Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation Plan for Richard Antiques Imports

This study is based on the usage of a ERP and the implementation of the ERP into the Richard’s business so that reports can be generated on total revenue generated, payments outstanding and generated, peak times, and location related data. The aim of the report is to improve the quality and the technology, business and functional aspects. The ERP system used in the study and the software used is a SAGE Evolution software which will be used as record keeping software. It is taken as an assumption that the SAGE software will be user friendly for the employees that will be using it. While one major constraint is the procedure of implementation of the ERP into the whole business process.

Running head: ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
Enterprise Resource Planning
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
Executive Summary
This study is based on the usage of a ERP and the implementation of the ERP into the Richard’s
business so that reports can be generated on total revenue generated, payments outstanding and
generated, peak times, and location related data. The aim of the report is to improve the quality
and the technology, business and functional aspects. The ERP system used in the study and the
software used is a SAGE Evolution software which will be used as record keeping software. It is
taken as an assumption that the SAGE software will be user friendly for the employees that will
be using it. While one major constraint is the procedure of implementation of the ERP into the
whole business process.
Phased implementation approach is selected for the study, and it is the best strategy
considering the less amount of risk associated with it. The modules are implemented at a time
and the modules are also implemented in groups and also is often implemented at a single
location. This approach requires a maintenance and attention which is given to the legacy
system.
The implementation plan has the 4 major dimensions namely project planning, scoping
and analysis, design and build, and final preparation. The four major dimension is again sub-
divided into major sections. The design and build section has the provision for the organizational
change management. This will directly impact the implementation of the ERP into organizational
change management. The implementation plan has the set of the standards, installation of the
hardware, training of the employees, training of the end users and the administrators. The goals
of the implementation plan are to bring changes in the manual system and make it easy to
manage the large amount of data generated due to the function and the operation of the company.

2ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
The ERP system that can be used in the SAGE Evolution software can be used as record
keeping software in Richard Antiques Imports. This software is user friendly and is able to assist
the employees and Richard in record keeping and in report generation.

3ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................4
2. Management of the implementation plan....................................................................................5
2.1. Implementation approach.....................................................................................................5
2.2. Points of contact...................................................................................................................8
2.3. Implementation schedule......................................................................................................9
3. Lewin’s Change model..............................................................................................................12
4. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................14
5. Reference...................................................................................................................................16

4ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
1. Introduction
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can be described as a software based business
process management and this allows a typical organization to performs the various back office
functions that are related to human resources, services and technology. The ERP system is a
software that integrates various operation related to marketing, sales, manufacturing,
development and product planning though a single user interface, application and single database
(Tian and Xu 2015). ERP is considered to be an enterprise application that is used by both the
large and small business entities. The ERP systems integrates and includes the multiple modules
that are based different technical capabilities of the software. The combination of the tasks that
can be performed through an ERP system are, manage payroll and human resources, reduce the
purchase costs, financial and accounting applications, assess the needs of the business, reduction
of the redundant tasks, standardization of the critical business procedures, automate the life cycle
of the employees, facilitation of better project planning, improving the accuracy of the financial
data, configure prices, service knowledge base, supply chain management, distribution process
management (Tasevska, Damij and Damij 2014).
The case study here focusses on Richard who is the owner of Richard Antiques Imports
and it is his family business for over a period of 25 years. His business has grown to large extent
and presently the employees and Richard himself is unable to manage large amount of data
because all the data customer related data, sales related, purchase related and expense related
data are managed manually. This study is based on the usage of a ERP and the implementation of
the ERP into the Richard’s business so that reports can be generated on total revenue generated,
payments outstanding and generated, peak times, and location related data. The aim of the study
is to improve the quality and technology, business and functional aspects. The scope of the study

5ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
highlights the ERP system used in the study and the software used is a SAGE Evolution software
which will be used as record keeping software. It is taken as an assumption that the SAGE
software will be user friendly for the employees that will be using it. While one major constraint
is the procedure of implementation of the ERP into the whole business process.
2. Management of the implementation plan
2.1. Implementation approach
There are several approaches that organizations can take in order to implement the
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and thus it is always necessary to implement the correct
strategy which will be applicable for a specific type of business. The four major type of the ERP
implementation methodologies are as follows:
 Big Bang rollout- the implementation takes place at one go and all the users of
the gradually move to the new adopted system on a given date
(Katerattanakul, Lee and Hong 2014).
 Phased rollout- the implementation occurs in several phases for an extended
period of time. The users of the system move into the new system through a
series of steps (Khaparde, Somani and Malde 2015).
 Parallel adoption- in this strategy, both the ERPs system and the legacy run
parallel and the users of this system works with the new system while also
working with the old system (Ilin, Ivetić and Simić 2017).
 Pilot- this strategy relates to the implementation of the new ERP system
within the organization and it is trialled over a period of time (Seethamraju
2015).

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The big bang rollout implementation relates to the need of maintaining and revising a
legacy software, since very little resource and time is required. Whereas, there is a high risk for
the failure. It is important to highlight that malfunction is a single module can an entire failure of
the system. The implementation time required is very short in comparison to the other
implementation strategies. While one the disadvantage of the Big bang implementation strategy
is that the project manager is unable to show how the system works until the whole system is
installed properly (Vaidyanathan and Fox 2017).
The phased strategy is comparatively exhibits lower risks in comparison to the big bang
strategy. Whereas the risk is involved in the process of losing the management before the
strategy implementation is properly accomplished. The project manager can showcase the
working of the system before achieves the complete status. One of the major drawback is that the
implementation is very expensive in order to accomplish the entire system (Ahmad, Ibrahim and
Garba 2015).
The Parallel implementation strategy provides the basis of the comparison where the old
system is compared with the new system. This strategy requires double the number of the human
resources and the double the number of the computing. Thus, in short the method is a time
consuming process. One of the advantage is that if the new system fails, the implementation does
not fail entirely. While, running two systems at the same time takes a lot of resources and it is
expensive (Lyytinen and Newman 2015).
In the Pilot implementation strategy, the project manager has the provision of showcasing
the working system and this is accomplished in a particular department. To accomplish the
implementation of this strategy, it takes a lot of resources and is expensive. The duration of the

7ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
implementation strategy is less compared to the other strategies. While the need to revise and
maintain the legacy system is still high (Ptak and Schragenheim 2016).
Among the four strategies, the phased implementation strategy is the best strategy
considering the less amount of risk associated with it. The modules are implemented at a time
and the modules are also implemented in groups and also is often implemented at a single
location. This approach requires a maintenance and attention which is given to the legacy system
(Nagpal, Khatri and Kumar 2015). The various advantages and the disadvantages of the phased
implementation strategy are provided below:
Advantages Disadvantages
This strategy has a lower amount of risk
associated with it in terms of the total
implementation failure, and it is
comparatively safe in comparison to the Big
bang implementation strategy.
This strategy is on the high risk of losing the
involvement of the management and before
the accomplishment of the project.
At each of the implementation stage the
employees get benefitted by gaining
knowledge.
The phased implementation is a longer
process approach.
One of the biggest advantage is fallback of
the legacy systems. This facilitates the
organization to gain greater opportunity and
ensure about how a module will work and
before any alternative turns off. Thus this
The requirement of revising and maintaining
the legacy systems is high in comparison to
the Big bang implementation system.

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approach provides a backup.
The project manager can demonstrate the
completed phase of a working system.
The total implementation of the system is
very expensive (Nagpal, Khatri and Kumar
2015).
2.2. Points of contact
Points of contact (Bradds et al. 2017)
Person associated Role
Sponsor Provide the necessary funds for the implementation of
the ERP system software.
Project Lead Supervise and guide the team for the smooth
implementation of the strategy. The project lead also
show case the progress of the project
Configuration management staff Look into the issues of security breaches, maintain
improved relation between the customers and internal
staff.
Database administrator data security, data management, data synchronization
Employees First-hand experience of the usage of the ERP software

