ERP Implementation Strategy for Wesfarmers

This assignment delves into the strategic implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system within Wesfarmers, a prominent Australian retail conglomerate. It examines the various sectors within the supermarket industry where ERP implementation would be beneficial for Wesfarmers. The analysis aims to outline how implementing an ERP system can provide a competitive advantage in the market by streamlining operations, enhancing efficiency, and improving customer satisfaction. The assignment draws upon relevant academic research and industry best practices to offer a comprehensive understanding of ERP implementation strategies within the retail sector.

Running Head: Strategic Information System
Strategic Information System

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According to the below conducted research, the fact has been observed that the process merging
of business activities with the strategic planning process develops the organizational structure.
All such activities are processed in the organization so as to attain the organizational objective.
The process also helps the organization in bringing changes in the organization according to the
fluctuations present in the external environment. The mechanism of the strategic information
system was started by Amrollahi, Ghapanchi and Najaftorkaman, (2014) so that the companies
can attain a competitive edge in the market by making use of such techniques. The term strategic
information system has also been mention in the outcomes of information technology system.
Accounting information system assists the organization into initiate functions efficiently by
using technology. Further, the importance and use of this system in an organization are discussed
in the below mentioned analysis.
Organizational structure
According to the research conducted by Greenblat, E, (2015), it has been stated that Wesfarmers
company has been initiating their business practices according to the conglomerate structure
which has been offered through association. This structure of the organization is initiated by
adjoining two or more companies in private corporate business form. This amalgamation process
builds up by allocating substances, including a private parent company and other holding
subsidiaries of the same parent company. Although according to the organizational structure of
Wesfarmers, the company explains that they focus on the expansion process. Further, the
company also focuses on multi industry corporate structure which is regarded as a hierarchical
structure of multination corporates (Ali, & Miller, 2017). The company Wesfarmers being a
smart company placed itself in the correct target market; apart from that they also purchased the
quality association by connecting costs with the output of the company. Thus, it shall be noticed

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that with the adoption of this organizational structure, the business entity is working efficiently
by decreasing risk and increasing their stake in the global market through partnering with various
firms. So, in this way, the organization structure of the company is helping the company to
achieve satisfaction (Carvalho, & Guerrini, 2017).
Operation issue
As per the research executed by Treadgold, T, (2016) the facts that came into accounts is that the
company is facing issues in their organizational system which is raising worry for the investors
as well. The earning of the company Wesfarmers was solely depending upon the retail business
process and majorly on products like food and alcohol division of Coles, due to which the other
products of the business process started losing their significance. Another issue which appeared
in the organizational structure due to adopting the hierarchical structure is that, although the size
of the company expanded with this effect the administration process became ineffective. As it is
known that to manage a large scale business, more efficiency is required by the management of
the company also new technology shall also be implemented in the business to gain the
competitive edge. But the previous business process was facing the issue in above mentioned
cases. Apart from there were a few benefits of this business structure such as tax reduction,
reduction in managerial activities etc. (Erazo, Arboleda, & Pino, 2017).
System Acquisition Method
The process of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is an instrument which is coined as business
process management software. This process shall be used by the management of the Wesfarmers
so that all the issues in the management of the company shall be resolved. The ERP system will
help the company in increasing its efficiency of the corporate, as the process is made by

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combining different application and applying in the organization system. With this initiation of
this ERP system in the organization will help the company to execute accuracy in the system and
adopt effectiveness in the organizational culture (Garg, et. al., 2017).
Further, this system shall be considered as the best suited for the working of the Wesfarmers
business process. Also, implementation of ERP will allow the company in processing the
automation process in numerical operations and functionalities will be achievable by the
company. Also, the effectiveness of the back office management and technological
implementation will improve with the initiation of this process (González-Benito, Venturini, &
González-Benito, 2017).
(Flow chart)

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(Source: Webb, 2017)
The above mentioned flow chart shows the sales outcomes of the Wesfarmers Company. Further,
the process is divided into various sections which discussed below:
The initial stage of the flow chart includes the process of finding new customers and initiating an
investigation on the important and valuable aspects of the organization. Further, the request of
this phase is transferred to the next level. The request sheet of the company includes the mission
and vision statement along with the primary obligation of the business process (Xu, 2017).
Of Wesfarmers

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The assessment shall include the process through which the adequate product is placed in front
of the prospective buyer. This will help the company in delegating the sales and initiating the
flow of goods as well. Also from this process, sale of all products will get enabled.
Following to it, the most important task of the system is to attract the customers by placing the
product in front of them. This process will generate greater sales and initiate strong customer
relationship as well (Jinno, Abe, & Iizuka, 2017).
The stage two comprises of the approach which shall be introduced by the company for the
customers. Fulfillment of the objective of the organization shall be accumulated through an
adequate tactic invented by the company. Also, it is mandatory for the sales representative to
have decent knowledge about the company product and services.
Most of the techniques used by business process ought to get the slump in the competitive
market due to not having an adequate closure. Thus it is mandatory for the company to outrage
the demand of the customers by driving the process in the right direction.
Lastly, the final step includes follow-up of the corrective methodology implement by the
management of the organization (Sarker, Xiao, & Beaulieu, 2013).
Control problems
The frauds which can attract the process of the company is that many times just to earn
incentives, the suppliers of raw material which has been selected by the warehousing manager.
They order more than required inventory which is not required in production. They can also hike
the price while ordering it. So this is the aspect which the company shall overlook while
conducting the ERP system (Webb, 2017).

