Business Process

Discuss About The Business Intelligence Enterprise Resource?

SIS is the acronym for the term Strategy Information System which is concerned with the mechanisms and tools that combine a business technology with strategic planning for the development of a structure. This modified organizational structure will aid the business entity in executing the better pans and also will help in attaining the desired objectives. Moreover, this concept will also influence and bring better and improved responses to the changing marketing trends. On the basis of the research conducted it has been concluded that the concept of SIS was introduced in early 1980’s and by the time has become more advanced with the emergence of the revolutionary concepts, that are modernization and globalization (Altamony et al., 2016). The below executed report has been made focused on the concept of ERP and also the utilization of the same in the business organization has been described. ERP is the acronym for enterprise resource planning. The concept is concerned with software which is business process software which enables the business entity for utilizing the mechanism or integrated applications for managing the varied range of functionalities and operations related to the technology, human resources and other services. Moreover, the software of ERP is concerned with the integrating all the facets of functionality or an operation which includes the product planning and development, manufacturing, sales and marketing. This all is done in a single database, application and user interface. The below executed report has been analyzed on the strategic information system of Apple Inc. which is a multination brand name in the sector of consumer electronics, consumer software’s and online services. The analysis has been summarized on the ERP system which has been adopted by the business corporation and the main objective of the brand is to automate all the operations and functionalities under a single system (Aslan, Stevenson and Hendry, 2015).

The concept of business process can be termed as the integration of the linked tasks and this concept ends after delivering the goods and services to the consumer. Moreover, te business process can also be defied as the set of activities and operations which after completion will aid in attaining the organizational objectives (Cao, Nicolaou and Bhattacharya, 2013). There are differences observed in the business processes of each and every organization being in the same sector. The business corporations adopt distinct range of business operations which aid in attaining the competitive advantage. Apple Inc. is a multinational brand name and involved in manufacturing of consumer electronic goods, software’s and online services. The business entity deals in varied range of products and services. IPhone, iPod, iPod, are some of the name which are considered as the most premium and well-known products of the business corporation. As the business organization has been dealing in the varied range of products there are numerous business process which are executed within the organizational structure (Chofreh et al., 2014). And for managing and maintaining these various business process and operations Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) has been considered as the most liable and relevant system. The below mentioned are the operations which are executed within Apple Inc.

• Research & Development is the section which is involved in designing and developing existing products more operative and efficient.
• Developing the products as per the requirements so as to enhance the consumer satisfaction.
• Purchase of spare parts, raw materials and other essentials is done by the purchase department.
• Marketing and promotions of each and every product for creating awareness in the market is executed by the marketing and advertising department.

Development of Business Requirement

For managing all the above operations and business process the business entity has adopted ERP system. This system will aid he business entity by offering an ease to the operational activities within the workplace. For instance, if the production manager is expecting to have a look over all the purchase transactions, then by making use of the ERP system the manager can have access over the required content (Costa et al., 2016). Moreover, he will also be able to see all the other associated transactions with purchases. The access is also provided t the senior authorities and managerial staff so as to maintain the safety of the database. As this system contains confidential details of all the clients, consumers, vendors etc. and which if mis-used will be proven harmful for the business corporation.

In order to fulfill the requirements of the enterprise resource planning in the organizational structure is done so as to develop an effectiveness and efficiency in the operations and functionalities and for doing this an evaluation is required to be executed (Eden, Sedera and Tan, 2014). The ERP system has been proven very much beneficial for Apple Inc. in the attainment of the organizational goals and targets and this has also enhanced the chances of expansion of the business operations to global markets. Moreover, this system aids the business corporation in attaining a high brand equity in the global markets and as well as it also helps in sustaining and attaining a competitive advantage. The system is every much helpful in bringing reduction in various expenses, for instance, production expenses will be minimized to an extent which will have a positive impact over the demand of products and services. Apart from this there will be an enhancement in the efficiency which will in-turn lead to an increase in the profitability of the organization. Furthermore, it has been observed that before the implementation process of this system, all the operational activities were managed in an appropriate manner. A head authority was appointed who was held liable for monitoring the performance of the entire departments within the organizational structure (Garg and Garg, 2013). This system was proven time consuming and also was found to fail while resolving the issues if any. And this was the main reason for the adoption of ERP system.

