Case Study: ERP System Analysis for Gracious Industries (HI5019)

This case study analyzes the need for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for Gracious Industries, a company facing challenges in managing its business processes and accounting data. The report examines key business processes, including sales, accounting, and inventory management, highlighting the need for an automated system to improve efficiency and competitiveness. It details the features and functionality of an ERP system, such as accounting management, customer relationship management (CRM), reporting, data analysis, and automation. The analysis also covers ERP vendors, vendor selection, and a comparison of two ERP software packages, concluding with recommendations for ERP system selection for the business. The document emphasizes the benefits of ERP in mitigating risks, improving decision-making, and streamlining operations within Gracious Industries.

ERP system in Gracious Industries

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Key business processes....................................................................................................................2
Sales system.....................................................................................................................................2
Control Risks...................................................................................................................................4
Features and Functionality of ERP system......................................................................................4
ERP vendors and their products......................................................................................................7
Vendor selection..............................................................................................................................9
Contrast and compare of two ERP software....................................................................................9
ERP System selection for business..................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................12

Introduction
In the corporate world, Enterprise resource planning is the need of every business it helps in
giving the various competitive advantages to the company. Tt helps in effectively allocating,
storing, processing data and moving the information and data of the organization. In this report
the analysis of gracious industries will be done for implementing the ERP system. They had
earned approx. $10.5 million dollars till last year. Recently they had faced the issue in business
and the account data which is crucial for setting the competitive prices of the products. The
organization is striving to achieve the goals of management by improving their way of processes.
In this report, the key business processes of the Gracious Industries will be discussed for
implementing the ERP system and main processes of the company are sales, finance, accounting
and supply chain management. In order to fulfill the requirements of the business and achieve the
objectives of business, implementation of ERP system will help the company. the various
features of the ERP system will be discussed which will help the company in running and
improving the process. The analysis of best ERP system provider will be discussed. the functions
and features of two ERP software packages will be compared and contrast which are provided by
the vendors. The best ERP system provider will be analyzed.
Key business processes
Gracious industries require the information system for managing and interpreting the information
and data of the organization. In order to record the information and data of different business
units, the company requires the single processing system which will help in integrating and
analyzing the information in an effective manner. Gracious industries provide electronic parts to
stores and supermarkets. The business functions of the company are managed manually and for
the competitive advantage in the market, company requires the automated system (Umble, et al.,
2013). Gracious industries include the various processes in which the information system can be
implemented for the automation. In order to record the information and supply the products to
different customers, the information system helps in managing the business effectively.

Sales system
The different business units require the system for different purposes. In sales requires the
business system for fulfilling the requirements of the customers, developing the products and
services to meet the needs, promoting and selling the products, taking the orders for customers,
contacting customers and providing the efficient support to the customer for solving their issues
and fulfilling their requirements (Skok and Legge, 2002). When the sales are managed through
the traditional method it is very difficult to manage the customers and recording the information
as gracious industries deal in electronic parts and supplies the parts to different stores and
hypermarkets as per the requirements of customers. in order to manage the activities of sales
department, business requires the effective implementation of system for achieving the
objectives of the company. it helps in identifying the demand and sales of the products and helps
in checking the record of stocks which are available and required parts for further purchasing.
With the help of sales system, it helps in managing the suppliers and purchasers of the company.
Accounting system
The gracious industries have lost the various accounting details which are crucial for the
company in setting the competitive prices of the products. Systems in accounting business units
are required for the collection, storing and processing the financial and accounting information
for making the effective decisions of the company. the accounting information of the company is
used by the investors, creditors and tax authorities. In business process of accounting and
finance, the systems are designed for supporting all the functions and activities of the business
like financial accounting, audit, preparing reports, managerial accounting and taxations. The
financial system helps in managing the various costs of the company. it helps in managing the
employee's salary, payment, receivables, analyzing the supplier's information. Financing and
accounting system helps in making effective decisions by the management. Systems help in
making effective financial decisions for the future (Shang and Seddon, 2000). The accounting
system helps in recording and bookkeeping the transactions of the business and the automation
of accounting activities helps in reducing the errors and work pressure for employees in finance
department.
Inventory system

