ERP Systems

ERP systems are packaged software systems that

• Automates and integrates business processes
• Shares common data and practices across the entire enterprise
• Produces and accesses information in a realtime environment
  

(Deloitte Consulting 1999)

What is ERP?
ERP (Enterprise resource planning) represents an expanded effort to integrate standardized recordkeeping that will permit information sharing among different areas of an organization in order to manage the system more effectively.

Why ERP Systems?
Organizations today confront new markets, new competition and increasing customer expectations. Along with those scenarios, organizations have moved into a time of slow growth and smaller profit margins. This has put a tremendous demand on organizations to:
• Lower total costs in the complete supply chain
• Shorten throughput times
• Reduce stock to a minimum
• Improve Product quality
• Provide more reliable delivery dates and better service to the customer
• Efficiently coordinate demand, supply and production

Advantages of using ERP
• Reduced redundancy in entering data
• Allow everyone to share same source of info
• Allow everyone to access same source info
• Allow everyone to see and update instantly
• Identify problem more quickly
• Create single version about financial, revenue and sales numbers to CEO and BOD
• Allow standardization of business processes
• Allow standardization of enterprise's info

Disadvantages of ERP
• Takes a lot of effort and time
• Difficult to implement the system
• Very expensive
• Requires a lot of training

Understanding Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions

Audit of ERP Systems

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a category of software used for planning and management of resources in an enterprise. It can be used to manage whole business processes, integrating purchasing, inventory, personnel, customer service, shipping, financial management and other aspects of the business. An ERP system typically is based on a common database and comes with modules of various integrated business process and business analysis tools.

The Gartner Group has identified some specific concerns of management regarding ERP systems, including:

• Failure to meet user requirements
• Failure to integrate
• Incompatiblity with technical infrastructure
• Vendor support problems
• Expensive and complex installations

An audit of an ERP could provide:-

• assurance covering the area of process integrity.
• assurance covering the area of application security.
• assurance covering the area of infrastructure integrity.
• assurance covering the area of implementation integrity.
  

Application Lifecycle Management

A 10 minute guide to how software applications are developed: