1. ERP Demystified (Second Edition) By Alexis Leon (2008)
27. Process Definition
ERP Demystified (Second Edition) By Alexis Leon (2008)

2. Process Definition
A business process is a set of coordinated tasks and activities, conducted by both people and equipment, which will lead to accomplishing a specific organizational goal.
Business process management (BPM) is a systematic approach to improving those processes.
Defining the process is very important in the implementation of the ERP systems. This ensures that the implementation will be consistent with the vision statement.
The process definition step consists of two elements—one is to define processes for demand management, planning and scheduling while the other element addresses the finance and accounting side.
The ERP project schedule is the basic control tool used to manage the project to a timely and successful conclusion.
A few key policy statements are required for the successful operation of enterprise resource planning.
Five bedrock policies are the ones that address sales and operations planning, demand management, master scheduling, material planning and engineering change.
ERP Demystified (Second Edition). Copyright 2008, Alexis Leon. All rights reserved.

3. Implementation of Finance and Accounting Systems
In an ERP implementation, when should the new finance and accounting systems be implemented? The available choices are:
Implement all or most of the new financial and accounting systems prior to beginning implementation of the new planning and scheduling processes. This will delay the planning and scheduling implementation and hence the benefits like being able to close the books better, faster and cheaper.
Implement the new planning and scheduling processes first and have the accounting side follow. This means that for a time the legacy accounting systems will be fed by the new ERP transactions.
Implement the new financial and accounting systems simultaneously with those for planning and scheduling. This option if planned meticulously, executed perfectly and monitored constantly can be successful and deliver the maximum benefits
ERP Demystified (Second Edition). Copyright 2008, Alexis Leon. All rights reserved.

4. Review Questions What is process definition and why is it important?
What are the questions that a process definition tries to answer?
What is process schedule creation? How is it done?
Why are policies required?
ERP Demystified (Second Edition). Copyright 2008, Alexis Leon. All rights reserved.