Aluminum Company at Korba. 2005 Built and commissioned Indias largest capacity Goliath Crane (300 MT) for Cochin Shipyard Ltd. 2005 First indigenously designed, built and commissioned Container Handling Crane in India at Haldia Dock Complex.

Subsidiary Companies
MBE has two subsidiary companies: EWB Kornyezetvedelmi Kft. Hungary: a 100% subsidiary of MBE. EWB Kft. is one of the leading ash handling solution providers in the world. Eriez-MBE India Ltd. - Bangalore: a 60:40 joint venture company between Eriez Magnetics, USA and MBE. Eriez Magnetics based in Erie, Pennsylvania is the World Authority in Magnetic, Vibratory and Metal Detection applications.

EWB Kornyezetvedelmi Kft. - Hungary

EWB Kft. is one of the leading Pneumatic conveying and ash handling solution providers in the world and has over 45 years of experience in Bottom ash, coarse ash and Fly ash handling technologies. EWB Kft. originated from Eroterv Power Plant Engineers, a company formed by the Hungarian government to set up power plants on turnkey basis in Hungary and elsewhere in Europe. The Ash Handling Division of Eroterv was formed in 1955. In 1990, Wagner Biro, Austria one of the leading companies in Europe acquired 50% stake in the ash handling division and a new entity Eroterv WagnerBiro Ltd. was created. By 2000, Wagner-Biro increased its stake to 90%. Subsequently, following a corporate decision to hive off the power plant manufacturing business, Wagner -Biro sought to divest its stake in EWB. MBE had a collaboration agreement with EWB since 1997 for setting up ash handling systems in India. When the sale of EWB came up, MBE acquired the shares of EWB from Wagner Biro and thereafter the balance 10% from the government and today EWB Kornyezetvedelmi Kft. is a 100% subsidiary of MBE. Over 75 plants of various types have been executed by EWB Kft. till date employing either the hydraulic wet system or pneumatic dry system. EWB has built plants in Germany, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Romania, Turkey, Greece, and Indonesia etc. EWB is a pioneer in the field of Dense Phase Pneumatic conveying systems and has built 40 such plants all over the world. EWB works closely with the Budapest Technical University on technology development and testing. A 30 tph pilot plant is also installed at the University by EWB Kft. to undertake tests on difficult material prior to designing the handling systems.

Eriez - MBE India Ltd.

Eriez-MBE India Ltd. (EMIL) is a 60:40 joint venture company between Eriez Magnetics, USA and MBE. Eriez Magnetics based in Erie, Pennsylvania is the World Authority in Magnetic, Vibratory and Metal Detection applications. Eriez was started in 1941 by Orange Fowler Merwin, a salesperson for grain milling equipment, as a solution to his customers who often complained about damage to their Milling equipment from Tramp iron. Today Eriez is a USD 100 million company with plants in USA, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, Japan, Mexico and India and manufactures a range of products that may be largely categorized as i. ii. iii. iv. v. Separation Products Vibration and Screening Magnamation Metal Detection Minerals and Materials Processing

Applications for Eriez products can be found in power, cement, material handling, Mineral Processing, aggregate, coal as well as other sectors as food, ceramics, sugar, flour milling, plastics, glass, pharmaceuticals, etc. MBE were selling agents for Eriez for close to 15 years. As the economy opened and opportunities grew, it was felt a plant that could provide Eriez' products at Indian prices would help immensely in penetrating the market to a greater extent. The agency blossomed into a joint venture and EMIL was formed in 1999. It is engaged in the manufacture of almost the entire range of Eriez products in India while the Bangalore office of MBE takes care of the marketing of EMIL manufactured products.

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems attempt to integrate several data sources and processes of an organization into a unified system. A typical ERP system will use multiple components of computer software and hardware to achieve the integration. A key ingredient of most ERP systems is the use of a unified database to store data for the various system modules. The two key components of an ERP system are a common database and a modular software design. A common database is the system that allows every department of a company to store and retrieve information in real-time. Using a common database allows information to be more reliable, accessible, and easily shared. Furthermore, a modular software design is a variety of programs that can be added on an individual basis to improve the efficiency of the business. This improves the business by adding functionality, mixing and matching programs from different vendors, and allowing the company to choose which modules to implement. These modular software designs link into the common database, so that all of the information between the departments is accessible in real time.

Origin of the Term

MRP vs. ERP - Manufacturing management systems have evolved in stages over the past 30 years from a simple means of calculating materials requirements to the automation of an entire enterprise. Around 1980, over-frequent changes in sales forecasts, entailing continual readjustments in production, as well as the unsuitability of the parameters fixed by the system, led MRP (Material Requirement Planning) to evolve into a new concept : Manufacturing Resource Planning (or MRP2) and finally the generic concept Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). The initials ERP originated as an extension of MRP (material requirements planning then manufacturing resource planning). ERP systems now attempt to cover all basic functions of an enterprise, regardless of the organization's business or charter. Non-manufacturing businesses, non-profit organizations and governments now all utilize ERP systems. To be considered an ERP system, a software package must provide the function of at least two systems. For example, a software package that provides both payroll and accounting functions could technically be considered an ERP software package. However, the term is typically reserved for larger, more broadly based applications. The introduction of an ERP system to replace two or more independent applications eliminates the need for external interfaces previously required between systems, and provides additional benefits that range from standardization and lower maintenance (one system instead of two or more) to easier and/or greater reporting capabilities (as all data is typically kept in one database). Examples of modules in an ERP which formerly would have been stand-alone applications include: Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Financials, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resources, Warehouse Management and Decision Support System.