Gracious industries require the management of inventory as they deal in various electronic parts.
It requires the system for managing the requirements of the products. The inventory system helps
in managing the demand of buyers and suppliers. It is crucial for the company to manage the
inventory and keeping the record of all the available and required stock. As the inventory
systems help in managing the supply chain of the company. in order to maximize the competitive
gain and value of customers, the system helps in making the effective use of the inventory
(Seddon, et al., 2010). The system helps in tracking the levels of inventory, sales, and deliveries,
ordering of products. Gracious industries require the inventory systems for keeping the records
of available stock of electronic parts. It helps in avoiding the outages and overstock of the
products in the business. An inventory management system helps in analyzing the reordering
point of the particular products.
Control Risks
Every business process includes the risks in the business and manual work increases the level of
risk. it is necessary for the management to control the risks in the business processes. The risk of
delays and errors can be managed in the company. Manual work includes the deals in works and
also does not provide real-time data to the management. Gracious industries suffered the loss of
information which is crucial for the company and this risk can be controlled by the management
by taking the corrective action and implementing the effective system in the business (Olson,
2003). Control risks help in improving the performance and processes of the company. the risk in
business includes human errors and information loss when the data is not recorded properly in
the business. it is essential for the management to have real-time information for making
effective decisions in the business. company faces the data analytics issue with the loss of the
contracts and accounting information. The effective information system includes the various
competitive advantages for the company by implementing the innovation, information quality
and efficiency in operations in the business. it helps in improving the profits and revenues of the
company (Caglio, 2003).
Features and Functionality of ERP system
ERP system includes the various features which help the company in achieving the objectives
and minimizing the control risks. An ERP system is used in managing the various processes of

the business. the various business processes in the company are human resources, sales and
marketing, supply chain management, services, quality management, and accounting. ERP
system helps in managing all the services of the business processes and helps in integrating the
information of all the business units (O’Leary, 2004). In order to manage the business, ERP
helps in managing the business processes effectively and efficiently.
Accounting
Accounting management is the main function of any business. The main feature of an ERP
system is to manage and control accounting activities effectively. In accounting, the management
of accounts payable, receivables, fixed assets, management of tax and risk are crucial for the
company. ERP system helps in managing the accounting process effectively. in order to make
the effective use of ERP systems, Gracious industries can manage the sales and revenues of the
company (Markus, et al., 2000). the automation of various accounting functions includes the
process of receiving payments, analysis of sales, expense management, and also helps in
preparing the effective reports of the business which helps the management in making effective
decisions. Improving the processing time and ensuring the quality data helps in reducing the
employee's burden and making the work quality effective for using in future.
Customer relationship management
It is necessary for the company to maintain an effective relationship with the customers. ERP
system in business helps in maintain and improving the relationship between the customers and
companies. It helps in recording all the information about the customers and updating the
customers for providing the relevant information to customers. Gracious industries deal with a
large number of customers to supply the electronic parts and it is difficult to manage the data in
spreadsheets and ERP system helps in CRM for centralizing the customer's information and can
access the information anytime. It helps the business in accessing the billing information to
customers and addressing the customers in the processing shipments. ERP system is helpful in
making effective decisions for the company and also helps in improving the performance and
quality of the work (Fui-Hoon Nag, 2011). CRM system helps in solving the issues of the
customers and provides effective solutions for the customers. it is analyzed that the customers

can provide feedback on the system which helps in making the decisions in future. The technical
issues can be resolved easily which arises during the process and procedure of the company.
Reporting
ERP is a system that helps the management in maintaining the reports properly. A business
requires the organizing of business functions and ERP helps the business in managing the
functions and preparing the reports of different business functions effectively. Reports include all
the relevant information which is required to achieve the objective of the company. ERP helps in
providing the reports which includes the relevant data, actionable, and intuitive (Gupta and
Kohli, 2006). Reporting helps in tracing the information and ensures to provide effective
information and the error, inconsistency and tracing the process for taking the corrective action
and prevent the errors.
Integration
Every business requires the integration of information on all the business processes. with the
integration of information, it helps the business in increasing the effectiveness of the business.
Integration is necessary to process the information of the business for performing the various
activities of the business (Kamhawi, 2008). ERP helps in providing the fully integrated
information which further helps in analyzing, monitoring and conducting the tasks of the data-
driven. It has a single database but helps in analyzing and storing the information of all the
departments of the business.
Data Analysis
The process of ERP includes the collection and processing of the data of all the business
functions and analysis is required to make an effective decision. It helps in analyzing the
effectiveness of the tasks for making effective business decisions in future. All the data which
are related to the customers, production, sales, management are recorded and analyzed with the
help of ERP system. it helps in predicting the demand of the products and creating the budgets
and analyzing the functions of HR which are to be performed (Law and Ngai, 2007).
Automation

ERP has the ability to perform various tasks automatically and does not require human resources
for performing various activities. It includes the entering of data and ERP processes the order
entry, accounting, raise invoices, prepare reports and help in payroll processing also. It helps in
reducing the time of processing the activities. When the process is automatic, the level of human
errors reduces in processes. Repetitive tasks are performed automatically in the system and it
decreases the burden of employees (Kelle and Akbulut, 2005).
ERP vendors and their products
In the industry, there are various ERP vendors which help the business in implementing the ERP
for the business processes. For the implementation of ERP, it is necessary for a business to
choose the best vendor and system which is effective and correct for the business functions.
Every business function requires the resource planning and ERP system helps in sustaining of
business. For managing the performance, it is crucial that company applies the best ERP system
(Chen, 2001). The various types of products are included and analysis of requirements is
necessary for the implementation. The most efficient vendors of ERP are the SAP, Microsoft and
oracle which are selected are:
SAP
The SAP provides the effective versions of ERP to business which is required in the process of
the company. The implantation of SAP is effective in large scale organization which includes
huge data and information for processing. SAP is a German based company. The SAP provides
the products which are effective for business functions like planning of production, logistics
management, procurement, supply chain management, and quality management and financial
management by managing accounting, financial accounting, etc. In all the functions of the
business, SAP ERP can be implemented in human resources management as payroll processing,
employee information, recruitment process will be effective with the implementation (Hawking,
et al., 2004). SAP software is effective for managing the flows of operations and it is effective
software for improving the performance and increasing the productivity of the organization. SAP
implementation requires the phases for processing. It includes the preparation of project
according to need of the business, preparing blueprint, realization, supporting and final preparing

and last is support by go live. Implementation requires the effectively putting the data and
information for further processing.
Oracle
Oracle is a multinational company that provides database software, technology, and products for
enterprise software for businesses. It provides the ERP system to organizations for managing the
day to day business activities. It helps the business in enterprise performance management with
planning, budgeting, predicting and reporting for the financial results. They provide ERP
products for large scale enterprises and medium sizes. It helps the businesses in managing and
automating the front as well as back-office work which includes the finance management,
billing, invoicing, and managing revenue and inventories of the business (Holsapple, 2005). It is
implemented for all the levels of the business in the organization. It helps in improving the
efficiency and accelerating the process with order to cash and well organizing the management
of order. It helps the business in properly managing the process of the company to procure to pay
accurately. There are various versions of the software which includes the flexible scheme in
pricing as it helps in minimizing the cost of software. ERP software helps in supporting the
operations department effectively which includes the finance, human resource, marketing
department as it helps in improving the productivity for employees.
Microsoft
Microsoft provides the ERP software which is Dynamics AX. It is very effective and includes an
easy process to use. It is an application that is based on the browser. Implementation of
Dynamics is a long process. The latest version of Dynamics 365 and majorly it is for finance and
operations of the business. The core features of Dynamics AX are providing the general ledgers,
bank management, marinating the customer relationship management, receivables, and payables
in accounting and inventory management. It helps businesses in managing the back-end
operations. It also covers the areas of the business like warehouse management, e-commerce,

