Case Study: ERP Implementation for a Small and Medium Enterprise

This case study examines the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for Chris and Patricia's Legal Support (CPLS), a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) providing legal aid. The report evaluates the requirements of CPLS, considering factors such as its operational diversit...Read More

Running head: CASE STUDY-ENTERPRISE SYSTEM
Case Study-Enterprise System
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
The report is designed to evaluate the requirements of a SME for the implementation of ERP. To
achieve the deemed objective, the report has evaluated different services available in the current
market. After the evaluation the service providers are shortlisted as per the suitability and needs
of the considered organisation. Finally, a decision is made over the most suitable service for the
organisation. The report has been concluded to offer proper references and recommendations for
the same.
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3

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Evaluating the requirement:.............................................................................................................3
General Guidelines for purchase process:.......................................................................................4
Potential vendors.............................................................................................................................6
Evaluation on shortlisted ERP vendors.......................................................................................9
Recommended ERP:..................................................................................................................10
ERP module to CPLS stakeholders...........................................................................................11
Benefits of ERP system for CPLS.............................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................13
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................13
References:....................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
The organizations are equipping the Information Technology (IT)/ Information Systems
(IS) to maintain their sustainability for decades. One of that technology is the subject of the
paper, Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP). ERP dates back to the 1960s however the term
itself was coined by Gartner in 1990 (Stein et al. 2012). The deemed subject is the system that
integrates all the essential operations of an organisation in unit database. Those processes include
resources management systems, accounting and other operations of an organisation. The topics
of discussion in the report are ERP and appropriate ERP vendors for implementation in CPLS
(Chris and Patricia’s Legal Support). CPLS falls under the category of Small and Medium
Enterprise (SME) to offers legal support to financially weak people.
The Purpose of the report is to evaluate different ERP vendors available in the market
and determine the most suitable ERP system for the considered organisation. The focus is on the
method of purchase and the factors that should be considered before finalising the deal between
the vendor and CPLS. To achieve the deemed purpose, the author had gathered data on different
vendors that are available in the market and shortlisted three of them. Further, an assessment of
the shortlisted vendors and their ERP system has been done to refer the most suitable ERP
system available. In conclusion, the author has also put forth some recommendations that need to
keep in mind before purchasing the system.
Evaluating the requirement:
CPLS method of operation is a diverse one, and with around 50 associates makes it a
complicated also. Their information resources include clients and the services offered to them,

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peak seasons, pending cases, client list along with their contact details and others. The offered
case study also suggests that the deemed organisation would prefer to have a cloud based ERP
system. Along with maintaining the operations of the organisation, the selected system should
also be capable of recording the suggestions that a particular lawyer offers to a particular client
in a particular case. The system should also offer employee management so that the organisation
can reduce the effort that they invest in specifying the cases to the employees depending on their
specialisation. The considered firm is famous for its free services to the unprivileged people
which generate massive traffic at the organisation. Hence to manage that traffic the system
should offer A robust CRM (Customer Relationship Management) System. Taking consideration
of the following factors the purchase of the most suitable system should be made.
General Guidelines for purchase process:
The demand for the ERP system created a rush in the market, and with all the options
available in the market the interested organisation developed confusion. Hence to omit the
confusion, general guidelines for the purchase process was introduced which have stages. The
stages included in the guidelines are defined to measure different factors. Namely, suitability,
compatibility, evaluating the options, the flexibility of the product, cost efficiency, capability,
defining objectives and the management. The stages of the purchase process have been discussed
in the following paragraphs.
The first phase of the offered guidelines assesses the suitability of the system for the
users. The importance of this phase can be understood by the fact the most important reason for
the failure of an implemented system is user’s lack of interest. Users lack of interest commonly
results from the lack of suitability with the system. Hence to prevent failure of the implemented

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system and to use it at maximum efficiency the discussed stage should be considered. The
second stage of the guidelines is defined to measure the compatibility of the system with the
organisational operations and transfer of data to the implemented system. Information is the
essential resource for an organisation’s future and hence should be preserved. The deemed stage
validates the safety of the data when transferred from the older system to the newly implemented
system.
Evaluating the number of options that can help the CPLS to achieve their desired goal
falls under the third phase. The need for this phase arises from the complexity that is involved in
the requirements of the firm. Pursuing the deemed phase will enable the users to explore the
options before shortlisting the vendors. In the fourth stage, the flexibility of the deemed system is
evaluated. Organizations changes or expand depending on their performance. Hence it is
essential to have a system that offers flexibility to cope with any potential change made in the
organisation.
CPLS operates its functions depending upon the funds it receives from the donation.
Hence the budget of the organisation is limited which rises the need for the fifth phase (Westra et
al. 2012). The considered phase measures the cost efficiency of the system that is to be
purchased. Additionally, the training and resources cost that will be involved in familiarising the
employees with the system are also considered in this phase. The return on investment (ROI) is
also a factor that is measured in the deemed phase. The sixth phase of the guideline suggests that
before continuing with the buying process, the organisation should measure the capabilities of
the product they are purchasing. The purpose of doing so is to prevent any risk or interruption
that may arise in the future for the organisation.

