ERP in Business: Implementation, Efficiency, Security, Recommendations

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of ERP systems in business, using Cadbury as a case study. It evaluates business processes, system requirements, and software vendor selection criteria. The report explores how ERP technologies can enhance business efficiency, assesses the level of efficiency achieved through implementation, and measures potential data breaches and security risks. Recommendations are provided to address these issues, aiming to guide businesses in making informed decisions about ERP implementation. The discussion covers aspects like resource allocation, IT solutions, and the role of government in ERP adoption, highlighting the importance of a well-integrated and scalable IT system for organizational success.

Running head: ERP IN BUSINESS
ERP IN BUSINESS
Name of the University
Name of the Student
Author Note

1ERP IN BUSINESS
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Business processes.................................................................................................................2
System requirements..............................................................................................................5
Software and vendor selection...............................................................................................6
Three ways ERP can be used for business efficiency............................................................8
The Level Of Efficiency Of The Technology Implementation..............................................9
Potential security risks and breaches....................................................................................10
Recommendations................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................13
References................................................................................................................................14

2ERP IN BUSINESS
Introduction
In this following report, the author has discussed the procedures of choosing an ERP
system for businesses to take informed decision in considering to implement this information
system. The business processes of the prospective business has been evaluated and discussed.
Business requirement of that a particular organization has been taken into context. The
system requirements of that particular organization has been discussed as well. Next, a proper
selection of software and vendors for other proposed technology are assessed and evaluated
in the report. Three ways have been suggested by which ERP technologies can enhance the
business efficiency has been widely discussed conclusively. Moreover, the level of efficiency
due to the implementation of the technology has been assessed. The risk of data breaches and
security are measured adequately and assessed with the organization in context. Proper
recommendations have been provided in the report to address these issues in the future.
Discussion
Business processes
Being one of largest chocolate manufacturers in the world, Cadburys was founded in
1824.
The primary business processes as well as the supporting business processes consists
of the basic business processes.
The primary business processes consists of the following elements:
 Service
 Marketing
 Operations

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 Outbound sales logistics
 Inbound sales logistics
The supporting business processes consists of the following elements:-
 Firm infrastructure
 Technology department
 Human resources
 Procurement
In the outbound sales logistics, Cadburys distributes, stores and receives warehouse
materials. The head office is located in Mutiara. The companyy receives the products which
are not available for production at its later distribution and storage facilities.
Through the outbound sales logistics, the company distributes its customer with its
services and products. Instead of opting for short sea shipping, train or mail transportation,
Cadburys believes in distributing its products through land transportation to deliver the goods
in good shape. To avoid empty runs, the company has invested in big Lorries that can
transport more products over long distance without any hassle (Morschett, Schramm-Klein
and Zentes 2015). Other grocery shops such as Giant and Tesco also make use of this service.
The excess products are all sent to other branches of Cadburys.
In the operations business process, the inputs of the company are transformed into
services and products. As Cadburys has a huge number food varieties such as chocolates,
chilled diaries, ice cream and confectionary, the raw materials are needed for every different
item. The raw materials such as milk, cocoa and whipped cream are then turned into their
final products and stored in a freezer where they are packaged as the products of Cadburys.
In the marketing business procedure, the customers are assisted to avail the services
and products of the company. Cadburys has to take care of customer sentiments as well such

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as Halal considerations while making a product. The ingredients need to be properly labelled
on every consumer product. Running such a huge organization is not an easy task but
Cadburys has managed to attract customer efficiently with their marketing initiatives.
Cadburys invests on making flyers and TV commercials and giant commercials on shopping
malls.
The service business process includes the post-sale support like maintenance and
repairments. The consumers are provided with the official site by Cadburys to place their
product reviews. This allows the company to take heed of customer feedback. Through this
business process, Cadburys reduced the sugar content of its products by 33% and decreased
the salt content by 74% (Malaurent and Avison 2015).
There are several other supporting business processes of Cadburys which are written
as follows:-
 Procurement- in this business process, the company makes sure that the
suppliers are always available so that the product manufacturing keeps on
running with the available raw materials.
 Human resources- This business department manages the hiring and
recruitment of potential employees. They manage the payment, training and
benefit of the employees (Sustainment 2014). Cadburys has managed to attract
a lot of employees towards the organization and provides the workers with a
lot of positions and opportunities. They also take care of the rights and duties
of employees.
 Technology development- This department manages the business processes
that improves the services and products of the company. They gave a research
and development department which manages that the requirements if the

