Introduction In a competitive business environment, the organization operational efficiency and its ability to respond quickly changing customer

demands are sources or competitive advantages. The customers responsiveness of an organization depends on the communication and coordination between various departments as well as efficient planning of resource utilization in the organization. ERP applications are adopted by many companies in order to solve their integration problem, develop optimum business models and achieve operational efficiency. If ERP implemented properly help companies to reduce inventories and cycle times, cut cost, and improve operations and customer service. What is Enterprise Recourse Planning? Enterprise Recourse Planning (ERP) is a software application that helps an organization integrate various functions, make optimum utilization of management resources and improve its process efficiency. ERP seeks to address the need of, not just one or two departments / functions, but the entire range of function like manufacturing, marketing, human resources, finance and logistics. ERP ensures that data entered in any one of the functional module is made available to other modules that need data. This improves the consistency and integrity of data. ERP usages the process view of the organization rather than function view that traditional enterprise software used. Evolution of ERP In the ever growing business environment the following demands are placed on the industry:
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Aggressive Cost control initiatives Need to analyze costs / revenues on a product or customer basis Flexibility to respond to changing business requirements More informed management decision making Changes in ways of doing business

Difficulty in getting accurate data, timely information and improper interface of the complex natured business functions have been identified as the hurdles in the growth of any business. Time and again depending upon the velocity of the growing business needs, one or the other applications and planning systems have been introduced into the business world for crossing these hurdles and for achieving the required growth. They are:
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Management Information Systems (MIS) Integrated Information Systems (IIS) Executive Information Systems (EIS) Corporate Information Systems (CIS) Enterprise Wide Systems (EWS) Material Resource Planning (MRP) Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) Money Resource Planning (MRP III)

The latest planning tool added to the above list is Enterprise Resource Planning. Need for ERP Most organizations across the world have realized that in a rapidly changing environment, it is impossible to create and maintain a custom designed software package which will cater to all their requirements and also be completely up-to-date. Realizing the requirement of user organizations some of the leading software companies have designed Enterprise Resource Planning software which will offer an integrated software solution to all the functions of an organisation. Features of ERP Some of the major features of ERP and what ERP can do for the business system are as below:
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ERP facilitates company-wide Integrated Information System covering all functional areas like Manufacturing, Selling and distribution, Payables, Receivables, Inventory, Accounts, Human resources, Purchases etc., ERP performs core Corporate activities and increases customer service and thereby augmenting the Corporate Image. ERP bridges the information gap across the organisation. ERP provides for complete integration of Systems not only across the departments in a company but also across the companies under the same management. ERP is the only solution for better Project Management. ERP allows automatic introduction of latest technologies like Electronic Fund Transfer(EFT), Electronic Data Interchange(EDI), Internet, Intranet, Video conferencing, E-Commerce etc. ERP eliminates the most of the business problems like Material shortages, Productivity enhancements, Customer service, Cash Management, Inventory problems, Quality problems, Prompt delivery etc.,

ERP not only addresses the current requirements of the company but also provides the opportunity of continually improving and refining business processes. ERP provides business intelligence tools like Decision Support Systems (DSS), Executive Information System (EIS), Reporting, Data Mining and Early Warning Systems (Robots) for enabling people to make better decisions and thus improve their business processes

Advantages and disadvantages of ERP Advantages In the absence of an ERP system, a large manufacturer may find itself with many software applications that do not talk to each other and do not effectively interface. Tasks that need to interface with one another may involve:
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design engineering (how to best make the product) order tracking from acceptance through fulfillment the revenue cycle from invoice through cash receipt managing interdependencies of complex Bill of Materials tracking the 3-way match between Purchase orders (what was ordered), Inventory receipts (what arrived), and costing(what the vendor invoiced) the Accounting for all of these tasks, tracking the Revenue, Cost and Profit on a granular level. Change how a product is made, in the engineering details, and that is how it will now be made. Effective dates can be used to control when the switch over will occur from an old version to the next one, both the date that some ingredients go into effect, and date that some are discontinued. Part of the change can include labeling to identify version numbers. Computer security is included within an ERP to protect against both outsider crime, such as industrial espionage, and insider crime, such as embezzlement. A data tampering scenario might involve a terrorist altering a Bill of Materials so as to put poison in food products, or other sabotage. ERP security helps to prevent abuse as well.

