Implementing SAP   Term Paper ID:33212 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Considers when a company would implement SAP, including a success story.... More...

5 Pages / 1125 Words 5 sources, 7 Citations, MLA Format $20.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Considers when a company would implement SAP, including a success story. ability of SAP toprovide a single access point for key information within an organization. Its product offerings. SAP as a comprehensive but complex product. Implementation of SAP. Paper Introduction: Implementing SAP Introduction For many years companies have sought specialized computer programs tooperate different aspects of an organization Manufacturing had its ownsystem accounting its own human resources its own and so forth Therehas been a move in recent years to integrate the information that isgenerated in each of these functional areas such as using sales forecaststo determine staffing levels based on manufacturing requirements but onlya few organizations have been able to bring such systems to fruition Moreoften companies struggle to have different Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. For companies that are not willing to make such arealignment, SAP can prove a costly misstep. There are costs and benefits associated with each of theseoptions, and companies in different situations will benefit from differentchoices (Lark 52). Implementing SAP Introduction For many years, companies have sought specialized computer programs tooperate different aspects of an organization. Retrieved from the Internet 12 August 2 4: http://www.sap.com/solutions/.Songini, Marc L. Moreoften, companies struggle to have different applications-often fromdifferent vendors-exchange information successfully and in a way that usersthroughout the organization can understand. When a company decides to implement SAP, it typically is not lookingfor "just" an accounting package or "just" an inventory control package.Instead, companies that consider SAP are looking for enterprise-widesolutions that can integrate information from disparate areas of thecompany into a single place and make that information available to usersthroughout the organization. Twoimplementations-one successful and one not-are also considered. Companies mustalso determine whether they are willing to take on the complexities of anSAP integration themselves, hire SAP Ag to handle the implementation, oruse a third-party that may combine expertise of SAP with specific industryknowledge. Companies that areconsidering moving to SAP from legacy systems need to understand thebusiness functions that are handled by their current systems, those thatare currently handled outside those systems, and whether it makes sense tointegrate those into a single SAP operating environment. Manufacturing had its ownsystem, accounting its own, human resources its own, and so forth. At the same time, the company has emphasizedgiving employees greater access to their own information on the system,again using SAP software to accomplish this, with the long-term goal ofimproving employee morale as well as employee productivity. Therehas been a move in recent years to integrate the information that isgenerated in each of these functional areas, such as using sales forecaststo determine staffing levels based on manufacturing requirements, but onlya few organizations have been able to bring such systems to fruition. At the time that SAP was implemented, some parts of the companyhad been sold off and the organization as a whole remained unprofitable.Wage levels were high, morale was low, and the company had numerous legacycomputer systems that were costly to maintain and that did not enhanceproductivity among the company's often far-flung branches. In addition, cultural changes and organizational changesare needed in order to ensure that the maximum benefit is received by thoseusing the software. "Goodyear Hits $1 m Bump With ERP System." Computerworld 37(Nov 3, 2 3): 13. SAP is complex and comprehensive, and one of itsdrawbacks until recently has been that companies needed to hire or contractwith SAP professionals in order to take full advantage of all of thecapabilities that it has to offer ("SAP Solutions" 1). In this way,SAP has brought about changes in the organizational culture at Thomas Cookwhich has enhanced the company's competitive edge in the marketplace(Cushing 14). Thomas Cook has resisted the temptation to become its own IT provider,and has instead contracted with a third-party, Accenture, to provide acentralized IT service center dedicated entirely to the Thomas Cookorganization. In themeantime, maintenance of these systems has been moved to India where thedevelopment costs are far less and where the legacy systems can bemaintained more economically (Cushing 14). What is SAP? The goal is to combinethese into useful business intelligence that will help the company refocusattention on the customer and regain what the company perceives to be alost customer orientation. SAP is a comprehensive suite of softwarethat encompasses nearly all of a company's operations. This research considers onetool, SAP, used in many different organizations around the world to providea single access point for key information within an organization. "Thomas Cook Starts to See Major Savings as IT-Driven Business Overhaul Takes Effect." Computer Weekly (June 3, 2 3): 14.Lark, Steve. There have also been spectacularsuccesses, including one company, Thomas Cook, crediting SAP with helpingit turn around its business. SAP AG. For companies that are willing to realigntheir business practices, SAP can be a powerful tool that can lead to acompetitive edge. Implementation Considerations Implementing SAP is not the same as implementing a standalone softwarepackage such as Microsoft Office. This is especially true in the case of software thatcan be as comprehensive as SAP and which can result in companies having tomake substantive changes in how they conduct business on a day-to-daybasis. Conclusion SAP offers suites of business software in three key areas, and isseeking to enhance the product so that it can be implemented and run bynontechnical users. There have been some implementation issues whencompanies have not realized that SAP requires that they rethink theirapproach to day-to-day operations. For many years, SAP has been consideredhighly complex requiring specialized expertise in order to be successful,but the company has recognized this perceived weakness and is now promotinga new approach which will allow non-technical users to make use of SAP'spower in order to gain access to information that they need, when they needit, in order to make better decisions (Rooney and Kenedy 29). Goodyear absolved the SAP software itselffrom being responsible for the accounting problems, and pointed to failedimplementation from the standpoint of not modifying its internal processesto accommodate the new software, and that the installation of the softwareitself was the problem, not the actual software (Songini 13). The goal is that eventually, the legacy systemsthat remain in operation at Thomas Cook will be phased out. Failure to make these changes, or to test systems adequately beforegoing live, can result in implementation failures similar to those atGoodyear, although often on a much smaller scale. Works CitedCushing, Karl. Successful Implementation of SAP Thomas Cook began an implementation of SAP in 2 1 that resulted indramatic savings that some observers credit with saving the troubledcompany. "Planning a SAP Project." Computer Weekly (Oct 14, 2 3): 52.Rooney, Paula and Kristen Kenedy. The new service center runs SAP software on SunMicrosystems servers. "SAP, Microsoft, Sun Bring Tools to the Masses." Computer Reseller News (Sep 29, 2 3): 29."SAP Solutions." (2 4). SAP can be placed on top of legacy systems and run inconjunction with those systems, or it can be implemented in an entirely SAP-only environment. SAP has product offerings for large companies, small companies andmost industries, and can run on a variety of platforms and across a varietyof systems. This was the first major aspect of the company tomigrate to SAP software. SAP AG is a German-based company that provides enterprise resourceplanning (ERP), customer resource management (CRM) and supply chainmanagement (SCM) software to companies around the world. The experience at Goodyear demonstrates that software implementationdepends on far more than just the program code that constitutes the corepart of software. Failed Implementation of SAP In late 2 3, Goodyear Tire and Rubber-one of the largest tire makersin the world-acknowledged that it would have to restate earnings back to1998 due to malfunctions of its internal accounting systems and a failedimplementation of SAP software. The company nowcredits the implementation of SAP with saving the organization £4 millionand helping the company realize a profit of £8 million (Cushing 14). The company is also embracing customer relation management softwarefrom SAP as well as data warehousing capabilities. It is powerful-capable of helping companies build business intelligence-but it is not easyto implement or to maintain in most situations. Hundreds of Thomas Cook employees are now employed at thisAccenture service center. The software iscomprehensive, combining data warehousing and enterprise-wide solutionswith comprehensive accounting and back-office solutions for companies, aswell. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

