Comprehensive Implementation Proposal For An Information System Using Systems Approach (essay).

The purpose of Assessment 2 and Assessment 3 is to evaluate your ability to develop a comprehensive implementation proposal for an information system that uses a
systems approach.

The proposal should be targeted at a potential ‘sponsor’ organisation (your workplace) that will need to be convinced of the appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed new system.

Part A of the proposal (Assessment 2) focuses on understanding your organization (or the organization you have chosen) and exploring the opportunity for IS/IT improvement (e.g., selecting an information system to support organizational’s strategic objectives) while Part B of the proposal (Assessment 3) focuses on designing and implementing the chosen system.

Choose an information system (e.g., ERP systems, CRM systems, SCM Systems, Management Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, Executive Information Systems, Enterprise Portals, Data Warehouse & Data Mining Applications, Enterprise Collaboration Systems, Knowledge Management Systems, among others) that you have studied in this unit. Alternatively, you may wish to combine features of several systems. 

For the purposes of both Part A and Part B of the proposal, the IS/IT improvement should not focus on Apps, mobile devices, social media or similar aspects. If you are unsure, then consult your tutor. 

Your assignment should describe the steps of the Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC) discussed in Topic 3 of the subject. The proposed system must address an identifiable problem/opportunity that exists in the sponsor organisation (your workplace) and relate to particular aspects of the organisation’s overall strategic directions. It is important that you select the features of your system carefully and justify your selection. Do not just use (be critical of the use of) the standard features of a commercially available software package. For the purposes of this assignment, try to keep the system that you are proposing to a manageable size.

Your proposed system could help the ‘sponsor’ organisation by: 

1.improving an existing manual information system
2.introducing a new information system
3.creating a new business opportunity
4.improving organisational productivity.

The sponsor is generally a senior person within the organisation who has the authority to approve such projects.

Advancement in sciences has led to the urge of digitization in trade and commerce all across the world. Numerous organizations are relying on these advanced technologies to cater resources for their organisation. Quality check and analysis of data is a crucial approach through which the companies are developing the skills of excellence. It is essential to adhere to certain principles and maintain the record of accomplishment for the concerned organisation. This report has mainly focused on the internal aspects and system implementation of Coca Cola Amatil, Australia, which is one of the largest suppliers of non-alcoholic beverage in the Asian and the Asia-Pacific region (Coca Cola Amatil 2018). The report addresses the analysis of the present system and the functional specifications of the ERP system.  The development, testing and implementation of the system in the company have been included in the scope of this report. The solutions after the testing and implementation of the ERP have been incorporated in the report. A follow through approach using the Software Development Life Cycle of the specified ERP system has been added for the better impression of the outcomes of project management. The role of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) intends to analyse and increase the efficiency using various types of techniques (Ali and Miller 2017). The SDLC architecture approach used in the implementation of the ERP system is mainly done to enforce a suitable method through which the organisation will be able to identify the loopholes of the on-going chain and rectify them accordingly. Along with the implementation, the after activities of the implementation are also discussed. The implementation of the mentioned ERP system is intended to focus the areas of project management, risk management and change management with a vision of procuring a sustainable output.

This section talks about the system analysis and functional specifications of the ERP system. It also sketches the development of the system, the checking and testing of the system after development and the implementation of the system in the business sector. The post implementation activities of the Enterprise Resource Planning system have also been discussed. The project management, the risk management and the change management associated with the specified ERP system have also been highlighted in this section.

ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning is a business solution comprising of a suite of applications that is helpful in managing the processes of core business like the sales, accounting, purchasing, Human Resource along with customer relationship management and inventory (Shatat 2015). It is a combined system, unlike the individual software system that is designed and intended to serve a particular business process. The ERP system uses a centralized database that is helpful for the large industries like Coca Cola Amatil in collecting, storing and finally interpreting data from numerous business sectors. ERP is generally used to mechanize back office works and rationalize intra-departmental workflows (Almajali, Masa'deh and Tarhini 2016). The ERP system can benefit an organization in various ways that include an increase in efficiency, unwanted cost cutting and an increase in the profitability of the whole organization. The ERP is generally developed and implemented for access in the large enterprises like Coca Cola Amatil because of the need of high expenditure hardware like the servers, numerous workstations, and professional teams that are deployed for dealing with any sort complexity, upgrades or required maintenance.

