MIS

II-UNIT

E-BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Cross-Functional Enterprise Applications
The cross-functional enterprise systems cross the boundaries of traditional
business functions in order to reengineer and improve vital business processes all
across the enterprise.

Enterprise Application Architecture

The fig 2.1 presents an enterprise application architecture. It illustrates the
interrelationships of the major cross functional enterprise applications. It provides a
conceptual framework to help you visualize the basic components, processes and
interfaces of these major e-business applications and their interrelationships to each
other. It also spotlights the roles these business system play on supporting customers,
suppliers, partners, and employees to a business.

Enterprise Resource Planning

ERP concentrates on the efficiency of a firm’s internal production, distribution,
and financial processes.

Customer Relationship Management

CRM focuses on acquiring and retaining profitable customers via marketing,
sales and service processes.

Partner Relationship Management

PRM aims to acquire and retain partners who can enhance the sale and
distribution of a firm’s products and services.

Supply Chain Management

SCM focuses on developing the most efficient and effective sourcing and
procurement processes with suppliers for the products and services that a business
needs.

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 Knowledge Management
KM applications provide a firm’s employee with tools that support group
collaboration and decision support.

Suppliers

Supply Chain Management

Sourcing
Procurement

Partner Relationship Management

Knowledge Management
Employees

Partners
Decision Support
Collaboration

Enterprise Resource Planning

Internal Business Processes

Distribution
Customer Relationship Management
Selling



Marketing
Sales
Service

Customers

FIGURE 2.1: This enterprise application architecture presents an overview of the

major cross-functional applications and their interrelationships.

Enterprise Application Integration

EAI software is being used by many companies to connect their major e-business
applications. EAI software enables users to model the business processes involved in the
interactions that should occur between business applications. EAI also provides
middleware that performs data conversion and coordination, application

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 communication and messaging services, and access to the application interfaces
involved.

Enterprise Application
Front Office
Integration
Customer Service Back Office

Field Service Distribution

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 B bb n
EAI Manufacturing
Product Scheduling
Configuratio
Finance

FIGURE 2.2: Enterprise application integration software interconnects front-office and

back-office applications.

Transaction Processing Systems

Transaction processing systems (TPS) are cross-functional information
systems that process data resulting from the occurrence of business transactions.
Transactions are events that occur as part of doing business, such as sales,
purchases, deposits, withdrawals, refunds, and payments.

Transaction Processing Cycle

The transaction processing systems use a five stage cycles. They are:
1) Data Entry,
2) Transaction Processing,
3) Database Maintenance,
4) Document and Report Generation,
5) Inquiry Processing.
Data Entry
The first step of the transaction processing cycle is the capture of business
data. For example, transaction data may be collected by point-of-sale terminals
using optical scanning of bar codes and credit card readers at a retail store or other
business.

Transaction Processing
Transaction processing systems process data in two ways:
1) Batch processing, where transaction data are accumulated over
a period of time and processed periodically.

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 2) Real-time processing (online processing), where data are
processed immediately after a transaction occurs. All online
transaction processing systems incorporate real-time processing
capabilities.

Database Maintenance
An organization’s database must be updated by its transaction processing
systems so that they are always correct and up-to-date.

Document and Report Generation

Transaction processing systems produce a variety of documents and reports.
Examples of transaction documents include purchase orders, paychecks, sales
receipts, invoices, and customer statements.

Inquiry Processing
Many transaction processing systems allow you to use the Internet, intranets,
extranets, and Web browsers or database management query languages to make
inquiries and receive responses concerning the result of transaction processing
activity.

Transaction Document and

Data Entry Processing Report
Generation
Batch
Online/
Real-time

Inquiry
Processing

Database
Maintenance

FIGURE 2.3: The Transaction Processing Cycle.

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 Enterprise Collaboration Systems
The goal of enterprise collaboration systems is to enable us to work together
more easily and effectively by helping us to:
● Communicate: Share information with each other.
● Coordinate: Organize our individual work efforts & use of resources.
● Collaborate: Work together cooperatively on joint projects & assignments.

Tools for Enterprise Collaboration

Enterprise
Collaboration
Systems

Electronic Electronic
Collaborative Work
Communication Conferencing
Management Tools
Tools Tools

✓ E-mail. ✓Data Conferencing

✓Calendaring and
✓ Instant Messaging. ✓Voice Conferencing
Scheduling
✓ Voice Mail. ✓Video Conferencing ✓Task and
Project
✓ Faxing. ✓Discussion Forums.
Management
✓ Web Publishing. ✓Chat Systems ✓Workflow
Systems
✓ Paging. ✓Electronic Meeting Systems
✓Document Sharing
✓Knowledge Management

FIGURE 2.4 : Electronic communications conferencing, and collaborative work

Software tools enhance enterprise collaboration.

Functional Business System

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 It is a variety of types of information systems (transaction processing,
management information, decision support and so on) that support the business
functions of accounting, finance, marketing, operations management and human
resource management.

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 Marketing
Customer relationship
Productions/ management
Operations Interactive marketing

Sales force automation

Human
Manufacturing resource Resou
planning Compensation analysis
rce
Manufacturing execution Employee skills inventory
systems Mana
Personnel requirements forecasting
Process control geme

Functional nt

Business
Systems

Order processing Cash management

Inventory control Credit management
Accounts receivable Investment management
Accounts payable Capital budgeting
Payroll Financial forecasting
General ledger

FIGURE 2.5: Examples of functional business information systems.

Marketing Systems
The business function of marketing is concerned with planning, promotion,
and sale of existing products in existing markets, and the development of new products
and new markets to better attract and serve present and potential customers.
Marketing information systems provide information technologies that support major
components of the marketing function.

