Information System and ERP Implementation in Modern Business

This report provides an introduction to information systems and the role of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) within a business context, using Marks & Spencer (M&S) as a case study. It defines information systems, categorizing them into Transaction Processing Systems (TPS), Management Information Systems (MIS), Decision Support Systems (DSS), and Executive Information Systems (EIS). The report then delves into ERP systems, explaining their function in integrating and automating core business processes. Different types of ERP systems, including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid solutions, are discussed, highlighting M&S's use of a hybrid approach. The benefits of ERP systems, such as reduced costs, improved visibility, and enhanced decision-making, are also examined. The report concludes with recommendations for M&S, suggesting the adoption of point-of-sale systems for real-time financial and inventory management to improve service quality and efficiency. The report emphasizes the importance of information systems in analyzing customer needs and market trends to maintain a competitive edge.

Information System in
Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................1
Classification of information system......................................................................................1
ERP System.............................................................................................................................3
Benefits of ERP system...........................................................................................................4
Conclusion & Recommendations...........................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Information system is defined as organisational, socio-technical and formal system which
is formulated to assemble, develop, store and disburse information. It is collection of software,
hardware, infrastructure and experienced personnel who are organised to alleviate formation of
plans, control, coordinate and assist organisation in decision-making (Bodnar and Hopwood,
2012). Marks & Spencer is a public limited company and deals in retail sector. It was founded by
Thomas Spencer & Michael Marks and it is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It
provides its services worldwide have around £10,698.2 million revenue in 2018. They are
specialised in home, luxury food products and selling clothes. They are element of FTSE 100
Index and London Stock Exchange. Information system is referred to as software which analyse
and organise data. This means that raw data is transformed into information which can be used
by organisation to formulate decisions.
Aim of this essay is “Introduction to information systems and role of ERP within
organisation”. Objective is to identify various types of information and ERP system to enhance
data collection and dispersion capabilities of organisation.
ERP (Enterprise resource planning) refers to coordinated management of processes of
business in real time which is carried out by technology and software. It refers to business
management software which is used for collection, storage, management and interpretation of
data by business activities. It gives high productivity, enhanced insight, accelerated reports, risk
is minimised, IT infrastructure is simple and agility is improved of M&S. Furthermore, risks of
data duplication are also reduced. Apart from this M&S can have integrity of data is maintained
which ensures that data is not copied by someone else. It refers to centralised collection of data
which is complete, up to date and correct. ERP system will aid M&S for collecting information
in context recent market trends and patterns through which information attained which will assist
different departments to formulate decisions which will result in enhanced efficiency (Choi,
Chow and Liu, 2013).
Classification of information system
IS refers to scrutiny of antonymous networks of software and hardware where
organisations and people collect data, filter them, process, it's creation and distribution. IS is
classified into: transaction processing, management information, decision support and executive
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information system. TPS are executed at bottom of pyramid by operational level systems. These
activities are conducted by front line staff or floor workers which assist them in supporting
management of operations. This data is gathered by semi-automated or automated tracking of
basic transactions and activities which are performed at low-level (Cullen and et. al, 2013). Front
line employees of M&S are responsible for calculation, updation, merging, listing, sorting and
validating. Example order processing, payroll systems, etc.
Management information system (MIS) refers to monitoring of performance status of
organisation. Outcome which is attained from transaction processing system acts as input to
MIS. In M&S, these systems are used by tactical managers for sorting internal transactions,
merging of internal files and summarizing structured data. Its examples are inventory control
system, management reporting system and many others. Within M&S, MIS maintain flow of
information and also possess analytical capacity. In this data is transformed from internal as well
as external information sources which are distributed among mangers to carry out their
operations in effectual manner. M&S management can identify current performance with respect
to previous performance (Fernie and Sparks, 2018).
Decision support system (DSS) acts as knowledge based systems which assist to create
information and integrates it with functionalities of organisation. Within M&S, these systems are
used by senior managers for analysing existent organized information and perceptions can be
made by them to evaluate impact of decisions made by them in future. In this modelling and
simulation is carried out as internal transaction, files are analysed and external information is
summarized (Ngai and et. al, 2012). Examples are logistics, financial planning, etc. It is intended
with respect to decision-making with respect to strategic and tactical terms. DSS comprises of
summary of information which is concentrated from MIS, data gathered from external sources
and data processing system. Rule of business in decision table, analytical model, planning and
forecasting tools and rules designed for decision table.
