Master of Business Administration - MBA Semester III OM0011 Enterprise Resource Planning - 4 Credits (Book ID: B1233) Assignment

t - Set- 1 (60 Marks) Q1.Why are ERP systems said to be flexible? Explain with an example. ERP System Flexibility A flexible ERP system can bring consistency and profitability to your company. A flexible ERP system allows your business to respond rapidly to any changing condition - it lets your business provide any company department or employee with the data required to improve decision-making, regardless of whether data is needed from one or several systems. ERP System Flexibility Benefits Choosing the right ERP system allows you to transfer your business processes onto your business systems, offering the consistency and timeliness to manage variability. This eliminates the need and high cost of integrating your existing systems. Also with effective ERP systems manual processes are eliminated as theres no need for time-consuming and unreliable paper-based procedures. ERP systems allow data to flow easily throughout your operations the moment it appears in your systems. This provision of timely information allows for a quick and efficient response from every employee in your company. With ERP systems manual, makeshift processes are replaced with well-organized ones allowing for overall business flexibility and effectiveness. ERP systems allow increased visibility into real-time processes which enables prompt ordering of the right goods and materials. Q2. Explain with an example the concept of supply chain management? Supply chain management (SCM) is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. It is said that the ultimate goal of any effective supply chain management system is to reduce inventory (with the assumption that products are available when needed).

As a solution for successful supply chain management, sophisticated software systems with Web interfaces are competing with Web-based application service providers (ASP) who promise to provide part or all of the SCM service for companies who rent their service. Supply chain management flows can be divided into three main flows:

The product flow The information flow The finances flow

The product flow includes the movement of goods from a supplier to a customer, as well as any customer returns or service needs. The information flow involves transmitting orders and updating the status of delivery. The financial flow consists of credit terms, payment schedules, and consignment and title ownership arrangements. There are two main types of SCM software: planning applications and execution applications. Planning applications use advanced algorithms to determine the best way to fill an order. Execution applications track the physical status of goods, the management of materials, and financial information involving all parties. Some SCM applications are based on open data models that support the sharing of data both inside and outside the enterprise (this is called the extended enterprise, and includes key suppliers, manufacturers, and end customers of a specific company). This shared data may reside in diverse database systems, or data warehouses, at several different sites and companies. By sharing this data "upstream" (with a company's suppliers) and "downstream" (with a company's clients), SCM applications have the potential to improve the time-to-market of products, reduce costs, and allow all parties in the supply chain to better manage current resources and plan for future needs. Increasing numbers of companies are turning to Web sites and Web-based applications as part of the SCM solution. A number of major Web sites offer e-procurement marketplaces where manufacturers can trade and even make auction bids with suppliers.

Q3. Differentiate between Open Source and Commercial ERP. Briefly explain the key principles to a proper ERP system selection process. the comparison between Commercial and Open Source ERP software systems. This study has been made considering different parameter. Study concludes commercial ERP softwares are suitable only for big corporations and open source business software should be the choice of small and medium scale industries. Know what is open source ERP before

proceeding with this study. Study has been made on following 10 factors while comparing commercial and open source ERP softwares.

Pricing Flexibility Duration Dependence Results Training Security visibility Ease of integration with current systems Longevity

Pricing Most open source software is freely distributed with no up-front licensing fees. Further savings come from ease of deployment, training and integration. Companies that implement open source ERP solutions often report a 50% savings over proprietary systems. With free systematic open source ERP training methodology like SOSE! site you can own your software for no cost. Commercial ERP is an expensive package and suitable only for bigger corporations. The prices do vary significantly but according to the size of the company and volume of business. In any cases they have been found to be extremely costly irrespective of the quantum in which they are purchased. These packages are not subject to flexibility and molding. Their usage modalities are rarely liberal and cause troubles when they are modified. Hence the deployments also turn out to be costly and inconvenient due to the procedures involved, in the future. Another major allegation against the package is that they consist of lot of hidden costs. Flexibility When you compare commercial and open source ERP, commercial systems are not flexible in nature. They let business with no other choice but to change their way of business. However when it comes to open source ERP everything was decided by the code .Therefore companies can do the necessary modifications in code and without much support from the vendor. Another advantage of open source is that it does not interfere with the regular schedule of the company during the implementation stage. This is a major difference between commercial and open source ERP applications. You should use business software for your needs, you should not change the way of your business to fit into software needs. Duration When you study commercial and open source ERP,The time allotted for implementing open source ERP is very less when compared with commercial ERP. The innumerable number of complexions in commercial ERP calls for longer time span. It consumes a lot of time not

only during implementation but in every stage of ERP process due to the nature of work involved. With use of SITE ERP implementation methodology you can reduce time required for open source ERP to the minimum.

Dependence When it comes to the question of relying on the vendor the open source ERP owners enjoys a considerable edge than the commercial ERP. Since open source is license free users have full freedom for taking care of needs by themselves. The productivity is also high in open source ERP systems and the failure rates are very low. Results Success rate of open source ERP are considerably more compare to proprietary ERP softwares. Read open source ERP success stories for more details. Training Lots of training is required for using commercial ERP. It calls for lots of investments in terms of time and money. If they don't give the necessary impetus the results will be poor. Similarly validity of training sessions designed and handled exclusively by the ERP vendor is also debatable. On the other hand Open Source ERP does not require much training. The results are also bound to be effective because the user gets to learn through the process of self training. The company need not spend much on training and makes a minimal utilization of the resources. This is another way of reducing the level of dependence on the ERP vendor. You can get free online ERP training with SOSE!. Security On comparing commercial and open source ERP applications, Commercial ERP systems are less secure. They are by and large prone to the traps and pitfalls of hackers. Even though open source ERP makes everything transparent and available in the public domain it bring into the notice of user whenever something goes wrong. visibility Few end users change the underlying code of an open source application. But when the need arises, open source provides access to the code to make changes to suit each distributors unique business needs. Open source customers enjoy a refreshing level of transparency from their vendors around activities such as bug reporting and fixing and road map planning. Ease of integration with current systems ERP solutions touch every aspect of a company, from warehousing to accounting. As such, a companys ERP solution should easily integrate with existing IT infrastructure components, such as application servers, directory services and storage arrays. Open source solutions are compatible via standards-based interfaces with multiple technologies, including support for

lowest-cost commodity operating systems, databases, utilities and hardware. Longevity Virtually any ERP solution will work well when initially deployed, but time is the true test of every ERP solution and vendor. Unforeseen opportunities will likely drive changes to a business objectives and necessitate changes to its ERP solution. Independently, a vendors commitment to supporting a solution could change over time. An open source solution with a flexible foundation addresses todays needs and safeguards the solutions future. Because the user has the source code, a solution can never be bought or merged out of existence, meaning the investment lasts as long as needed. Independent services for ERP implementation support is also available for free with open source ERP. Q4. What is ATO and how is it different from ETO? List the advantages of CAD/CAM. In this production type, parts or products the customer is given some configuration requirements, the manufacturer according to customer requests for customized products. Therefore, manufacturers must maintain a certain amount of spare parts inventory, so that when the customer order arrives, you can quickly assemble the products according to orders sent to the customer. This requires the use of certain types of configuration system for rapid data access and processing orders, and then organized according to customer demand for products assembled to meet customer needs. Manufacturers must have a good number of different components and prepare flexible assembly plant, in the shortest possible time in order to assemble a wide variety of products. In this production type, is largely a product of a particular customer's requirements to design, so that support customer-oriented design is an important feature of the production process and components. Because most products are tailored for specific customers, so these products may produce only once. In this production type, production volume is small, but design work and final products are often very complex. In the production process, every job should be special treatment, because each task may have different operations, not the same as the cost, you need different people to complete. Of course, in addition to a special addition to the product-specific materials are also shared some of the raw materials and other products.

The time consumed and the chance for errors in manual pattern making and cutting is more. In manual cutting, there will be a difference from one piece to another. A computer-aided machine helps complete the job quickly and with precision. For instance, with one CAD system, one cutter and two fabric spreaders with three tables of 20 m, 60,000 pieces of undergarments can be cut in eight hours with less than ten people. The same, if done manually would require 40-50 people. Moreover the working area required for 40-50 people

will be huge. Even as the CAD/CAM machines were available for a long time, there were not much takers as the operational features were complex. Assyst-Buller has rightly addressed this need and all the operational tools are very simple and user friendly that anyone can operate the machine. The quality - technology and metallurgy - is very good. Moreover, the machine is maintenance free. Assyst-Bullmer cutting machine is equipped with 7.5 cm cutting height for higher productivity as more layers can be cut in a single cut. The power consumption (14 KW) is very low compared to that of machines by other competitors. The maximum cutting speed is 90m/minute and effective cutting speed of up to 20m/minute gives more productivity. The spare parts are available locally and users need not depend on the company for spare parts. While other brands of spreaders have less capacity, Assyst-Bullmer speader comes with a capacity of 100 kg which means less loading and unloading and better productivity. The spreading speed at 120m/minute is also high compared to other brands. Fabric roll diameter of 500mm gives flexibility of production planning besides enhanced production. The machine is provided with a zigzag device with movable and fixed end catchers to accommodate open fabric.

