ERP و مهندسی مجدد فرآیندهای بازاریابی صنعتی : مروری تجویزی برای مدیر بازاریابی جدید

The implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems enables industrial marketing management to pursue the reduction of marketing cycle times and enhance customer service. The use of ERP systems is closely associated with business engineering (BE), which focuses on decades of research to benchmark optimal business practices. A descriptive overview of ERP strategic applications for industrial marketing is provided along with case examples. An illustrative example of the streamlined sales order process is highlighted as well as managerial implications.

According to Hult [1], “reduction of cycle time in organizational processes is directly associated with improved performance, quality, and customer satisfaction.” Furthermore, a commitment to a long-term organizational learning orientation is strongly related to efficiencies and customer service levels achieved via cycle time reduction [2]. No doubt, cycle time compression by the automation of marketing processes is considered a critical dynamic for gaining strategic advantage in today's industrial markets [3] and [4]. In order to obtain desired customer service levels, information technology (IT) has frequently been used as a valuable tool to assist management in improving supply chain performance. At the forefront of business automation and technology, enterprise resource planning (ERP) enables corporations to pursue the highest level of customer relationship management and is therefore a top-of-the mind topic in the minds of forward-thinking marketing executives. An ERP system creates an enterprise-wide transaction structure by integrating key functions like manufacturing, finance, marketing, human resource management, and logistics together within a common information system platform [5], [6], [7] and [8]. While ERP systems can be used in many functional applications, the importance of lead time and order cycle time reductions have shown to be critical to optimizing marketing operations and overall supply chain performance [9]. The use of ERP is closely associated with business engineering (BE), the optimizing of business processes. In the context of the Fortune 1000 corporations, SAP is widely recognized as a market leader in comprehensive, multifunctional ERP systems based on longitudinal BE benchmarking [10]. The marketing processes modeled in SAP are based on 25 years of benchmarking on successful and unsuccessful companies. Many companies implement SAP software to improve their business processes, cycle time being a major performance measure. Specifically, the SAP sales and distribution (SD) module addresses multiple cycle time issues, including customer service levels, cost control, and interfunctional coordination. In other words, the marketing processes were designed and streamlined based on extensive longitudinal analysis across industries. Obviously, as indicated earlier [2], a strong organizational learning orientation is crucial for industrial marketing managers to “rethink” their operations in this “brave new world.” In this paper, we will provide illustrative insight and case examples as to how an ERP system can be used as a tool to help improve the performance level of a supply chain network by helping to reduce cycle times. Given how much is at stake for industrial marketing management, with obvious consequences for research in this field, this prescriptive overview will feature several areas of critical concern in real business examples. We will discuss the nature and strategic value of “business-engineered” marketing processes in SAP including a specific example of sales order processing and the associated efficiencies. Finally, recommendations for industrial marketing management are provided along with suggestions for future research.

First and foremost, it is abundantly clear that marketing cycle time reduction via comprehensive, cross-functional ERP implementation represents a profound, challenging, expensive, and basically a “gutsy” move on the part of top management and all those involved in marketing operations in the “B to B” context. This is not a “cheerleading” treatise for ERP. For marketing managers used to operating in slower but more familiar environments, this represents the potential for an anxiety-producing process that will no doubt have managers questioning the wisdom of such a conversion as the system is implemented and adjusted. Welcome to the “brave new world.” But, alas, a full commitment to this change entails an immersive training regimen for all managerial levels, indeed all potential users. Consider the alternative. Potentially, imagine the competition implementing such a system first and getting a “leg up” on customer service. Then, consider being in a position of an “uphill climb” to come up to speed at that point when the competition already has the “customer service high ground.” 13.2. Embrace the robust training offered To exemplify “coming up to speed,” SAP training entails a series of modules for all functional areas. In the context of “B to B” marketing, a robust curriculum has been carefully designed to cover the full range of salient topics for marketing management and other potential users (see Fig. 6). As in any team effort, successful B to B marketing requires all personnel to be “reading off of the same page” in the sense of common complementary training terminology and cross-functional exposure. This is a further reflection of the substantial commitment that is necessary on the part of top-level management to revamp their operations to systematically reduce marketing cycle times.SAP provides training at their training centers, at the customer's site, or through distance learning. Some companies opt to provide training in-house while some outsource training through consulting firms. The amount and level of training will vary depending on individual needs and responsibilities. A typical curriculum is shown in Fig. 6. After a 3-day overview course on the basics of ERP, a trainee will take a 5-day course specializing in SD. Then, more detailed specialization can be pursued in individual processes like sales, support, billing, shipping, or pricing. Firms tend to send just a few trainees to SAP courses. This training is then leveraged by the development of in-house training and documentation for processes specific to the firm. 13.3. Zero in on “the roadmap” with a clear, top-down, organization-wide commitment Once the decision is made to push ahead, close adherence is warranted to an implementation roadmap with critical managerial implications contained therein. SAP has developed a standardized, five-step “ASAP roadmap” to reduce implementation times. Rumor has it that the big consulting firms were drawing out the implementation process for years to milk the billable hours out of their clients. SAP responded to the bad press by developing a standardized streamlined process to get SAP R/3 up and running. Now, it is possible to implement the following process and “go live” in a few months instead of a few years. To exemplify, the overview outline of the “implementation roadmap” is featured in Section 13.3.1[10].