Prof.

Anatoly Sachenko

6 Enterprise e-Business
Systems

I. LECTURE OVERVIEW
Foundation Concepts: Enterprise e-Business Systems outlines the goals and components of customer
relationship management, enterprise resource planning, and supply chain management, and discusses the benefits
and challenges of these major enterprise e-business applications.

Customer Relationship Management: The Business Focus - Customer relationship management is a cross-
functional enterprise system that integrates and automates many of the customer serving processes in sales,
marketing, and customer service that interact with a company’s customers. CRM systems use information
technology to support the many companies who are reorienting themselves into customer-focused businesses as a
top business strategy. The major application components of CRM include contact and account management, sales,
marketing and fulfillment, customer service and support, and retention profitable relationships with its customers
as a primary business goal. However, many companies have found CRM systems difficult to properly implement
due to lack of adequate understanding and preparation by management and affected employees. Finally, many
companies are moving toward collaborative CRM systems that support the collaboration of employees, business
partners, and the customers themselves in enhancing profitable customer relationships.

Enterprise Resource Planning: The Business Backbone - Enterprise resource planning is a cross-functional
enterprise system that integrates and automates many of the internal business processes of a company, particularly
those within the manufacturing, logistics, distribution, accounting, finance, and human resource functions of the
business. Thus, ERP serves as the vital backbone information system of the enterprise, helping a company achieve
the efficiency, agility, and responsiveness required to succeed in a dynamic business environment. ERP software
typically consists of integrated modules that give a company a real-time cross-functional view of its core business
processes, such as production, order processing, and sales, and its resources, such as cash, raw materials,
production capacity, and people. However, properly implementing ERP systems is a difficult and costly process
that has caused serious business losses for some companies, who underestimated the planning, development, and
training that were necessary to reengineer their business processes to accommodate their new ERP systems.
However, continuing developments in ERP software, including Web-enabled modules and e-business software
suites, have made ERP more flexible and user-friendly, as well as extending it outward to a company’s business
partners.

Supply Chain Management: The Business Network - Supply chain management is a cross-functional
interenterprise system that integrates and automates the network of business processes and relationships between a
company and its suppliers, customers, distributors, and other business partners. The goal of SCM is to help a
company achieve agility and responsiveness in meeting the demands of their customers and needs of their
suppliers, by enabling it to design, build, and sell its products using a fast, efficient, and low cost network of
business partners, processes, and relationships, or supply chains. SCM is frequently sub-divided into supply chain
planning applications, such as demand and supply forecasting, and supply chain execution applications, such as
inventory management, logistics management, and warehouse management. Developing effective supply chain
systems and achieving the business goals of SCM has proven to be a complex and difficult challenge for many
firms. But SCM continues to be a major concern and top e-business initiative as companies increase their use of
Internet technologies to enhance integration and collaboration with their business partners, and improve the
operational efficiency and business effectiveness of their supply chains.

II. LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Identify each give examples to illustrate the following aspects of customer relationship management,
enterprise resource management, and supply chain management systems:
• Business processes supported
• Customer and business value provided
• Potential challenges and trends
 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko

III: LECTURE NOTES

Section I: Customer Relationship Management: The Business Focus

INTRODUCTION

Customer-focused business is one of the top business strategies that can be supported by information technology.
Many companies are implementing customer relationship management (CRM) business initiatives and information
systems as part of a customer-focused or customer centric strategy to improve their chances for success in today’s
competitive business environment.

Analyzing Mitsubishi Motor Sales

We can learn a lot from this case about the many ways companies are implementing customer relationship
management systems. Take a few minutes to read it, and we will discuss it (See Mitsubishi Motor Sales in Section
IX).

WHAT IS CRM - [Figure 6.2]

• CRM is described as a cross-functional e-business application that integrates and automates many customer-
serving processes in sales, direct marketing, accounting and order management, and customer service and
support.
• CRM systems create an IT framework that integrates all the functional processes with the rest of a company’s
business operations.
• CRM systems consist of a family of software modules that perform the business activities involved in such
front office processes.
• CRM software provides the tools that enable a business and its employees to provide fast, convenient,
dependable, and consistent service to its customers.

Contract and Account Management

CRM software helps sales, marketing, and service professionals capture and track relevant data about every past
 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko
and planned contact with prospects and customers, as well as other business and life cycle events of customers.

Sales
CRM software tracks customer contacts and other business and life cycle events of customers for cross-selling and
up-selling.

Marketing and Fulfilment

CRM software can automate tasks such as qualifying leads, managing responses, scheduling sales contacts, and
providing information to prospects and customers.

Customer Service and Support

CRM helps customer service managers quickly create, assign, and manage service requests. Help desk software
assists customer service reps in helping customers whom are having problems with a product or service, by
providing relevant service data and suggestions for resolving problems.

