How businesses use information systems (Part 2) By: Zeeshan A. Bhatti

Enterprise Applications How can different Functional systems manage the information in these different systems??? Enterprise applications help businesses become more flexible and productive by coordinating their business processes for efficient mgmt of resources Types of Enterprise Application: Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Supply Chain Management Systems Customer Relationship Management Systems Knowledge Management Systems Intranet & Extranet Collaboration Systems

Enterprise Applications

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Collects data from various key business processes in manufacturing & production, finance & accounting, sales and marketing, & HR Stores data in a single central repository Information that is previously fragmented in different systems can be easily shared across the firm to help diff. parts of business work closely WEBLINK EXAMPLE: OPEN ERP SCREENSHOTS

Ex: ERP System (e.g., SAP) A customer places an order, the data flows automatically to other parts of the company Order transaction triggers the warehouse to pick ordered products and schedule shipment Warehouse informs the factory Accounting dept. is notified to send customer an invoice Customer Service representatives track progress of order to inform customers about status RESULT: IMPROVED EFFICIENCY and LOWER COSTS Ex. Oracle ERP, SAP etc.

Supply Chain Mgmt System (SCM) Help businesses manage relationships with suppliers Purchasing from distributors, logistics companies share info. Orders, production, inventory levels, and delivery or products & services Objective: Right amount of products from their source to their point of consumption with least amount of time and lowest cost They are a type of Inter-organizational Systems – across organizational boundaries

Ex: Supply Chain Mgmt Systems Haworth’s Transportation Mgmt System (TMS) Examines customer orders, factory schedules, carrier rates and availability, and shipping costs to produce optimal lowest-cost delivery plans Plans are generated every 15 min

Customer Relationship Mgmt Systems (CRM) Help manage their relationships with their customers E.g., Sales, Marketing, and Service E.g., Mobilink/Ufone CRMs, Banks CRM etc. Consolidates customer data from multiple channels – Telephone, Email, Wireless devices, retail outlets, Social Media etc. E.g., Pizza Hut CRM, Mobile Operators CRM

Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) Values of a firm also depends on intangible assets Support processes for acquiring, creating, storing, distributing, applying, integrating knowledge How to create, produce, distribute products and services Collect internal knowledge and experience within firm and make it available to employees Link to external sources of knowledge

Intranets & Extranets Alternative tools that increase integration and expedite the flow of information Intranets: Internal company Web sites accessible only by employees Extranets: Company Web sites accessible externally only to vendors and suppliers Often used to coordinate supply chain

E Business, E Commerce & E Govt. Use of digital technology and Internet to drive major business processes E-commerce Subset of e-business Buying and selling goods and services through Internet E-Government: Using Internet technology to deliver information and services to citizens, employees, and businesses and other govt. agencies

Collaboration & Communication Systems Working with others to achieve shared goals Short-lived or long-term Informal or formal (teams) Growing importance of collaboration: Changing nature of work Growth of professional work – “interaction jobs” Changing organization of the firm – hierarchy Changing scope of the firm – multiple locations Emphasis on innovation – Strength of week ties Changing culture of work

Business benefits of collaboration and teamwork Investments in collaboration technology can produce organizational improvements returning high ROI Benefits: Productivity Quality Innovation Customer service Financial performance Profitability, sales, sales growth

Tools for Collaboration Internet-Based Collaboration Environments Geographical teams collaboration E.G., Internet Conferencing, WebEx E-Mail and Instant Messaging (IM) Cell Phones and Smart Phones E.g., IPhone, Android, BB etc Social Networking Services (SNS) E.g., Facebook and Internal SNS Wikis Wikipedia, Internal Wikis Blogs

Collaboration Systems

Establishing Information Systems Department Programmers Specialists System Analysts Translate business problems into information system requirements IS Managers Leaders of team of programmers, Telecommunications, DB Chief Information Officer (CIO) Head of the IS dept. Have knowledge about business as well as IS

Chief Security Officer (CSO) In charge of security policy Educating and training users about security Keeping management aware of security threats End users Representatives of departments for whom applications are developed They play an important role in the design and development of of IS