Overview
Some organizations typically those with sufficient in-house IT skills to integrate multiple software products choose to implement only portions of an ERP system and develop an external interface to other ERP or stand-alone systems for their other application needs. For example, one may choose to use human resource management system from one vendor, and the financial systems from another, and perform the integration between the systems themselves. This is very common in the retail sector, where even a mid-sized retailer will have a discrete Point-of-Sale (POS) product and financials application, then a series of specialized applications to handle business requirements such as warehouse management, staff roistering, merchandising and logistics. Ideally, ERP delivers a single database that contains all data for the software modules, which would include: Manufacturing
Engineering, Bills of Material, Scheduling, Capacity, Workflow Management, Quality Control, Cost Management, Manufacturing Process, Manufacturing Projects, Manufacturing Flow

Supply Chain Management

Inventory, Order Entry, Purchasing, Product Configuration, Supply Chain Planning, Supplier Scheduling, Inspection of goods, Claim Processing, Commission Calculation

Financials
General Ledger, Cash Management, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Fixed Assets

Projects
Costing, Billing, Time and Expense, Activity Management

Human Resources
Human Resources, Payroll, Training, Time & Attendance, Roistering, Benefits

Customer Relationship Management

Sales and Marketing, Commissions, Service, Customer Contact and Call Center support Data Warehouse and various Self-Service interfaces for Customers, Suppliers, and Employees

Enterprise Resource Planning is a term originally derived from manufacturing resource planning (MRP II) that followed material requirements planning (MRP). MRP evolved into ERP when "routings" became a major part of the software architecture and a company's capacity planning activity also became a part of the standard software activity. ERP systems typically handle the manufacturing, logistics, and distribution, inventory, shipping, invoicing, and accounting for a company. Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP software can aid in the control of many business activities, like sales, marketing, delivery, billing, production, inventory management, quality management, and human resource management. ERP systems saw a large boost in sales in the 1990s as companies faced the Y2K problem in their legacy systems. Many companies took this opportunity to replace their legacy information systems with ERP systems. This rapid growth in sales was followed by a slump in 1999, at which time most companies had already implemented their Y2K solution. ERPs are often incorrectly called back office systems indicating that customers and the general public are not directly involved. This is contrasted with front office systems like customer relationship management (CRM) systems that deal directly with the customers, or the e-Business systems such as eCommerce, e-Government, e-Telecom, and e-Finance, or supplier relationship management (SRM) systems. ERPs are cross-functional and enterprise wide. All functional departments that are involved in operations or production are integrated in one system. In addition to manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and information technology, this would include accounting, human resources, marketing, and strategic management. ERP II means open ERP architecture of components. The older, monolithic ERP systems became component oriented. EAS Enterprise Application Suite is a new name for formerly developed ERP systems which include (almost) all segments of business, using ordinary Internet browsers as thin clients.

Before
Prior to the concept of ERP systems, it was not unusual for each department within an organization to have its own customized computer system. For example, the human resources (HR) department, the payroll department, and the financial department might all have their own computer systems. Typical difficulties involved integration of data from potentially different computer manufacturers and systems. For example, the HR computer system (often called HRMS or HRIS) would typically manage employee information while the payroll department would typically calculate and store paycheck information for each employee, and the financial department would typically store financial transactions for the organization. Each system would have to integrate using a predefined set of common data which would be transferred between each computer system. Any deviation from the data format or the integration schedule often resulted in problems.

After
ERP software, among other things, combined the data of formerly separate applications. This simplified keeping data in synchronization across the enterprise, it simplified the computer infrastructure within a large organization, and it standardized and reduced the number of software specialties required within larger organizations.

Best Practices
Best Practices were also a benefit of implementing an ERP system. When implementing an ERP system, organizations essentially had to choose between customizing the software and modifying their business processes to the "Best Practice" function delivered in the vanilla version of the software. Typically, the delivery of best practice applies more usefully to large organizations and especially where there is a compliance requirement such as IFRS, SarbanesOxley or Basel II, or where the process is a commodity such as electronic funds transfer. This is because the procedure of capturing and reporting legislative or commodity content can be readily codified within the ERP software, and then replicated with confidence across multiple businesses that have the same business requirement. Where such a compliance or commodity requirement does not underpin the business process, it can be argued that determining and applying a Best Practice actually erodes competitive advantage by homogenizing the business as compared to everyone else in the industry sector.

Implementation
Because of their wide scope of application within a business, ERP software systems are typically complex and usually impose significant changes on staff work practices. Implementing ERP software is typically not an "in-house" skill, so even smaller projects are more cost effective if specialist ERP implementation consultants are employed. The length of time to implement an ERP system depends on the size of the business, the scope of the change and willingness of the customer to take ownership for the project. A small project (e.g., a company of less than 100 staff) may be planned and delivered within 3-9 months; however, a large, multi-site or multi-country implementation may take years. To implement ERP systems, companies often seek the help of an ERP vendor or of third-party consulting companies. These firms typically provide three areas of professional services: consulting, customization and support. Data migration is one of the most important activities in determining the success of an ERP implementation. Since many decisions must be made before migration, a significant amount of planning must occur. Unfortunately, data migration is the last activity before the production phase of an ERP implementation, and therefore receives minimal attention due to time constraints. The following are steps of a data migration strategy that can help with the success of an ERP implementation: 1. Identifying the data to be migrated 2. Determining the timing of data migration 3. Generating the data templates 4. Freezing the tools for data migration 5. Deciding on migration related setups 6. Deciding on data archiving

Process preparation
ERP vendors have designed their systems around standard business processes, based upon best business practices. Different vendor(s) have different types of processes but they are all of a standard, modular nature. Firms that want to implement ERP systems are consequently forced to adapt their organizations to standardized processes as opposed to adapting the ERP package to the existing processes. Neglecting to map current business processes prior to starting ERP implementation is a main reason for failure of ERP projects. It is therefore crucial that organizations perform a thorough business process analysis before selecting

an ERP vendor and setting off on the implementation track. This analysis should map out all present operational processes, enabling selection of an ERP vendor whose standard modules are most closely aligned with the established organization. Redesign can then be implemented to achieve further process congruence. Research indicates that the risk of business process mismatch is decreased by: linking each current organizational process to the organization's strategy; analyzing the effectiveness of each process in light of its current related business capability; Understanding the automated solutions currently implemented.

A disadvantage usually attributed to ERP is that business process redesign to fit the standardized ERP modules can lead to a loss of competitive advantage. While documented cases exist where this has indeed materialized, other cases show that following thorough process preparation ERP systems can actually increase sustainable competitive advantage.

Configuration
Configuring an ERP system is largely a matter of balancing the way you want the system to work with the way the system lets you work. Begin by deciding which modules to install, and then adjust the system using configuration tables to achieve the best possible fit in working with your companys processes. Modules - Most systems are modular simply for the flexibility of implementing some functions but not others. Some common modules, such as finance and accounting are adopted by nearly all companies implementing enterprise systems; others however such as human resource management are not needed by some companies and therefore not adopted. A service company for example will not likely need a module for manufacturing. Other times companies will not adopt a module because they already have their own proprietary system they believe to be superior. Generally speaking the greater number of modules selected, the greater the integration benefits, but also the increase in costs, risks and changes involved. Configuration Tables A configuration table enables a company to tailor a particular aspect of the system to the way it chooses to do business. For example, an organization can select the type of inventory accounting FIFO or LIFO it will employ or whether it wants to recognize revenue by geographical unit, product line, or distribution channel. So what happens when the options the system allows just arent good enough? At this point a company has two choices, both of which are not ideal. It can re-write some of the enterprise systems code, or it can continue to use an existing system and build interfaces between it and the new enterprise system. Both options will add time and cost to the implementation process. Additionally they can dilute the systems integration benefits. The more customized the system becomes the less possible seamless communication becomes between suppliers and customers.