Retention and Loyalty Programs

• It costs six times more to sell to a new customer than to sell to an existing one.
• A typical dissatisfied customer will tell eight to ten people about his or her experience.
• A company can boost its profits 85 percent by increasing its annual customer retention by only 5 percent.
• The odds of selling a product to a new customer are 15 percent, whereas the odds of selling a product to an
existing customer are 50 percent.
• Seventy percent of complaining customers will do business with the company again if it quickly takes care of a
service snafu.
• More than 90 percent of existing companies don’t have the necessary sales and service integration to support
e-commerce.

Examples of business benefits of customer relationship management include:

• CRM allows a business to identify and target their best customers; those who are the most profitable to the
business, so they can be retained as lifelong customers for greater and more profitable services.
• CRM enables real-time customization and personalization of products and services based on customer wants,
needs, buying habits, and life cycles.
• CRM can keep track of when a customer contacts the company, regardless of the contact point.
• CRM enables a company to provide a consistent customer experience and superior service and support across
all the contact points a customer chooses.

THE THREE PHASES OF CRM – [Figure 6.4]

 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko

CRM can be viewed as an integrated system of Web-enabled software tools and databases accomplishing a variety
of customer-focused business processes that support the three phases of the relationship between a business and its
customers.
• Acquire – a business relies on CRM software tools and databases to help it acquire new customers by doing a
superior job of contract management, sales prospecting, selling, direct marketing, and fulfilment.
o The goal of these CRM functions is to help customers perceive the value of a superior product
offered by an outstanding company.

• Enhance – Web-enabled CRM account management and customer service and support tools help keep
customers happy by supporting superior service from a responsive networked team of sales and service
specialists and business partners. CRM sales force automation and direct marketing and fulfilment tools help
company’s cross-sell and up-sell to their customers, thus increasing their profitability to the business.
o The value perceived by customers is the convenience of one-stop shopping at attractive prices.

• Retain – CRM analytical software and databases help a company proactively identify and reward its most
loyal and profitable customers to retain and expend their business via targeted marketing and relationship
marketing programs.
o The value perceived by customers is of a rewarding personalized business relationship with “their
company”.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF CRM

• CRM allows a business to identify and target their best customers; those who are the most profitable to the
business, so they can be retained as lifelong customers for greater and more profitable services.
• CRM enables real-time customization and personalization of products and services based on customer wants,
needs, buying habits, and life cycles.
• CRM can keep track of when a customer contacts the company, regardless of the contact point.
• CRM enables a company to provide a consistent customer experience and superior service and support across
all the contact points a customer chooses.
 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko
CRM Failures:
• Major reason for the failure of CRM systems is the lack of understanding and preparation.

TRENDS IN CRM – [Figure 6.5]

Four types or categories of CRM that are being implemented by many companies today include:
• Operational CRM – most businesses start out with operational CRM systems such as sales force automation
and customer service centers.

• Analytical CRM – analytical CRM applications are implemented using several analytical marketing tools,
such as data mining, to extract vital data about customers and prospects for targeted marketing campaigns.

• Collaborative CRM – CRM systems to involve business partners as well as customers in collaborative
customer service.

• Portal-based CRM – Internet, intranet, and extranet Web-based CRM portals as a common gateway for
various levels of access to all customer information, as well as operational, analytical, and collaborative CRM
tools for customers, employees, and business partners.

Section II: Enterprise Resource Planning: The Business Backbone

INTRODUCTION

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems serve as a cross-functional enterprise backbone that integrates and
automates many internal business processes and information systems within the manufacturing, logistics,
distribution, accounting, finance, and human resource functions of a company.

Analyzing Agilent Technologies and Russ Berrie

We can learn a lot about the major challenges businesses face when implementing ERO systems from this case.
 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko
Take a few minutes to read it, and we will discuss it (See Agilent Technologies and Russ Berrie in Section IX).

WHAT IS ERP? [Figure 6.7]

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a cross-functional enterprise system that serves as a framework to integrate
and automate many of the business processes that must be accomplished within the manufacturing, logistics,
distribution, accounting, finance, and human resources functions of a business. Characteristics of ERP software
include:
• ERP software is a family of software modules that supports the business activities involved in vital back-office
processes.
• ERP gives a company an integrated real-time view of its core business processes.
• ERP systems track business resources, and the status of commitments made by the business no matter what
department has entered the data into the system.
• ERP software suites typically consist of integrated modules of manufacturing, distribution, sales, accounting,
and human resource applications.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF ERP

• Quality and efficiency – ERP creates a framework for integrating and improving a company’s internal
business processes that results in significant improvements in the quality and efficiency of customer service,
production, and distribution.

