Integrated Business Challenge: SAP Implementation at Colgate-Palmolive

This business case outlines a proposed project plan for Colgate-Palmolive Limited, focusing on enhancing CSR activities and implementing technical upgrades, particularly in Asian markets like India. The core suggestion involves developing an SAP system to facilitate technical advancements and improve management of CSR projects. The implementation aims to increase efficiency, reduce operational complexities, and centralize business processes onto a single global platform. The document details the project's scope, key objectives (including operational, marketing, and CSR goals), feasibility analysis, a Gantt chart outlining project timelines, resource allocation, and a budget. Stakeholder analysis identifies both internal (project manager, in-house staff, technical professionals) and external stakeholders (sponsors, suppliers, customers), highlighting the project's potential impact and benefits for Colgate-Palmolive.

Running Head: INTEGRATED BUSINESS CHALLENGE
Integrated Business Challenge
Name of the Student
Name of the University

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Business Cover Letter
To
Mr. A
Head of Operations,
Colgate Palmolive India
Dated:
Subject: Regarding business case for proposed project
Respected Sir,
This letter is to inform you that as per the desired changes you requested in our last meeting and
proposed new project, we have created this business case that is used to discuss how the changes you
suggested and modifications can be implemented in a suitable manner and within the budget that you also
mentioned to be available. Hence, you are requested to go through this business case and provide your
feedback regarding the same.
Thanking You.
Yours Faithfully,
<INSERT NAME>

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Executive Summary
This business case is prepared based on a proposed project plan for Colgate-Palmolive Limited. As per
their requirement, they want to develop their CSR activities in addition to technical upgrades to increase
market in Asian countries, especially India. For fulfilling their purpose, development of SAP system has
been suggested that will help them in significant technical upgrade as well as prepare a better and efficient
management system for the CSR projects and campaigns that they plan to conduct in India in the near
future. In other words, the implementation of the SAP system and integrate it with the existing system in the
company would be very beneficial for the company. The main aim is to increase the efficiency for the
company and reduce the complexities that are faced by the staffs within the company. In this business
case, the details of project as well as estimated time and budget have been provided.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction and Background to Business Case.........................................................................................4
1.1 Overview of Business Case....................................................................................................................4
1.2 Overview of Business and CSR Activities..............................................................................................4
1.3 Opportunity of Business Venture............................................................................................................4
2.0 Business Case Definition............................................................................................................................5
2.1 Nature of the Business Venture.............................................................................................................5
2.2 Business Case Aim................................................................................................................................6
2.3 Business Case Scope............................................................................................................................6
3.0 Business Case Stakeholders and Stakeholders Analysis..........................................................................6
4.0 Program Logic Model..................................................................................................................................7
4.1 Project Scope.........................................................................................................................................8
4.2 Key Objectives........................................................................................................................................8
4.3 Operational Objectives...........................................................................................................................8
4.5 Marketing Objective................................................................................................................................9
4.6 CSR Objectives....................................................................................................................................10
5.0 Feasibility Analysis....................................................................................................................................10
6.0 Gantt Chart................................................................................................................................................13
7.0 Resources.................................................................................................................................................18
8.0 Budget.......................................................................................................................................................19
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................................................20
Appendices......................................................................................................................................................23
Appendix 1..................................................................................................................................................23
Appendix 2..................................................................................................................................................23

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1.0 Introduction and Background to Business Case
1.1 Overview of Business Case
Colgate-Palmolive is a company that is constantly growing in spite of already having hold over a
large portion of the international market. However, with the growing technological demands for maintaining
viability in the market, the company has proposed a new project for the implementation of SAP in their
current business system. The main objective behind this project is to establish a “digital core” i.e. in single
global platform on which, the entire business system of the company will be integrated. Currently, Colgate-
Palmolive has reaches over 220 countries in the world and hence, it has separate management systems for
different regions and countries (Möller and Parvinen 2015). With the new SAP ERP system, the entire
business process will be simplified and integrated into one common system. It will also benefit the CSR
profile of the company as the business will be more customer-oriented and all the different branches will be
run using the same CSR policies.
1.2 Overview of Business and CSR Activities
Currently, Colgate-Palmolive deals with the manufacture and sale of various domestic care
products like toothbrush, toothpaste, soaps and shampoos as well as pet nutrition products. With the global
presence of the company, the annual revenue for the company is around $20 billion and it operates its
sales business over 220+ countries through various supply chains. However, due to massive international
reach of the company, the business areas have been divided into several regions that have separate
management systems and operations policies. The company also has some detailed CSR policies that
must be followed by all regional branches. For the CSR purposes, the company often implements some
short term projects that are aimed to benefit society, especially those with limited resources. Some of the
recent and large scale CSR projects undertaken by the company include Oral Health Month, Palmolive
Clean Hands Good Health, Protex Hand Washing Day and others (Pinto 2015). While some of these
projects are global in nature, some others are region specific that are also managed independently by the
regional branches of the company. However, the investments for these projects come from the central
branch in USA but they cannot keep sufficient track on the expenses especially in the remote regional
branches. With the new proposed SAP ERP system, the entire business system will be centralized on a
common digital platform. In this system, the central headquarter will be able to control all the CSR projects
and expenses with efficient monitoring and updating the same on their business portal so that the
customers are able to view the same.
1.3 Opportunity of Business Venture
The new SAP ERP system will open a large number of windows of opportunity for the company in
terms of business as well as corporate social responsibility. The company already has access to