Consulting Services
Many organizations did not have sufficient internal skills to implement an ERP project. This resulted in many organizations offering consulting services for ERP implementation. Typically, a consulting team was responsible for the entire ERP implementation including planning, training, testing, implementation, and delivery of any customized modules. Examples of customization includes additional product training; creation of process triggers and workflow; specialist advice to improve how the ERP is used in the business; system optimization; and assistance writing reports, complex data extracts or implementing Business Intelligence. For most mid-sized companies, the cost of the implementation will range from around the list price of the ERP user licenses to up to twice this amount (depending on the level of customization required). Large companies, and especially those with multiple sites or countries, will often spend considerably more on the implementation than the cost of the user licenses -- three to five times more is not uncommon for a multi-site implementation.

Customization Services
Customization Services involves any modifications or extensions that change how the out-of-the-box ERP system works. Customizing an ERP package can be very expensive and complicated. Some ERP packages are not designed to support customization, so most businesses implement the best practices embedded in the acquired ERP system. Some ERP packages have very generic features, such that customization occurs in most implementations. It is also often possible to extend the standard ERP package by purchasing third party software to provide additional functionality. Customization work is usually undertaken as bespoke software development on a time and materials basis. Customization can be further classified into: Core system customization or custom extensions in custom libraries Core system customization is where customers change the software vendors proprietary code. This means that the software will no longer be supported by the vendor for the particular function that was customized as the code would be modified to the customers need. The customers IT department will then normally support the code in-house or subcontract a consulting organization to do so. Custom extensions are where a customer build bolt on custom applications that run parallel to the standard system i.e. custom extended applications. Modules that are extended but core code not changed remain supported but the extensions will have to be supported by the customers IT department or subcontracted consulting organization

Maintenance and Support Services

Maintenance and Support Services involves monitoring and managing an Operational ERP system. This function is often provided in-house using members of the IT department, but may also be provided by specialist external consulting and services companies.

Advantages
In the absence of an ERP system, a large manufacturer may find itself with many software applications that do not talk to each other and do not effectively interface. Tasks that need to interface with one another may involve: design engineering (how to best make the product) order tracking from acceptance through fulfillment the revenue cycle from invoice through cash receipt managing interdependencies of complex Bill of Materials tracking the 3-way match between Purchase orders (what was ordered), Inventory receipts (what arrived), and Costing (what the vendor invoiced) the Accounting for all of these tasks, tracking the Revenue, Cost and Profit on a granular level.

Change how a product is made, in the engineering details, and that is how it will now be made. Effective dates can be used to control when the switch over will occur from an old version to the next one, both the date that some ingredients go into effect, and date that some are discontinued. Part of the change can include labeling to identify version numbers. Some security features are included within an ERP system to protect against both outsider crime, such as industrial espionage, and insider crime, such as embezzlement. A data tampering scenario might involve a disgruntled employee intentionally modifying prices to below the breakeven point in order to attempt to take down the company, or other sabotage. ERP systems typically provide functionality for implementing internal controls to prevent actions of this kind. ERP vendors are also moving toward better integration with other kinds of information security tools.

Disadvantages
Problems with ERP systems are mainly due to inadequate investment in ongoing training for involved personnel, including those implementing and testing changes, as well as a lack of corporate policy protecting the integrity of the data in the ERP systems and how it is used. Disadvantages: Customization of the ERP software is limited. Re-engineering of business processes to fit the "industry standard" prescribed by the ERP system may lead to a loss of competitive advantage. ERP systems can be very expensive leading to a new category of "ERP light" solutions ERPs are often seen as too rigid and too difficult to adapt to the specific workflow and business process of some companiesthis is cited as one of the main causes of their failure. Many of the integrated links need high accuracy in other applications to work effectively. A company can achieve minimum standards, and then over time "dirty data" will reduce the reliability of some applications. Once a system is established, switching costs are very high for any one of the partners (reducing flexibility and strategic control at the corporate level). The blurring of company boundaries can cause problems in accountability, lines of responsibility, and employee morale. Resistance in sharing sensitive internal information between departments can reduce the effectiveness of the software. Some large organizations may have multiple departments with separate, independent resources, missions, chains-of-command, etc, and consolidation into a single enterprise may yield limited benefits. The system may be too complex measured against the actual needs of the customer.

ERP Implementation

Introduction
ERP applications are becoming increasingly complex. With an aim to cover all aspects of an enterprise, ERP Vendors are looking at finding solutions for highly niche areas in enterprise management or acquiring products to find solutions. Integration of additional features to improve enterprise management is also fuelling the complexity. From basic document publication solutions to tracking inventory movements using RFID all types of features are getting embedded into ERP applications. Implementing an ERP product involves huge financial outflow and effort because of the impact it can have across the Organization. Industry specific and region specific requirements together with basic business functions add to the complexity of implementation. Business process changes, increased transparency in executing various business functions and strict time monitoring of execution of tasks bring in major change in the way employees operate. Often IT professionals confront situations of managing ERP projects either from the implementation part team or from the Organizations IT team that is implementing ERP product. This document is aimed at providing a high level introduction to a typical ERP implementation project covering various phases, deliverables of each of the phase and issues to watch. This may help as a basic guideline to start understanding your role as a project manager on either side for an ERP implementation project.

Phases of Implementation
Various ERP products use different methodologies which are more of variants of a basic model. The implementation methodology explained below is a basic model. This covers each of the phases relevant for ERP implementation. If you are implementing a specific ERP product such as SAP or Oracle eBiz, please align this with the prescribed application implementation methodology used for the application.

