Logistics Analysis Paper

Running head: LOGISTICS ANALYSIS
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Logistics Analysis Paper
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LOGISTICS ANALYSIS
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Logistics Analysis
Question 1
SAP represents Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing. In the current
digital age, software like SAP are providing businesses with various technologies that they can
use to growth, diversify, and simplify everyday operations. It is important for businesses to
familiarize themselves with emerging technologies as a way of securing marketplace relevance,
brand reputation, and consumer loyalty. SAP bridges the disconnect between companies and new
business technology by providing integrated business solutions that are tailored to different
departmental needs with an organization. There are five technological advantages of SAP that
transcend conventional accounting/planning/control software these are: digital business; Internet
of Things (IoT); machine learning; enterprise mobility; and SMEs growth accelerators. SAP
introduced digital business technology with the aim of restructuring tradition business models
through the introduction of intra-firm data sharing technology that limits the workload imposed
on employees (Gruber, Buerkle, & Duncan, 2016).
According, to SAP, Internet of Things is viewed as a means of connecting office
computers with each other, and computers to people irrespective of the business or industry of
operation. Machine learning is viewed as form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that allows SAP
software to better the user interface by making the work easier through recollection and
forecasting of behavior. This "thinking ability" allows the software to provide suggestions and
guidelines that will match the user's expectations. SAP provides ingenious ways through which
management can communicate with employees, consumers, and stakeholders through enterprise
mobility technology that allows for sharing of vital information through secure channels and

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encrypted formats. Lastly, SAP software provides strategy formulation and benchmarking
technology that allows SMEs to growth in markets that dominated by large organizations and
conglomerates (Gruber, Buerkle, & Duncan, 2016).
Question 2
According to a management research project conducted in 2018, less than 30% of all
strategic plans developed by organizations are actually implemented. The implementation
process is a vital part of strategic planning that is considerably difficult to perform successful. As
such, SAP has lightened the load by ensuring that different departments are able to implement
their strategies separately. By so doing, the organization is able to optimize resource utility by
mitigating time wastage as management tries to coordinate all departments to towards the
implementation of a single strategic plan of action. Moreover, separate implementation ensures
that departments are able to create realistic time-frames within which the expected goals will be
realized. Furthermore, SAP ensures the preservation of autonomy between the different
departments by ensuring the strategic goals of one department are not overlooked (Elder, 2009).
The separation also allows for the easy mobilization of stakeholders due to similarity of
interests when dealing with individuals from the same department as opposed to formulating a
single strategic plan to direct the entire organization. The relationship between management and
employees is improved if the two groups are allowed to work together in departmental units.
Therefore, consensus and commitment are important factors in the implementation process. It is
easier for workers to buy into a plan if it tailored to meet their specific workplace needs and not
the general wants of all employees. The apportionment of resources toward the implementation
process is better done with regard to departments since the needs of one department may exceed

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those of another. Hence, departmental manipulation of resources is more than likely to improve
or better the implementation process. At the departmental level, management is able to clearly
identify the number of individuals and amount of money required for their proposed strategic
plan to be completed (Smith, et al., 2014).
On the other hand, there are several issues commonly associated with decentralized
strategic implementation (where departments are allowed to implement their own strategies) that
complicate the business performance of a given organization. For instance, this form of
separation can result in the dilution of business objective and goals in favor of departmental
milestone. A department that is performing below expectation can set objectives that are easy to
achieve instead of focusing of organizational targets and production requirements. In other
situations, a department many have too few employees limiting the ability of the department to
implement strategies without necessitating the help of senior management or other departmental
heads. Timing also becomes an issue because departments will set different implementation time
frames thereby eliminating any form of uniformity in the implementation process. Moreover,
considerable separation does limit communication between departments making the
implementation process difficult for senior management to coordinate and direct towards the
actualization of specific business strategy that will govern company success (Radomska, 2015).
Implementation culture within the organization can be eroded by the separation created
by SAP making the process more difficult instead of streamlining and bettering it. This erosion
can be witness in the loss of focus, adherence to company vision, and commitment of
stakeholders to process completion. Nevertheless, the benefits of using SAP in this manner
considerably outweigh the short-coming. SAP allows for the finalization of the strategic plan
after successful collection from all concern parties. SAP will allow departments to properly