Snow White Dry Cleaners and implementation of ERP Software

Running head: ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS
Enterprise Systems
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note:

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Executive Summary
The main objective of this report is to understand about the case study of Snow White Dry
Cleaners and implementation of ERP software in their business. This particular software is
highly beneficial for managing and integrating the most vital sections of their respective
business. Several software applications of enterprise resource planning are extremely vital for
the organizations as they are helpful for deploying the processes and hence running the
business processes effectively. This report has outlined the case scenario of SWDC and
selection of an accurate product of ERP for their business. Three suitable products of ERP are
short listed for the organization, which are SAP ERP, Sage ERP and Net Suite ERP with
appropriate recommendations.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction............................................................................................................................3
2. Discussion..............................................................................................................................3
2.1 Exploration of the Marketplace for Potential ERPs relevant to Organizational
Requirements..........................................................................................................................3
2.2 Detailed Evaluation of the 3 Short Listed Systems and Vendors of ERP........................4
2.3 Selection of the ERP Systems and Vendors.....................................................................7
2.4 Feasibility Analysis..........................................................................................................8
2.5 Recommendations............................................................................................................8
3. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................10

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1. Introduction
An enterprise system could be stated as a specific cross functional IS, which is solely
responsible for ensuring organizational wide management as well as integration of every
major business procedure and even helping in planning the organizational resources (Leon
2014). Various business functions such as sales, manufacturing, production and marketing are
being considered separately and hence proper effectiveness and efficiency is being gained
without much complexity. This type of system is subsequently driven by the software suite of
ERP that is a distinct set of few integrated modules as well as a common centralized database
(Harwood 2017). The following report outlines a brief discussion on the case study of Snow
White Dry Cleaners or SWDC. The organizational management has decided to deploy ERP
system in their business, after proper analysis of different ERPs and vendors. This report
provides proper description about these ERP vendors, so that the management is able to
select a feasible solution.
2. Discussion
2.1 Exploration of the Marketplace for Potential ERPs relevant to Organizational
Requirements
Enterprise resource planning is the business process management software, which is
responsible for allowing the company in utilization of different integrated system applications
such as planning of products, sales, marketing, development and marketing in the single
database, UI and applications (Chatzoglou et al. 2016). The small business applications of
ERP are lightweight solutions of business management software that could be customized for
the respective industry or business. The organization of Snow White Dry Cleaners or SWDC
could implement ERP software for few of the most significant reasons like automation of the
business applications, replacement of accounting software and making business processes
extremely easier and significant.
There are several popular and significant systems and vendors of ERP that had been
providing services to its customers for several years efficiently and ensuring that the
businesses are gaining maximum success without much complexity (Peng and Gala 2014).
The ERP systems are eventually focused on subsequent automation of back office
functionalities, which do not directly impact on the public as well as customers. The front
office functionalities like customer relationship management are being dealt with the clients
as well as e business systems like e commerce, e finance and e government, only to be
integrated properly (Seethamraju 2015). Detailed description of few significant and distinct
examples of such ERP systems and vendors are provided in the following paragraphs:
i) Netsuite ERP: Net Suite ERP is one of the most significant and important systems
of ERP that has the core capability of supporting all types of back office operations that
involve procurement, human resources, inventory, shipping and billing and orders (Rajan and
Baral 2015). It is referred to as the market leader for cloud ERP solution and the most modern
as well as scalable deployment through various critical back office functionalities is being
gained under every significant situation. The major and the most significant features of this
particular software of Net Suite ERP include inventory management, reporting and analytics,
accounting as well as subsequent functionality within enterprises of different sizes (Luck and
Gaspelin 2017). This specific software of ERP eventually provides the organizations with
different tools that they require to accelerate better growth and even drive creativity and
innovation.
ii) SAP ERP: The second important and significant ERP system and vendor for the
business of SWDC would be SAP ERP. It is considered as the most trusted provider of

