he line. Because mergers and acquisitions continue to occur throughout all industries, these companies may not be able to identify all their needs right now. Disadvantages...Time- An integrated ERP approach has traditionally taken longer and creates many Catch 22 situations. THere are integral decisions in implementing any component of an ERP system that impact other parts of that same system. Diversity- As ERP vendors are broadening their offerings to reflect the needs of the marketplace, they are involved in many strategic directions that are playing out in parallel. Vendors need to determine where future R&D investments will be applied. The concern is that some of these vendors are trying to be everything to everybody. At some point, there will be a threshold that will cause a breakpoint. A more significant benefit for most companies is the improved use of their information technology. ERP systems present better information in a more timely manner to the people who need it. Sales reps can check inventory levels and prices before committing to deadlines; managers can check margins before offering special deals. ERP systems can also make employees, whether in customer service or production, more productive. ERP systems can reduce turnaround or order fulfillment time and increase accuracy in fulfilling customer orders. For cash savings, ERP systems can help reduce inventory costs through improved stock tracking. Last year, Walbar, a manufacturer of turbine blades and other parts for airplane engines, replaced its business application system with an ERP system from JD Edwards. The total cost for the implementation at the Mississauga plant, including the IBM AS/400 computer, servers, new IBM workstations, software, installation and training was about US $1 million. Mammone sees real improvements in improved customer service; quicker and more accurate delivery of customer orders through better materials planning and order tracking. ...
