1. Data Forecast Demand Machine capacities Bill of Materials Routings Data Bill of Materials Product/Part Inventories Vendors Economic Order Quants Data Prospects Quotes Sales Forecasts Data Customers Products/Configurations Employee Data Data Bill of Materials Machine Usage Labor Charges Cost Allocations Supply Chain Management Application Systems and Data Sales Force Automation Application Programs Order Entry Application Programs Materials Management Application Programs Production Scheduling Application Programs Cost Accounting Application Programs

2. Data Customers/Prospects Orders/Quotes Product/Part Inventories Bill of Materials / Routings Machine capacities Production Schedules Vendors Economic Order Quants, Etc. ERP Supply Chain Management Sales Force Automation Application Programs Order Entry Application Programs Materials Management Application Programs Production Scheduling Application Programs Cost Accounting Application Programs

3. Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Large integrated, packaged systems covering all or many of an organizations core business processes -- standardized data in a centralized database -- standardized processes across the organization -- options for various “best practice” variations -- customizable for additional flexibilty -- problems with customization -- extremely difficult and expensive implementation

4. Example of Implementation Difficulties In “Ugly Duckling” Plants -- in a manufacturing plant that builds 4 products, each under more or less continuous production, Oracle’s manufacturing ERP requires 26 time consuming transactions during the flow through the production line. For each step, worker must record what he has done, and system instructs what steps to take next. But in this plant, worker knows it all by heart anyway. -- in a manufacturing plant that produces custom size parts from large “billets” of glued and pressed wood chips, there was no way to accurately record the size of odd sized pieces left over, so master scheduler could decide whether a new order could be cut from a left over piece. SAP is based on unique part numbers for each sized part.

5. Example of Implementation Difficulties In “Ugly Duckling” Plants -- in a manufacturing plant that builds 4 products, each under more of less continuous production, Oracle’s manufacturing ERP requires 26 time consuming transactions during the flow through the production line. (First, response was to wait until the end, record on a piece of paper the final production, send it back to office to make the ERP transaction entries) (Second, Oracle revised system to allow “backflushing”) -- in a manufacturing plant that produces custom size parts from a large “billet” of glued and pressed wood chips, there was no way to accurately record the size of odd sized pieces left over, so master scheduler could decide whether a new order could be cut from a left over piece. (Do it all by hand. Half a days work per week.)

6. Interdependence Between Plants Differentiation Between Plants Limits on Resources Available to Support Local Tailoring (sophisticated global configurations or custom local modifications) Data Standardization Process Standardization Process Restrictions Integration Among Functions and Across Org Sub Units Increased IS Complexity ERP Global or Corporate Impacts: Better Corporate-Wide Mgmt Info Better Coordination Across Plants Administrative Efficiencies IS Development/Maint. Cost Reductions Local Plant Level Impacts: More Resources Needed in Production Tasks PoorerFit With Local Operational and Information Needs Better Fit With Global Operational and Information Needs Local Plant Level Impacts Poorer Management Information Local Plant Level Impacts Reduced Flexibility to Support Local Adaptation to Change / Innovation Weaker Local Understanding of Information Systems and More Limited Ability to Predict Impact of Changes Any Level of Skill / Education of Management and Staff Figure 3. A Revised Model of the Impact of ERP on Plants In the Presence of the Above Characteristics With the Above Overall Outcomes ERP Leads to the Above Intermediate Constructs