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 Marketing
Information Systems

Interactive Sales Force Customer Sales

Marketing Automation Relationship Management
Management

Advertising and Product

Market Research
Promotion Management
and Forecasting

FIGURE 2.6: Marketing Information Systems

Interactive Marketing
The term interactive marketing has been coined to describe a customer-focused
marketing process this is based on using the Internet, intranets, and extranets to
establish two-way transactions between a business and its customers or potential
customers.

Targeted Marketing
Targeted Marketing has become an important tool in developing advertising
and promotion strategies to strengthen a company’s e-commerce initiatives, as well as
its traditional business venues.
The Five Major components of Targeted marketing for electronic commerce are,
● Community
● Content
● Context
● Demographic/Psychographic
● Online Behavior

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 Targeted Marketing

✔ Community
Companies can customize their Web advertising messages and promotion
methods to appeal to people in specific communities.

✔ Content
Advertising, such as electronic billboards or banners, can be placed on a
variety of selected web sites, in addition to a company’s web sites. The content of
these messages is aimed at the targeted audience.

✔ Context
Advertising appears only in web pages that are relevant to the content of a
product or service.

✔ Demographic/Psychographic
Web marketing efforts can be aimed only at specific types or classes of
people such as unmarried, middle income, male college graduates.

✔ Online Behavior
Advertising and promotion efforts can be tailored to each visit to a site by
an individual.
Sales Force Automation
Computers and the internet are providing the basis for sales force automation. In
many companies, the sales force is being outfitted with notebook computers, web
browsers, and sales contract management software that connect them to marketing web
sites on the internet, extranets, and their company intranets.

Manufacturing Systems
Manufacturing information systems support the production/operations function
that includes all activities concerned with the planning and control of the processes
producing goods or services.

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 Computer-Integrated Manufacturing
A variety of manufacturing systems, many of them Web-enabled, are used to
support computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM).
● Simplify (reengineer) production processes, product designs, and factory
organization as a vital foundation to automation and integration.
● Automate production processes and the business functions that support
them with computers, machines and robots.
● Integrate all production and support processes using computer networks,
cross-functional business software, and other information technologies.
● Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) systems are those that automate
the production process.
● Manufacturing execution systems (MES) are performance-monitoring
information systems for factory floor operations.
● Process Control is the use of computers to control an ongoing physical process.
● Machine Control is the use of computers to control the actions of machines.
This is also popularly called numerical control.

Human Resource Systems

The human resource management (HRM) function involves recruitment,
placement, evaluation, compensation, and development of the employees of an
organization. The goal of human resource management is effective and efficient use of
the human resource of a company.
Human Resource Information Systems (HIRS) are designed to support:
1) Planning to meet the personnel needs of the business,
2) Development of employees to their full potential,
3) Control of all personnel policies and programs.

Accounting Systems
Accounting information systems are the oldest and most widely used information
systems in business. They record and report business transactions and other economic
events.
Computer-based accounting systems record and report the flow of funds through an
organization on a historical basis and produce important financial statements such as
balance sheets and income statements.
Operational accounting systems emphasize legal and historical record-keeping and
the production of accurate financial statements.

Common Business Accounting Systems

● Order Processing
Captures and processes customer orders and produces data for inventory
control and accounts receivable.

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 ● Inventory Control
Processes data reflecting changes in inventory and provides shipping and
reorder information.
● Accounts Receivable
Records amounts owed by customers and produces invoices, monthly
customer statements, and credit management reports.
● Accounts Payable
Records purchases from, amounts owed to, and payments to suppliers, and
produce cash management reports.
● Payroll
Records employee work and compensation data and produces paychecks
and other payroll documents and reports.
● General Ledger
Consolidates data from other accounting systems and produces the
periodic financial statements and reports of the business.
Online Accounting Systems
The interactive nature of online accounting systems calls for new forms of
transaction documents, procedures, and controls.

Financial Management Systems

Computer-based Financial management systems support business managers and
professionals in decisions concerning,

1) The financing of a business and

2) The allocation and control of financial resources within a business.

Information Systems
in Finance

Investment Capital Financial

Cash Management Management Budgeting Planning

FIGURE 2.7: Important Financial Management Systems.

Customer Relationship Management
Managing the full range of the customer relationship involves two related
objectives:

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 ● To provide the organization and all its customer-
facing employees with a single, complete view of every
customer at every touchpoint and across all channels.
● To provide the customer with a single, complete
view of the company and its extended channels.
The Three Phases of CRM
● Acquire
A business relies on CRM software tools and
databases to help it acquire new customers by doing a
superior job of contact management, sales
prospecting, selling, direct marketing, and fulfillment.
● Enhance
Web-enabled CRM account management and
customer service and support tools help keep
customers happy by supporting superior service from a
responsive networked team of sales and service
specialists & business partners.
● Retain
CRM analytical software and database help a
company proactively identify and reward its most loyal
and profitable customers to retain and expand their
business via targeted marketing and relationship
marketing programs.

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise resource planning is a cross-
functional enterprise system driven by an integrated suite of
software modules that supports the basic internal business
processes of a company. The Benefits and Challenges of ERP,
● Quality and efficiency,
● Decreased costs,
● Decision support,
● Enterprise agility.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Supply chain management is a cross-functional
interenterprise system that uses information technology to
help support and manage the links between some of a
company’s key business processes and those of its suppliers,
customers, and business partners.
The goal of SCM is to create a fast, efficient, and low-

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 cost network of business relationships, or supply chain, to get
a company’s products from concept to market.

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