Disadvantages Organizations have many problems with ERP systems are due to inadequate investment in ongoing training for involved personnel, including those implementing and testing changes, as well as a lack of corporate policy protecting the integrity of the data in the ERP systems and how it is used.
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Personnel turnover; companies can employ new managers lacking education in the company's ERP system, proposing changes in business practices that are out of synchronization with the best utilization of the company's selected ERP.

Customization of the ERP software is limited. Some customization may involve changing of the ERP software structure which is usually not allowed. Re-engineering of business processes to fit the "industry standard" prescribed by the ERP system may lead to a loss of competitive advantage. ERP vendors can charge sums of money for annual license renewal that is unrelated to the size of the company using the ERP or its profitability. ERPs are often seen as too rigid and too difficult to adapt to the specific workflow and business process of some companiesthis is cited as one of the main causes of their failure.

The system can suffer from the "weakest link" problem inefficiency in one department or at one of the partners may affect other participants. Once a system is established, switching costs are very high for any one of the partners (reducing flexibility and strategic control at the corporate level). The blurring of company boundaries can cause problems in accountability, lines of responsibility, and employee morale. Resistance in sharing sensitive internal information between departments can reduce the effectiveness of the software.

Selection of ERP Once the BPR is completed the next task is to evaluate and select a suitable package for implementation. Evaluation of the right ERP package is considered as more crucial step. Evaluation and selection involves:
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checking whether all functional aspects of the Business are duly covered checking whether all the business functions and processes are fully integrated checking whether all the latest IT trends are covered checking whether the vendor has customizing and implementing capabilities checking whether the business can absorb the cost checking whether the ROI is optimum

Implementation of ERP Implementing an ERP package has to be done on a phased manner. Step by step method of implementing will yield a better result than big-bang introduction. The total time required for successfully implementing an ERP package will be anything between 18 and 24 months. The normal steps involved in implementation of an ERP are as below:
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Project Planning Business & Operational analysis including Gap analysis Business Process Reengineering Installation and configuration Project team training Business Requirement mapping Module configuration System interfaces Data conversion Custom Documentation End user training Acceptance testing Post implementation/Audit support

The above steps are grouped and sub-divided into four major phases namely 1) detailed discussions, 2) Design & Customization, 3) Implementation and 4) Production. The phases of implementation vis-a-vis their tasks and respective deliverables are as below:

Detailed Discussion Phase: Task :- Project initialization, Evaluation of current processes, business practices, Set-up project organization Deliverables:- Accepted norms and Conditions, Project Organisation chart, Identity work teams Design and customisation Phase: Task :- Map organisation, Map business process, Define functions and processes, ERP software configuration and Build ERP system modifications. Deliverables :- Organisation structure, Design specification, Process Flow Diagrams, Function Model, Configuration recording and system modification. Implementation Phase: Task :- Create go-live plan and documentation, Integrate applications, Test the ERP customisation, Train users Deliverables :- Testing environment report, Customisation Test Report and Implementation report Production Phase: Task:- Run Trial Production, Maintain Systems Deliverables:- Reconciliation reports, Conversion Plan Execution Benefits of ERP The benefits accruing to any business enterprise on account of implementing are unlimited. According to the companies like NIKE, DHL, Tektronix, Fujitsu, Millipore, Sun Microsystems, following are some of the benefits they achieved by implementing ERP packages:
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Gives Accounts Payable personnel increased control of invoicing and payment processing and thereby boosting their productivity and eliminating their reliance on computer personnel for these operations. Reduce paper documents by providing on-line formats for quickly entering and retrieving information. Improves timeliness of information by permitting, posting daily instead of monthly. Greater accuracy of information with detailed content, better presentation, fully satisfactory for the Auditors. Improved Cost Control Faster response and follow up on customers

