Assignment

Delhi Government Embraces Enterprise Systems

1) What were some of the biggest challenges in implementing the new e-tendering system at the MCD? Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been working to move on to online system from paper-driven system. In the process, it has successfully implemented e- tendering system. The challenges that MCD had to overcome during the transition to online automation are as follows: a. Procuring contractors, services and products. Previously as per governmental rule, it had to release a public notice regarding the overall plan and notify the contractors. Then businesses would bid on the contract and after months of negotiations one contractor would be handed the contract. b. Changing the work process transition from paper-driven system to online automation was no easy task. Designing, customizing, and implementing e-tendering system for such a big organization was tough. c. Educating 100,000 staff about the new system. Even after the system was up and running only 70% of the engineers used the system. d. Also, a readymade ERP solution was of no use for MCD, as it required a customized system rather than a business ERP solution. So, everything had to be done from scratch. e. Along with the e-tendering, backup system had to placed and tested. f. Corruption would have seriously tested the implementation of new system. 2) What benefits does the new system provide for the MCD and its contractors? MCD has successfully implemented the e-tendering system. It has revolutionized the way contractors and MCD work and both have benefitted from the new system. a. Contractors now can submit their tender documents online that meant they didnt have to travel long distances to bid for the contract. b. With the online automation, tendering process time was reduced significantly. Now the contract would be provided within 30 days. c. The online system provided privacy to the bidders and brought transparency to government. d. As the bidders identity was hidden, bidders didnt have to fear intimidation from competitors, as no one knew who placed the bid. e. The outcome was free from outside influence and the deserving candidate got the contract. It was now all down to bidders merit to get the contract. f. The new system made it easy for bidders, provided updates about their bid, sent alerts and 24-hour telephone help desk. There were 30000 tenders placed over the system the worlds highest volume in numbers by any government organization. g. There is now no corruption.

3) Compared to a business, what considerations might be different for a government agency designing an enterprise system? Enterprise system was pre-dominantly developed for private business sector. Private business organization had a similar structure, which made it easier to develop generalized ERP systems. But in case of governmental agency there are different criteria and following might be the considerations: a. There should be a public notice about any new changes to the system. This also meant changes to the contractors, services and products. b. Budget allocations are not the least bit agile in governmental activities. c. The contractual, legal and regulatory arrangements for how new or modified technological systems are to be paid for and implemented (designed, built and fielded) should be well documented. d. Governmental agencies are not businesses; they do not have the same structure as private sectors. Therefore, they require a customized ERP system rather than a generalized one. e. Governmental agencies are distributed across the country. It has different personnel working as a unit. Personnel difference (i.e. long- term and short-term staffs) affects on the implementation of new system. Longer-term personnel would rather wait for their tenure to end than continually adapt to new changes. f. Also, people have to adapt to the changes and have to continuously educate about the system and its working. g. Security is a major concern. 4) Why do you think some engineers were hesitant to cooperate with the MCD in using the new system? MCD implemented the e-tendering system and wants to continue and develop a fully functional e-procurement system. During the initial stage of its implementation, only 70% of the engineers used the system. The remaining engineers were reluctant to shift to technology. Following might have been the reasons for the hesitance to cooperate with the MCD in using the new system: a. They didnt trust the computerized system. b. Traditional staff members preferred stick with the paper-based system. c. Few members dont like continuous changes and this sort of behavior is more prevalent on governmental sectors. d. People lacked knowledge about computer system. e. With the introduction of technology there might have been fear that their job might be under jeopardy.