Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) programs: Core software used by companies to coordinate information in every area of business

• Help manage company wide business processes
• Use common database and shared management reporting tools

Business process: Collection of activities that takes some input and creates an output that is of value to the customer

Functional Areas and Business Processes

To understand ERP, you must understand how a business works

• Functional areas of operation
• Business processes

Functional Areas of Operation

• Marketing and Sales (M/S)
• Supply Chain Management (SCM)
• Accounting and Finance (A/F)
• Human Resources (HR)
• Business functions: Activities specific to a functional area of operation

What is Marketing and Sales ?

Functions of Marketing and Sales

• Developing products
• Determining pricing
• Promoting products to customers
• Taking customers’ orders
• Helping create a sales forecast

What is Supply Chain Management ?

"Is the strategic management of activities involved in the acquisition and conversion of materials to finished products delivered to the customer"

What is HR ?

At FS, requesting department develops a short list of candidates based on data provided by HR
Human Resources department:

• Contacts candidates on the short list
• Schedules interviews – looking at schedule of each panelist 
• Creates a file for each candidate

If a candidate accepts an interview offer, HR makes arrangements for the interview

• After the initial interview, HR updates candidate’s file to indicate whether he or she is a possibility for hire
• In some cases, Second interview may be scheduled

What is Accounting and Finance ?

Personnel record the company’s transactions in the books of account (which often are computerized records). 

For example:-

• They record accounts receivable when sales are made and cash receipts when customers send in payments. 
• In addition, they record accounts payable when raw materials are purchased and cash outflows when they pay for materials. 
• Finally, Accounting and Finance personnel summarize the transaction data to prepare reports about the company’s financial position and profitability.

Business processes

• Collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to  customer
• Customer can be traditional external customer or internal customer
• Thinking in terms of business processes helps managers to look at their organization from the customer’s perspective