On the basis of the conducted research it has been noted that there is a long list of the requirements of ERP which are expected to be fulfilled before making the implementation of the enterprise resource planning system within the organizational structure (Ha and Ahn, 2014). The below mentioned are the requirements which are required to be essentially fulfilled by Apple Inc. so as to adopt this system:

Determination of System’s Requirements

Financial & Accounting: This term has been considered as the key requirement of this system because these are the only operations which are executed on daily basis and involves various complex transactions and steps which require huge efforts. By making use of the ERP system, these complex procedures and transactions will be converted into easier one. This will also minimize the efforts exerted by the workforce (Hoch and Dulebohn, 2013). This system will also aid the organization by saving time at the end of the year, as at the time of closing the accounts this system will help in extracting the data automatically.

Material Management: The implementation or the adoption of the ERP system, will aid the business entity in managing the materials which are essentially required for processing any type of business process. Managing the materials within the organization is considered as a crucial task and requires the employees to possess skills and professional capabilities (Hunton, McEwen and Wier, 2015). Moreover, addition skills are required while resolving the issues such as accurate recording of the available inventory, recording of purchased materials etc. For performing this business process the business entity is required to have an adequate number of workforce, And by making use of the enterprise resource planning the entity will be aiding the workforce as it will provide an ease to the task. For instance, the ERP system scans and records the details of the bar-codes which are pasted on each and every product (Kermani and Rouhani, 2014). This will keep a proper record of each and every product and will develop a proper management of the material.

Production management: On the basis of the executed survey it has been observed that the business organization essentially requires a professionally working production system so as to fulfil the demands of the consumers (Kurbel, 2016). Enterprise planning resource system is the mechanism which comprises of various ranges of operations which will be aiding the business corporation in analysing the demands and requirements of the market and will assist the entity in developing the same products. Moreover, the enterprise resource planning system will also help Apple Inc. in managing the production and other related procedures which will be proven beneficial for the business entity.

The process of selection of appropriate software and also of the vendor through which software will be purchased is a critical task for the business entity (Leon, 2014). And for doing the same the business organization is required to create evaluation for the requirements of the corporation. It is must for the entity to make adoption of adequate set of software in the workplace so as to attain effective results. An appropriate adoption of the software will also enable the business entity to perform even faster and there will be less chances of occurrence of errors. The workforce wills also e required to possess required skills and potential so as to operate the system and the related functionalities (Nah and Tan, 2015). Implementation of automated systems will also aid the business corporation in offering the efficiency and effectiveness in the operations which in-turn will enhance the satisfaction level of the consumers and the clients. Whereas, inferior quality or pirated software used by the firm will lead the entity in development of various issues and which will be proven harmful for the business (Nofal and Yusof, 2013). For instance, leakage and misuse of confidential data, confidential database of the corporation etc. are some examples which will be proven harmful for the business organization.

The same criteria should be followed by the business organization while making the selection for purchasing the software (Seo, 2013). A proper analysis of the market should be executed as a genuine vendor will offer appropriate services and which will enable the business entity to offer the same services to the consumers and clients.

Enterprise resource planning is the mechanism which can be considered as liable in enhancing the performance level which will contribute to the growth and success of the firm. As mentioned above Apple Inc.is a multinational manufacturing organization which has been involved in dealing in consumer electronic goods and other related services (Shaul and Tauber, 2013). And there are number of mechanism available within the market which will assist in providing an ease to the business operations and the best example for the same is the Enterprise Resource Planning. The business entity has adopted the mentioned system as per the organizational structure so as to attain the objectives and targets of the business entity. The below mentioned are some of aids which are offered by the utilizing the enterprise resource planning system.

A greater range of efficiency will be offered in the operations like inventory management, resource planning etc. As maintaining the huge inventories and the vast workforce is a crucial task and should be done with an adequacy (Shen, Chen and Wang, 2016).