Executive information system is used for analysing environment where organisation is carrying
out their functionalities by which they can evaluate trends within market for formulation of
suitable course of action. Within M&S, this information is structured weakly and is obtained
from both internal as well as external sources. They are executed by executives without
intermediaries and can be easily maintained as per preferences of individuals who are using
them. External data is summarized, simulation of internal files and pre-defined models are drilled
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down. They are related with ease of usage for making prediction for future with high flexibility.
Example, they are used by individuals or group of people (Garg and Chauhan, 2015). They
aggregate information with external events like competitors, tax laws, etc. Compact information
is gathered from internal management information system and decision support system. By using
these information systems M&S can acquire information related with customers and competitors
so that they can have competitive vantage among its competitors.
ERP System
It refers to integration and automation of organisations core business by which they gets
assistance to focus on simplified and effectiveness of success (ERP (enterprise resource
planning), 2019). To understand this example can be taken like by usage of automatic and
integrated processes orders can be made by customers, they can be tracked and all the details
related with products can be obtained. Other examples include management of inventory control,
scheduling operations and financial data. ERP system facilitates M&S by which they can
enhance overall performance of various activities which are being carried out by providing them
with efficiency, analytics, visibility and intelligence of every aspect of business (Garg and Garg,
2013). It is integrated system which is used by organisation for automising and managing
functions which are performed at back office and are associated with human resources, services
and technology. It is business management software which is used to make interpretations by
which real time decisions can be made with respect to functioning of activities.
ERP integrates different processes which comprises of finance manufacturing, supply
chain, marketing, sales and raw material procurement. M&S uses ERP to provide their
employees with shared database which they can access any time whenever it is required. By this
errors can be reduced and replication of data can be avoided, but in case of manual or traditional
methods it is high which leads to inefficiency. Different types of ERP systems are available i.e.
on-premises or traditional software, cloud and hybrid, there database exits on hardware and on-
site servers. This system is maintained and managed by IT staff of M&S so that they can carry
functioning of organisation do not come to halt. Cloud is hosted on vendor’s server which
provides them storage space and web browsers are used by customers for accessing this
information. Hybrid is defined as accumulation of cloud and on-site ERP. By its usage M&S can
have improvised efficiency as well as they can have storage space on cloud which means that
they can use information at any moment of time from anywhere (Garg and Garg, 2014).
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M&S is using hybrid ERP as they can have access to both on-site and cloud ERP.
Though this can be expensive but by its usage their efficiency can be improvised as they can
access information from various stores from which they can gain knowledge related with
preferences of their customers and accordingly provide services to them (Ngai and et. al, 2012).
This will also lead to significant increase in profitability and productivity of organisation. Apart
from this, it will assist them (M&S) to produce their services in less time as market research will
take less time and more often it will not be required as buying patterns of customers can be
analysed through ERP system. By this they can also keep eye on their inventory system in terms
of what is required and at what amount it is required so that shortage and excess of services or
products are not available within the warehouse (Hübner, Wollenburg and Holzapfel, 2016).
Benefits of ERP system
By executing ERP system within M&S, they can decrease administrative as well as
operational cost by making use of automated processes. By this users can effectively maintain
operations and prevent delay in activities. ERP system allows business to lower down cost of
business and also eliminate waste from M&S by which their efficiency can be maximised. M&S
have access to data through centralised location by which visibility can be attained in all
perspectives and business processes can also be automated by which operations can be
monitored by decision makers (Oh, Teo and Sambamurthy, 2012). Furthermore, processes can be
tracked automatically by determining and maintaining inventory levels. Without ERP, businesses
are forced for using various programs in various departments; this will obviate data silos which
can arise due to heterogeneous systems. M&S can have optimized supply chain which will
provide them with real time visibility and make process of decision making much easier by
reducing planning cycle and effectively scheduling production.
M&S can respond to conditions of market faster with usage of data analysis. They
provide real-time analysis for reacting to rapidly changing requirements of market. By this M&S
can make relevant decisions on time. Furthermore, access to exact reports is enabled which
allows them to follow recent patterns in current scenario and identify realistic forecasts.