• Decreased costs – many companies report significant reductions in transaction processing costs and hardware,
software, and IT support staff compared to the non-integrated legacy systems that were replaced by their new
ERP systems.

• Decision support – ERP provides vital cross-functional information on business performance quickly to
managers to significantly improve their ability to make better decisions in a timely manner across the entire
business enterprise.

• Enterprise agility – ERP can be used in breaking down many former departmental and functional walls,
which results in more flexible organizational structures, managerial responsibility, and work roles. The result
is a more agile and adaptive organization and workforce that can more easily capitalize on new business
opportunities.
 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko
The Cost of ERP: [Figure 6.10]

• Costs and risks involved in implementing ERP are considerable.

• Hardware and software costs are a small part of the total costs. The costs of developing new business
processes (reengineering) and preparing employees for the new system (training and change management)
make up the bulk of implementing a new ERP system.
• Converting data from previous legacy systems to the new cross-functional ERP system is another major
category of ERP implementation costs.

Causes of ERP Failures:

• Business managers and IT professionals underestimate the complexity of the planning, development, and
training that are needed to prepare for a new ERP system that would radically change their business processes
and information systems.
• Failure to involve affected employees in the planning and development phases and change management
programs
• Trying to do too much too fast in the conversion process.
• Insufficient training in the new work tasks required by the ERP system.
• Failure to do enough data conversion and testing.
• Overreliance by company or IT management on claims of ERP software vendors or the assistance of
prestigious consulting firms hired to lead the implementation.

TRENDS IN ERP - [Figure 6.11]

 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko

Four major developments and trends that are evolving in ERP applications include:
• ERP software packages are gradually being modified into more flexible products.
• In relation to the growth of the Internet and corporate intranets and extranets prompted software companies to
use Internet technologies to build Web interfaces and network capabilities into ERP systems.
• Development of interenterprise ERP systems that provide Web-enabled links between key business systems of a
company and its customers, suppliers, distributors, and others.
• ERP software companies have developed modular, Web-enabled software suites that integrate ERO, customer
relationship management, supply chain management, procurement, decision support, enterprise portals, and
other business applications and functions.

Section III: Supply Chain Management: The Business Network

INTRODUCTION

Fundamentally, supply chain management helps a company get the right products to the right place at the right
time, in the proper quantity and at an acceptable cost. The goal of SCM is to efficiently manage this process by
forecasting demand; controlling inventory; enhancing the network of business relationships a company has with
customers, suppliers, distributors, and others; and receiving feedback on the status of every link in the supply
chain. To achieve this goal, many companies today are turning to Internet technologies to Web-enable their supply
chain processes, decision-making, and information flows.

Analyzing TaylorMade Golf and HON Industries

We can learn a lot about how Internet technologies are radically transforming and improving the supply chains of
e-business enterprises from this case. Take a few minutes to read it, and we will discuss it (See TaylorMade Golf
and HON Industries in Section IX).

WHAT IS SCM? [Figure 6.14]

 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko

Supply chain management is a cross-functional interenterprise system that uses information technology to help
support and manage the links between some of a company’s key business processes and those of its suppliers,
customers, and business partners. The goal of SCM is to create a fast, efficient, and low-cost network of business
relationships, or supply chain, to get a company’s products from concept to market.

According to the Advanced Management Council, supply chain management has three business objectives:
• Get the right product to the right place at the least cost.
• Keep inventory as low as possible and still offers superior customer service.
• Reduce cycle times. Supply chain management seeks to simplify and accelerate operations that deal with how
customer orders are processed through the system and ultimately filled, as well as how raw materials are
acquired and delivered for manufacturing processes.

Electronic Data Interchange:

Electronic data interchange (EDI) involves the electronic exchange of business transaction documents over the
Internet and other networks between supply chain trading partners (organizations and their customers and
suppliers). Data representing a variety of business transaction documents are electronically exchanged between
computers using standard document message formats. Characteristics of EDI software include:
• EDI software is used to convert a company’s own document formats into standardized EDI formats as
specified by various industry and international protocols.
• Formatted transaction data are transmitted over network links directly between computers, without paper
documents or human intervention.
• Besides direct network links between the computers of trading partners, third-party services are widely used.
• EDI eliminates the printing, mailing, checking, and handling by employees of numerous multiple-copy forms
of business documents.

Benefits of the business use of EDI include:

• Reduction in paper, postage, and labor costs
• Faster flow of transactions as formatted transaction data are transmitted over network links directly between
computers, without paper documents or human intervention.
• Reductions in errors
 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko
• Increases in productivity
• Support of just-in-time (JIT) inventory policies
• Reductions in inventory levels
• Value-added network companies offer a variety of EDI services. They can offer secure, lower cost EDI services
over the Internet.
• Smaller businesses can now afford the costs of EDI services.