Fig: Phases of ERP Implementation

Project Initiation
During this phase all important structures for the implementation will be built. The strength of these foundations will determine the success of the implementation. A few of the foundations to be created during this phase includes Team Building Very critical activity before starting of an implementation project. This involves different levels of team building. If you are managing the implementation team of a consulting partner then you need to build your team first because people join your project from different teams and you may not have emotional relationships built with all the team members. If you are managing the IT team of the Organization in which ERP Implementation project will kick off then, ensure that your IT team works like a team. You also need to take up team building activity involving your IT team and key users identified by the business. If you are managing the overall program, ensure that all the teams involved in the implementation including the team from the implementation partner, IT team to be involved in the implementation project and the key users from the business. Communication Protocols Second critical activity for the success of implementation project is setting up communication protocols. During this phase try to identify the influential members in each of the teams involved in the implementation partner team, IT team and key users team who can exert influence on other members of their teams because of their knowledge, capability or nearness to the top management and channel the formal and information communications from those members. Project Charter As a project manager it is important for you to publish the rules of the project and publish a list of key stakeholders and key members of the project. Create and publish a project charter covering the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders and members of the project, communication and reporting structures, activity out of scope, high level timelines and major risks with mitigation plans. This activity is critical for the project manager who is in charge of the whole project delivery. This may be from the implementation partner team or from the implementing Organization team. Recasting the Project Plan Being the project manager, you should take a re-look at the project plan you have inherited. The first project plan normally created during the evaluation phase and may form part of the presales cycle when you are choosing the implementation partner. This plan will not be accurate because good amount of facts will not be clear during evaluation/presales phase and so it has to be reviewed and updated before starting the project. Hardware and Software Requirements - Since the project plan gets updated, the project impact will be much clearer at this phase and hence hardware

and software requirements arise during the project implementation should be planned and published at this level. This helps the stakeholders to plan their capital outflows appropriately. Instance Planning - Number of instances of the application required during the implementation cycle should be planned at this level. Main Activities during the Project Initiation Making of Project Charter and Reviewing and updating the Project Plan Building strong implementation team involving all members of the implementation project Defining and establishing the project infrastructure such as hardware and software Planning and establishing the application environments to be used by the project teams Main Deliverables during these Phases Project Charter covering the team structure, responsibility charters and communication protocols Project Plan duly updated considering the new conditions and risks Infrastructure requirements document Application Environments Key Challenges Establishing a communication protocol that is acceptable for all stakeholders in the project user community, IT team members and implementation team. During the initial phases of an implementation project, the Customers will be very watchful and try to understand the capabilities and responsibility levels of the implementation team members. The implementation team from the partner should try to establish their credentials quickly, build strong relationships with the project team members including the key users which will pave way to the success of the project. Planning and establishing application instances to be used by different project team members. Striking consensus here is a bit challenging considering the balancing to be dong between budget availability and team requirements.

Business Process Analysis

Business Process Analysis is the first critical phase of the implementation project. During this phase the implementation team will document the current business process which is very critical to map the business process with the ERP delivered processes. This phase often overlaps with the Project Initiation phase because when the stakeholders are busy establishing the infrastructure etc. the users and the implementation team members will work on documenting the business processes.

Current business processes

It is important to bring up all possible scenarios for discussion during this phase and find required answers relating to all questions the implementation team bring up for each of the business process. Any error in documenting a specific process may lead to huge rework during later phases which can be very expensive from the project perspective. While recording the current business process, it is important to document the business process flows covering all possible scenarios. Appropriate examples to describe each of the scenarios will help improving the fitment with the delivered business process. In addition to building a strong foundation for the project by establishing all requirements in detail, this phase also is very critical from the perspective of establishing the relationship between the implementation and user teams. The amount of business knowledge and flexibility to understand industry specific practices displayed by the implementation team is a key factor for success during this phase. Main Activities during the Business Process Analysis Phase Making the implementation and business user teams working together Studying each of the business process and documenting the critical flows Making business process diagrams with appropriate examples Main Deliverables during this Phase Business Process Diagrams Current Business Practices or As-Is process document Key Challenges Making the teams to think through all possible scenarios Building the business process diagrams covering all possibilities and exceptions Making the business and implementations strike a balance to build a strong relationship which will be critical during next phases of implementation project

Solution Design
During solution design phase, the implementation team together with the user team will establish the required business processes to be configured in the ERP product. These processes might be existing business processes or changed business processes defined after a brainstorm between the implementation and user teams considering the features offered by the ERP product. During this phase all those features not covered by the delivered features of the ERP product will be identified and documented. Solution for all the requirements that can be configured within the ERP product will be created and workarounds of customizations for all those requirements which are identified as gaps considering the delivered features of the ERP product. Interface designs, security architecture and initial configuration of the application will be planned and documented.

To Be Business Processes
During an ERP implementation, implementing organizations always attempt to utilize the best practices to streamline the existing business process. This exercise will lead to a new business process from existing process which will lead to the final solution design for the organization. Though the attempt is not to lead towards a complete re engineering of the business process, certain amount of process corrections and streamlining the processes will be attempted.

Final Solution Design

During this phase a complete solution of the finalized business processes the implementing organization attempts to create for running their business operations will be created. The solution maps will drive the configuration of the initial set up data and conversion of data for reaching a desired state of the system. While making the solution maps from business processes mapped into the ERP application, the implementation team should attempt to find a near complete solution fitment within the application for all business processes. All the scenarios for which a direct solution is not available within the ERP application should be recorded as gaps before attempting the workarounds. If workaround solutions are attempted at the time of initial solution mapping the completeness of solution will suffer.

Conference Room Pilot

During this activity, all the agreed business processes and their respective mapping into the ERP applications will be discussed in detail by the implementation and the users teams. The implementation team will present each of the business process maps in the ERP application and bring up the clear gaps of the business requirements discussed and agreed upon. The implementation team can bring up the alternate/workaround solutions for discussion during this phase.