System Analysis

The ERP system can be completely combined and customized to serve a particular business process. An ideal ERP system is meant to cover the significant business processes and consists of modules like the Financial management, the Customer Relationship Management or CRM, the Human Resource Management or HRM, the Supply Chain Management, Marketing and sales, Purchasing, Manufacturing, and Inventory. The advanced and sophisticated ERP system is also incorporated with specific modules like the asset management, business intelligence and e-commerce (Panayiotou et al. 2015). In addition to that ERP systems can serve the needs of sectors like retail, government, healthcare and non-profit organisations.

In the financial management module, the system is helpful in maintaining a record of various earnings and expenditures. It is dedicated to the maintenance of general ledger, audit sheet, tax management and several sorts of payments. It aims at generating financial reports for various departments and business sectors. The CRM module of the system is useful, in enhancing the service to the customers, which thereby is helpful in increasing the profitability (Hoch and Dulebohn 2013). A healthy relationship with the customers is maintained by tracking their social media activities, their purchase history and all sorts of interactions made in the past. The HRM module of the ERP system is comprised of several resource management tools like the time tracker, a database for maintaining employee records, various job profiles and skill sets. It also generates the performance review reports. The SCM module of the system is dedicated to serving definite aspects in accordance with the supply chain. It is helpful in managing the product flow from the production outlet to the consumers and back to the outlet. It serves as an adaptive tool in maintaining the economy standards. The marketing and sales module aims to deal with sales inquiries, orders and invoices of the Coca Cola Amatil. The purchasing module is helpful in managing the involved processes in obtaining materials. The manufacturing module of the system mainly focuses on the efficient manufacturing areas. The inventory module is intended to measure stock oriented targets, generalize restocks and several inventory targets.

The System Development process of the ERP system is generally done following the two different types of management approach. These approaches are categorized with the name of Waterfall approach and the Agile approach. Both of these approaches consist of the development procedure. The development procedure in case of both of the approaches is slightly different from each other. In the development of the Waterfall model, the actual need and integration of technical process of ERP implementation take place (Akbar 2013). The supervised professional development team carries on with the process by conducting several live sessions with the development of several requisites of customizations. This is mainly done to ensure that the developed applications will work accordingly without any glitches when the module is implemented in the real world. Several other processes that take place in the development of the Waterfall module include training the users along with the importation of data of the old system into the newly devised ERP applications (Javed and Priya 2014). On the other hand, the development process of the Agile module requires plenty of gathered project requisites which are meant to guide the project plan. This project plan is further divided into small segments termed as sprints.

Functional Specifications

After the successful development of either of the above mentioned management approaches, that is the Waterfall or Agile, the testing of the developed management approach is carried through by the management team (Lietzen 2013). The testing of each of the management approach is in contrast to each other. In Waterfall management approach, testing is done to get an overview of how the system is about to perform when it is implemented in the real world.  In this process, specific problem areas are identified and are addressed accordingly. This is done to ensure the free flow of the system. Testing is performed at the completion of the whole development stage in case of Waterfall management approach. Testing enables the project management team to develop a fair idea of the proposed system and locates the areas of improvement. Whereas, in the Agile management approach of the testing procedure is slightly different. The testing procedure is performed after completion of every sprint, and necessary actions are taken if any snag creeps up during the development (Kaushik, Bharadwaj and Awasthi 2015). It is different from the Waterfall approach where an ample amount of time is spent in the identification of the problems of development and is addressed at the ultimate stage of completion.

After the development and testing of the ERP system are completed following a System Development Life Cycle, the implementation of the proposed system comes into act. Choosing a right ERP system software is very much essential for the large enterprises like the Coca Cola Amatil to take important decisions at the right moment of the business procedure. The implementation of the ERP system requires extensive research and time. After the successful selection of the software, the implementation process of the same can bring up several complexities (Ahmad and Cuenca 2013).  Implementation of the system involves the installation of the chosen ERP software, relocation of the financial data to the newly proposed system, configuration of the users along with their processes, and ultimately training of the users on the ERP software (Rajnoha et al. 2014). It is vital for a large enterprise like the Coca Cola Amatil to focus on the determining of the implementation project type. In general, there are three types of implementation project including Express, Standard and Advanced type.  In addition to all these attributes, it is essential for the project manager to focus on Project management as the primary ladder to success. The implementation of the ERP system as mentioned earlier is a complex and needs serious supervision. It is evident that the Coca Cola Amatil runs on a dynamic business environment. The Waterfall management approach is meant to serve the requirements of a static business environment, but since the company of Coca Cola business environment is dynamic that is it follows a rapid change, it would be wise to rely on the Agile management approach that supports a rapid change in the business environment. The solutions to the issues can be better implemented with the involvement of sprints in the testing of the developed system.

