Unit – 4 : Enterprise applications in business

What is ERP?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a business management software system that is

designed to manage and streamline an organization’s functions, processes and
workflows with automation and integration.

ERP modules and features

ERP systems are based on various different modules that are there to support specific
business processes. There are a select number of modules that are foundational to an
ERP system and there are third-party applications to access additional features. Some
of the most popular modules are listed below and give you deployment options.

Finance and accounting: The finance and accounting module is often most important to
many ERP systems. The main purpose of this module is to help businesses understand
their financial outlook and analyze the whole business. The main features of this module
are tracking accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR), while also closing the
books efficiently and generating financial reports and pricing. This module can automate
tasks related to billing and stores crucial financial information for your business, such as
vendor payments, cash management and account reconciliation. It also provides clear
metrics to a company and can aid in production planning operations.

Procurement: The procurement module, or purchasing module, helps businesses

source materials and services they need to manufacture their goods. This module helps
automate purchasing, along with tracking and analyzing any incoming quotes. With the
procurement module, companies can maintain a list of vendors and tie suppliers to
certain items, which can in turn forsters good supplier relationship.

Manufacturing: The manufacturing module, often referred to as a manufacturing

execution system, is a vital planning and execution component to ERP software. The
module helps manufacturers plan out production and secures everything needed for
production. A manufacturing module can update the status of goods-in-progress, along
with providing real-time information for items in progress or finished goods. The module
also typically includes material requirements planning (MRP) solutions, which was the
original manufacturing system of toolmaker Black and Decker.

Sales: The sales module is responsible for keeping an open line of communication to
customers and prospective customers. It can use data-driven insights to increase sales
and make targeted decisions and assist with invoicing when it comes to promotions or
upselling opportunities. Other features, including supply chain solutions, offer helpful
inventory management and order management include dashboards, greater business
intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) technology.
Customer relationship management: The Customer relationship management (CRM)
module, or service module, helps companies deliver exceptional service. By storing
customer information, such as previous calls, emails and purchase history, a business
has the data it needs to better serve current and future customers. This module makes
it easy for staff to access the required information when a customer comes in and sees
that staff create a customer-specific experience thanks to the data saved from the ERP
software.

Human resources management: The human resources module maintains basic

capabilities, such as time, attendance and payroll. This module maintains data on all
employees and stores documents that pertain to each of those employees, such as a
performance review or job description. If a company wants, it can have an entire Human
capital management (HCM) suite and connect it to ERP to deliver even stronger HR
functionality.
CRM in business

Customer relationship management (CRM) includes the principles, practices, and

guidelines that an organization follows when interacting with its customers.

CRM is often used to refer to technology companies and systems that help manage
external interactions with customers.
Types of CRM

Today, many comprehensive CRM platforms integrate all parts of the customer
relationship that the business may have. However, some CRMs are still designed to
target a specific aspect of it:

Sales CRM: to drive sales and increase the pipeline of new customers and prospects.
Emphasis is placed on the sales cycle from tracking leads to closing deals.
Marketing CRM: to build, automate, and track marketing campaigns (especially online
or via email), including identifying targeted customer segments. These CRMs provide
real-time statistics and can use A/B testing to optimize strategies.

Service CRM: integrated dedicated customer service support with sales and marketing.
This often features multiple contact points, including responsive online chat, mobile,
email, and social media.

Collaborative CRM: encourages the sharing of customer data across business

segments and among teams to improve efficiency and communication and work
seamlessly together.
Small Business CRM: optimized for smaller businesses with fewer customers, to give
those customers the best possible experience. These systems are often much simpler,
intuitive, and less expensive to implement than enterprise CRM.

8 Essential CRM Features

Choosing a CRM system can be confusing because not all CRMs are the same, and
each offers vastly different features compared to its contemporaries. So, if you’re
looking to buy a CRM, but can’t decide, this section will help you understand the eight
essential features you need in a CRM software.

1. Contact Management

All the essential information related to a lead/customer’s contact such as their name,
email address, phone number, work details, past communications, etc. should be easily
accessible and modifiable.

2. Lead Management

Keeping track of leads can often be tedious if you’re still relying on spreadsheets or
other incompatible tools. The lead management Opens a new window feature gives you
an overview of your leads with their status, lead score, etc. By clicking on an entry, you
can view their profile, recent activities on your website, prior communication,
complaints, and so on.

3. Pipeline Management

The pipeline management feature gives you a visual representation of your current
leads and deals. The deals are segregated according to the stage of the sales pipeline.
This makes it easy for salespeople to understand the status of each lead and helps
them decide which leads to pursue.

4. Sales Automation

The sales department is possibly already taxed with too much work. The addition of
repetitive administrative tasks such as sending invoices or following-up with a cold lead
can negatively impact their productivity.