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Implementation plan
Start date: 25/8/2018 End date: 11/9/2018
Project planning
Start date:
25/8/2018
Duration- 12 hr
Budget: $2310
Design and build
Start date: 2/9/2018
Duration: 14hrs
Budget: $1800
Scoping and
analysis
Start date:
28/8/2018
Duration- 13hr
Budget- $510
Final Preparation
Start date:
7/9/2018
Duration: 18hrs
Budget: $1600
Plan project
Start date:
25/8/2018
Duration: 2 hrs
Budget: $500
Set up of
implementation
standards
Start Date:
26/8/2018
Duration:2hrs
Budget: $100
Perform system set up
Start Date: 27/8/2018
Duration: 2 hrs
Budget: $500
Install production
hardware
Start Date:
27/8/2018
Duration: 2 hrs
Budget: $1000
Project preparation
Start Date:
27/8/2018
Duration: 2 hrs
Budget: $10
Quality check Start
Date: 27/8/2018
Duration: 2 hrs
Budget: $200
Define system
environment
Start date: 28/8/18
Duration: 1hr
Budget- $10
Business
requirements
Start date:29/8/2018
Duration- 2hr
Budget- $100
Document training
and testing plan
Start date: 1/9/2018
Duration: 6hrs
Budget: $200
Collection of
configuration
needs
Start date:
30/8/2018
Duration- 4hrs
Budget- $200
Validate system
configuration
Start date: 2/9/2018
Duration: 2hrs
Budget: $300
Validate business
process
Start date:3/9/2018
Duration: 3hrs
Budget: $300
Conduct
organizational change
management
Start date: 4/9/2018
Duration- 4hrs
Budget- $500
Plan user training
Start date:5/9/2018
Duration- 2hrs
Budget: $300
Internal review
Start date- 6/9/2018
Duration:3 hrs
Budget: $400
Refine cutover
plans
Start date: 7/8/2018
Duration: 3hrs
Budget: $200
Train end users and
administrators
Start date: 8/8/2018
Duration: 4hrs
Budget: $500
Start production
Start date: 9/8/2018
Duration: 5hrs
Budget: $400
Close open issues
Start date: 10/9/2018
Duration: 6hrs
Budget: $500
Project closing
End date: 11/9/2018
2.3. Implementation schedule

10ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
The implementation plan consists of subsections that include the project planning,
scoping and analysis, design and build, final preparation. The project planning starts from the
25th August and the entire duration of the project is 12hrs with an overall budget of $2310.
Scoping and analysis starts from 28th August and the entire duration of the project is 13hrs with
an overall budget of $510. The design and build part initiates from the 2nd September and the
entire duration of the project is 14hrs with an overall budget of $1800. The final preparation
starts from 7th September and the entire duration of the project takes 18hrs with an overall budget
of $1600.
Security and privacy requirements: Security and privacy issues- there are two issues that
has been noticed in the FTP site as well as the ERP software. the FTP site is considered to be a
site for sharing the pubic file share site and is also used for the distributing the patches to the
customers. Thus, if the users share their private data then it can cause privacy issues. Due to this
the site was shut down and the version of the software is updated through the HTTP for the
Updates. The data is managed by a pervasive database that is present within the SAGE evolution.
It has been found to be unsecured and this means anybody can copy the files that underlies the
data. Thus, it is important to mention that the ERP SAGE evolution software requires firewall
software, antivirus software and internet security suits to protect and secure the localized stored
in the computer and prevent any kind of data theft. The system will also require an authentication
system for the employee that will access the software (Tullett 2018).
Hardware and material requirements (sage.com 2018)-
In order to implement the ERP system into the Richard Antiques Imports, certain
hardware requirements need to be fulfilled to streamline the implementation of the ERP systems.

11ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
The Hardware and the materials requirements are the recommended hardware peripherals which
will be necessary for the implementation of ERP system.
Areas Server (supporting 10 users)
Minimum system requirement Dual core 2.3 GHz/i5
Recommended system requirement Dual core 2.7 GHz/i5
Operating system
Minimum Windows server 2008 R2 standard edition
service pack 2 or later versions
Recommended Windows Server 2012 standard edition
service pack 2 or later versions
RAM
Minimum 6 GB or more
Recommended 8 GB or more
Screen resolution
Minimum 1024x768
Database Server
Minimum Microsoft SQL server 2008
Recommended Microsoft SQL server 2012/ Microsoft SQL
server 2014
Compatibility Microsoft SQL server 2016
Additional software required
Minimum Microsoft Excel 2007or later
Minimum .Net 3.50 or 4.5 framework

12ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
Staffing requirements- The SAGE evolution can be operated by a maximum of 10 users.
Thus, a maximum of 10 employees can be employed that will work on the looking after the
accounting and tracking the various records.
Delivery plan- The training materials are provided in the in the scoping and analysis
section and also in the design and build section. Thus, it is important to highlight that the
management presentation will be will be provided at the final section to that final finished
product can be showcased along with its progress. Publications of the final data will be
emphasized in the start production section that will highlight the publication of the finished
work.
3. Lewin’s Change model
Change is a very common term which is runs through all types of the businesses
irrespective of their age, industry and size. In order to bring changes into the existing system, it is
necessary for an organization to undergo change and this change is undertaken in accordance to
known procedures of change model. In the year 1940, Kurt Lewin put forward model called the
Lewin change model and this model consisted of the three basic stages which are known as the
unfreeze, change and refreeze. The Lewin change model incorporates the procedures of how to
conduct the change in the functioning and operation of an organization (Hussain et al. 2016).
Unfreeze is the first stage and in this stage an organization is preparing to accept the
various changes that are necessary. This stage also involves the breaking down of the present
situation and formulating new ways of operation. This stage highlights the various reasons for

13ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
why the existing ways cannot continue. This becomes easy to frame for an organization that is
experiencing declining customer satisfaction, poor financial results, sales figures. This point
towards the fact that change needs to be brought into the organization to improve the present
scenario (Cameron and Green 2015). This is similar to what Richard’s company was Richard
Antiques Imports was experiencing. Previously, the company used to manually perform all the
task of customer dealing, product purchase, and product shipping and product sale. The manual
procedure taken up by Richard Antiques Imports was fine 25 years ago, however as the branches
started to grow it began to face the issues in maintaining manual records of client, customer,
sales and products.
Change is the next stage which occurs due to the uncertainties created by the unfreeze
stage. This is the stage where the management of a company or an organization tries to solve the
various issues that the company was facing. People at this stage starts to believe and act in a way
to promote the change. The change from the unfreeze to change does not occur in a short period
and thus the people that are working in an organization must embrace and accept the changes
proactively. Thus, people first need to believe how the change will benefit the organization and
the employee that are working in it (Wojciechowski et al. 2016). Like the same way Richard felt
the need to change the manual system of accounting, record keeping into something digital that
will reduce the work pressure and the complexity of dealing with manual entering of large
amounts of data. It has been seen that the staffs at the RAI stores are unable to manage the same
level of service and the customer data. along with it, Richard was also unable to keep a track of
the delivery dates, shipping company details and his visits. Along with this there were other
issues that was hampering the functioning of Richard’s company. Thus, Richard wanted to bring
the changes as he wanted to keep a track of the suppliers, the items that are purchased, record of

14ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
shipments, sales and customers. Richard wanted to bring changes by automating the work that
was previously manually done. Richard wanted to generate reports on the total number of the
customers at each of the locations, revenue generated, payment outstanding and received, peak
times. Richard believed that an ERP system can solve the problem of inconsistencies related to
the management of data and the management of cash flow.
Refreeze is the final stage of the change management. This is the stage where the
employees of the company, the management is has embraced the decision and is now performing
properly after considering the necessary changes. It has benefitted the normal functioning of the
company and has enhanced it performances. This change has invoked a new way of working,
and the employees feel comfortable, confident are sensing stability (Cummings, Bridgman and
Brown 2016). This stage can be related to the ERP implementation plan. The implementation
plan provides the exact start and the end days along with the duration and budget. The
implementation plan has the 4 major dimensions namely project planning, scoping and analysis,
design and build, and final preparation. The four major dimension is again sub-divided into
major sections. The design and build section has the provision for the organizational change
management. This will directly impact the implementation of the ERP into organizational change
management. The implementation plan has the set of the standards, installation of the hardware,
training of the employees, training of the end users and the administrators. The goals of the
implementation plan are to bring changes in the manual system and make it easy to manage the
large amount of data generated due to the function and the operation of the company.
4. Conclusion
From the above discussion it can be concluded that Enterprise Resource Planning is a
software based business process management and this allows a typical organization to performs

15ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
the various back office functions that are related to human resources, services and technology.
ERP is considered to be an enterprise application that is used by both the large and small
business entities. The ERP systems integrates and includes the multiple modules that are based
different technical capabilities of the software. There are several approaches that organizations
can take in order to implement the Enterprise Resource Planning. The four major type of the
ERP implementation methodologies are Big Bang rollout- the implementation takes place at one
go and all the users of the gradually move to the new adopted system on a given date; Phased
rollout: the implementation occurs in several phases for an extended period of time. The users of
the system move into the new system through a series of steps; Parallel adoption: in this strategy,
both the ERPs system and the legacy run parallel and the users of this system works with the new
system while also working with the old system; Pilot: this strategy relates to the implementation
of the new ERP system within the organization and it is trialled over a period of time.

16ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
5. Reference
Ahmad, S., Ibrahim, S. and Garba, S., 2015. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in
Banking Industry: Implementations Approaches, Reasons for Failures and How to Avoid Them.
Journal of Computer Sciences and Applications, 3(2), pp.29-32.
Bradds, N., Hills, E., Masters, K., Weiss, K. and Havelka, D., 2017. Accentra: Thrashing through
ERP. Information Systems Education Journal, 15(2), p.60.
Cameron, E. and Green, M., 2015. Making sense of change management: A complete guide to
the models, tools and techniques of organizational change. Kogan Page Publishers.
Cummings, S., Bridgman, T. and Brown, K.G., 2016. Unfreezing change as three steps:
Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management. human relations, 69(1), pp.33-60.
Hussain, S.T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M.J., Hussain, S.H. and Ali, M., 2016. Kurt Lewin's
change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in
organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge.
Ilin, V., Ivetić, J. and Simić, D., 2017. Understanding the determinants of e-business adoption in
ERP-enabled firms and non-ERP-enabled firms: A case study of the Western Balkan Peninsula.
Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 125, pp.206-223.
Katerattanakul, P., J. Lee, J. and Hong, S., 2014. Effect of business characteristics and ERP
implementation on business outcomes: An exploratory study of Korean manufacturing firms.
Management Research Review, 37(2), pp.186-206.

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Khaparde, V.M., Somani, Y.R. and Malde, A., 2015. Role of Information Technology and
Communication Systems in Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning Systems in Indian
Industries. Global Journal of Enterprise Information System, 7(4).
Lyytinen, K. and Newman, M., 2015. A tale of two coalitions–marginalising the users while
successfully implementing an enterprise resource planning system. Information Systems Journal,
25(2), pp.71-101.
Nagpal, S., Khatri, S.K. and Kumar, A., 2015, May. Comparative study of ERP implementation
strategies. In Systems, Applications and Technology Conference (LISAT), 2015 IEEE Long
Island (pp. 1-9). IEEE.
Ptak, C.A. and Schragenheim, E., 2016. ERP: tools, techniques, and applications for integrating
the supply chain. Crc Press.
sage.com, 2018. System Requirements for a Sage 100 Evolution Environment:. [online]
Sage.com. Available at:
http://www.sage.com/za/~/media/markets/za/downloads/sage_evolution_100_system_requireme
nts.pdf?la=en-za [Accessed 25 Sep. 2018].
Seethamraju, R., 2015. Adoption of software as a service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning
(ERP) systems in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Information systems frontiers,
17(3), pp.475-492.
Tasevska, F., Damij, T. and Damij, N., 2014. Project planning practices based on enterprise
resource planning systems in small and medium enterprises—A case study from the Republic of
Macedonia. International journal of project management, 32(3), pp.529-539.

18ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING
Tian, F. and Xu, S.X., 2015. How Do Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Affect Firm Risk?
Post-Implementation Impact. Mis Quarterly, 39(1).
Tullett, J., 2018. Sage acknowledges 'low risk' Pastel vulnerabilities. [online] ITWeb. Available
at: https://www.itweb.co.za/content/3mYZRXv96oO7OgA8 [Accessed 25 Sep. 2018].
Vaidyanathan, G. and Fox, M., 2017. Enterprise resource planning vendor selection: a case
study. Issues in Information Systems, 18(2).
Wojciechowski, E., Murphy, P., Pearsall, T. and French, E., 2016. A case review: Integrating
Lewin’s theory with lean’s system approach for change. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in
Nursing, 21(2).