On successful implementation of the desired ERP system, the large enterprise should focus on the long term success of the implementation process. There are several posts, which require special attention in both planning and execution after the implementation. Performing a post implementation review after implementation provides the project management team with a fair idea to comprehend the present success of the system. It is very much essential to stick to a post implementation plan that will be helpful in addressing the three main domains including the People, Process and Technology. Some of the post implementation activities of the ERP system related to each of the domain is as follows:

Quarterly reviewing the training process

An improvised technique to ensure that the selected implementation process for the enterprise is fruitful is by adopting a method for quarterly review of the training classes offered to the people within the organisation. The first quarter post the conducted live sessions comprises of a course of refreshment (Chou et al. 2014). With the advancement of the course, the people within the Coca Cola Amatil organisation are subjected to a more advanced course of knowledge and enhanced information of software implemented. It is crucial for any enterprise to communicate with its employees regarding the benefits of the implementation before conducting live sessions. This enables the people to get a fair idea about the positive effects of embracing a new system. These classes of refreshment can be performed both individually and online (Hsu, Yen and Chung 2015). As for the large companies like Coca Cola Amatil, where a plenty number of employees are involved, it is better to rely on the online classes. A sensible approach includes a follow up process of all the classes that will benefit in evaluating the future activities.

Capturing the knowledge

From the areas discussed in the above section, it can be stated that besides evaluating the sharing of knowledge to the trainees involved in the process it is equally important to formulate and document the new processes that are subjected to every area of implementation (Ruivo, Oliveira and Neto 2014). Typical areas of implementation involve the documentation of new processes such as the Procedure-to-Pay and the Order-to-Cash cycle.  All sorts of Capture ideologies framed during the middle of a year to its completion enables the management team to have a reference to why it is necessary for the employees to stick to a particular plan and work accordingly. The documentation process is slightly hectic in nature but ensures the company to provide a return on investment (Ahmadi et al. 2015).

The planning of the system evolution is directed to govern the technology domain. It is to be noted that it is very much essential to leave the implemented ERP system renewed and evolved for the successful outcome of the system on the company and to deliver with high performance (Moalagh and Ravasan 2013). Extensive reorganisations, acquirements, diversified activities and several other business activities will open a doorway of new complexities and challenges intended in the maintenance of the ERP software. It is recommended to conduct definite meetings wherever the direction of the system is considered. A performance review system team regarding the system evolution must be deployed to carry on the evaluation of the mentioned implemented activity. The objectives of these teams focus on the directions and improvements of the entire system evolution process of planning (Bradford 2015).

Project management is an important follow up process after the successful implementation of the ERP system. It can be said that Project Management is the application of acquired knowledge, definite skill sets, equipment and technology to meet the objectives of a particular project (Turner 2014). It is all about the comparison of the progress attained with the original plan and finally updating the plan in accordance with the project requirements. It is essential to form a Project Management team whose objective will be to guide the entire undertaken project from start to finish. The team is generally comprised of an Executive sponsor, which indulges it to supervise the project at regular intervals. There is also a team leader in the team who is known for his invariable knowledge, has prior experience and is capable of communicating clearly (Kerzner and Kerzner 2017). He assigns tasks to the subordinate team members.

The ERP implementation process also involves several uncertainties in a dynamic environment that are mostly related to a rapid change. The involvement of several uncertainties leads to the involvement of risks that would determine the future of the project (Lam 2014). Avoiding risks is not viable but certainly mitigating those risks with a certain risk management procedure will increase the effectiveness of the concerned project. The risk management team mainly aspires to eliminate the risk factors that include a lack in critical thinking, poor skill sets of the team, not enough Business Process Reengineering and a lack of change management (Olson and Wu 2015).

The inability to cope up with the new challenges in the environment evolution and failing to adopt the new techniques post ERP implementation is what can adversely affect the well-being of the project (Cameron and Green 2015). To outclass this failure, it is important to stick to setting up a Change Management team whose prime objective will be to deliver the enterprise with effective ways of evolution. Simply put forward, it is a process of combining the domains of people, process and technology in order to attain the commercial benefits from the entire ERP project (Hornstein 2015).