business intelligence, and manufacturing and distribution of products and services (Gefen and
Ragowsky, 2005).
Implementation of effective ERP helps in improving the productivity and performance of the
company. it helps the organization in the growing business in the competitive market. The
implementation of ERP systems helps in business in the short-run as well as in long term. the
goals and objectives of the company can be achieved with the implementation of the ERP system
effectively (Ehie and Madsen, 2005).
Vendor selection
For the implementation of ERP in business, it is crucial to understand the requirement of the
business and then select the appropriate ERP system for the business. the various ERP software
is available for the implementation. The analytical process helps in comparing the features and
functionalities of the available ERP software and understanding the needs of the business for
providing beneficial values to the organization.
Contrast and comparison of two ERP software
It is analyzed that the SAP ERP is used for managing the marketing, accounting, and sales
business process. the implementation of SAP ERP helps in providing solutions for business
management. Oracle ERP system is highly reliable for managing the huge database and
workload of massive software. It includes the complex process and effective implementation of
system help in bringing ease in the work. Oracle also includes the RDBMS which helps in
managing the complexity in the system. SAP ERP includes the smooth business operation stages
for implementations. SAP is the enterprise resource planning software where oracle is the system
for data base management. SAP erp provide the information in real time to the various business
function and oracle manage the data of the business. SAP includes the application along with the
database and oracle includes the model of database management system (Chand, et al., 2005). the
function areas of SAP ERP are the accounting, sales, and distribution and oracle process the
functions of processing transactions, warehousing of data and managing workloads.

ERP System selection for business
In gracious industries, it is analyzed that the ERP system is required to manage the various
business processes of the organization. The analysis of three ERP software packages helps in
choosing the best vendor for the company. the best ERP software that can be used the company
is Oracle which is Netsuite as it includes all the functions and features which are required by the
company to manage and improve the performance of the company (Bendoly and Schoenherr,
2005). it provides the various benefits to the company along with improving the efficiency of the
business processes. Oracle software includes all the features for effective functioning and helps
in utilizing the best resources for the competitive advantage and generates more profitability and
revenues for the organization. For the implementation of ERP system, a single time investment is
required in the business. It processes the multiple operations in single time and helps in
integrating the large quantity of data and provide the information for use in future.it also
provides the support to the management which change is required in operation, monitoring of
operations performance and developing the skills for improving the effectiveness and efficiency
of the business. With the help of information and reports, the management is able to make
effective decisions for the business. Green products are offered by the Oracle company and the
requirement of the Gracious industries is to get the green product. The various risks of the
business can be controlled and managed by the organization for increasing productivity and
enhancing the performance of the company. Oracle software also helps in enhancing the
processes quality and utilizing the waste control for improving the business processes. an
organization can effectively use the ERP system for managing all the business functions and
improving the performance of the organization to gain a competitive advantage (Altamony, et al.,
2016). Analyzing the performance is the main advantage of the oracle system as it helps in
analyzing the activities time and providing the data. It helps the various business functions
effectively like data warehousing, managing workloads and transaction processing. It helps in
providing the data in real-time and takes less time for processing the data.

Conclusion
In order to conclude the report, it is analyzed that, ERP system is the essential part of the
effective management of the company. The various key business processes of the organization
are analyzed which requires the implementation of ERP system. it order to control the various
risks, ERP system helps the business in running the business without any human error. It is
analyzed that the ERP system includes various features and functions like Automation,
integration, CRM, accounting, and reporting. For the implementation of the ERP system, the
analysis of three ERP software vendors is done which are Oracle, Microsoft, and SAP. The
various products are delivered by the companies but it analyzed that the product of Oracle which
is Netsuite is the best for the gracious industries. It is an easy process for implementation and it
provides the various solutions for the operations and management of the company. it is analyzed
that the effective ERP system helps the company in improving the performance and increases the
productivity of the business. Implementation of the ERP system helps in providing a competitive
advantage for the growth and success of the company.