Individual Assignment HS2041 Enterprise Systems

Individual Assignment
HS2041 Enterprise Systems
Trimester 2 2017
Date Due: Friday Week 8 by 5:00 PM
Marks: Weighting 10%
Student Name (Block letters) Student Number:
___________________________ _____________
HOLMES
INSTITUTE
FACULTY OF
HIGHER
EDUCATION
HS2041 Enterprise Systems – Trimester 2 2017 1
Assignment Description: In this assignment you need to read a case study on
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation and answer three questions. This
assignment will let you define and describe the evaluation of Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) systems. It will also let you examine and judge the role of EPR and
their adoption process in organization. Most importantly, you will learn to analyse and
develop arguments organisation’s ERP selection, planning, implementation and
ongoing support phases. Student will also argue about the roles of key stakeholders in
an organisation’s ERP selection, planning, implementation, adoption and ongoing
support phases.
Assignment requirements:
You need to read the case study on ‘IGT ERP Implementation’ and answer the
following questions:
 What are the key goals IGT wanted to achieve using an ERP system?
 Discuss the pros and cons to customising the system.
 How should IGT handle change management during ERP implementation?
Answers to the three questions can be presented in a Question Answer style. A formal
business report structure is not required.
Word limit for this assignment is 1000 –1500 words
Marking Guide:
Assessment Components Description of the section
Define and describe Students are able to define and describe Enterprise
Resource Planning systems (ERPs).
Examine and judge They can examine and judge of the role of ERPs in
organisations and evaluate their adoption and use
characteristics.
Analyse and develop
arguments
Quality of arguments in relation to an organisation’s ERP
selection, planning, implementation and ongoing support
phases.
Describe and critically
analyse
Analytical capability of the roles of key stakeholders in an
organisation’s ERP selection, planning, implementation,
adoption and ongoing support phases.
Assignment Submission:
Assignment Date Due: Friday Week 8 by 5:00 PM
Assignment Submission Guideline: Please submit your assignment as a Word
document or PDF file on Blackboard.
HS2041 Enterprise Systems – Trimester 2 2017 2
Case Study: IGT ERP implementation
International Game Technology, a maker of slot machines, uses an enterprise resource
planning system to tilt the odds in its favour by cutting production turnarounds and
streamlining staff access to company information.
At A Glance: IGT
Headquarters: 9295 Prototype Drive, Reno, NV 89521
Phone: (775) 448-7777
URL: www.igt.com
Business: Designs and manufactures slot and gaming machines for casinos and
government lotteries.
Technology Chief: Rayleen Cudworth, vice president of information systems
Financials in 2005: Revenue of $2.4 billion; net income of $437 million
In 2002, International Game Technology (IGT), a leading manufacturer of slot
machines and lottery machines, depended on several different systems to manage its
sales, customer orders, manufacturing and accounting. When an executive, sales
manager or production staffer wanted to learn the status of a particular order, there was
no single system he or she could go to—each functional area had its own system that
contained a different piece of information about that order.
This dependency on a host of applications by different functional groups was common
among large manufacturers until the mid- to late 1990s. Keeping all of these systems
connected and talking to each other was an onerous, if not Sisyphean task for those
assigned to information systems.
By 2000, many companies had begun scrapping these older systems in favour of a
single core, or “backbone,” information management system. Evolving out of what had
once been called material requirements planning (MRP), this new software package
was dubbed enterprise resource planning (ERP). It consisted of a set of core business
applications, including finance, manufacturing, distribution and human resources, all
linked together for the first time.
Although it was a little late to the ERP party, IGT was in many ways typical of
companies that adopted the enterprise technology. For one thing, the company
desperately needed a more cohesive information technology infrastructure that would
allow for growth. And, similar to many manufacturers, IGT had lots of business
information contained in applications that lacked smooth integration.
IGT’s accounting department wanted one system to do all the accounting, but IGT’s
management was concerned that if accounting started buying its own software, all other
departments would follow. It would be more sensible to acquire a full ERP system.
Emphasizing that the project was undertaken for business reasons and not simply to
upgrade the technology, the company assigned a project team that established a set of
HS2041 Enterprise Systems – Trimester 2 2017 3
desired business functionality. The team then looked at competing ERP packages from
JD Edwards, Oracle and SAP.
At the end of the day, SAP won out, being the best fit with the least amount of business
gap. The finance and accounting system of SAP covered a gap we had. The financialconsolidations
and foreign currency modules were much better than the other ERP
systems.”
In 2003, following a 2_-year implementation effort, IGT converted to a SAP enterprise
resource planning system. By using SAP R/3 version 4.6, IGT was able to integrate its
three major business functions—finance, manufacturing and product development—
through this common information platform. The company typifies many large
manufacturing companies that depend on an ERP system such as SAP or Oracle for
front-office applications that connect with existing plant-based control systems.
As has been the case at most of the thousands of manufacturers that have installed ERP
systems over the last 15 years, IGT found it necessary to change some of its business
processes to accommodate the new technology.
Even though SAP had a flexible product configuration engine that allowed
manufacturers to build to order, IGT had to revamp its order process to accommodate
the way the software works. “The greatest change in the order process was not releasing
a sales order to the production schedule until two weeks before the build,” commented
by IGT. Also, more emphasis was placed on the quoting process to get a better-quality
sales order up front, she says.
There were benefits on the plant floor as well. Operations employees now can get
manufacturing process sheets online at their workstations. At each step, the ERP system
helps foster process gains through the discipline it requires. Employees who might
before have been able to cut a corner on a particular process now get stopped by the
system. The discipline enforced by the software in effect forces workers to do things
the right way. The end result is fewer errors and higher yields due to more efficient
processes. As an example, the company was able to establish a quick-turnaround
process enabling rush orders to be handled in four weeks instead of seven to eight.
IGT manufactures 140,000 machines annually at its Reno site alone. The company also
operates factories in Las Vegas and Manchester, England. The SAP system is used to
connect the company’s operations worldwide, integrating customer orders, document
management and new product development.
On the factory floor, IGT continued to use its homegrown factory control system,
integrating it into SAP. The company already had experience with integrating the
factory control system with its old MRP system, Cudworth says, “and we knew the data
it required. This interface wasn’t any more challenging than any other.”
The factory control system coordinates the delivery of materials to the production line
at the proper location and time. Meshing it with ERP allows IGT customer order staff
to find out exactly which machines were built and at which plant locations. IGT also
uses SAP’s project management system to monitor costs and design changes in
HS2041 Enterprise Systems – Trimester 2 2017 4
developing and launching new products, such as its EZ Pay “cashless” feature—with
winners paid off in redeemable or reusable tickets—introduced on many gaming
machines starting in 2003.
IGT management commented: “SAP has a great configuration product, but getting all
that information into the system was not an easy task. SAP is customizable, but we
didn’t have all the unique aspects of our products documented. And you can’t test every
single configuration. That was the biggest challenge.” The company overcame this
challenge by assembling a team of people from the order group and engineering
department, and assigning them the task of customizing the system to accommodate the
company’s complex bill of materials for its various product lines.
Similar to most large manufacturers, IGT has installed other technologies in its
manufacturing and shipping areas to boost efficiency and throughput. For instance, the
company revamped its warehouse management process so that parts are delivered to
the assembly line faster, with employees using handheld radio frequency readers to pick
and deliver various parts and subassemblies to the production line
While IGT struggled a bit to adapt SAP’s ERP system, the company has seen significant
improvements as a result of the shift to the newer enterprise-wide technology.