discussion questions

Why ERP?

MIS 495

Discussion Questions [Part I]

Describe McDougle Furniture Co. [MFC] business background?

Describe the company’s work force and hiring practices?

Describe the current IS at MFC?

Discussion Questions

What were some of the current problems in manufacturing and sales operations?

What was discussed at first boardroom meeting?

What are ERP systems?

What are the key benefits of ERP?


What are the different aspects of integration?

Is ERP a “silver bullet” solution for firms?

What were the key reasons leading to the mystery of the missing desk?

Describe the IS at the trucking company?


What were the key “management” concerns raised by the professor as they relate to ERP?

What key concerns did Billy express to Mr. McDougle about ERP at their meeting?

What was the key reason for implementing ERP at NC plant?


Was Billy the right person to take the ERP project forward? Why or why not?

According to the professor, what were the key reasons why firms implement ERP? Which one of these had better chances of succeeding?

Discussion Questions [Part II]

Describe the SAP R/3 software architecture?

What were the key SAP R/3 functionalities as identified by Amanda?

As identified by Amanda, what resources can be managed by SAP R/3?


Describe the “room reservation” example as illustrated by Amanda?

Discuss some of the “war stories” of participants?

What key issues were emphasized by Amanda as she explained how the “war stories” could have been avoided with SAP?


What is ASAP approach to implementing R/3?

Identify the phases in ASAP implementation?

Is ASAP appropriate for all organizations? What are your thoughts?


Describe the “project preparation” phase and your key concerns?

Describe the “business blueprint” phase and your key concerns?

Describe the “realization” phase and your key concerns?


Describe the “final preparation” phase and your key concerns?

Describe the “go live and support” phase and your key concerns?


Summarize Billy’s key thoughts during the first day session at SAP seminar?

Describe how R/3 views the firm?

Describe the customer order demo using R/3? What are your key concerns as to how R/3 handles customer orders?


Describe the procurement demo using R/3? What are your key concerns as to how R/3 handles procurements?

Discuss the key advantages of the financial demo?

What were Billy’s main concerns when Amanda demonstrated a manufacturing example?


Describe the hardware architecture required to implement SAP?

Describe the R/3 software architecture? What were Billy’s main concerns as they relate to the R/3 architecture?

What were the key issues raised in the course wrap-up?

Discussion Questions [Part III]

What concerns did Billy express to the professor about SAP on his return?

Discuss professor’s theory of ERP systems and his concerns about ERP vendors?

Explain the ERP implementation matrix developed by the professor?


Where would MFC fall in the ERP implementation matrix? What are their options and cost implications?

Summarize Billy’s meeting with McDougle after his return from SAP school? What were the key issues discussed and McDougle’s reaction?

What advice did the professor give Billy prior to his visit to the Ohio plant?

Discussion Questions [Part IV]

Explain the operations at the Ohio plant? How did these differ from the NC plant?

Compare the product, vendor, and customer profiles of the Ohio and NC businesses?

What was Larry’s opinion of SAP?


What was Pat McDougal’s opinion of R/3? Summarize her discussion with Billy?

How did Jerry Edward use information from R/3 from sales point of view?

Discuss Billy’s conversation on R/3 implementation with Dan Bragg?


What suggestions did Billy forward to McDougle about R/3 implementation after his return from visiting the Ohio plant? Do you agree with his suggestions? Why or why not?

What did Billy find out about R/3 implementation from other NC furniture plants? From a consultant?

Why did McDougle decide to go ahead with R/3?


What was discussed at the first R/3 implementation committee meeting? What is your opinion of the discussions at the meeting?

What was discussed at the second implementation committee meeting?

What concerns did Billy express at the second meeting? Was he justified in expressing these concerns?


How did Billy want the R/3 implementation to proceed? Do you support his plan? Why or why not?

According to consultant Billy, what contributed to the failure of R/3 implementation?

What lessons had Billy learnt about ERP in general? About ERP implementation at Ohio and NC plants?

discussion questions

Documents

discussion questions

key concerns

key sap r3 functionalities

r3 architecture

key management concerns

key benefits of erp

key issues

failure of r3 implementation