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international markets over 220+ countries and hence, there is no very much space for expansion of
services. However, there is opportunity for organization to enhance the existing services along with the
upgradation of the existing technologies to have more efficient operations as well as centralized control
over the entire business function around the world (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). Furthermore, SAP ERP will
also enable the company to invest more in the CSR projects as they will have better monitoring and
controlling options over expenses and profit analyses. The centralized business platform will also reduce
unnecessary expenses in the regional branches and increase the overall profitability of the regional
branches.
2.0 Business Case Definition
2.1 Nature of the Business Venture
The nature of this particular business venture is to implement SAP ERP system in the current
business system of Colgate-Palmolive in order to develop a common and central platform for the business
operations. Currently, the company operates through regional supply chains and hence, each regional unit
operates independently following the basic business policies of the organization. However, in this system,
the monitoring and control from the central headquarters is not sufficient and hence, there is no proper
track of business expenses and profits from various regional units. In order to develop a suitable business
intelligence that will integrate the entire system, SAP ERP is the most viable choice. In addition to the
integration of the business, the company can now operate as one global unit instead of separate regional
units. As per the new system, the possible benefits will be as follows.
Centralized Control – In the issue with the separate control for regional units, each unit operates
independently and submits the annual revenue to the headquarters at the end of the year. However, in this
type of system, it is impossible for the central headquarter to monitor the business of all the units including
daily / monthly expenses, business transactions, profit margin and others (Wilson 2014). Hence, a common
platform with centralized control is required where all the business activities will be logged in the central
server and hence, monitoring of business will be possible. SAP ERP will provide this benefit and hence, will
be very much suitable for Colgate-Palmolive.
Business Intelligence – In addition to the centralized control benefit, the SAP ERP will also
provide business intelligence to the entire business process of the company. In other words, most of the
business operations will be computerized and automated that will increase the processing efficiency and
decrease processing time significantly. Moreover, this will also reduce the need for manual processing and
hence, will remove all the errors caused by the manually processed system ( Nicholas and Steyn 2017).
This will benefit Colgate-Palmolive significantly as the operational costs will be reduced by a large margin
letting the company to invest more in CSR projects.

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2.2 Business Case Aim
The main aim of the business case is to develop a planning scenario for the new SAP
implementation project to be executed by Colgate-Palmolive in order to enhance the customer base and
overall business. The first initiative for the project is to be taken in India, under the control of Colgate
Palmolive India limited. The new SAP will not only enhance the organizational performance but also the
management system of the overall CSR policies used by the company for business promotions.
2.3 Business Case Scope
The scope of the business case includes the following.
Survey on the Indian market is within the scope of the project
Preparation of SAP implementation plan is within the scope of the project
Replacement of existing manually controlled systems is within the scope of the project
Implementation of efficient and proper activity management system is within the scope of
the project
3.0 Business Case Stakeholders and Stakeholders Analysis
The main stakeholders of the project can be sub divided into two categories: the internal
stakeholders, who are related directly with the project and the external stakeholders, who are not related
directly with the project. However, they would also face the impact of the project. The internal stakeholders
in this project are:
Project manager: the project manager is one of the main stakeholders in this project, the main
personnel responsible for the entire project is the project manager. Therefore, the project manager can be
considered the most important stakeholder in the project.
In-house Staffs: The in- house staffs are directly related with the ERP systems that are being
implement for the company. They have to be trained by the professional experts on using the systems.
They are the ones who would be providing the feedback about the use of the system.