Q5. How does the plant maintenance module help in achieving competitiveness? Write a note of Quality Management. The time has changed, machine breakdown and idle repair is no more accepted practice. The plant maintenance module in eresource ERP provides an integrated solution for supporting the operational efficiency. The plant maintenance module covers all equipment / machines of the plant. The major sub-system of plant maintenance module in eresource ERP comprises of: 1. 2. 3. 4. Preventive Maintenance Control Equipment Tracking Component Tracking Repair and spare parts maintenance warranty claim tracking.

The plant maintenance module in eresource ERP provides an integrated business reports. This reports help you to reduce the duration and cost of downtime. All maintenance tasks such as inspection, servicing and repair activities are saved in a historical database. Quality Management: Quality is considered as the most powerful factor to capture, retain and enlarge customer base in the modern business scenario. Achieving customer satisfaction is the essential business of business and quality management is the most effective enterprise strategy. The state-of-the-art quality management is an embodiment of concepts, methods and

applications. In the last few years, the business world has stood witness to many real life success stories. Planning and achieving higher level of quality is fundamental to the successful operation of enterprises, which necessitates understanding and managing various dynamics in an organization in order to set goals and judiciously deploy resources. The efficiency and effectiveness with which resources are obtained and utilized will depend upon the good management practices that the organization follows. Quality management also necessitates how well the system measures, monitors and improves different metrics related to the business processes. Interrelationships among the business processes, their metrics and the organizational achievement are influenced by how well an organization deals with issues related to quality. A number of innovative approaches are required for balancing the objectives of the partners of the enterprise and the requirements of customers, as there are many conflicting goals such as high customer service, low inventory, low unit cost etc.

Q6. Explain the working of Warehouse Management and Purchase department with an example. The fulfillment process you have in place reflects on the business as a whole, and directly impacts several areas, including:

Invoicing & Accounts Receivables When inventory is available, and the distribution center can fulfill it on a timely basis, the corresponding invoices can be sent faster. Customer Service Customers can be demanding and expect their goods to be readily available without back order or delay. Proper warehouse inventory management will ensure that those orders are ready to ship, and consequently avoid lost orders. Purchasing Warehouse inventory management, in a properly automated system, will be integrated with the purchasing department, so that when a certain item is low in stock, an automatic trigger will be sent to the purchasing department for requisitioning more.

Automation in The Warehouse Inventory One of the biggest problems in warehouse inventory management is the lack of automation, and this in turn leads to an error-prone, labor-intensive warehouse process that adds more costs than necessary. The result is a poor bottom line. Basic warehouse processes may start with receiving inventory for manual verification and manual update of computer records, and thankfully, a warehouse management system allows a company to be more competitive by implementing processes that involve RFID and

other automation technologies. This strategy improves efficiency, minimizes errors, and lowers costs, while also getting inventory into the records faster. And what happens in a warehouse environment that lacks automation? First and foremost, the company pays too much for the warehouse operation. But beyond that, the error rate is high. Shipments may be incorrect, and because the process is manual, there is a higher likelihood that the customer will get the wrong item. This not only results in a dissatisfied customerwho may not make repeat orders in the futureit also results in higher freight costs, since the company will bear the cost of shipping out the correct item. Beyond that, it will result in weaker cash flow, as invoices will not get paid as expected. Bringing in a new level of automation into the warehouse and streamlining warehouse inventory processing will just mean better business overall. In this automated environment, when inventory is received, it will be scanned in and verified against purchase orders in real time, resulting in immediate updates, and eliminating the need for redundant data entry. The automation, usually using RFID tags or other similar technology, also results in faster and more efficient picking, since any time a shelf is consolidated or inventory is moved, it can be scanned before and after moving, so that the computer stays up to date on the location of every pallet. Also, because the picker is using a bar code scanner in real time, there is less incidence of picking the wrong item. The Purchasing Department Managing warehouse inventory properly will also have a major impact on the purchasing department. Implementing this level of automation will give the purchasing department up-to-the-minute information on quantities that are needed, and also longterm information about usage patterns that will help in making future buying decisions. The warehouse inventory system may be integrated with a forecasting system, which analyzes the warehouse data and sales records to accurately predict needs.