THE ROLE OF SCM – [Figure 6.16]

SCM supports the objectives of the top three management levels of an organization (strategic, tactical, and
operational). The role of information technology in SCM is to support these objectives with interenterprise
information systems that produce many of the outcomes a business needs to effectively manage its supply chain.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF SCM

Major business benefits that are possible with effective supply chain management systems include:
• Faster, more accurate order processing, reductions in inventory levels, quicker time to market, lower
transaction and materials costs, and strategic relationships with suppliers.
• Companies can achieve agility and responsiveness in meeting the demands of their customers and the needs of
their business partners.

Major business challenges include:

• Lack of proper demand planning knowledge, tools, and guidelines is a major source of SCM failure.
• Inaccurate or overoptimistic demand forecasts will cause major production, inventory, and other business
problems, no matter how efficient the rest of the supply chain management process is constructed.
• Inaccurate production, inventory, and other business data provided by a company’s other information systems
are frequent causes of SCM problems.
• Lack of adequate collaboration among marketing, production, and inventory management departments within
a company, and with suppliers, distributors, and others.
• SCM software tools are considered to be immature, incomplete, and hard to implement by many companies
who are installing SCM systems.

TRENDS IN SCM – [Figure 6.19]

 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko

Three possible stages in a company’s implementation of SCM systems.

• First stage – a company concentrates on making improvements to its internal supply chain process and its
external processes and relationships with suppliers and customers.
• Second stage – a company accomplishes substantial supply chain management applications by using selected
SCM software programs internally, as well as externally via intranet and extranet links among suppliers,
distributors, customers, and other trading partners.
• Third stage – company begins to develop and implement cutting-edge collaborative supply chain management
applications using advance SCM software, full-service extranets links, and private and public e-commerce
exchanges.

IV. KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS - DEFINED

Customer Relationship Management:
CRM is described as a cross-functional e-business application that integrates and automates many customer-
serving processes in sales, direct marketing, accounting and order management, and customer service and support.

Customer Relationship Management: Application Components

Components of CRM include: marketing and fulfilment, customer service and support, retention and loyalty
programs, contact and account management, and sales (cross-sell and up-sell).

Customer Relationship Management: Business Benefits

Acquiring, enhancing, and retaining profitable relationships with customers.

Customer Relationship Management: Challenges

Resistance from sales and customer service professionals who were not adequately involved in the development of
the system.

Customer Relationship Management: Trends

Toward Web portals and collaborative systems involving business partners as well as customers to coordinate sales
and service across all marketing channels.

e-Business Suites
An integrated system of software modules for customer relationship management, enterprise resource planning,
supply chain management, and other business applications.

Electronic Data Interchange:

 Prof. Anatoly Sachenko
The automatic electronic exchange of business documents between the computers of different organizations.

Enterprise Resource Planning:

Using integrated cross-functional software to reengineer, manufacturing, distribution, finance, human resources
and other basic business processes of a company to improve its efficiency, agility, and profitability.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Application Components

Applications components include: production planning, integrated logistics, accounting and finance, human
resources, sales distribution and order management.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Business Benefits

Improvements in the quality, efficiency, cost, and management of internal business processes.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Challenges

Failure of order processing and inventory accounting systems that had been reengineered to accommodate a new
cross-functional system.

Enterprise Resource Planning: Trends

Towards more flexible, user-friendly, Web-enabled software, integrated into e-business software suites.

Supply Chain:
The network of business processes and interrelationships among businesses that are needed to build, sell, and
deliver a product to its final customer.

Supply Chain Management:

Integrating management practices and information technology to optimize information and product flows among
the processes and business partners within a supply chain.

Supply Chain Management: Application Components

Includes demand forecasting, inventory management, logistics management, and warehouse management systems.

Supply Chain Management: Business Benefits

Development of a fast, efficient, and low cost network of business partners to get products from concept to market.

Supply Chain Management: Challenges

A lack of adequate demand planning knowledge, tools, and guidelines can cause major overproduction and excess
inventory problems.

Supply Chain Management: Trends

Toward the use of Internet technologies to integrate and enhance collaboration with a company’s network of
business partners.

V. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
 Should a company become a customer-focused business?
 Why would systems that enhance a company’s relationships with customers have such a
high rate of failure?
 How could some of the spectacular failures of ERP systems have been avoided?
 Should companies continue to use EDI systems?
 How can the problem of overenthusiastic demand forecasts in supply chain planning be
avoided?
 What challenges do you see for a company that wants to implement collaborative SCM
systems?
 Should companies install e-business software suites or “best of breed” e-business software
components?
Prof. Anatoly Sachenko