Conversion Plan
While designing the solutions, data from existing application should be planned. Main Activities during the Solution Design phase Defining the future business process or To-Be scenarios for the business Creation of detailed design books covering mapping of existing business processes with the delivered business processes of ERP product Writing of functional specifications for all the features found to be not mapped with the delivered business processes. Application Configuration for Conference Room Pilot Planning and designing interfaces and reports Designing application and user security matrix Identifying the qualified flows and planning Batch Schedules for auto execution Main Deliverables during this Phase Required or To Be Business Process Document Design Books showing the solution plans and sample configurations Functional Specification Documents for Customizations, Interfaces and Reports Application and User Security Matrix Batch Schedule Plan Key Challenges Key and feasible mapping acceptable to all stakeholders is very critical It is important to cover all possible scenarios including exceptions. Any wrong mapping at this level can be found only during the UAT phase which can lead to project delays All business process fitments in the ERP application should be showed to the users and allow them to check and get a signoff at this level Any workaround solutions to be agreed during Conference Room Pilot for finding solution to any to be business process should be documented clearly and signed off to avoid conflicts during later phases

Development
During the Development phase, most critical activities of the project will take place. Creating configurations to map the fit business processes, development of customizations and interfaces, creation of conversion scripts are the critical activities. During configuration the master configurations should be created to make the organization structure and other set ups. All required data relating to countries, currencies, chart of accounts, budgets, invoice types, voucher types and so on should be created in the configuration instance. A copy of the finally configured instance should be archived before progressing for the next phase.

Data Conversion
During this phase the existing customers transaction data will be converted into the ERP application. The best practice for conversion is to convert the opening balances of the year and the open items up to the date of conversion using the data conversion scripts. The data should be provided by the user teams in a required format which can be used as input for the data conversion scripts. Main Activities during the Development Phase Creation of master and transaction configurations Development of Customizations, Interfaces and Reports Unit testing of all newly developed components Creation of conversion data and conversion scripts Main Deliverables during this Phase Configurations Developed Components/Objects for Customizations, Interfaces and Reports Data Conversion Files Data Conversion Scripts Key Challenges While creating Configurations it is important to explore optimum solutions else the solutions will not be convincing for the users. It is important to execute functional unit test carefully to confirm the developed feature is confirming to the functional design. If huge amount of data has to be converted, few important aspects should be considered The users should be aware of the impact of huge amount of data conversion on their involvement for creation of data files and verification of data after conversion If the more than one year finance data as to be converted important risk is to convert one full year data and have the finance books tallying in the financial year to populate the correct opening balances.

Testing
During the testing phase complete system testing with new customizations, interfaces and reports and User Acceptance Testing will have to be executed.

System and Integration Testing

If your implementation project have good amount of customizations it is important to test entire business flow including the customized piece to ensure that the customization is not impacting the overall business process. Once all customizations tested, then the integrations among different modules and applications should be tested. If the implementation involves any modules that will be used by a huge number of users then load testing should also be performed. If the application should be accessed remotely or though a network then it is important to perform the network testing as well.

User Acceptance Testing

During this phase the finally configured system with converted data should be copied into a new instance to create the Test Environment. The test environment represents the possible live scenario and the testing by users on this instance can bring up the actual issues that need resolution to reach the Go Live phase. The users team should provide a list of scenarios they believe to be very critical and complex for their business and the implementation team should bring up the test cases to facilitate the testing of these scenarios. The test cases show a systematic flow showing which screen after which screen to be used, what data to be inserted and what is the expected outcome. This helps the users to navigate through the ERP system for testing the focused scenarios faster and the results will be reliable as well because this can reduce the knowledge issues to a large extent. Main Activities during the Testing Phase Functional Unit Testing Stress and Network Testing Creation of Test Scripts for User Acceptance Testing Execution of User Acceptance Testing Main Deliverables during this Phase Test Scripts for User Acceptance Testing Issue Logs Fixes and Patches for solving the problems found during testing Key Challenges Building extensive scenarios in the Test Scripts for complete testing to establish completeness of testing Participation of users in the User Acceptance Testing is a critical factor

Production
This is the preparation for Going Live. Production Instance should be created and initial configurations should be created in the system. The configured Production System should be used for configuring the Security as per the agreed Security Matrix. Opening Balances should be populated and the data conversion should be executed. Main Activities during the Production Phase Creation of Production Instance Execution of Security matrix Final Data conversion Main Deliverables during this Phase Final Production instance with configurations, security and data Key Challenges Security should be planned and executed considering all constraints and compliance requirements such as SOX

Transition
During this phase the users team will be prepared to take over the fully configured ERP system to run for their business. The final configurations created in the production system will be documented for the purpose of user reference. The users will be trained on the application to understand and execute their business transactions comfortably. Training documentation including presentations and user guides will be created for the purpose of current and future users. Main Activities during the Transition Phase User Training Training Documentation Final configuration documentation for future reference Main Deliverables during this Phase Final production configuration document Training Documentation Key Challenges User Training should cover practical scenarios to make the users understand and follow the training Training documentation should be simple and exhaustive

McPower Powering McNally Bharat Engineering to ERP Solutions Era

On 6th May, 2008 at a launch meeting the McPower project was launched with much anticipation and eagerness and excitement. It was decided after much process and setup study that Oracle ERP Apps R12 be chosen as the implementation medium for ERP empowerment of MBE. Price Waterhouse Coopers were given the task of project implementation as vendors of the software. It was decided the real-time information link being the main essence of this project. Furthermore it was decided that McNally Bharat Engg would go with Big bang implementation of all the modules from initial stages itself. This was decided so as to stay ahead of competitors by ensuring less cycle-time in software implementation in business process changes. The list of modules to be implemented is given below: ORACLE PROJECT COSTING ORACLE PROJECT BILLING ORACLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT ORACLE PROJECT CONTRACTS ORACLE PROJECT INTELLIGENCE ORACLE PROJECT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ORACLE SUPPLY CHAIN & ORDER MANGEMENT ORACLE PROCUREMENT INTELLIGENCE ORACLE FINANCIALS INTELLIGENCE ORACLE ENTERPRISE ASSET MANAGEMENT ORACLE PROPERTY MANAGER ORACLE FINANCIALS ORACLE FIELD SALES ORACLE SOURCING ORACLE ORDER MANAGEMENT ORACLE PURCHASING ORACLE SERVICES PROCUREMENT FOR ORACLE PURCHASING ORACLE DISCRETE MANUFACTURING AUTO VUE ELECTRMECHANICAL PROFESSIONAL i-SUPPLIER PORTAL INTERNET EXPENSE MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PAYROLL MANAGEMENT PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SELF-SERVICE HR MANAGEMENT TIME & LABOUR MANAGEMENT ENTERPRISE CONTENT MANAGEMENT SUITE PWC PROJECT SITE SOLUTIONS

