Keda Case Analysis
1) Value Chain
PRIMARY PRIMARY
SUPPORT
SUPPORT Organization– ERP supports tightly knit collaboration among different departments.
Departmental boundaries are replaced by streamline data flows & integrated business processes.
Human Resources- Management, department heads, IT staff and users worked as a team.
Keda provided high customization across increasingly diverse product lines to meet client needs.
Technology- Technology is integrated to support all primary activities. ERP enables flow of information across department, so timely and strategic decisions are made.
Purchasing – Technology enabled right estimates and timely access of raw materials. Stocking could be limited
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The key users were at the core, the consultants acted as coaches and the IT officers provided task support to users and consultants. Vital representatives such as departmental managers and essential operational staff possessed comprehensive understanding of the operations and needs of the department. Top management would provide overall project direction and make critical decisions; consulting support would be provided by personnel from Digital China; project managers would be assigned from both KEDA and Digital China; departmental representatives would oversee the business process design and system design aspects; and the IT department would provide all necessary technical support.
Each ERP system module was assigned an owner from the associated department, who was fully responsible for the workflow and operational details of the module. The key users ensured that the system’s design correctly reflected business practices, and they also played a crucial role in training users within their respective departments. Manager from each department worked closely with the IT department.
Determined team effort was a beneficial and essential part of project success. Involving all the stakeholders helped limit resistance and endless changes once the system went live. The key involvement of all the stakeholders throughout the ERP implementation process helped make timely changes to the system and avoid any surprises in the end. IT
It is essential to have teamwork within a company. Companies who have embraced the concept of teamwork have reported increased performance in work production, problem solving and it has stimulated new growth. This group project approach has improved employee morale and increased input when managed correctly. The benefits of teamwork can make a positive effect in the company that incorporates this type of teamwork approach.
Teams are an integral component of organizational success. They take on many forms and functions and can have various structures. Teams also conduct a wide variety of projects with goals of innovation or mitigation. An example, from my experience, of a project that required the execution from a team was the establishment of a finished goods inventory program within a paper manufacturing company. A project of this magnitude required that a diverse and multifaceted team be assembled.
As expected some employees were unsupportive and unwilling to adopt the new system. For instance, the ERP system required some employees to stay longer hours and work overtime than the previous system. Also some employees felt that the work itself was tedious. If employee resistance is left unsolved, it would ultimately lead to depletion of employee morale, job performance, organizational commitment, and negatively impact the progress in adopting the ERP system in the first place. Gaining support of all members across the company for data sharing and ERP implementation was essential for KEDA. To do so, one factor that contributed to the project’s success in the face of employee resistance was the constant involvement of top management. For example, Dr. Zhu not only made sure to provide important feedback to managers/employees to keep them goal oriented and involved, but he also actively participated during the implementation. He would take part in all meeting and work side by side with management. Another way that KEDA dealt with employee resistance was by providing monetary bonuses for satisfactory job performance. This motivated the workforce to constantly innovate and be productive. Production delays were expected since ERP was transformative. In affect to ease the
I see the ERP system implementation project as a development opportunity for me to become familiar with the practical and technical aspects of the software. Having a ‘Kolb’ learning style of Converging (doing and thinking – AC/AE), this would assist me with future problem solving and support aspects of the software.
Matrix – is a permanently designed to reach detailed results using employees from other areas within the company (Chand, n.d.). This structure uses a horizontal reporting within the hierarchical function structure. Some of the advantages are distributing decision making, strong project co-ordination, and there is a fast and flexible response to change. There is, however, the cost of administration is high, authority and responsibility can be confusing, and group decision making can be exaggerated. Within this structure, there are functional and product managers. The functional managers oversee the daily task of functions to keep the business going whereas the product manager oversees getting the products
The information systems project steering committee, chief information officer (CIO), and an independent consultant should be involved in the decision-making process. The steering committee is responsible for every information system acquisition project in the facility. The CIO is responsible for all information resource management function at the facility. The independent consultant who is familiar with the different system can provide useful feedback about selecting a system (Sayles & Trawick, 2014,
In general, ERP systems are designed to standardize information entry and create data storage for information sharing across the organization. There are numerous advantages of ERP but skeptics argued on the fact that these advantages can be also achieved by simplification and lean production methods. IT systems could be effective and reliable in the long run but at the same time there is an uncertainty about whether it will align with the concerned business process. For instance, the ERP system implemented at the Korey plant to replace MRP system failed. Though it met the requirements of individual unit and enabled employees with wide range of
The organisation structure on the following page represents the core roles and responsibilities that would be expected
Although enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects are considered to be a risky investment for any organization, Keda had quite a number of reasons on why it decided to embark on ERP. The introduction of the Keda's silo-based model, as a way of encouraging a decentralized decision-making process, was actually affecting the performance of the Keda business. This was mainly due to the duplication of the identical processing tasks from different business units.
Because Tektronix previously had problems implementing IT projects, the company was mindful that replacing their legacy systems could be a risky undertaking. Further, it was well-known that wide-scale ERP implementation would be a very costly endeavor. Consequently, Tektronix managed the risks of its ERP implementation by having a coherent, guiding vision entailing: 1) separability of the businesses; 2) leveraging shared services; and 3) staying as "plain vanilla" as possible.
This paper investigates the implementation of ERP project at FoxMeyer Drugs in 1993. The paper will identify lessons learnt from the failure of the project implementation. However a critical analysis of what went right and wrong will be carried out.
ERP, which is an abbreviation for Enterprise Resource Planning, is principally an integration of business management practices and modern technology. Information Technology (IT) integrates with the core business processes of a corporate house to streamline and accomplish specific business objectives. Consequently, ERP is an amalgamation of three most important components; Business Management Practices, Information Technology and Specific Business Objectives.
Poor planning is a recipe for ERP project failure as planning is a vital part of the whole project process. A lot of organizations do not carry out enough straightforward planning before they start down the path. It is good that in the initial attempt of Leadtek Corporation, the standard ERP implementation methodology of involving a Definition Phase was done since it is during this phase where in requirements
Another benefit companies receive from using an ERP is standardized processes and consistent data. This is important in the energy sector and the oil and gas industry because it allows the business to move rapidly to new markets as well as adjust workloads among offices. (Anderson et al., 119) an ERP system will provide managers with pertinent and timely information on when assets need to be replaced among others which will improve the quality of their decisions. (Anderson et al. 119)
Employee Support: It is important that you have a strategy to get the support of the employees and stakeholders for an implementation project. Make sure that you discuss with people on key changes, seek advice and opinions, and provide clear communication to the people affected by the changes that your