Write a one or two page memo to Leslie Daniels, CFO and Raj Johnson, IT Head, of Ozark summarizing your decision about which of the ERP proposals you have selected.

Topic 7: Effective Use of Enterprise Resource Planning

Discussion Board: Case Study: Large Scale ERP Discussion (10 pts)

Review Case Study: Large ERP Implementation. The case study has many details of a larger scale ERP implementation at Bombardier, a Canadian-based transportation company. A video was created to help pull out some main ideas about the implementation and results.

The assignment: Post your thoughts on the discussion board on one or more of the following topics

The appropriateness of the ERP project at Bombardier
Successes/Failures of Phase 1
Successes/Failures of Phase 2
For those that are working or have worked in an engineering field and use an ERP system, how does this case study compare with your experience?

Discussion Board: Top ERP Implementations (10 pts)
This video was created by Eric Kimberling who has been implementing ERP systems for over 20 years.
He provides insight into three projects that have provided him key insights into ERP implementation.
The Business–Focused Operations Executive Sponsor
The Hail Mary ERP Implementation
The ERP Project Team that Took Control of its Transformation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QroiWJedmLU

The Assignment: Post your thoughts on how the lessons described by Mr. Kimberling compare to the Large Scale ERP Implementation case study, OR how they compare to your experience at your past/present place of employment.

Memo Assignment: Ozark Feed (80 points)
This case study focusses on Enterprise Resource Planning selection and implementation at a mid–sized animal feed corporation. For this assignment, you are to work on your own. You will take the role of Christopher Page, CEO, Ozark Feed and Ag Corporation, who will make the final decisions about the scope and implementation of a new ERP system.

For this case, determine which of three ERP development proposals to select, and to provide recommendations for implementation. You will first create a decision matrix that will help you rank the three proposals. We suggest that you consider the appropriateness of each of the proposed ERP implementations in terms of variables such as cost, complexity of implementation, time–line for implementation, maturity of the organization, risk and/or other variables that you believe to be important.

You should also carefully consider Ozark’s role in the animal feed industry, its values, and the organization’s structure when evaluating the different proposals.

Next, you will write a one or two page memo to Leslie Daniels, CFO and Raj Johnson, IT Head, of Ozark summarizing your decision about which of the ERP proposals you have selected, and provide an initial set of recommendations for planning and implementing the ERP.

You should include your thoughts on which consultancies to approach, what the vision and blue print for the ERP should be, who should be involved in the ERP development process, the implementation and testing process, and a timeline for “Go Live”.

The memo should include your rational for your decisions based on the case narrative and the data presented in the Exhibits. Consider things such as profit margins and expected growth of industry, the challenges to customer service and waste caused by manual recording of processes that are not inter–related, and the costs vs. benefits of the different vendor software offerings for Ozark’s key business applications (See Case Exhibits 3–7).

Write a one or two page memo to Leslie Daniels, CFO and Raj Johnson, IT Head, of Ozark summarizing your decision about which of the ERP proposals you have selected.