It is planned that in the post ERP implementation era, entire business process for all functions will be carried out through ERP and the project planning and

scheduling, including resource leveling, will continue to be carried out through PRIMAVERA which will be integrated with ERP through OP3 AND feedback data on actuals in can be collected through ERP for regular monitoring and rescheduling PRIMAVERA. All other specialty engineering software will also be integrated with ERP so that the Bill of Materials can be directly transferred from this engineering softwares to ERP. The project that commenced on 6th may, 2008 is scheduled to Go Live in all the divisions on 1st April, 2009. In the meantime, all the requisite hardware including server, networking connections to Kumardhubi, Bangalore and project sites through leased line/VPN/VSAT are being ordered. The schedules of completion of the milestones in fulfilling ERP implementation is as follows: MILESTONES Launch Meeting As-Is Process Study & Sign-Off Overview Training to complete To-Be Process Finalization Design & Build for Pilot CRP1 CRP2 User Acceptance Test Go Live Projects Division & 3 Pilot Project Sites Go Live Products Division(Kumardhubi and Bangalore) Roll out six(6) more Project Sites Total System Go-Live DATES 06.05.2008 31.05.2008 07.06.2008 30.07.2008 22.10.2008 13.11.2008 18.12.2008 14.01.2009 11.02.2009 31.03.2009 10.04.2009

Present Status
As-Is Process Study
As-Is Process Study is a thorough description of the processes existing in the enterprise to the ERP implementation consultants. It is a document that presents an unambiguous set of existing processes to the company as a part of deliverables by the consultants. It is a clarifying document which would give a clear idea to the reader of the existing processes, how the processes are performed , what are the reports generated in the company , etc. The participants then review this document and this leads to As-Is process document sign-off. The As-Is Process Study commenced on May 12th and continued through May 23rd.

To-Be Process Study

The To-Be Process Study figures out what are the processes that can be implemented through ERP software. As this is done three scenarios come to the forefront, 1. Processes that can be implemented through ERP straight away the most desirable scenario. 2. Processes that need to be changed so that they can be implemented through ERP which is quite a manageable scenario. 3. Processes that cannot be implemented through ERP by any means other than software customization this being the most undesirable situation as, This approach will have impact on time, cost and effort It is very difficult to maintain customization once Oracle ERP versions/patches are applied.

Functional Areas
Core process owners and super users from all key operational areas were identified. Functions to be covered in ERP implementation are: Finance Purchasing Supplier Contract Material Management Order Execution Material Shipments Customer Contract Business Development Tender Estimation Production Planning & Manufacturing Maintenance Project Execution Document Management Resource Planning Project Billing Receiving of Goods Service & Inspection Site Activity HR Payroll

Overview Training
The Overview Trainings main objective is to give first-hand feel of the would-be system to the participants. The core process owners, super users and functional experts come to know the processes and their working. It is important, interesting and pleasing also to see how their processes and workflows would be actually performed in the ERP system. The Overview Training would help visualize the business processes in the light of the ERP system. This perspective indeed would have added more value to the ToBe Process identification endeavor. Closely following the As-Is process, the Overview Training started on May 31st at PWC premises objective being the first-hand feel of the would-be system to the participants.

Item Codification
It is a critical aspect of ERP implementation project. In MBE heterogeneous codification scheme is in place for the brought-out items and the manufactured items across Project and Product divisions. It is challenging, time taking and a brainstorming exercise to figure out a uniform codification scheme that will be implemented through the ERP and used across the enterprise. Figuring out a new codification scheme is followed by the mammoth task of changing the existing scheme to the huge new scheme. Having these facts in mind the work on Item Codification has been started proactively.

Activities taking place in Current Month

1. To-Be process Study (Envisioning end-state process as gap-fitment & training needs analysis for the following functional areas: Finalization of organizational structure and COA and reporting requirements Business development Customer contract Order booking and shipment Finalization of Item Codification structure Integration with X-Steel*AutoCAD Document management Purchasing, Supplier contract and Materials management(Projects Division) Project execution Project resource planning & integration with PRIMAVERA Site activity Production, Planning & Manufacturing Purchasing, Supplier contract & Material management(Products Division) Receiving of goods and services Inspection

 Maintenance Financials HR Time and Labor HR, Preference management, Self-service(To-Be Process) Payroll ) 2. As-Is study for HR and Payroll 3. Overview Training for HR and Payroll 4. Finalization of item codification structure

Research Results on Different Aspects of ERP

Many commentators think that the dot com bust of the late 1990s broke the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) bubble. The boom is back. This surge of interest must be met with analysis of its root causes and market implications. IT managers need to recognize what is driving ERP implementation and whether or not it is an appropriate solution for their enterprise. The data points to particular trends regarding business drivers, project structure, budgets, and implementation concerns.

Outdated Technology Drives ERP Investment

The recent upsurge in ERP interest is the legacy of the 1990s boom. Many enterprises are in the process of upgrading and replacing earlier investments.

Fig: Business Motivators for ERP

There are many reasons for ERP projects but replacing outdated technology is a standout. Almost 50% of enterprises note that their primary purpose for acquiring ERP technology is replacing outdated technology. This observation suggests that there are very few true green-field implementations and that every ERP project must consider existing data and processes. Related to replacing outdated technology is reducing the complexity of existing technology. Almost 20% of enterprises implementing ERP solutions note that reducing complexity is the primary business driver for the implementation. Technology complexity is linked with process complexity. As the speed of business increases and issues such as order frequency or reporting criteria become more onerous, legacy technology becomes difficult to support and extend. The emphasis on replacing outdated technology and reducing complexity stands in contrast to other types of popular initiatives such as portals or email archiving.

Financials, Procurement, and Analytics Are the Core Modules

Every ERP project is different because every enterprise has specific needs. There are, however, certain core modules that are present in most ERP implementations.

Fig: Modules Involved in ERP Implementation

Certain modules currently demonstrate a dramatic increase in popularity:
The most crucial module is also the most basic. Some sort of financial module already exists in 85% of enterprises undergoing ERP implementations and represents a task for over 70% of implementations. Other important modules include procurement, analytics, and order management. Modules that are dramatically increasing in popularity include those for corporate management, workflow and forms, quality management, and enterprise change management.

IT Manager Concerns: Process and Training

Successful ERP projects address implementation concerns early in the planning cycle. Issues concerning business processes and business user training are the two most frequent implementation concerns.

Fig: Implementation Concerns for ERP

Most IT managers are less concerned about technology issues than business issues.
Business processes are a concern in almost 85% of ERP implementations. This concern involves various aspects of business processes such as capturing them, modeling them, and adapting systems to support them. A key issue for many IT managers is how to get the business to adopt new business processes to avoid expensive system customizations. The second primary concern is training business users. Training emerges as a key concern in over 60% of ERP implementations. This observation is strongly related to the concern about business processes. Other concerns such as IT governance (3%) and IT processes (12%) are infrequently listed as important concerns for ERP projects.