Conclusions

From the above report as discussed, that Coca Cola Amatil is a large enterprise that is the largest bottler and supplier of the non-alcoholic beverages in the Asian and the Asia Pacific region. As it is a large enterprise, it requires the involvement of a new management information system to foster with the business ideologies in the world of trade and commerce. The selected management information system for enhancing the business ideologies includes the ERP system or the Enterprise Resource System. This chosen management system will not only help the organisation to foster in the business sector but also will enable it to stick to certain protocols following which specific business areas will be improved increasing the profitability of the business. There are various sections of the report, which explains the effect of the ERP system on the Coca Cola Amatil Company. At first, the complete analysis of the system is done, and the functional specifications of the intended system are specified. The analysis section delivers a brief overview of the system. The functional specifications cover the key aspects of the proposed system. This part is followed by the development of the system through the System Development Life Cycle or SLDC approach. The checking and the testing of the developed system are clearly stated followed by the implementation of the ERP system. With the implementation of the ERP system the post implementation activities are also discussed that include several domains such as People, Process and Technology. In the ultimate section of the report, the various types of management associated with the implementation of the ERP system are discussed that involve the Project Management, the Risk Management and the Chain management. As a whole, the procedure along with the implementation of entire ERP system has been discussed in the report.

References

Ahmad, M.M. and Cuenca, R.P., 2013. Critical success factors for ERP implementation in SMEs. Robotics and computer-integrated manufacturing, 29(3), pp.104-111.

Ahmadi, S., Papageorgiou, E., Yeh, C.H. and Martin, R., 2015. Managing readiness-relevant activities for the organizational dimension of ERP implementation. Computers in Industry, 68, pp.89-104.

Akbar, R.I., 2013. Comparison Between Agile Methodology And Plan Driven AS Method For Erp Development. Sisfotenika, 3(1).

Ali, M. and Miller, L., 2017. ERP system implementation in large enterprises–a systematic literature review. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 30(4), pp.666-692.

Almajali, D.A., Masa'deh, R.E. and Tarhini, A., 2016. Antecedents of ERP systems implementation success: a study on Jordanian healthcare sector. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 29(4), pp.549-565.

Bradford, M., 2015. Modern ERP: select, implement, and use today's advanced business systems. Lulu. com.

Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.

Chou, H.W., Lin, Y.H., Lu, H.S., Chang, H.H. and Chou, S.B., 2014. Knowledge sharing and ERP system usage in post-implementation stage. Computers in Human Behavior, 33, pp.16-22.

Coca Cola Amatil, 2018. Annual Report, Retrieved from https://www.ccamatil.com/-/media/Cca/Corporate/Files/Annual-Reports/2018/Annual-Report-2017.ashx.

Hoch, J.E. and Dulebohn, J.H., 2013. Shared leadership in enterprise resource planning and human resource management system implementation. Human Resource Management Review, 23(1), pp.114-125.

Hornstein, H.A., 2015. The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp.291-298.

Hsu, P.F., Yen, H.R. and Chung, J.C., 2015. Assessing ERP post-implementation success at the individual level: Revisiting the role of service quality. Information & Management, 52(8), pp.925-942.

Javed, N. and Priya, K.M., 2014. Agile Development to Implement Cloud ERP. International Journal of Scientific & Engineering Research, 5(4).

Kaushik, S., Bharadwaj, A. and Awasthi, V., 2015, September. Need for blending Agile Methodologies and Lean Thinking for ERP Implementation: An industry point of view. In Next Generation Computing Technologies (NGCT), 2015 1st International Conference on (pp. 751-755). IEEE.

Kerzner, H. and Kerzner, H.R., 2017. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley & Sons.

Lam, J., 2014. Enterprise risk management: from incentives to controls. John Wiley & Sons.

Lietzen, A., 2013. Designing user acceptance testing plan for ERP implementation.

Moalagh, M. and Ravasan, A.Z., 2013. Developing a practical framework for assessing ERP post-implementation success using fuzzy analytic network process. International Journal of Production Research, 51(4), pp.1236-1257.

Olson, D.L. and Wu, D.D., 2015. Enterprise risk management (Vol. 3). World Scientific Publishing Company.

Panayiotou, N.A., Gayialis, S.P., Evangelopoulos, N.P. and Katimertzoglou, P.K., 2015. A business process modeling-enabled requirements engineering framework for ERP implementation. Business Process Management Journal, 21(3), pp.628-664.

Rajnoha, R., Kádárová, J., Sujová, A. and Kádár, G., 2014. Business information systems: research study and methodological proposals for ERP implementation process improvement. Procedia-social and behavioral sciences, 109, pp.165-170.

Ruivo, P., Oliveira, T. and Neto, M., 2014. Examine ERP post-implementation stages of use and value: Empirical evidence from Portuguese SMEs. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 15(2), pp.166-184.

Shatat, A.S., 2015. Critical success factors in enterprise resource planning (ERP) system implementation: An exploratory study in Oman. Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation, 18(1), p.36.

Turner, J.R., 2014. Handbook of project-based management (Vol. 92). New York, NY: McGraw-hill.