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Goal defining for the product that is to be purchased is evaluated in the seventh phase of
the suggested guideline. CPLS is a non-profitable organisation hence they should make proper
use of their investment. While to make proper use of any product their goal should be defined
and hence the considered phased should be considered. The final instruction to the buyers is
measured their capability of whether they are capable of managing the product they are buying
or not. This is because operation of most IS systems demand expertise and ERP be one of them.
Hence to make proper use of their investment the firm should consider this phase.
Potential vendors
In this cyber age, the market offers multiple options for everything. The case is same
when considered with ERP offerings. Hence, depending upon the requirement of the organisation
and the brands that offer appropriate ERP services, the potential vendors for the same have been
discussed in the following section.
Oracle is a name in the world of IT services and one of the its offered service is ERP. The
deemed organisation is known for offering relational database. The ERP offered by the
organisation offers Performance management, human-capital management tools, strategies and
applications for outsourcing and PM (project management) applications (Oracle.com, 2018). The
deemed service is offered in two variations namely Rise and Planning editions by Oracle. The
two variations are developed for industries depending on their size. The Planning edition is
designed for large organizations and the standard edition for the SMEs. Additional to the above
mentioned features the considered organisation also offers monitoring system for the work, CRM
and safekeeping of the informational records in real time. Decision making is also greatly
supported by the offered services.

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SAP is a widely recognised name in the world of ERP services. Global giants like
Accenture and Vistex Inc employees the ERP service offered by the SAP (SAP, 2018). The
deemed service is known for handling complex situations while offering an enormous storage of
relational database to store the information. The service is based on three-layered modelling of
client server while taking in account of the applications, presentation and the database. The
additional features offered by the deemed services include capital analytics, functions analytics
and environment (workplace) analytics. However, the processing and operation of the service is
considered as complex and hence mostly suitable for the larger organisations
Microsoft is the most widely recognised name in the world of technology and services
related to the same. The deemed firm also offers ERP services by name of Microsoft Dynamics.
The considered service focuses mainly on the SMEs. Dynamics is known for offering ease of use
for the customers while improving the revenue generated and the performance of the
organisation (Corporation, 2018). The offered benefits are based on the data developed during
the real-time analysis and monitoring operations. Additionally, Dynamics offer budget
processing, organisational resource management, monitoring of the work progress and validity of
the time framework. It also allows the consumer to manage the trends within the organisation
and the real world along with the relationship.
Apart from the SAGE and Odoo, Infor is the another alternative ERP that is taken in the
case for the evaluation. The SAGE is comparatively new in the market however it has created a
name for itself in its short a timeframe. Sage X3, Sage 100 and Sage 300 are the three alternative
ERP offered by the SAGE enterprise (Sage.com, 2018). Out of the three available edition Sage
100 is the most appropriate for SMEs and also covers the basic needs of the deemed
organisations. However, Sage 100 mostly focuses on the organisations that are involved in

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distribution and manufacturing of products. While, Sage 300 is appropriate for the SMEs that
have units in geographically distributed locations. Sage 300 offers additional benefits of multi-
linguistic diverse currency support along with the offering of Sage 100. Finally, Sage X3 is
designed to be suitable for the organisations that have a single goal defined for them. Sage X3
targets a smaller audience compared to its counterparts though, offers intense feature to the
targeted industries.
Infor is a name that is in the process of creating a name for itself in the ERP service
providers environment. It focuses on the SMEs for the sale and designing of the services.
However, the service offered by the organisation is limited to the manufacturing organisations
only. The deemed organisation offers its services in two editions namely, Infor CloudSuite and
Infor Visual ERP (Infor.com, 2018). The former is a cloud based ERP that is especially designed
to assist in the mechanical manufacturing units like aerospace and automotive. While, the other
counterpart is desgined to offer assistance in the SMEs that are involved in the manufacturing
activities. The latter is designed to offers specific functions of the organisational operations with
specific controls. Both the editions offer additional benefits which includes PM, Qm (Quality
Management) and shop-floor automation.
The Odoo have seen a boost in its image as an ERP service provider in recent years.
Odoo specialises in cloud-based services that targets SMEs (Odoo.com, 2018). The deemed
service offers PM, billings, accounting, resources management, manufacturing and buying of the
consumer industry. The considered service offers efficient transmission of the information within
the ERP module enabled for communication. The Odoo also offers free services for a limited
period of time with limited access.