Prediction by Trends in Demand for ERP products

In the short to mid-term, Info-Tech expects that demand for ERP products will continue to be strong and that service offerings will evolve to meet customer demand: 1. The replacement roadmap will become more refined. Many IT managers are currently in the position of replacing legacy client-server applications from the late 1990s. They are looking for new products that will help them avoid this Sisyphean task in the future. Recent product innovations from vendors like SAP and Oracle are demonstrating the importance of upgradeability and seamless transition to new versions. 2. Cost variability will drive transparent pricing. Many vendors engage in a constant shell game of pricing that inflates costs and frustrates buyers. New ERP platformsparticular for small and mid-sized enterpriseswill add transparency to costs. 3. The integrators will continue to be the key link in the ERP delivery chain. The implementation concern for enterprises relates to high touch activities such as modeling business processes and training business users. Successful accomplishment of these tasks depends not on the technology vendor but on implementation partners.

McPower A Corporate view

We have till now seen the various facets of ERP implementation in industries and corporate world. To draw a parallel with all of these facets and the current ERP implementation in McNally Bharat Engineering here is presented some excerpts related to these facets, from the point of view of Mr. Anupum Basu, CIO, MBE.
Q. ERP A requirement for MBE? A. To have an enterprise wide integrated and automated business system, ERP was found to be a feasible, economical and maintainable solution. Q. Presence of any glitches in pre-implementation stages? A. Initially there were some doubts about the new and relatively alien system, but they were cleared once our consultants presented the pros and cons of the system and it long-term benefits, and right now there are no such issues. Q. Aid to MBE by this implementation in issues of a. Customer satisfaction A. New modules to be implemented that would address the customer handling part and would be augmented as such. b. Productivity A. Database would be integrated and referential information will be handy and lot of semiautomatic processes would now be completely automated leading to increased productivity by reducing the turnover time. c. Competitors A. Higher Productivity, Customer satisfaction and point-in-data would aid in getting further ahead of competition. Q. Computer proficiency programs required by the users to be at par with ERP implementation? A. The training pertaining to ERP for the users is in a. Operational aspects for day-today users. b. IT department people would be trained in DBMS and System Management specific to Oracle ERP. Q. Expected product life-cycle of ERP? A. MBE has entered upon an agreement with Oracle so that the system would be updated as and when required by patches, add-ons, updates and if required version change from time to time. Q. Choice of ERP Oracle and not SAP? A. Some of the most important factors that tilted the choice of ERP from SAP to Oracle are, a. Existing enterprise system is based on Oracle. b. Comparative analysis of the products. c. Commercial viability of the product. d. Availability of Oracle professionals is higher than that of SAP Q. Expected network platform? A. MIPL VPN technology would be used in all the units across the country mainly pertaining to - Mailing - Video Conferencing - ERP Q. Maintenance and support services? A. It would be a mix of two where the Site maintenance would be overseen by in-house professionals and the System & Software maintenance would be done by the vendor consultation, here Oracle. Q. Reason for going through with Big Bang approach? A. The main and foremost reason for this approach is to ensure lesser time-cycle time in software implementation in business process changes and hence stay ahead in competition.

Conclusion

Concluding Remarks
With rapid business expansion, CIOs are being asked to ramp up the IT infrastructure and clearly put in place a clear enterprise apps deployment plan which is indeed a daunting task. This task becomes more compounded by the fact that most IT solution providers claim that their products are the best. In brief the pre-implementation solution for ERP can be summed up as, Core or Contextual: Target fitment to processes that makes one competitive
and contribute most to ones organizations success

Flexibility to Change: Flexibility to meet changing business, market, regulatory and environment needs. Scoping the product: Avoidance to overbuying. Building the Team: People to champion the product, deflect internal conflicts and bring domain value to the project. Approach: Success or failure has less to do with the product, but lot to do with implementation approach and usage.

Moreover the other important aspect that comes to the forefront is the selection of the software which itself has several parameters which if not kept in mind would lead to far-reaching consequences, Integrate Business Planning Proactive Needs Assessment Seeking Professional Advice Plan, Plan, Plan Total Cost of Ownership(no hidden costs) Partner(Implementer) Selection Change in Management Grid Right Technology Investment Assessment of Intangibles Decision is for once and is to be Final

Bottom Line
ERP has been here for years. Enterprises must now replace the systems they acquired during the exuberance of the late 1990s. ERP is still a challenging technology and not the knockout solutions that vendors promise. So any organization going for ERP implementation must assess their requirements and go for it for once and for all because ERP is like two-edged blade which if used to precision would give high results but if implemented with miss-matched intentions may have far-reaching irreversible consequences.

Appendix

1.

Oracle E-Business Suite

The Oracle E-Business Suite is an integrated suite of business applications that connects and automates the entire flow of business processes across both front and back office operations, and addresses the needs of a global enterprise. Because Oracle E-Business Suite products are engineered to work together; users can streamline the setup process by sharing common setup data across applications. Implementation Considerations Implementing the E-Business Suite is dependent on many factors and one will want to set it up according to ones industry and business needs. One can optimize his/her legal and compliance processing by addressing factors like the following in their implementation: Statutory and legal requirements for legal entity accounting, such as document sequencing, tax accounting, and inter-company accounting The number of subsidiaries that use different charts of accounts, calendars, currencies, and sub-ledger accounting methods Number of subsidiaries that use different charts of accounts, calendars, currencies, and sub-ledger accounting methods The Oracle Financials sub-ledger applications implemented The number of Oracle Applications instances Key Attributes of Oracle E-Business Suite Four key attributes characterize the Oracle E-Business Suite: Common Data Model Reduced Number of Instances Integrated Applications Database Integration Common Data Model In creating a suite that spans a large number of diverse modules, Oracle has taken care to ensure that the products share a "Common Data Model" in their architecture. This means that any system entity set up in one product (for example "an employee") is used, to the extent possible, by all other products that require a similar entity. Consider customer reference data entered into an application and stored in the common data model. This customer data can subsequently be accessed by all applications and functions that use such customer data. Entry of important entities is minimized and revisions are entered only once. There is no need for any replication which is a source of inefficiency and inconsistency. With clean, complete customer data in one consolidated data model, you have a true 360 degree view of your customer for the best possible customer intelligence. Reduced Number of Instances Each time one consolidates databases, information increases and costs decrease. Many customers are managing worldwide operations using our unified information architecture on a single instance of the Oracle E-Business Suite. One can consolidate and share information globally and faster. At the same time, one can eliminate duplicate data