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enterprise resource planning with around forty years of market history as well as over fifty
thousand clients in the entire world (Lin, Zhao and Wei 2014). It is proven as one of the best
providers of ERP that is required for streamlining of the processes within the respective
departments of sales, finance, manufacturing and procurement for being sure that better
efficacy and efficiency is being gained without much complexity. It is quite vital and
significant to remain competitive in the business for on premises deployment and core
process integration as well as automation. Real time information is being obtained without
any type of issue with SAP ERP software (Shen, Chen and Wang 2016).
iii) Sage ERP: The third significant and vital ERP system and vendor for the business
of SWDC would be Sage ERP. It is a fully integrated comprehensive suite of different
business tools and technologies for checking the capacities of different back office functions
in the business (Chofreh et al. 2014). The most significant and noteworthy features of this
particular system of ERP include financial cloud, inventory and warehouse management,
reporting and analytics as well as functionality within the enterprises of different
functionalities. Sage ERP is extremely popular as it is affordable by all types of businesses
for their business activities and functions.
iv) Odoo ERP: Another popular and noteworthy ERP system as well as vendor for the
business of SWDC would be Odoo ERP system and vendor. It is the business management
software that involves CRM, billing, accounting, electronic commerce, project management,
warehouse and several other features (Elragal 2014). The respective source code for this
specific framework and even the core modules of ERP are being curated by the Odoo vendor.
It provides an open core model, on the basis of subscription based enterprise software as well
as cloud hosted SaaS.
v) Microsoft Dynamics: Another noteworthy and important ERP system and vendor
for the business of Snow White Dry Cleaners would be Microsoft Dynamics. This particular
software is eventually geared towards the middle size companies and divisions of large
companies (Almajali and Tarhini 2016). The major five products of Microsoft Dynamics
ERP include Microsoft Dynamics C5, Microsoft Dynamics SL, Microsoft Dynamics NAV,
Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics AX. These distinct products are
responsible for enhancing the chance of better operation streamlining in an efficient manner.
After analysing the above mentioned five distinct and important ERP systems and
vendors, it is being observed that three suitable and appropriate systems and vendors could be
short listed on the basis of three significant criteria of feasibility, cost and efficiency (Ram,
Wu and Tagg 2014). These three short listed vendors and systems of ERP are Sage ERP, SAP
ERP and Net Suite ERP.
2.2 Detailed Evaluation of the 3 Short Listed Systems and Vendors of ERP
The three short listed vendors and systems of ERP for the organization are Sage ERP,
SAP ERP and Net Suite ERP. A fit gap analysis of each ERP system would prove the
efficiency of that particular vendor if it is suitable for the organization of Snow White Dry
Cleaners (Costa et al. 2016). This particular analysis is responsible for enabling the most
accurate identification of the current software as well as a planned new system, whether
suitable or unsuitable for the organizational needs and requirements. Details of the fit gap
analysis of all the three ERP vendors are provided in the following paragraphs:
i) Sage ERP: Sage ERP system is a specific suite, which involves integrated
functionality for better financial management, customer services, manufacturing, sales as
well as business intelligence. The organization would be able to configure the requirements
according to the software to understand user roles as well as preferences (Nwankpa 2015).