Moreover, the adoption of the enterprise resource planning system in Apple Inc. will also aid the entity in determining the payroll of the workforce. An ease will be provided to this task and which will enhance the efficiency and performance level of the operations and also of the firm.

This system will also aid the business entity in the financial and accounting operations which are considered as the most complex transactions and operations within the business organization (Galliers and Leidner, 2014). There will be chances of errors in case of manual recording and formation of the financial statements. And in this case ERP system will be proven as the perfect solution for the problems.

The determination of the level of efficiency attained by the implementation of the enterprise resource planning system could be done by comparing the variables such as effectiveness, growth rate and the profitability with that of the earlier one. It has been estimated that a level up in the efficiency will only be considered after when the minimum rate of the net profits will be hiked to a level of 25% (Peppard and Ward, 2016). This has been considered as the minimum rate for the level up in the efficiency.

A hike will be observed in the organizational graph of growth and strength and this will be possible after the implementation of the enterprise resource planning system. And this change will be developed due to the improvements brought in the business operations due to the adoption of the mentioned system. There is an enhancement in the performance level as the tasks were earlier performed manually which consumed more time and money. Moreover, there will be less chances of error as compared in the case of manually performed tasks (Haux et al., 2013). Also the adoption of ERP system will also aid the business organization in attaining the organizational goals.

There are various risk factors which are available and impose severe damages to the business corporations and for tackling the same organization is required to adopt the policies and strategies such as ERP. The below mentioned are some of the risk factor which can have negative impacts over the organizational structure of Apple Inc.:

Customization of the ERP system can be considered as the first and the foremost risk variable which is involved while implementing the Enterprise Resource Planning system (Laudon and Laudon, 2013). The business organization develops the Enterprise Resource Planning system as per the requirements of the operations and the working structure of the entity rather that adopting the latest available systems in the market. This all will aid the business entity in attaining the competitive advantage. There is also another problem in the customization of the system, as the vendor won’t be able to serve the organization with the after sale services. This will lead to problems as the quires will be marked as unsolved and the clients will be unsatisfied which will be treated as big problem for the entity.

Adoption of wrong vendor or wrong software can also be considered as another risk factor in the process of implementation of the enterprise resource planning system. Implementation of wrong vendor and pirated or in-appropriate software will lead the business corporation to suffer with the loss of confidential data of the clients and the other empirical aspects of the organization. This issue can be a big problem as the competitors can make wrong use of the information and which will be proven harmful for the entity.

The below mentioned are the control measures which are required to be essentially adopted by Apple Inc. for the risk factors involved in the ERP system.

As ERP system has been modified and digitalized which consists of certain software as per the requirements of the organization. Security of the software of the software and the data which is stored in the system and by adapting this measure the business entity will safeguarding the data which is marked as empirical source for all the business operations (Rainer et al., 2013). Risk impact is another issue which is considered as significant and Ignorance of risk, acceptance of risk and the transfer of risk are the three measures through which the business entity will be bringing a minimization in the impact over the organization’s performance.

• Ignorance of risk has been considered as the first step of the procedure in which the risks are ignored to an extent and till the time it does not impose any negative impacts over the performance of the business entity. In case of Apple Inc. one worker within production team is on strike due to non-fulfillment of the demands. Ignorance can be made possible in this case as absence of one employee will not have any impacts over the performance of the firm.
• Acceptance of risk has been considered as the second phase of the process which involves the business corporation to accept the risk variables. And this is done so as to avoid the greater impact over the productivity of the entity. For instance, if a group or union of workforce is on strike then it will negatively impact the firm.
• And the last part of the process is the transfer of risk, which involves the corporation to make transfer of risk to the third party and payment is made to the party for bearing and tackling the risk factor.

Conclusion

In the limelight of the above executed analysis it has been concluded that the due to modernization, globalization and intensification in the competitive environment the business corporations are required to undergo various up-gradations and modifications. Implementation of ERP system within the organizational structure is one of the automation which is essentially required to be done by the business entity. Apple Inc. is the multinational corporation who has implemented this system for enhancing and bringing developments in the business processes and operations.

References

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