Keda Case Analysis Essay

Organization– ERP supports tightly knit collaboration among different departments. Departmental boundaries are replaced by streamline data flows & integrated business processes. Human Resources- Management, department heads, IT staff and users worked as a team. Keda provided high customization across increasingly diverse product lines to meet client needs. Technology- Technology is integrated to support all primary activities. ERP enables flow of information across department, so timely and strategic decisions are made. Purchasing – Technology enabled right estimates and timely access of raw materials. Stocking could be limited Service Customer Service and repair of parts Service Customer Service and repair of parts Outbound IT helped keep track of delivery of customized products and faster financial reconciliation Outbound IT helped keep track of delivery of customized products and faster financial reconciliation Inbound ERP enabled effective inventory management Inventory could be received in timely manner Inbound ERP enabled effective inventory management Inventory could be received in timely manner Marketing & Sales Low percentage of unsold inventory, improved market responsiveness, costing estimates Marketing & Sales Low percentage of unsold inventory, improved market responsiveness, costing estimates Operations Keda has a broad offering spanning industrial machinery for ceramics, stone processing, building Materials & energy resource management Operations Keda has a broad offering spanning industrial machinery for ceramics, stone processing, building Materials & energy resource management 2) Reasons for Keda to embark on an ERP implementation project There was a pressure and incentives from Chinese government to promote computerization in corporations in an effort to catch up with the foreign firms. 3) Inventory Management- Â  Keda’s low volume and high customization across an increasingly diverse product line made it difficult to keep track of the many unique, individual parts. 4) Cost Management – Mess in material management made cost of a product unclear and costing was based on experience. Profit or loss from sale of product was unclear due to mess in material management. Thus pricing of products was difficult. ) Opportunity Cost – Keda struggled to meet demand. It produced much below the market demand. Suboptimal use of resources represented a significant opportunity cost for the company. Reusable materials were scrapped and precious machine time was often wasted. 6) MRP II system – Keda had opened multiple pants. The existing MRP II system could not support multi-plant operations. 3) Critical Su ccess factors and the structures in place ‘Top management support, key users involvement and clear roles and responsibilities between IT, consultants and staff were critical success factors’ and central to the initiative’s success. The implementation team was built taking into account the roles and responsibilities of all the employees of Keda. Top management were responsible for critical decisions, key users supplied the actual data, IT staff used this data as requirements for the process design, managers and department head acted as intermediaries between users and IT team. The key users were at the core, the consultants acted as coaches and the IT officers provided task support to users and consultants. Vital representatives such as departmental managers and essential operational staff possessed comprehensive understanding of the operations and needs of the department. Top management would provide overall project direction and make critical decisions; consulting support would be provided by personnel from Digital China; project managers would be assigned from both KEDA and Digital China; departmental representatives would oversee the business process design and system design aspects; and the IT department would provide all necessary technical support. Each ERP system module was assigned an owner from the associated department, who was fully responsible for the workflow and operational details of the module. The key users ensured that the system’s design correctly reflected business practices, and they also played a crucial role in training users within their respective departments. Manager from each department worked closely with the IT department. Determined team effort was a beneficial and essential part of project success. Involving all the stakeholders helped limit resistance and endless changes once the system went live.