Organisation can obtain reliable information related with sales which have been incurred,
purchase of raw materials and inventory as well as warehouse management. Database can be
used for identifying what customers are demanding and what kind of services they are opting for
at given moment of time (Kadam and Onkar, 2015). This will assist them to provide their
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customers with enhanced experience and also fulfil their demands in given time frame. This will
make them (M&S) to remain strong and competitive within market. ERP system will assist them
to have data from all departments which can be combined together to have an information by
which they can acknowledge their requirements and analyse the final outcome. By this
organisation can carry out their functions in suitable manner.
ERP system will also provide M&S with enhanced feature that they need not to update
their system and inform each department individually. Pop up will appear on their screens and by
clicking on them the system will be updated, this will reduce the time which is required for
informing each department what is required and how it can be attained. It also provide
management with tools which they can use to identify expectations of customers by this they can
retain them easily.
Conclusion & Recommendations
Information system has crucial role within organisation as in this information is gathered,
filtered and processed which is obtained from different departments of organisation. This
information can be used by M&S to analyse requirements of customers and their departments so
that they can provide services in stipulated time duration while maintain standard of quality.
Apart from this, it will also help them determine current trends and patterns which are available
within market at present scenario. ERP system will provide them with effective tool by which
they plan their activities so that their efficiency and quality is maintained.
As per above analysis it is recommended that M&S can opt for point of scale by which
they can have real time information related financial structure and inventory management
(Laudon and Laudon, 2016). This will assist them have efficient raw material in their stores so
that productivity of their services is not hampered and also they can analyse how much finance is
required for carrying specific operation. By this they can maintain reliability of their services and
also identify future needs of finance as well as raw materials.
From above it has been analysed that information system within any organisation has
important role as it assist them to gain knowledge about different trends and buying behaviour of
customers. Through this organisation can ensure that what all they have to provide to their
customers so that their proficiency in terms of productivity and profitability can be improvised.
Enterprise resource planning provides organisation with accumulation of different activities
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through which they can synchronise their activities and attain effectiveness in their operations.
This will assist them to carry out their operations in appropriate manner.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bodnar, G. H. and Hopwood, W. S., 2012.Accounting information systems. Upper Saddle River:
Pearson.
Choi, T. M., Chow, P. S. and Liu, S. C., 2013. Implementation of fashion ERP systems in China:
Case study of a fashion brand, review and future challenges. International Journal of
Production Economics. 146(1). pp.70-81.
Cullen, J. and et. al, 2013. Reverse logistics in the UK retail sector: A case study of the role of
management accounting in driving organisational change. Management Accounting
Research. 24(3). pp.212-227.
Fernie, J. and Sparks, L. eds., 2018. Logistics and retail management: emerging issues and new
challenges in the retail supply chain. Kogan page publishers.
Garg, P. and Chauhan, A., 2015. Factors affecting the ERP implementation in Indian retail
sector: A structural equation modelling approach. Benchmarking: an International
Journal. 22(7). pp.1315-1340.
Garg, P. and Garg, A., 2013. An empirical study on critical failure factors for enterprise resource
planning implementation in Indian retail sector. Business Process Management Journal.
19(3). pp.496-514.
Garg, P. and Garg, A., 2014. Factors influencing ERP implementation in retail sector: an
empirical study from India. Journal of Enterprise Information Management. 27(4).
pp.424-448.
Hübner, A., Wollenburg, J. and Holzapfel, A., 2016. Retail logistics in the transition from multi-
channel to omni-channel. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics
Management. 46(6/7). pp.562-583.
Kadam, K. S. and Onkar, V. C., 2015. A review paper on student information supervision
system. International Journal of Research In Science & Engineering. 1. pp.66-72.
Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P., 2016. Management information system. Pearson Education
India.
Ngai, E. W. T. and et. al, 2012. Implementing an RFID-based manufacturing process
management system: Lessons learned and success factors. Journal of Engineering and
Technology Management. 29(1). pp.112-130.
Oh, L. B., Teo, H. H. and Sambamurthy, V., 2012. The effects of retail channel integration
through the use of information technologies on firm performance. Journal of Operations
Management. 30(5). pp.368-381.
Online:
ERP (enterprise resource planning). 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/ERP-enterprise-resource-planning>.
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