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Adopting and designing of accounting software
Accounting software is an application designed for the business process, which can help them
fully utilize and increase its efficiency in an organization. It helps the organization to surpass the
orthodox manual recording process and implement effective techniques to record transactions
and create books of accounting. Talking about the accounting procedures like ledger accounting,
trial balance, cash flow statement etc. are some task which the operations division has to
perform, so for these purposes, the management can make use of the ERP software. This will
initiate accuracy and effectiveness in the management system.
Apart from that, it will also assist the Wesfarmers Company to design the plan for the future
outcomes of the organization. The RealitySoftware, (2017), stated that such accounting
procedure helps the company to bifurcate the activities of different sections of the Wesfarmers
Company. This system of accounting provides assistance to the organization in planning,
maintaining, optimizing and implementing the process. This approach of ERP system is
developed by combining different models which are efficient in its working with some specific
sections dealing in as well. Further, these accounting operations are:
Accounts Payable: Money owned recorded by Wesfarmers
Accounts Receivable: recording of payment and billing of dues
General Ledger: recording to entries which are done by the company
Current market size
According to the survey conducted by au.finance.yahoo, (2017), the facts that came into
accounts is that the business process of Wesfarmers is already placed at the top most position in

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the market and it also gains the advantage of being a multinational corporation. The below
presented data explains the key aspects of the company Wesfarmers in financial terms:
An increase was remarked in the revenue of the company, it was 4.3% to $34.5 billion in the
previous accounting year. The dividend of the company was declared to be $1.03 (13.2 in per
cent). Apart from that the profits also increased to $1.6 billion (.au.finance.yahoo, 2017).
The company placed on the top position in the target market of Australia are Wesfarmers (Coles)
and Woolworths. These are those firms which make amendments in the industry. The fact has
been noticed from last five decades that the business of the company Wesfarmers is growing and
its current market size is 35%. Also, the company is sustainably initiating its activities in the
global market.
Leader who have attained competitive edge
As per the survey conducted in the market, the fact that came into existence is that the CEO of
the Wesfarmers Company is known as one of the most commendable experts present in the
market till date. Apart from that Richard Goyder even took a major step to lead an efficient
change in the management. Further the results of such initiation can be clearly seen with the
growth of the Wesfarmers Company (Peppard, & Ward, 2016). The leaders of Wesfarmers
organization namely Rob Scott who is the current Deputy Chief Executive Officer also assisted
the company with their effective leadership skills to grace the target market. With the support of
such dignitaries the company aced the target market and achieved the competitive edge in the
industry.

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Also, there are many other people who have placed themselves and their company efficiently in
the target market, for instance, Steve jobs used innovative marketing technique to sell their
products in the target market (Harris, & Schultz, 2016).
Current gaps and challenges in accounting software
The gap in the ERP system software is that it is tough to maintain. The software is not easily
understandable by all the co-workers of the organization, due to which they face difficulty in
carrying their regular day to day business activity. Apart from that, the system software is
installed in the management of the organization so that efficiency of the management can be
increased, but due to the inefficiency of the management, it became difficult to utilize the given
resources of the organization (Gupta, et. al., 2017).
Thus, in the limelight of the above mentioned events, the fact that shall be noted is that
Wesfarmers Ltd is a well-known brand. The company has already established its brand image
efficiently in the market. The company placed itself in many sectors of the supermarket industry.
The aforementioned view provides ERP system implementation in the management of
Wesfarmers Company. This method will help the company achieving the competitive advantage
in the market.

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References
.au.finance.yahoo, (2017), Yahoo finance, Assessed on 12th September 2017,
https://au.finance.yahoo.com/quote/WES.AX/analysts?p=WES.AX
Ali, M., & Miller, L. (2017). ERP System Implementation in Large Enterprises-A Systematic
Literature Review. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 30(4).
Carvalho, H. L., & Guerrini, F. M. (2017). Reference model for implementing ERP systems: an
analytical innovation networks perspective. Production Planning & Control, 28(4), 281-
294.
Erazo, J., Arboleda, H., & Pino, F. J. (2017, September). Analysis of the Software
Implementation Process for ERP Systems. In Colombian Conference on Computing (pp.
297-312). Springer, Cham.
Garg, P., Garg, P., Khurana, R., & Khurana, R. (2017). Applying structural equation model to
study the critical risks in ERP implementation in Indian retail. Benchmarking: An
International Journal, 24(1), 143-162.
González-Benito, Ó., Venturini, W. T., & González-Benito, J. (2017). CRM Technology:
Implementation Project and Consulting Services as Determinants of Success.
International Journal of Information Technology & Decision Making, 16(02), 421-441.
Gupta, S., Gupta, S., Misra, S. C., Misra, S. C., Singh, A., Singh, A., ... & Kumar, U. (2017).
Identification of challenges and their ranking in the implementation of cloud ERP: A
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Reliability Management, 34(7), 1056-1072.

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Harris, R., & Schultz, T. (2016). Teaching ERP Implementation with Microsoft Dynamics Sure
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Jinno, H., Abe, H., & Iizuka, K. (2017). Consideration of ERP Effectiveness: From the
Perspective of ERP Implementation Policy and Operational Effectiveness. Information,
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Peppard, J., & Ward, J. (2016). The strategic management of information systems: Building a
digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.
Realitysoftware, (2017), Accounting software development, Assessed on 12th September 2017,
http://www.realitysoftware.ca/services/software-development/accounting/
Sarker, S., Xiao, X., & Beaulieu, T. (2013). Qualitative studies in information systems: a critical
review and some guiding principles. MIS quarterly, 37(4), iii-xviii.
Webb, M., (2017). Avoid The Four Most Common Mistakes of Sales Process Mapping. Viewed
on September 25, 2017 from https://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/process-
mapping/avoid-four-most-common-mistakes-sales-process-mapping/
Xu, H. (2017). What SMEs need to focus on in order to obtain benefits of ERP systems?.