ERP AND Supply Chain Management

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a coordinated approach to information management to improve customer service and productivity, and effectively manage costs and inventories. In today's highly competitive environment, businesses need effective forecasting, planning and scheduling, and customer service management. They need to hear the "voice of the customer" and design products and services to deliver customer satisfaction. An integrated system of information that treats the functional and different business units of a firm as a cohesive whole would help businesses and organizations alike to improve productivity and quality, and remain competitive. This book develops a scholarly and practical view of ERP by strategizing ERP. It views the failures of ERP project primarily from poor implementation strategies and the lack of involvement of people - the most important asset of any organization. It expands the discussion on ERP by exploring how ERP could improve the efficiency of all business processes. It looks specifically into the functions, and relations of ERP to effective Supply Chain Management (SCM), collaborative forecasting and planning, customer relationship management, product life cycle management, e-procurement and e-business operations. This book is not about ERP software development but rather about the effective management of ERP-based operations and supply chain management systems. It is developed as a foundation or basic book in ERP to be used primarily for teaching introductory classes on ERP and for introducing managers to the basics of ERP/SCM and the role of ERP/SCM in achieving organizational effectiveness and competitiveness. It will serve as a good resource for managers of organizations thinking about adopting ERP/SCM software or training programs.