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Technical professionals: The technical professionals are related directly with the system as they
are the one who would be accessing the systems during training the staffs and they would be able to
supervise the implementation of the system within the company. They are very important for this project, as
they would play an efficient role both in the implementation of the system and accessing the system.
Technicians: the technicians that would be hired by the company for the implementation of the
SAP-ERP system would be directly related to the project and hence, the technicians are one of the key
internal stakeholders for the project.
Software Developer: The software developer would be responsible for the development of the
SAP software for the company. They have implement the technology in such a way so that the
implementation and the installations of the software within the network of the company.
Network Engineer: The network engineer is one of important person in the technical department
as they are ones who have knowledge on the already implemented system for the company and also they
are the ones who be providing an use insight about the network to the technicians who would be
implementing the project.
The main external stakeholders in this project:
Sponsors: The sponsors are the external stakeholders in this project. However, they would be
related with the financial outcomes of this project. They are the ones who would be providing the finance for
the completion and the implementation of the project.
Suppliers: The suppliers are the external stakeholders in this, project. They would supply the
materials required for this project.
Customers: The main impact of the project would be on the customers. They would feel the effect
of this project. However, they would not be related directly with the project. Hence, they are the external
stakeholders in this project.
4.0 Program Logic Model

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4.1 Project Scope
The “SAP” project is intended to run for about a span of 12 to 13 months also the success of the
project is to be analyzed. If the success can be obtained in less time, then the project can be carried on for
a much larger span of time. The period that is being considered here is thought to be sufficient for the
analysis of the project and also this would help in planning the further development within the project. The
project is scheduled to be started form March 2018. The Colgate-Palmolive company from India has been
selected for the project that is being considered here.
4.2 Key Objectives
Objectives Tasks to Undertake Reason Effect
Hiring professionals from
Australia for training
purposes
Inviting experienced
individuals in the field of
technology who would be
adept for the job and will
be willing to relocate
The hired professionals
would be experienced and
would be able to provide
some useful training to the
staffs of the company who
would be hired from India
to work for the project in
India
These would result in the
staffs of the company
being trained successfully.
The staffs would also be
able to gain some useful
knowledge from the
experienced personnel that
would be recruited for the
companyHiring employees
experienced in hardware
and installation of SAP
Conducting recruitment
drive for the post of
technical professionals in
the company
The employees would be
able to manage the
hardware and the SAP
networking routers and the
databases integrated
within the systems of the
company
4.3 Operational Objectives
The operational objective of the company is set up SAP system within the company and integrates
the whole network and software system of the company with a universal database within the company. All
the related information about the company and their business would be stored within the database. This will
further allow the company to invest in and manage the regional CSR projects that will further add to their
revenue inflow.
The Implementation of the SAP system and integrate it with the existing system in the company
would be very beneficial for the company. The main aim is to increase the efficiency for the company and
reduce the complexities that are faced by the staffs within the company. By investment of a certain amount
of money in the technical department within the company it can be ensured that the production of the
company goes up and the employees satisfaction increased to a great level.

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The first operational objective for the company is to hire some experienced technical professionals
so that they can provide proper training to the staffs of the company and they would be able to supervise
the operational procedures during the project. They would able very efficient in the manipulation of the
software, installation of further hard ware if required and also manage any type of anomalies that can takes
place within the system of the company (Verzuh 2015). The hiring of the professionals is to be done as
early as possible as they would also be able to supervise the set of the system. They should also get
accustomed to the existing system of the company so that they would be able to communicate efficiently
with the existing employees of the company so that they can provide a better training about the SAP
technologies within the company. The project is to be started in January 2018 and hence the professional
are required to be hired by December or November 2017.
Secondly, some additional staffs are required to be hired for the set up of the SAP within the
existing networks of the company. The staffs would be gaining some experience for the professionals and
learn to work on the implemented technology. The hired technical experts would actually implement the
process while the experienced personnel who be able to supervise the implementation of the system.
Hence, the technical staffs are required to be hired before the start of the project.
4.5 Marketing Objective
Objectives Activities to Undertake Return Output Benefits
Conducting oral care
awareness camp for the
under privileged people
The company conducts
oral care awareness
programs for the people
who are under
privileged and are
unaware of the dental
problems.
This is an awareness
program that would
allow the company to
reach out to the peoples
that would help them to
take better care for their
dental problems. This
would work for the
popularity of the
company that is already
leading in the field of
oral solutions.
This would boost the
overall reputation of the
company and increase
the popularity of the
company largely. This
would also increase the
reputation of the
company in the context
of CSR of the company.
Conducting oral health
months.
Conducting free dental
check-ups all around
the country for the
people and making
them aware about the
different type of dental
problems in the
process.
This would increase the
awareness among the
people and urge them to
going for more frequent
dental check-ups. This
would reduce the risks
related to dental health.
This would boost the
overall reputation of the
company and increase
the popularity of the
company largely. This
would also increase the
reputation of the
company in the context
of CSR of the company.

