Benchmark study to enhance business processes through ERP : case: Company X
Huttunen, Eevi (2017)
Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017103116459
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017103116459
Tiivistelmä
The objective of the thesis is to identify the best practices of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for the thesis commissioner. The main focus of the thesis is in the processes in the ERP system: how the system can help the company to achieve efficiency and decrease manual work and what are the challenges in the processes. In addition, the thesis considers if changing the ERP systems could help to achieve efficiency with the business processes.
The ERP system should decrease manual work by terminating replicate data in a company when all of the data is centralized and available throughout the organization. ERP systems can also be purchased as a cloud computing service. The service is available through internet and it can be scaled for multiple users and the fees are paid monthly based on the number of users.
This thesis is commissioned by a digital advertising agency. The commissioner, Company X, provides digital advertising and marketing services to its clients. The commissioner’s headquarters is in Helsinki and they have subsidiaries worldwide. The Company X has been using SaaS based ERP system, which has been developed for professional service agencies, such as advertising agencies. Currently, the commissioner is not satisfied with its ERP system because it does not suit the commissioner’s needs.
The theoretical background is based on literature and gathered on ERP systems and cloud computing, the advantages and risks with them and implementation process. The research is done by benchmarking successful advertising agencies that use different ERP systems than the commissioner by interviewing the financial department of the benchmarked companies. Interviews are done as structured interviews. The analysis is done as thematic analysis.
The main result of the research is that the advertising agencies use SaaS based ERP systems that are developed for the industry. The main purpose to change ERP system is to improve processes, such as personnel’s activity to record data or integration with other software. The implementation process with SaaS model is faster since there is no hardware to be installed and the initial investment is lower than in a traditional ERP system. However, adjustments require time and resources. The key in successful exploitation of ERP system is the active personnel.
The conclusion of the thesis is that the implementation of the currently used ERP system was not properly done and changing to a new system could increase the use of the system as a data storage and enhance information flow. Activating the personnel to use the system according to the instructions of the management, a manual of the ERP system should be created and introduced to the personnel.
The ERP system should decrease manual work by terminating replicate data in a company when all of the data is centralized and available throughout the organization. ERP systems can also be purchased as a cloud computing service. The service is available through internet and it can be scaled for multiple users and the fees are paid monthly based on the number of users.
This thesis is commissioned by a digital advertising agency. The commissioner, Company X, provides digital advertising and marketing services to its clients. The commissioner’s headquarters is in Helsinki and they have subsidiaries worldwide. The Company X has been using SaaS based ERP system, which has been developed for professional service agencies, such as advertising agencies. Currently, the commissioner is not satisfied with its ERP system because it does not suit the commissioner’s needs.
The theoretical background is based on literature and gathered on ERP systems and cloud computing, the advantages and risks with them and implementation process. The research is done by benchmarking successful advertising agencies that use different ERP systems than the commissioner by interviewing the financial department of the benchmarked companies. Interviews are done as structured interviews. The analysis is done as thematic analysis.
The main result of the research is that the advertising agencies use SaaS based ERP systems that are developed for the industry. The main purpose to change ERP system is to improve processes, such as personnel’s activity to record data or integration with other software. The implementation process with SaaS model is faster since there is no hardware to be installed and the initial investment is lower than in a traditional ERP system. However, adjustments require time and resources. The key in successful exploitation of ERP system is the active personnel.
The conclusion of the thesis is that the implementation of the currently used ERP system was not properly done and changing to a new system could increase the use of the system as a data storage and enhance information flow. Activating the personnel to use the system according to the instructions of the management, a manual of the ERP system should be created and introduced to the personnel.