With the sales automation feature, salespeople can automate repetitive tasks so that
they can focus on hitting the sales target. Automation workflows are initialized based on
triggers or rules. For example, if a lead hasn’t replied after three days, the follow-up
workflow will be activated wherein a reminder email will be automatically sent to the
contact.

5. Sales Forecasting
A CRM tool processes tons of data daily. The sales forecasting feature uses this data to
predict future sales. This way, salespeople can get an approximate understanding of
their pipeline and how efficiently they can push sales. Salespeople can effectively use
this information and convert hot leads.

6. File Storage and Sharing

Rather than relying on external file storage applications, salespeople can store
important and frequently required files such as quotes, feature sheets, sales scripts, etc.
in a centralized repository and share them with co-workers instantly.

7. Email Management

You can integrate your email with CRM so that you don’t have to jump between multiple
tabs to send an email. With the email management feature, you can send emails right
from the CRM interface, mark the status of the lead, mention a remark, and prioritize
emails. This way, you won’t miss out on connecting with any of your leads.
8. Reporting and Analytics

This feature summarizes sales performance in a single dashboard. You can customize
or create new types of reports based on your requirements and export them in different
formats.
Supply chain planning:

Supply chain planning optimizes the manufacturing and delivery of goods – from raw
materials to finished products, and from suppliers all the way to customers. Essentially,
it’s a demand-driven balancing act between shortage and surplus.

It involves setting up production schedules to meet demand and coordinating with

suppliers to schedule plant production runs. For example, a manufacturer may set up a
production schedule based on raw material and labor availability, known as
manufacturing resource planning (MRP). MRP is a computerized system that schedules
resources to meet demand.

Plan Transportation

Plan the transportation of goods from the supplier to the manufacturer and from the
manufacturer to the customer. This requires selecting carriers, coordinating with multiple
carriers, and determining the most efficient modes and routes to get the product where
it needs to be when it needs to be there.

Manage Inventory
Inventory management involves allocating space and other containers required for
storing materials in a distribution centre. It determines the optimal inventory levels to
maintain for production schedules’

A key component of inventory planning is understanding what drives demand for an

item. Inventory monitoring is automated to identify trends in the market, order patterns,
and sales history. This information determines how much product should be acquired to
have sufficient supplies before selling at the optimum price.

Monitor and Adjust the Plan

The supply chain management planning process is ongoing, and the plan may need to
be adjusted as market conditions change or new information becomes available.
Regularly review and update the supply plan to ensure that it remains effective.
SCM planning best practices:

Collaborate With Suppliers

Establish strong relationships with your suppliers and work with them to ensure a
consistent and reliable flow of goods. To communicate with suppliers effectively, you
should use a single system to request, track, and manage all customer requests.

Use Technology to Improve Supply Planning

Use technology to support and improve the supply plan. You can use various software
applications, such as inventory management systems or sales forecasting software, to
track inventory levels, delivery schedules, and other key performance metrics.

Implement Demand Forecasting

Demand forecasting involves assessing market trends to determine the anticipated level
of demand for your product. It helps set production volumes, track product introduction
schedules, and plan for future on-hand inventory levels. Use real-time data and
analytics to anticipate demand and plan accordingly to help avoid shortages or
overstocking.

Build Flexibility Into Your Supply Chain

While the supply chain is your customer’s lifeline to product availability, you must ensure
it is flexible enough to meet changing needs. The components of your supply chain
should include various elements that enable production in different quantities at different
locations.
Ethical, political and social issues in IS:
Information technology is introducing changes for which laws and rules of acceptable
conduct have not yet been developed. Increasing computing power, storage, and
networking capabilities—including the Internet—expand the reach individual and
organizational actions and magnify their impacts. The ease and anonymity with which
information is now communicated, copied, and manipulated in online environments
pose new challenges to the protection of privacy and intellectual property. The main
ethical, social, and political issue raised by information systems centre around
information rights and obligations, property rights and obligations, accountability and
control, system quality, and quality of life.

1.Ethical issues: Intellectual property rights, electronic monitoring of employees and

data utilization;

2.Cultural issues: Assimilation of emerging technologies, developing trust, power

asymmetry, policy implementation, and social environments;

3.Human interaction issues: recruitment and retainment of technical personnel,

motivation, leadership, social presence, and organizational champions of information
systems;

4.Relationship issues: development partnerships, virtual teams, group cohesiveness,

collaboration, group facilitation, networking, and buyer-supplier linkages;
5.Security issues: misuse of data, virus/worm creation, Intranet abuse, data protection,
fraud with systems use, and standards and regulations.
Five Moral Dimensions of the Information Age

The major ethical, social, and political issues raised by information systems include the
following moral dimensions:
Information rights and obligations. What information rights do individuals and
organizations possess with respect to information about themselves? What can they
protect? What obligations do individuals and organizations have concerning this
information?