Many of our Papers can be Downloaded From This Site!

PLEASE READ THIS, IT IS IMPORTANT!

Office hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm (PST). You may place orders for custom research over the phone during office hours. E-mail requests can be made to our graduate and undergraduate department any time, and will be reviewed during office hours. You may also contact customer service any time through e-mail, and we will review your message during business hours. A great many papers can be downloaded right from this site, but not all of them. If you would like to know if a particular paper is downloadable, just look in the description for: "Available for Internet Download: Y" or "Available for Internet Download: N" If you wish to purchase a paper which is NOT available for immediate download, you will need to make other shipping arrangements. Also, please be aware that these orders are processed Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm (PST). If you place your order after 4:45pm on Friday, it will not be processed until the following Monday morning. We charge $8 per page for all of our pre-written reports, plus shipping (and tax for California residents). However, the highest cost of any ONE report is $136, or 17 pages. Please, take a moment. Make sure you have chosen the report you want or need BEFORE you complete your order. If you are not sure, allow us to help you. We do not offer refunds or exchanges, so it is important for you to let us answer your questions during office hours. Reports which are e-mailed or downloaded are in Microsoft Word format. We are making more reports available for e-mail delivery faster than we can update our listings. Please call to check on the status of particular reports. There are many other shipping options which are listed on the Checkout page.