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There are many other firms that offer service in the field of ERP however, the most
efficient services have been discussed above. The sections following will be used to shortlist
from the discussed ERP providers and derive to conclude the most suitable service provider.
Evaluation on shortlisted ERP vendors
Chris and Patricia’s Legal support are small industries which need Enterprise Resource
Planning System for its effective business operations. The study on adoption of Enterprise
Resource Planning in an agricultural farms located in Brazil shows that Enterprise Resource
Planning is a necessary tool. The Study shows that Enterprise Resource Planning helps
agricultural farm to be competitive and support socioeconomic and environmental functions
(Haberli Jr, Oliveira and Yanaze 2017). Another study on benefits of Enterprise Resource
Planning within small businesses shows that Enterprise Resource Planning is helpful for different
dimensions of the business. The benefits to dimensions of small family business are operational,
managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure and organizational dimensions (Lasisi, Owens and
Udagedara 2017). The overall business operations will be maintained through Enterprise
Resource Planning.
The analysis of Chris and Patricia’s Legal support business situation shows that they
should choose Microsoft Dynamics ERP vendor, Infor ERP vendor and Sage ERP vendor. These
are the appropriate Enterprise Resource Planning vendors that are shortlisted for Chris and
Patricia’s Legal support.
The evaluation and detailed analysis of Microsoft Dynamics ERP, Infor ERP and Sage ERP are
given in the following paragraph. The financial position of Microsoft Dynamics ERP vendor is
high and it has high market share after SAP ERP. The support issues of Microsoft Dynamics

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ERP vendor are that they have compatibility issue with 64-bit version of Windows operating
system in computer systems. The hardware and software infrastructure of Microsoft Dynamics
ERP vendor are different for different types of Microsoft Dynamics ERP vendor. The
infrastructures of Microsoft Dynamics AX are MS SQL and Windows. The infrastructures for
Microsoft Dynamics GP are MS SQL along with Windows, Linux and Unix. The direction of
software of Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP vendor and Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP vendor are
AX (2012) and 2010 respectively. The currency of software of Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP
vendor and Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP vendor is SaaS solution. The release strategies of
Microsoft Dynamics ERP vendor are six months’ cycle release. The involvement of users in
upgrades of Microsoft Dynamics ERP vendor is moderate. The financial position of Infor ERP
vendor is quite moderate as its growth in market is still expanding. The support issues of Infor
ERP vendor are that they do not support Firefox. The hardware and software infrastructure of
Infor ERP vendor are Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and MS SQL, Linux and Windows
respectively. The direction and currency of software of Infor ERP vendor are 6.5.4 version and
SaaS solution (cloud) respectively. The release strategies of Infor ERP vendor are quick and
frequent. The involvement of users in upgrades of Infor ERP vendors is moderate to high. The
financial position of Sage ERP vendor is high as it is growing very fast in current market. The
support issues of Sage ERP vendor are that they do not support certain operating systems such as
MAC OS. The hardware and software infrastructure of Sage ERP vendor are ASP.NET and MS
SQL server, Linux and Windows respectively. The direction and currency of software of Sage
ERP vendor are 6.5 version and SaaS solution (cloud version of Sage X3 which is a different
version of Sage) respectively. The release strategies of Sage ERP vendor are moderate with

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special focus on core accounting operations. The involvement of users in upgrades of Sage ERP
vendors is high to moderate.
Recommended ERP:
The Enterprise Resource Planning vendor recommended to Chris and Patricia’s Legal
support is Microsoft Dynamics ERP vendor. This Enterprise Resource Planning vendor
recommendation is due to its potential of Customer Relationship Management. The Microsoft
Dynamics ERP vendor provides strong market solutions and contains multiple Enterprise
Resource Planning products. The moderate to low cost is an important factor that drives the
adoption of this Enterprise Resource Planning vendor in Chris and Patricia’s Legal support. The
Microsoft Dynamic ERP provides benefits of end-to-end business solution and customer
management benefit to Chris and Patricia’s Legal support. The most important requirement of
Chris and Patricia’s Legal support is to manage relationships with customers and provide them
solutions. This requirement is completely fulfilled by Microsoft Dynamics ERP. The database is
also suitable to provide storage and retrieval of data from Microsoft Dynamics ERP database.
The other requirement of Chris and Patricia’s Legal support is human resource management
which is also completely fulfilled by Microsoft Dynamics ERP. Microsoft Dynamics ERP
provides human resource management which includes recruitment, training, expense
management and organizational management.
ERP module to CPLS stakeholders
It is a multi-language, cutting edge, and multi-currency ERP solution for the CPL that can
be helpful in supporting and managing the stakeholders in better and efficient manner. There are
many ways in which this software can be applicable for the CPL such as it is a helpful tool for
supporting the mute-site operations that is being operated for the enterprise in local and