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The Colgate company aims to conduct oral care awareness for the under-priviledgesd children as
part of the Colgate Scholarship offer. The main aim of the company is to increase the awareness in the
general public about the oral care hygiene and also the company is looking to provide scholarships to the
people who are able to learn the oral care tips efficiently. The aim is reach out to the customers of the
company and teach them about the oral care habits that would help in raising the oral care level within the
country.
The Colgate company also aims to conduct oral care months where people receive free dental
checkups throughout the month and also encouraging people to go for the dental checkups more
frequently. This would enhance the reputation of the company as well as increase the overall CSR
performance of the company. Furthermore, implementation of the SAP in the business system will help
them manage the projects and control the revenue inflow efficiently.
4.6 CSR Objectives
Objectives Activities to Undertake Return Output Benefits
To spread awareness
about oral healthcare
problems and implement
SAP in the system of the
company to keep
account of the CSR
activities conducted by
them.
(i) Conducting frequent
meetings with the staffs
from the different
departments of the
company.
(ii) Conducting various
oral health awareness
programs and
scholarship programs for
the people.
This would help the
company to maintain
information regarding
their CSR activities and
help in encouraging the
people to make frequent
visit for dental checkups.
This would help the
company to spread the
awareness about the
dental problems and
also accelerate the
process of the sale of
products for the
company.
5.0 Feasibility Analysis
For a project to be successful, it must be feasible to the organization in terms of a number of
factors like finances, time, actual benefits and others. Hence, before authorizing a project, a feasibility
analysis must be conducted. In order to conduct feasibility analysis for this particular project, the following
points have been considered and evaluated.

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Market Analysis – Since, the chosen country for the influence of the project is India, the market
has been analyzed based in India only. India has the second largest population in the world and naturally, it
can be expected that the market is extremely huge in terms of other countries. However, there are some
problems that are listed below.
 Owing to poor literacy rate, an absolute majority of rural population do not use dental care
and other hygiene products like soaps (Umar et al. 2016). Hence, even if the market is
huge, the number of possible customers needs to increase so that the company can
benefit from the large customer pool.
 Too much competition is also a major issue for the market. Numerous local as well as
international companies have entered the same market and are competing with each other
for superiority (Wilson 2014). In addition to Colgate-Palmolive, there are other popular
brands like GlaxoSmithKline, Unilever, Dabur and others. Hence, in order to make this
project feasible for the Indian market, suitable campaigns should be undertaken to raise
awareness as well as public interest regarding the benefits of the Colgate-Palmolive
products.
 In addition to the issues and problems, there is a lot of opportunity in the market as well.
With the increasing number of CSR projects and awareness campaigns undertaken by the
company, the number of people using the dental care and hygiene items is increasing at a
standard rate (Walker. and Lloyd-Walker 2016). Furthermore, with the new proposed SAP
system, the company can organize the CSR projects and campaigns in a more efficient
way that will also help the company to get hold of the market in the country with relative
ease.
SWOT Analysis – A well defined SWOT analysis can provide significant insight into the external
environment of an organization. A SWOT table for Colgate-Palmolive in terms of this project is as follows.
Strength Weakness
The main strength of the company lies in its brand value
as well as the popularity in each of the countries it
provides service to. Furthermore, the organizational
strength of the company is sufficiently high and hence,
high value projects can easily be executed. The
proposed SAP system will further strengthen the
organization with more efficient and better administration
system for various CSR and other projects, campaigns,
business ventures, etc.
The main weakness of the company is a lack of a
specific administration system for projects and
campaigns, especially in rural areas of the countries.
Although in India, Colgate has undertaken several CSR
projects in various rural parts, most of these programs
were discreet and the success rates were low due to lack
of suitable management system.
Opportunity Threat
Indian market always presents huge marketing
opportunity owing to the huge population. Hence, the
The main threat for the company is the huge competition
in the market. There are a huge number of similar local