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customers are always met (Nagpal, Khatri and Kumar 2015). The warehouses
use solar panels to manage the energy consumption.
System requirements
Cadburys needed a system which can efficiently manage existing stakeholders and
clients. The company needed a system through which it can expand its lines, optimize
efficiencies of its business processes, set up proper global network and enhance their
accounting systems. The company needed a time tracking infrastructure that could efficiently
manage its finance and counting and properly carry out its internal customer management.
The company required a system that could make better decision making to automate the
organizational workflow (Leon 2014). Cadburys also needed to integrate the department
functional departments of the company under an integrated platform. An integrated system
was needed that could operate in real time without the need to upgrade from time to time.
Cadburys needed an IT system that could have a common database which would be
supported by all the existing applications. The modules that would be present in all the
departments needed to have a consistent look and the system needed to integrate elaborately
with the IT department of Cadburys.
The functional requirement of Cadburys through the new integrated IT system are written
as follows:-
 Data Services
 Financial Accounting
 Human Resources
 Managerial Accounting
 Customer Relationship Management
 Supply Chain Management

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The required functional components of Cadburys were the management portal and the
transactional database.
Cadburys had to also manage the backend processes of the company with proper software
modules such as:-
 Business Needs Assessments
 Redundant Task Reduction
 Project Planning
 Supply Chain Management
 Distribution Process Management
 Financial Data Management
 Price Configuration
Software and vendor selection
There are several criteria for selecting a proper vendor and software system for a
prospective company like Cadburys. Implementing a new ERP system is a complex process
even for a large organisation like Cadburys. The system will need an initial investor, a project
that will span for several months and an expert as the software implementer. In short, the
implementation of the system will have the potential to change the business processes of the
organization. The criteria for the selection procedure are written as follows:-
 The functional requirements need to be met – The functional requirements of
Cadburys need to be mapped in the analysis process according to its system
capabilities. The prioritized requirements need to be focused on the initial phases and
the time consuming complex processes need to be left for later phases.
 The scalability and flexibility of the platform - After the analysis of the functional
requirements are conducted, Cadburys need to makes sure that the system will be

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ready for future upgrades and should have standard features. The scalability and
flexibility of the system will allow companies like Cadburys to prevent limitation in
the future.
 Easy UI – The system will need to have an intuitive user interface which allow the
users of the system to properly search for data and record new transactions efficiently
for maximising the productivity of Cadburys. The easier usability criteria will allow
the Cadburys to manage customer service quality efficiently.
 Innovative technology – The technologies that Cadburys plans on implementing in
their respective company should be innovative enough that they do not become
obsolete in a couple of years. In the present market scenario, technology develops
rapidly that might bottleneck a company from expanding in the new future if the
technology is not advanced enough. Presently, the cloud based ERP systems are the
latest technology in the market.
 Flexible financing and competitive pricing – Cadburys should choose a proper vendor
that will provide the required return in investments in a couple of years. The company
needs ti distribute the cost over time and they should assess if they should go for an
upfront investment (like on premise ERP systems) or a subscribed monthly payment
(like cloud services).
 Customizable source code – As Cadburys works with a large number of products,
they need to select the proper vendor who will let them access their source code to
make some tweaks in the system for their business processes. The vendor should be
able to use the standard languages to gain complete access control of the ERP
software.

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 Proper background check of the vendor – Cadburys needs to properly check the
vendor details and history of their implementation before properly choosing the ERP
solution.
Three ways ERP can be used for business efficiency
To gain business efficiency, companies can use ERP in three particular aspects
Resources
Resources of the organization have been available to different individuals in the
organization. Accordingly, the appropriation of the ERP have helped in giving security of to
the Resources of the organization. Budgetary Resources are imperative for the company as
the necessities for the execution examination are the basic achievement factors. The majority
of the company’s experiences need in money related resources in the market. In this manner,
constrained budgetary resources make issue in drawing closer towards a high spending
venture from enormous organizations (Negi and Bansal 2013). The cost of the PC equipment
and programming have been considered in the market. The underlying expense incorporate
the cost of PC programming advertisement equipment alongside IT usage cost and cost of
client preparing and advancement have been kept up in the diverse periods of the IT
reception. The usage of the ERP interest in the independent venture association has been
going about as a win factor for the selection of the IT in the organization. The larger benefits
of the ERP reception in the organization have been in keeping up the basic leadership
framework in the private venture.
IT Solutions
The procedure of the ERP selection has been incorporated into the independent
ventures that relies upon the attributes of IS/IT segments including Process, prevalence and