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international regions. This can provide intercompany processing that is no doubt a beneficial
aspect for the organization in this competitive time and providing automation for the operational
activities is another application of the software. Other application of the Dynamics AX is that it
can adopt the business despite of the individual to be fit and suitable for the project. It can be
described as the working in harmony with the software’s those have been already present in the
systems and support the activities in better interactive way and is helpful in providing a robust
platform in manner to provide leverage in the investment that is already spent by the CPL for the
execution of the daily operational activities. There are many sectors within the CPL whose
efficiency and affectivity ca be enhanced through the implementation of the Microsoft dynamics
AX and it will be handling the distribution, finance, project, supply chain, customer relationship
management, Field service management, and HR. this facilitation will be automatically reflected
in the overall revenue of the organization and thus better output could be gained.
Benefits of ERP system for CPLS
Following are the list of the benefits that could be achieved within the CPL through the
implementation of the Microsoft dynamics AX within the existing system of the enterprise:
Lowered Upfront Cost: “The state-of-the-art technology” is the solution every organization need
for the efficient delivery of the operational activities of the organization and this is the optimal
choice for the CPL. This will be the best solution for the organization in manner to save the
upfront cost and thus allows the company to be operatable at the SaaS’s platform.
Not Much Staff or IT personal are needed: this will allow the organization to be dependent on
the third party that makes the organization to be reliable on them for the operational activities of
the organization.

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True Flexibility and Peace of Mind are some of the vital benefits of this implementation within
the existing structure as all the operational activities will be handled and operated automatically
with the help of the software.
Global availability: It is the biggest beneficial factor for the CPL in manner to enhance the scope
for the organization and attract more consumers. This will allow the users to gather information
and data from across the world and execute all the activities based on those. Thus, it will
automatically enhance the supply chain and better supply chain management.
Conclusion
Based on the above report it can be concluded that CPL can implement the Microsoft
dynamics AX for the accomplishment of the objectives of the organization and support the
organization in the long run of the company. The above report is a thorough research on the
market analysis and requirements of the CPL and provided the ERP as the possible solution for
the execution of its activities in better and efficient manner. This report presents all the aspects
and objectives related to the three ERP systems and vendors those underlie within the needs and
requirements of the organization and its customers. Among the presented vendors, Microsoft
dynamics has been presented as the best solution for the organization in manner to accomplish
the goals. This report has presented all the aspects related to the implementation of the ERP
based on the different modules and the vendors those are presently in the market and analyses
them according to the needs and requirements of the organization.

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Recommendations
Following recommendations can be approached for the CPL in manner to be the leading
enterprise in the competitive market:
It will be an effective approach for the CPL to analyse the background of the third party.
Targeting the customers of the specific area is the most needed factor for the successful
implementation of the project (Damaraju et al. 2014).
Effectively implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning modules can also be
recommended for the organization.
Other ecmmendation approached to the CPL is to regularly audit tye working of the
software concerning the functioning of the software.
Higher bandwidth network is recommended for the CPL inmanner o accomplish the
autmatic activities of the a=operational activities oof the organization.

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References:
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t0wbxrXgbsxENsdFyGiwBUP3dT9nZhG_CCjnRb5rBz6yvu6FwaAqByEALw_wcB [Accessed
30 Jan. 2018].
Damaraju, E., Allen, E.A., Belger, A., Ford, J.M., McEwen, S., Mathalon, D.H., Mueller, B.A.,
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analysis reveals transient states of dysconnectivity in schizophrenia. NeuroImage: Clinical, 5,
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Haberli Jr, C., Oliveira, T. and Yanaze, M., 2017. Understanding the determinants of adoption of
enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology within the agri-food context: the case of the
Infor.com. (2018). ERP Software | End-to-End Cloud Based ERP | Infor ERP. [online]
Available at: https://www.infor.com/solutions/erp/ [Accessed 30 Jan. 2018].
Lasisi, M.O., Owens, J.D. and Udagedara, S., 2017. Key benefits of enterprise resource planning
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Odoo.com. (2018). Odoo User Documentation — Odoo Business 0.1 documentation. [online]
Available at: https://www.odoo.com/documentation/user/11.0/index.html [Accessed 30 Jan.
2018].

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