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More efficient cash collection, say, material reduction in delay in payments by customers. Better monitoring and quicker resolution of queries. Enables quick response to change in business operations and market conditions. Helps to achieve competitive advantage by improving its business process. Improves supply-demand linkage with remote locations and branches in different countries. Provides a unified customer database usable by all applications. Improves International operations by supporting a variety of tax structures, invoicing schemes, multiple currencies, multiple period accounting and languages. Improves information access and management throughout the enterprise. Provides solution for problems like Y2K and Single Monitory Unit (SMU) or Euro Currency.

Components of ERP To enable the easy handling of the system the ERP has been divided into the following Core subsystems: o Sales and Marketing o Purchasing o Master Scheduling o Shop floor control o Material Requirement o Accounts Planning Payable/Receivable o Capacity Requirement o Logistics Planning o Asset Management o Bill of Materials o Financial Accounting

Suppliers of ERP There are many numbers of ERP suppliers who are very active in the market. Some of the companies offering renowned international ERP products include: o Baan o Marcarn o SMI o CODA o Oracle o Software o D&B o Peoplesoft 2000 o IBM o Platinum o JD o Ramco Edwards o SAP

Application of ERP - Human Resources: Human Resources is a fundamental part of the scheme of every successful enterprise, as the information received by this area needs to have a continuous follow-up and correct evaluation for the professional development and the social welfare of the workers. However, due to the large quantity of information that is handled in this area, the job is becoming more difficult every day. ERP is represented like a useful tool to help and orient the users to focus their work in the direct relationship with the staff, and to link the personal skills and aspirations of the personnel related to the objectives and goals of the company. Advantages of the System

ERP is able to provide the management of the Human Resources area with an integrated solution to the different processes of these sections, which includes the planning, the administration of payroll, the professional development, work health and administration in general. It is also useful for decision making, analysis, all-embracing management and control report. The internal communication is an indispensable part of the daily tasks of the department, and therefore ERP is also prepared to provide a solution in this field. The regulations and procedures, suggestions box, opinion surveys, virtual welcome, business calendar, letters of appointment, news, and forums are some of the features that will be unified in the system. In regards to the management, the features vary between the employee selfservice; employee procedures like social benefits, trips, vacations, and assessment forms are of great importance. The responses for human resources are incredibly important. The implementation of ERP contributes to automate the processes, setting resources free to develop tasks of major interest and optimizing the different Human Resources processes. It is expected that this system helps the users to fit the personnel management into the processes of the core business. The use of corporate WebPages to promote the relationship with the employees increases the satisfaction grade and knowledge, and at the same time allows to execute management tasks of personal details that leads into a reduction of administrative costs. ERP should cover a total vision of the diverse processes that are involved in the human resources tasks with the objective to line up the securing of the business objectives; and they are necessary for obtaining homogeneous and top-quality information for its analysis. Furthermore, the system provides the users with the possibility of authorizing cooperative processes between the different areas of the enterprise and external agents.

All the strategic features are combined with analytical information. By this way, the management obtains in the short term a general sight regarding the Human Resources strategy. Each user is authorized to receive access to the necessary information on the personnel development, personnel costs, planning of positions and reports. With the use of the applications as well as the Timing manager and complimentary modules, the users have the benefit of an innovative computing support for the development of the area.