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similarity. The usage of the ERP in the independent venture have held in limiting the
multifaceted nature of the activities in the organization. The utilization of various
applications in the private venture have helped in limiting the work control in the group. The
specialized properties of the ERP items and managements are accessible in the market that
aides in giving in better ways to deal with the clients (Ptak and Schragenheim 2016). The
ERP provides accessibility in the market that aides in keeping up the offers of items and
managements of the organizations. The execution of the private venture have been improved
keeping in mind the end goal to keep up the development of the organization in the market.
Government
The reception of the ERP in the company has been influenced by the inclusion if the
legislature in the specific situation. The management have assumed a critical part in the
reception of the IT frameworks in the independent company. Activities taken by government
have upheld the reception of the ERP in the private venture. Legislative strategies have
helped in keeping up the ERP model of the business.
The Level Of Efficiency Of The Technology Implementation
With the implementation of the new system, Cadburys initially faced some efficiency
problems but in time the company managed to increase the new implemented system’s
efficiency.
Initially due to some IT problems the company manufactured excess chocolate bars
that costed the company over 12 million dollars in damage. After Cadbury chose the SAP
ERP system, the excess build-up of the Cadbury bars resulted in warehouses packed with
excess chocolates at the beginning of the year. This was a direct blowback to the level of
efficiency that the company was expecting. The company was planning on saving 520 million
dollars in expense but it backfired.

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In time, the efficiency of production improved in the factory (Harwood 2017). As
Cadburys was planning on a fast paced growth, the company desperately needed to improve
their existing system to decrease inefficiencies. The new SAP ERP adopted by the company
helped to increase the business efficiencies of several in house departments and helped the
company to maintain track of its growth considering all the variables of the market scenario.
The ERP system allowed Cadburys to improve their branched structure of their depots and
offices and improve their processes of warehouse management system. Although the
implementation system was time consuming, the following implementations proved to be a
lot cheaper and took less time to implement which boosted the savings of Cadburys during
the implementation phase. The new system allows the company to reconstruct the internal
processes of the company which was being pointed out by concerned stakeholders for a long
time. Cadburys also developed a better customer service feedback system with the new
system as it helped the company to monitor changes and assess if the company is proceeding
with the initial plan or not. The cross functional implementation of the new ERP system
allowed the company to increase their business efficiencies. Moreover, SAP ERP system is a
renowned vendor which was chosen by Cadburys after initial research and this bonus
advantage allowed the company to complete the implementation phase without any issues in
a streamlined manner. The system also provided Cadbury with a vendor connected portal
which allowed the company to monitor the inventory movement and accordingly make
decisions.
In short, despite the initial issues, Cadbury was able to improve its system efficiency
with the implementation of the SAP ERP system.
Potential security risks and breaches
Companies which have implemented ERP systems like Cadburys face potential data
breaches and security risks on a daily basis. Some of them are written as follows:-

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 Cyber-attacks
Cyber-attacks have been the most generally perceived risks in the arrangement of the
association. There are distinctive occasions of Cyber attacks in the affiliation. Distinctive
ruinous contaminations and malwares can attack the framework server of the association and
cause Cyber-attacks.
 DDoS attack
A denial of service attack is an attack that game plans with shutting down of framework
server of the association. This attack may close down a machine or a server forever by
hurting the architecture (Shaul and Tauber 2013). It focuses in the private data and
information of the relationship in the market. This may reduce check estimation of the
association in the market.
 Phishing
This attack centers on the personal information of the customers including the username,
passwords, dealing with a record information and other individual information. This attack is
essentially completed with the help of spam messages that are sent to the customers. Exactly
when the customers open that spam mail. All the login capabilities are sent to the software
engineers. This can be a perilous or the association, as there are different sends are gotten on
their mail id.
 Cloud attacks
Cloud computing have been a creating development wherever all through the world. All
around, most of the association are keeping up and securing their data over the cloud. Along
these lines, diverse software engineers that have concentrating on cloud for breaking out data
and information (Ruivo et al. 2013). The attacks in the cloud have been an inconceivable