Arab Open University B203A: 3M Innovation and ERP Report

This report analyzes 3M as an innovative organization, exploring the factors that contribute to its success, including its ability to turn ideas into marketable solutions and its focus on customer needs. It examines the role of business functions in fostering innovation and discusses the benefits of the commercialization process for a firm like 3M. The report also provides an overview of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), highlighting its innovative aspects, modules, and benefits for businesses. It explores the impact of ERP on various business functions, including finance, logistics, and customer service. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of ERP in streamlining business tasks and improving efficiency. The assignment fulfills the Arab Open University B203A TMA requirements.

Innovative organization 1
3M INNOVATIVE ORGANIZATION
The name of the class (course):
Professor:
Institution name:
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Innovative organization 2
3M Innovative Organization
Major aspects that makes 3M to be categorized as an innovative firm and how business functions
have contributed to these factors
Innovation is the art of turning good ideas into realistic and reasonable solution that the
society needs. Organizations that are innovative can identify and retort to the opportunities
available in the market. The major aspects that enable 3M to be ranked as an inventive firm
including business functions that have contributed to these factors are discussed as follows:
The fact that 3M organization had young businesspersons who came up with the idea of
purchasing mineral required for manufacturing sandpaper right after the mineral deposit that they
were planning to mine became useless is a significant factor that makes 3M an innovative
organization. Their ingenuity saved the company and set foundations for the business spirit that
molded the company up to this day Aarikka-Stenroos and Lehtimäki, 2014, pp.1372-1384).
3M is known by its ability to turn ideas into marketable reality and structuring a strong
and sustainable business. Also, it focuses its ingenuity in looking for solutions to assist its
customer's prospered. Most of its breakthroughs created for 3M’s business customers were then
referred to as the motor car industry. The earliest product innovated by 3M consists of
WetordryTM. The company in the 20th century constructed a strong ability in the development
of technology, closely working with clients to forestall and get to know their wants.
3M believe that being proactive is the most sensitive thing; this is because ideas do not
just pop up in one’s head but they have to be motivated and developed. 3M new goods result
from a thoughtful and firm's commitment to the technological growth of solutions to the clients

Innovative organization 3
want. This client-focused technique involves discovering out what is prevailing and possible
clients demands through robust market research (Brand, 1998, pp.17-22)
Therefore, innovation is one of the significant factors that have patented 3M’s annual
history. The company has a strong culture of innovation that has made possible for the company
to achieve most of its breakthroughs including the fiber optic cables and pharmaceutical which is
helpful in fighting virus-infected cells (Nevens, 1990, pp. 20-24).
Benefits of the process of commercialization for a firm like 3M
The process of commercializing is taking a unique idea and then getting goods or products into
the paying client’s hands as fast as possible. The commercialization process starts from the
session where all the employees are given a chance to present their unique concepts, and
thereafter, potential concepts are sorted and scrutinized. After the ideas have been scrutinized,
then the design that is most promising is chosen, and then the development of product starts. This
process gives the company a competitive advantage to produce products that did not exist in the
market before. In this way, 3M Company ends up creating new markets (Antero, 2015).
Secondly, commercialization is very helpful in the determination of client’s factual
requests plus it assigns a figure that client’s value and accepts it. The exercise of adding value
creates sureness in the product in question. Managers also get inspired to make decisions
aggressively. Additionally, it is helpful in communication between departments since making of
the good is done through a common agreement of all managers. Executives are able to collect
facts via this idea since communication obstacles do not exist because of broad teamwork
(Rogers, Lambert and Knemeyer, 2004, pp.43-56).

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The process of innovation is strategic and requires time and phases to attain the benefits
altogether. When the process of commercialization is exercised, a thorough examination of the
functions of the organization is done resulting in the identification of the problem in any process.
This is a disturbing symbol that executives should correct immediately. The courses of
commercialization have some obstacles since staffs hesitate in implementing the new customs of
coping in products. But giving the employees some training will eventually resolve this issue.
Finally, the commercialization process is constructive in the general improvement of the
community. An innovative concept secures the Company’s future and introduces practices that
are helpful in the long run.
Another innovative product of different company and the reasons why the product is
inventive
Enterprise Resource Planning
Enterprise Resource Planning is a major revolution in the technology’s field. It can be
referred to as a commercial solution associates. ERP came into existence in the year 1992 and
the SAP Company introduced it, and after that, the ERP system was developed by Oracle and
Microsoft. ERP system panels the events that take place in the organizations. Also, it offers
openness in the company’s commercial activities (Salerno, de Vasconcelos Gomes, da Silva,
Bagno and Freitas, 2015, pp.59-70).
ERP is divided into various modules ranging from logistics, finance and trade,
warehousing, IT, customer service and many more. It enables the Business to function efficiently
in severe market situations. It is helpful to the business’s executives where they can formulate

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quick choices and assembling the precise patterns involving demand by scrutinizing customer’s
movement. ERP is positioned in the company’s useful areas. When this technology is used, it
makes arrangement of various business tasks easy. The execution and the cost of training of ERP
is huge, but the possible profits are much higher. ERP saves time and minimizes physical
working. Once ERP is deployed using the necessary steps the company’s life becomes very easy
(Seethamraju, 2015, pp.475-492).
There are several modules that makeup ERP. Every module covers a specific business’s
functional part. It consists of insufficient terms and particular circumstances ERP security
systems add great worth to it. This aspect makes possible and convenient to detach contact of
workers’ linked documents hence stopping leakages of information. ERP is incorporated
software allied with every commercial function; hence when the system is accessed the effect is
felt in all other areas in the organization. This enables any taken action to be clear thus reducing
any chance of the company’s failure (Tarhini, Ammar and Tarhini, 2015, p.25).
ERP notifies the firm of the correct practices that are helpful in businesses. It assists
every sector of firms regardless of the company’s size. Both large as well developing companies
can install the ERI in their respective companies in order to achieve accurate and excellent
results. Those who provide Enterprise Research Planning keep on updating their software on a
yearly basis to make it possible for companies to tackle with trending technology.
In conclusion, Enterprise Research Planning software can be easily used by employees
and requires one-time exercise to look at how it operates, and thereafter, employees can run it on
their own. Enterprise Research Planning, identifiers problems spontaneously thus the
organization that uses this system is safe.

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References
Aarikka-Stenroos, L. and Lehtimäki, T., 2014. Commercializing a radical innovation: Probing
the way to the market. Industrial Marketing Management, 43(8), pp.1372-1384.
Brand, A., 1998. Knowledge management and innovation at 3M. Journal of knowledge
management, 2(1), pp.17-22.
Antero, M.C., 2015. A Multi-case Analysis of the Development of Enterprise Resource Planning
Systems (ERP) Business Practices. Morten Friis-Olivarius The Associative Nature of Creativity.
Nevens, T.M., 1990. Commercializing technology: what the best companies do. Planning
review, 18(6), pp.20-24.
Rogers, D.S., Lambert, D.M. and Knemeyer, A.M., 2004. The product development and
commercialization process. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 15(1), pp.43-56.
Salerno, M.S., de Vasconcelos Gomes, L.A., da Silva, D.O., Bagno, R.B. and Freitas, S.L.T.U.,
2015. Innovation processes: Which process for which project?. Technovation, 35, pp.59-70.
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.
Tarhini, A., Ammar, H. and Tarhini, T., 2015. Analysis of the critical success factors for
enterprise resource planning implementation from stakeholders’ perspective: A systematic
review. International Business Research, 8(4), p.25.