centers, hardware, and information technology costs requiring multiple databases and separate reporting infrastructures around the world. A global financial system at the lowest possible cost is now within ones reach. Integrated Applications Oracle E-Business Suite is engineered to work together as an integrated system. One can pass information from one application to another without any incremental integration costs. While Oracle's applications are integrated, they are also modular. Based on ones business needs, one can implement one module, several modules, or the entire suite. Oracle Business Intelligence systems and the transactional systems use the same data and information. There is no passing of data, spinning the facts, or delay; your managers see the data on their personal machines as it emerges from the business front lines. Database Integration Oracle Database 10g Release 2 includes dimensionality support, next-generation features, and other features that are exploited by the financial applications. The cumulative effect of having a common data model, all applications on a single instance, and the applications themselves fully integrated, is that all of ones information is in one place. As a result, one receives powerful synergies such as: A global, unified view into critical information such as sales positions, inventory levels, headcount, revenue, and expenses-across all organizations, lines of business, products, and geographies. The information is accurate and up-to-date as there is integrity in data that is not fragmented. The Oracle E-Business Suite includes data from business applications from multiple vendors using our Hubs. For example, Oracle Customer Data Hub gives one a unified, enterprise-wide view of ones customer data, no matter whose software one uses. Ones corporate financial reports and intelligence will be across divisions and geographic regions i.e. won't have to request additional information from those sources. The result is a much smoother and faster closing process. Ones Shared Service Centers work across worldwide operations, dealing easily with both local compliance and corporate processes. Executives and employees, from the officers and directors to line supervisors, receive daily business intelligence revealing the state of the business every day, relative to past, present, and projected performance metrics. The person's decision makers will reach more informed conclusions and take more immediate action towards achieving individual and group objectives - daily, not quarterly or monthly.

2.
Study Brown & Vessey (2000)

Major ERP Milestones in Recent Days

Method Multiple case studies Major findings Objective was to determine important predictors for initial and ongoing ERP implementation success. Preliminary findings show that there are differences between the value-chain and support activity implementations Used the actor-network theory to analyze the use of ERP systems. Considered ERP systems to be actors, and explored the way in which ERP systems are perceived by their direct and indirect users. Conducted a Delphi study to identify issues in ERP life cycle management. Identified 10 major issues and 38 subcategories in ERP implementation. Studied three key social enablers for successful ERP implementation Proposed that while all three enablers may contribute to ERP implementation success, only strong and committed leadership is a necessary condition. Studied seven organizations that contributed to the enhancement of the Treasury module of the SAP ERP software. Identified organizational factors that enabled the functionality enhancement process. Examined adoption of ERP by European firms. Evaluated the present state of ERP adoption mainly in mid-size manufacturing firms Predicted that this market will constitute a large portion of new ERP implementations within the next 5 years. Identified several situations where IS personnel and CIOs failed to successfully implement ERP solutions. Provided recommendation for IT personnel for successful installation.

Askenas & Westelius (2000)

Case study

Chang et al. (2000)

Case study

Sarker & Lee (2000) Case study

Scott & Kaindl (2000) Action research

Van Everdingen et al. (2000) Survey

Willcocks & Sykes (2000) Theoretical

3.

Primavera

Primavera Systems, Inc. is the worlds leading provider of project, program and
portfolio management software solutions. We provide the software foundation that enables all types of businesses to achieve excellence in managing their portfolios, programs, projects and resources. It is estimated that projects totaling more than $6 trillion in value have been managed with Primavera products. Primavera provides industry-specific solutions to more than 76,000 customers around the world. Companies turn to Primavera to help them make better portfolio investment decisions, improve governance, prioritize their project investments and resources, and deliver tangible results back to the business. Primavera professional services personnel are equipped to help our customers reduce implementation risk, time and cost, while maximizing the return on their software investment. Only Primavera offers a complete selection of best-of-breed project and portfolio management solutions - each one designed to meet the challenges of specific vertical industries. Primavera aids to: Select the right strategic mix of projects. Assure project, IT and corporate governance. Enhance processes and methods. Improve project team collaboration. Measure progress toward objectives. Complete more projects successfully and with the intended payback.

Primavera P6 is the most powerful, robust, and easy to use solution for globally
prioritizing, planning, managing and executing projects, programs and portfolios. P6 is an integrated project portfolio management (PPM) solution comprising role-specific functionality to satisfy each team members needs, responsibilities and skills. It provides a single solution for managing projects of any size, adapts to various levels of complexities within a project, and intelligently scales to meet the needs of various roles, functions, or skill levels in your organization. P6 provides executives with a real-time view of their organizations project, program and portfolio performance. It equips managers with the right blend of usability, power and flexibility to effectively and efficiently execute on projects, and enables individuals across all levels of an organization to analyze, record, and communicate reliable information and make timely, informed decisions. P6 makes it easy to: Select the right strategic mix of projects Assure project, IT and corporate governance Enhance processes and methods Improve project team collaboration Measure progress toward objectives Complete more projects successfully and with the intended payback.

4.

Virtual Private Network

A virtual private network (VPN) is a computer network in which some of the links between nodes are carried by open connections or virtual circuits in some larger network (e.g., the Internet) instead of by physical wires. The link-layer protocols of the virtual network are said to be tunneled through the larger network when this is the case. One common application is secure communications through the public Internet, but a VPN need not have explicit security features, such as authentication or content encryption. VPNs, for example, can be used to separate the traffic of different user communities over an underlying network with strong security features. A VPN may have best-effort performance, or may have a defined service level agreement (SLA) between the VPN customer and the VPN service provider. Generally, a VPN has a topology more complex than point-to-point. The distinguishing characteristics of VPNs are not security or performance, but that they overlay other network(s) to provide a certain functionality that is meaningful to a user community.

Bibliography
Websites:
http://www.mcnallybharat.com http://www.google.co.in http://www.wikipedia.com http://www.orafaq.com http://www.oracle.com http://epathfinders.blogspot.com

Books:
Alleman, Glen B. - Agile Project Management Methods for ERP Dr. Spiekermann, Sarah - Introduction to Enterprise Resource Planning