استفاده از SAP R / 3 در خط کنترل موجودی

An organizational competitiveness depends upon the effectiveness of information flow and subsequently the material flow. Information systems especially computer based ones greatly contribute to the effective communication within an organization whether it could be manufacturing or services. For companies to be competitive, they need to have access to “the right kind of information at the right time”. An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can help to improve the communication within an organization. In this paper, the authors describe how SAP R/3 software came in rescue of a potentially devastating inventory management situation in a large corporation with worldwide operations. The paper describes in detail the assessment of system requirements at various locations (production and storage facilities), configuration of SAP R/3 to meet those requirements, difficulties in system implementation, and benefits realized.

Global companies are depending more and more on their IT infrastructure for strategic advantages [1]. But, the main challenge in building a credible global IT infrastructure is managing IT changes at individual locations and integrating those technologies with the enterprise network. Without a proper implementation and integration strategy the enormous benefits of global IT infrastructure cannot be realized. For example, there is a need to take into account the characteristics of an organization or a business model when selecting an information system. However, certain changes to the business process as well as to the information system are inevitable for the successful application of IT/IS in a business environment. A central focus in IT strategy development is the consideration of compatibility between the hardware and software components in an organization. SAP R/3, a client/server enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, is a powerful technology to integrate various business functional areas and can address or facilitate changes in business processes [2]. SAP R/3 can also easily be configured and linked to other hardware such as various types of devices for input data collection. SAP R/3 could be interfaced to RF devices or bar-coding systems for direct and online collection of data for operational and management use. Many companies have realized the advantages of such powerful IT tool. In this paper, an attempt has been made to discuss the implementation of SAP R/3 for a real time inventory management system. A multinational company with operations in Australia, New Zealand, North America, Europe/UK and Asia is facing a huge problem of order tracking and stock management. The finished goods stock (mainly, wine in this case) is as high as 32 days cover, which is considered too high as per the wine industry standard. The management of the company realized the need to rectify this situation and decided to develop a system for better inventory management. This was especially so because of the fact that the plants operated across continents and at several times zones. Several plants had their own methods of stocktaking. Some plants used manual methods and others had varying types of bar-coding systems. In order to integrate the information systems across all the locations, the company decided to go for SAP R/3. However, it led to several problems in the process of implementation. This paper discusses the practical problems faced in the organization, the approaches to solve those problems, and finally the benefits achieved. The paper also provides suggestions for future development.

This paper presented the experiences in implementing a performance enhancing IT system (namely, bar-coding system) at a shop floor level with a focus to integrating the system to a corporation's overall IT strategy. This focus is expected to put a corporation in a strong competitive position. The following are the lessons learned from the case study that could be useful for other companies: • Companies need to make certain changes to their business process when they attempt to implement an IT/IS. • The compatibility between hardware and software components is significant in the successful application of an IT/IS in organizations. • While selecting an IT/IS, the business characteristics of an organization must be take into account. For example, if a company operates in a physically distributed environment then SAP R/3 would be a suitable system. • Integration of technologies such as bar coding with an IT/IS is essential. This will help improve the data collection process and integration with other IT/IS. • There is a need to look at the compatibility between various IT and IS. For instance, BCS should be compatible with an ERP system and should facilitate the data collection process in an integrated manner. • Training and education on new IT/IS including BCS are essential as the system performance depends upon the quality of the input. Therefore, employees at different levels should be provided education and training in using BCS and SAP R/2. • Certain parts of IT/IS should be developed in-house with the objective to make the hardware and software more compatible to each other and other existing systems as well. • While measuring the performance of the application of IT/IS, one has to look at a range of strategic impact, intangibles and non-financial performance measures. For the multinational corporation discussed here, the implementation of the bar-coding system and the follow up actions enabled them to achieve an improved stock accuracy and stock rotation, redistribution of activities of clerical staffs to planning tasks, real time inventory monitoring, and better information flow between plants. SAP R/3 provided an opportunity to link inventory management system with other various functional areas.