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Different communication tools, automated work flows and even visual processes are being
considered on top priority for ensuring that the business processes are effectively executed to
gain maximum success. It is being designed for the purpose of supporting all types of
globalized organizations with different companies, languages, legislations and currencies
(Lopez and Salmeron 2014). The customizable add on tools could easily extend the
capabilities of software to learn about the interfaces with any third party software like
customer relationship management. In spite of having such distinct and vital advantages,
Sage ERP do comprise of few gaps or disadvantages that make it quite difficult to understand
the records and processes of the organization. One of the major gaps of this system is that it is
extremely difficult to install the software as there is a limited accessibility in format and the
users could not customize it properly (DeLong, Quante and Kutas 2014). Moreover, it
comprises of gaps like poor customer services and difficulty in importing data.
Figure 1: Enterprise Architecture of Sage ERP
(Source: Kilic, Zaim and Delen 2015)
The enterprise architecture of Sage ERP includes different functions, suitable for the
dynamic IT requirements of a rapidly growing enterprise. It comprises of cloud as the
backbone of the platform and hence helps in managing real time digitalized workspace
collaboration and work flow for every line of the business (Frank et al. 2015). Hence, it
provides scalability to the users. This platform lies at the round of the clock accessibility
towards enterprise applications of the software. The financial position of Sage ERP vendor is
quite high, since different users have implemented it in their business. In spite of having
different support issues, this specific vendor of ERP has included various release strategies
like full speed ahead for Sage X3 (Chatzoglou et al. 2016).
ii) SAP ERP: This particular ERP system and vendor is responsible for converting the
data easily and promptly. Information silos are eliminated successfully with the help of this
specific software and the organization gets the chance of procure to payment without any
type of complexity (Bradford 2015). It is even helpful in getting the highlights of product
release and hence reducing chances of lack of effectiveness in the products and services. The
gaps of this specific ERP system is its high cost of purchasing and implementation. It is often

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unaffordable for all types of companies to make sure that this specific system is properly
implemented within the business (Ram, Wu and Tagg 2014).
Figure 2: Enterprise Architecture of SAP ERP
(Source: DeLong, Quante and Kutas 2014)
This above provided diagram of SAP ERP is required for supporting SOA for the
users. There are two divisions of the enterprise, which include user password authentication
part and employee password authentication part (Lin, Zhao and Wei 2014). The SAP
database connects to the SAP application server for ensuring a connection with firewall.
Scalability is extremely high for this specific vendor of ERP. The vendor of the product of
SAP ERP is financially stable, since in spite of having excessive cost, this particular product
is being utilized widely (Luck and Gaspelin 2017). The price of the product is 3212 dollars
per year for 1 user. The major support issues of the ERP product include lack of
configuration for suiting in the business and there exists major issue related to the data
quality as well as integrity of transaction for the user. The hardware and the software
infrastructure of the product is extremely effective and hence the product provides maximum
efficiency to the user. The release strategy is made for supporting the planning of SAP
software deployment as well as up gradation project (Peng and Gala 2014). Moreover, the
users are also involved for better up gradation and better solutions.
iii) Net Suite ERP: Another significant system or vendor of ERP system is Net Suite
ERP, which is responsible for proper financial planning and order management (Harwood
2017). The respective products of this system and vendor provides scope for warehouse and
fulfilment, so that it becomes easier to control the end to end inventories and inbound or
outbound logistics within real time, during minimization of the total ownership expenses. The
accuracy of procurement to pay procedures is eventually improved as well as cost certainty is
optimized (Peng and Gala 2014). The major gaps of this software include issues with

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integration bugs with the third party platforms, known for causing down time. Moreover,
organizational profitability is also hampered with the software.
Figure 3: Enterprise Architecture of Net Suite ERP
(Source: Luck and Gaspelin 2017)
The enterprise architecture comprises of four segments of users, web, application and
persistence. Each of these segments is responsible for integrating processes across business
functions, so that it becomes easier to streamline the information and procedures in the entire
company (Shen, Chen and Wang 2016). The support issues include lack of synchronized
reporting and automation for maintenance of spreadsheets and databases. The cost of this
ERP product is 999 dollars per year, which is less than SAP ERP, however scalability is not
high in the product.
2.3 Selection of the ERP Systems and Vendors
The ERP selection criteria for ERP include functional as well as technical evaluations.
The functional evaluation criteria for ERP are as follows:
i) ERP Database: The database of the ERP should be upgraded properly and hence
each and every vendor or product of the enterprise resource planning software would be
accurate (Elragal 2014). If the database would not be proper, it is evident that the user would
not be getting effective solutions.
ii) Centralized Modules: The second significant functional criterion for selection of
an ERP system is centralized modules. The respective modules of the product should be
made centralized and there should be a chance for better synchronization in information and
automation of the processes.
iii) Integration: Another vital and noteworthy functional criterion for selection of the
ERP system is integration of different systems and processes (Almajali and Tarhini 2016).
The processes should be integrated properly, so that it becomes quite easier to gain maximum
effectiveness and efficiency amongst the business processes and the flow of information is
high as compared to the rest of the products.
The technical evaluation criteria for ERP are as follows:

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i) Technology and Future Scalability: The first and the foremost technical criterion
for selection of an ERP system is technology as well as future scalability. There is a
significant chance that the flexibility would be beneficial for the users and proper products
and services would be gained without much complexity (Ram, Wu and Tagg 2014). Business
tool becomes extremely effective for integration with the shared database.
ii) Integration with the Existing System: The second significant technical evaluation
criterion for selection of an ERP system is integration with the existing system. As a result, it
becomes easier to streamline the processes and different departments and sections of
customer relationship management, order management and human resources are streamlined
properly (Nwankpa 2015).
The three short listed ERP systems of Sage ERP, SAP ERP and Net Suite ERP for the
organization of SWDC can be raked as per preference and this ranking is as follows:
i) SAP ERP: The first preference is SAP ERP, in which the ERP database is
extremely effective and it ensures all types of functional and technical criteria for checking if
the end product is proper (DeLong, Quante and Kutas 2014). Moreover, SAP ERP reduces
complexity for integration with the existing systems as well as better scalability and
flexibility.
ii) Sage ERP: The second preference is Sage ERP, in which although, there are issues
related to the functional criterion like centralized modules, however the technical evaluation
criteria are met completely. The scalability is quite high and they maintain a proper
integration with the existing system.
iii) Net Suite ERP: The third preference is Net Suite ERP, in which there are few
issues related to functional and technical evaluation criteria. As a result, there exists problems
related to integration of the processes within different business related functionalities (Kilic,
Zaim and Delen 2015). The business value of ERP is also reduced in this product and hence
the user often faces major issues related to the product.
2.4 Feasibility Analysis
After conducting feasibility analysis of 3 short listed systems of ERP, top two
preferred ERPs with their strategic, economic, technical and operational perspectives are as
follows:
i) SAP ERP: Regarding economic perspective, SAP ERP is extremely costly and it
becomes extremely difficult for all users and companies to afford it in their business.
However, the operational and technical perspectives are accurate and would ensure better
effectiveness for the user (Bradford 2015). Moreover, due to the massive synchronization,
strategic advantages are also high in this particular system. Hence, it is feasible for the
organization of SWDC.
ii) Sage ERP: The second preferred ERP is Sage ERP. The economic perspective is
perfect and is affordable by all users. However, the product has technical issues for
centralized modules (Frank et al. 2015). As a result it is also referred to as a feasible for the
organization of SWDC.
2.5 Recommendations
Suitable recommendations for the organization of Snow White Dry Cleaners related
to ERP systems and vendors in their respective business are as follows:

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i) Robust Solution Design: The first and the most suitable recommendation for the
organization of SWDC for their ERP system implementation would be checking if the
solution design is robust or not. It would important for them to install, configure as well as
deploy the solution for better analysis of the products and services within the business. A
robust solution designing helps in analysing the issues and complexities for better
improvement of the processes and activities.
ii) Getting Support from Upper Management: The second suitable and important
recommendation for the organization of SWDC for their ERP system implementation would
be getting support from the upper management. It would be important for them to gain
support from the top management, so that every vital decision is being supported by them and
the organizational management would support in making a clear as well as extensive list of
various requirements for understanding the vendors.
3. Conclusion
Hence, a conclusion could be drawn that ERP is referred to as the business process
management software, which is solely responsible for allowing any company to use a system
of different integrated application for the core purpose of controlling this business and even
automating several back office functionalities related to HR, services as well as technology.
The software could easily facilitate flow of information within business operations and
control the connections with other stakeholders. The software modules could easily provide
support to the most basic business processes under several functional area, so that the internal
business activities are being supported easily. The above provided report has appropriately
outlined a detailed analysis of case study of SWDC with relevant details. Moreover, two
preferred ERP systems of SAP ERP and Sage ERP are recommended for the organization.

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