Application of ERP in manufacturing sector Manufacturing Industry is one form of business that existed from the ancient period. There is no exaggeration in saying that it one the oldest business itself. The manufacturing segment initially started in traditional business models and kept constantly developing as improved practices spurted and modern practices developed. It is also to be understood that the sector has been famous for providing job opportunities and contributing towards national income on a large volume. It also bears the credit of employing a large pool of uneducated labor. In this context it becomes important to study the advancements in the sector and technological improvements like ERP. ERP helps the manufacturing sector in the following ways:

Judging the requirements and outputs precisely The manufacturing sector constantly faces troubles in allocating raw materials and deciding the outputs. These problems were solved by the forefathers of ERP namely material resource planning and manufacturing resource planning. They were designed with tools that helped to facilitate the calculations in an accurate manner. This has helped a lot through retail erp. However these applications were not able to deal similar problems in other departments like finance and human resources. ERP however helped in getting over that trouble also by using software programs that calculated more than billion permutations and combinations in a millisecond. Turnkey manufacturing erp is like providing total solutions to the sector as the first word in the phrase will imply. German ERP solutions are very famous.

Analyze the drawbacks Enterprise Resource planning helped greatly in pointing the drawbacks faced by the manufacturing process. The problems created by time lag, manufacturing flaws could easily be identified. Besides necessary changes can be made the reasons can also be drawn. Enterprise Resource planning helps to coordinate the manufacturing process in a
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better manner by mobilizing the resources efficiently and putting things in the proper and respective place. This is an important function of retail erp.

Coordinates logistics, supply chain and warehousing operations This is said to be the first and foremost advantage. These individual departments did not have a proper means of communication prior to ERP. Hence there were lot of kais and confusions with regards to the goods and raw materials. The warehousing people did not know how much of stock of raw materials should be in reserve and how much should be allocated for operations. They had to bank on the other departments to receive this information. Even after receipt of such information it was very hard to carry over the operations. The helm of troubles was in no way different when it comes to the others namely logistics and warehousing. They were equally clueless about the proper time for dispatch and receiving goods. This was because the other departments did not communicate with them properly (for lack of means) regarding the inordinate and unprecedented delays. Similarly the logistics people were not able to establish a regular and proper means of communication with the others. Retail erp has come a long way to provide this. However after ERP was introduced in the organization each department was able to immediately access the level of stock or raw materials from the common database. Similarly they kept adding their inputs so as to make sure that the database was updated every second and useful for the user from any end in the factory. This is the function of turnkey manufacturing erp. ERP helps to improved quality for increased productivity.

In today's global market, quality is king as manufacturers face increased competition for customers. The pressure to reduce time and error makes it imperative that companies establish and maintain quality assurance criteria that fully support industry regulations. To remain competitive, manufacturers need to optimize their engineering and product lifecycles-and leverage supply chainsto bring superior products to market on time and on budget.

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For order-driven manufacturers looking to balance productivity, quality assurance, customer satisfaction, and profitability, Inform delivers a solution for fully integrated, robust, scalable automated quality management designed to fit their specific industry requirements. Our solution integrates all logistic and quality management processes, enabling manufacturers to improve operational performance and leverage their supply chains to attain superior quality-and exceed customer expectations.

Limitations of ERP Success depends on the skill and experience of the workforce, including training about how to make the system work correctly. Many companies cut costs by cutting training budgets. Privately owned small enterprises are often undercapitalized, meaning their ERP system is often operated by personnel with inadequate education in ERP in general, such as APICS foundations, and in the particular ERP vendor package being used. Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Mahindra Satyam and Deloitte IRDA IT Project NEW DELHI: Indian IT giants including TCS, Infosys and Wipro have been shortlisted by insurance regulator IRDA for technical bidding to implement its enterprise held resource tomorrow, planning (ERP) IRDA system. said. The pre-bid meeting to select the IT partner for implementing the project will be Besides TCS, Infosys and Wipro, three other firms including Intelligroup, Mahindra Satyam and Deloitte have also been selected for the technical bidding. ERP is integrated software, which will cover and customize IRDA's various activities including data human bases, resource and management, other tools accounting, and payroll administration, accessories.

IRDA has 11 departments and the integrated software system is expected to streamline operations between them.
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