CIS 610 Foundations of MIS Case: Pak Electron; 04/15/14 Submitted By: Jonas Frenzel, Alex Gavurin, David

d Jaramillo, Ahmed Raza, Colby Uva

Q: What should be included in Ahmeds plan to revitalize the ERP project? Pak Electrons IT strategy is currently in a turn-around phase1 of the Strategic Grid (Mc Farlans Grid), with high systems development, but low operational dependence and adoption. We recommend that Ahmed should implement a five-step plan to revitalize the ERP project. The goal of this five-step plan is to shift Pak Electrons strategy to be more strategic in nature, by facilitating adoption of the new ERP and spurring high operational dependence on the system by employees. 1) Mapping: Ahmed should map out the transition between the legacy systems and the new system. The mapping should be broken down into a legacy system map, current system map, and the final product map. Each mapping should use high level language to describe the companys current stack, its business processes, human interactions with the system, and training for employees. The preparation stage will provide a basis for cross functional understanding, communication, and organizational buy in to the new ERP system. This system will also allow new IT employees to quickly obtain a high level understanding of the process in order to ask the right questions. 2) Evaluation Metric Creation: A cross functional team must be used to decide upon evaluation metrics. Metrics should be used to evaluate the ERP systems success at aligning with company goals and strategy. These metrics will allow the IT department to understand priorities, show progress, monitor implementation, and identify areas of improvement. 3) Consultant Criteria Identification & Selection: Pak Electron has relied on advice to implement systems in the past. Before hiring a consulting group, clear deliverables must be defined. The mapping of the system as well as the performance metrics may be used to define these deliverables. One of the most important deliverables to be stressed is the transfer of knowledge from the consultants to the in-house team. This is because the success of the implementation of the new ERP system hinges on employees understanding and acceptance of it. 4) Implementation: In this stage the pre-decided metrics should be monitored to find red flags and address and prioritize areas where there are unacceptable levels of service during the implementation. This data should be provided in real time in order to ensure that business processes run as smoothly as possible during implementation. 5) Evaluation / Adjustment: In the final stage, Ahmed should aspire to have a strategic alignment between the overall level of systems development and operational dependence upon the system. Metrics should be continually assessed in order to monitor adoption, ensure that data flows are real-time (and accurate), and that best practices are being followed. Finally, hiring new IT staff is fundamental to ensure that processes continue running smoothly, and that systems are up kept and replaced at the end of their proper life cycles. _________________________
1. Visual Artifacts, Toolkit: McFarlans Strategic Grid