Reflective Study on ERP Implementation

This report discusses the importance of ERP systems and identifies a suitable implementation for RDC. It carefully weighs the risks and benefits of incorporating ERP and BPR and suggests ideas for the concerned company to adhere to.

Running head: REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
Executive Summary
This report aims to highlight the importance of Enterprise Resource Planning, in short ERP
and Business Process Reengineering, abbreviated as BPR on organizations. My report then
studies the impact they can make for the firm Radiance Dry Cleaners (RDC). As part of this
study the implementation methods are analysed and the risks and benefits are carefully
weighed. The report concludes noting that RDC will experience substantial improvement
however the organization management must adhere to some smart practises as suggested to
benefit fully.

2REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
Introduction
My report revolves around a Sydney based business Radiance Dry Cleaners also
known as RDC. The company provides cleaning and laundry services through six stores
across multiple locations. I can find a consistent growth in their customer base as they
continue to excel in customer service however, employees can be seen to struggle with data
management. Therefore, I have suggested a few changes for their business through
implementation of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions to increase their operating
effectiveness.
Role of ERP
ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning systems are used in addressing the problems
and opportunities of an organization. In my view ERPs can provide complete access to
important business processes of the company and make data centrally available across all the
six stores. They also help in presenting businesses a comprehensive insight on the various
operations and processes thereby assisting in more informed decision making.
ERP Implementation
Implementation of an ERP system varies mainly in two ways. These are vanilla and
chocolate methods. I will take a quick look at each of these implementation processes.
In Vanilla implementation I find business processes has to be modified to make them
compatible with the ERP system. Here core functionalities of ERP systems are used to
provide best practises in executing the various processes of the business. Hence these
processes are required to be aligned with the system rather than modifying it.
The chocolate implementation however requires us to modify the system which
makes it more suited for the user as the system is customized for specific processes of the

3REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
business. Despite that we must take note of the key drawback of this implementation which is
increase in investment since implementation costs rise dramatically.
Suitable Implementation
In my opinion the Vanilla implementation is a more suitable implementation for
Radiance Dry Cleaners as they will be easier to use and quick to implement. Existing
business processes of the organization (refer to Figure 1) can be redefined so that substandard
functionalities can be eliminated. The overall expense will be minimal compared to
customized systems and since the organization presently lacks any ERP solution, I opine a
simpler solution can mark much improvement while being easy to use.
ERP and BPR customization
The vendors sometimes make frequent changes and updates that may cause system
vulnerabilities that are very difficult to alleviate. Since the process codes were already
customized while implementing the ERP system (refer to Figure 2), they become difficult to
upgrade further. Hence, I would like to warn about the significant cost increases that can
occur while performing business process reengineering (BPR) and the interruptions
associated with it can reduce overall performance of business operations.
To ensure the success of ERP implementations I suggest greater commitment from the
organization management so that the system is easily acceptable for the employees. Applying
a proper project management methodology can also play a key role.
Recommendation
From my overall report, I find that the organization can benefit immensely from
implementation of BPR and ERP into existing business processes. Thus, the processes of the
organization if improved can help in delivering quality of service to the customers. The
organization can also make factual projections on the future outcomes.

4REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
Conclusion
In conclusion the above report discusses on the importance of ERP systems and
identifies a suitable implementation for RDC. My research also carefully weighs the risks and
benefits of incorporating ERP and BPR and suggests ideas for the concerned company to
adhere to.
Appendix
1. Present business process model of the company
Figure 1: Existing business process model of Radiance Dry Cleaners (RDC)
(Drawn by Author)

5REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
2. Post ERP business process model of the company
Figure 2: Post ERP business process model of Radiance Dry Cleaners (RDC)
(Drawn by Author)

6REFLECTIVE STUDY ON ERP IMPLEMENTATION
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