Property rights and obligations. How will traditional intellectual property rights be
protected in a digital society in which tracing and accounting for ownership are difficult
and ignoring such property rights is so easy?

Accountability and control. Who can and will be held accountable and liable for the harm
done to individual and collective information and property rights?

System quality. What standards of data and system quality should we demand to
protect individual rights and the safety of society?
Quality of life. What values should be preserved in an information-and knowledge-based
society? Which institutions should we protect from violation? Which cultural values and
practices are supported by the new information technology?
Phases of system development

When managing or operating within a system development life cycle, it’s beneficial to
know the phases involved. Some companies or teams may modify this structure to
combine one or more phases, but a common structure for a system development life
cycle includes:

1. Planning

Planning helps systems engineers and developers identify whether a new system can
help a business achieve its strategic objectives. A preliminary plan, sometimes called a
feasibility study, can allow development teams to outline the resources they need to
build new infrastructure or upgrade existing services. This life cycle phase helps teams
discover potential problems and work toward solutions.

2. Systems analysis

The systems analysis phase is less theoretical and focuses more on practical
application. This allows you to perform a functional assessment and finalize the client’s
or users’ needs for the system In development. This confirms that plans satisfy all
mandatory objectives before progressing to future steps.

A company may use a variety of tools during this analysis period. This may include
internally developed systems and public or commercial software and analysis
methodologies. The information gathered during this phase may allow the company to
make alterations, if needed, before beginning design and development.
3. Systems design

During the system’s design phase, you and your team complete the detailed planning of
the system you’re developing. This includes identifying any key components and
defining the structure of the system.
This is an important step because it allows you to create the infrastructure for your
development project. High-quality work during this phase provides a foundation for
further development and creates an opportunity for success for yourself and others
working on the team.

4. Development

During development, you begin the functional creation of the new system. This provides
the first opportunity for practical assessment of the system as it develops. This also
allows for the identification of any potential flaws in the development or the planning
process.

5. Systems testing and integration

Testing during development and before formal release is an important step for
maintaining the quality of a project. The systems testing and integration phase allows
you to perform quality control by testing your components against expectations and
assessing their ability to integrate with any software related to your system
development. If necessary, you may apply updates to your plans and execution to raise
the overall quality

6. Implementation

The implementation phase is your opportunity to introduce the developed system to the
end users. This may include a commercial release for a product manufactured for
outside sale or implementation within an organization for internally developed systems.
You may also choose to do so using a limited release, such as internal or closed beta
testing, in which you grant access to a smaller population than your ultimate goal.

7. Operation and maintenance

The operation and maintenance phase occurs during the effective use of the product by
end users. Providing updates and adjustments to the software system after release
allows you to alter it to better match the needs of users. You may also respond to any
errors that occur and alter the system to account for any other issues.
What are new approaches for system building in the digital firm era?

1. Rapid Application Development (RAD), Agile Development, and DevOps

The term rapid application development (RAD) refers to the process of creating
workable systems in a very short period of time with some flexibility to adapt as a
project evolves. RAD includes the use of visual programming and other tools for
building graphical user interfaces, iterative prototyping of key system elements,
automation of program code generation, and close teamwork among end users and
information systems specialists

2. Component-Based Development and Web Services

We have already described some of the benefits of object-oriented develop-ment for

building systems that can respond to rapidly changing business en-vironments,
including web applications. To further expedite software creation, groups of objects have
been assembled to provide software components for common functions such as a
graphical user interface or online ordering ca-pability that can be combined to create
large-scale business applications.
 3. Mobile Application Development: Designing for a Multiscreen World
Today, employees and customers expect, and even demand, to be able to use a
mobile device of their choice to obtain information or perform a transaction
anywhere and at any time. To meet these needs, companies will need to
de-velop mobile websites, mobile apps, and native apps as well as traditional
infor-mation systems.

A mobile web app Is an Internet-enabled app with specific functionality for mobile
devices. Users access mobile web apps through their mobile device’s web browser. The
web app resides primarily on a server, is accessed via the Internet, and doesn’t need to
be installed on the device. The same application can be used by most devices that can
surf the web, regardless of their brand.

A native app Is a standalone application designed to run on a specific plat-form and

device. The native app is installed directly on a mobile device. Native apps can connect
to the Internet to download and upload data, and they can also operate on these data
even when not connected to the Internet. For exam-ple, an e-book reading app such as
Kindle software can download a book from the Internet, disconnect from the Internet,
and present the book for reading. Native mobile apps provide fast performance and a
high degree of reliability. They are also able to take advantage of a mobile device’s
particular capabilities, such as its camera or touch features. However, native apps are
expensive to develop because multiple versions of an app must be programmed for
different mobile operating systems and hardware.
Global E – business and collaboration: