Previously, enterprise resource planning was used only of large business companies. It required lots of money to be invested. Small scale and medium sized companies were not ready to invest a large amount for buying software and employing staffs for managing ERP software.

Keeping this in mind, ERP vendors started diversifying their enterprise resource planning software by releasing many versions of the software which could assist small companies too.

Also, small sized companies might not require all the tools and customizations available for the big companies. The ERP software got tailored particularly to meet the small sized companies and for increasing the productivity. After this, small sized business people also started buying ERP software which matched their investment amount.

From the early 1990’s ERP helped the companies in driving down their cost and also helped them in operating more efficiently. Effective data management also helped streamlining the business process effectively. Planning, manufacturing, marketing, sales and quoting services kept on improving. Stock control, financial tracking and customer service also got better with ERP. Many time consuming and labor related processes were eliminated by the small business with the usage of enterprise resource planning software.

The flexibility which ERP offers is definitely a very big advantage which interests the small business. Flexibility and the real time control over the price and the jobs are the key features for a small sized company. Concise reporting is also a main factor which decides the quality of the company.

Based on these needs, ERP vendors have made installation of the related software as very less complex with much less manual job needed. The user friendliness of the applications also got improved. Adding more users or customers will no way affect the functionality of ERP.

Many small businesses are already enjoying the benefits after successful ERP implementation. The profit of the company has certainly increased after the usage of ERP provided the implementation procedures are followed perfectly. Business which implemented ERP successfully saw their business profit increasing within one year itself.

A good ERP system comes with essential features that will provide the functionality of comparing the hours of working of the professionals and the actual hours of work which was paid as a salary. In fact, many small businesses just doubled their return on income with just using this service effectively. With this ERP, they were able to monitor the time of production, cost, employee activity, overall performance of the company and many more crucial information.

Before setting up ERP systems, small business must first identify the business requirements. The impact which the ERP is going to have on the business should be well analyzed. Cost factor involved in implementation should be set aside initially. Once the requirements are well planned, then comparison can be made on different vendors available and the vendor which provides cost effective service and be opted.

For example, the sales unit should be aware of how many products are there in the inventory and the inventory department should be aware of how much products are in the middle of manufacturing and the manufacturing unit should be aware of the raw materials available for further manufacturing. If these data are properly communicated, then the productivity of the company can be increased to a huge level.

Synchronizing the information is of most important to manufacturing company because every part of their business units requires communication with the other part. In order to achieve this synchronicity usage of Enterprise resource planning software is necessary. Enterprise resource planning software is designed specifically to integrate all data available across the company and produce meaningful result from the data. Every data is collected and integrated into a unified system.

Though enterprise resource planning is an integrated system, it requires many software and hardware modules for its functionality. If the requirements posed by the vendors who provide enterprise resource planning software are successfully met the company, then the ERP system implementation should be successful. There are a very few challenges involved in the ERP implementation. If those hurdles are crossed and if the ERP system in is installed successfully, then it is definitely going to serve the company in raising the productivity to a high level.

Here are some of the benefits which the enterprise resource planning software gives to its clients specifically to the manufacturing companies:
1. Integrated service – ERP systems helps in integrating the data and providing synchronized service to its users.

2. ERP systems require feeding of data only once. When data is fed to one of the systems, then it gets automatically populated to every part of the software in no time.

3. The amount of paper work required is reduced to a huge amount. There is no need to keep loads of records in paper to keep track of the company’s performance. There are lots of applications and customizations available with the tool itself which could produce reports with a single click.

4. The inventory cycle time can be reduced to a huge level. The inventory cycle is the time taken for the product to get fully manufactured and delivered to the customer. Reduction in inventory cycle time means increase in the production. With this, the satisfaction level of the customer gets improved and also attracts more customers.

5. Labor costs are reduced to a considerable amount of time. With the availability of data in real time managing employees and managing real time production data can be in control.

6. Production time can be decreased with the usage of enterprise resource planning software. It helps in eliminating repetitive process and helps in breaking down the production time.

These benefits over takes some of the minor disadvantages of the ERP software and because of this reason many companies opt for enterprise resource planning rather than any other methods.

The other approach is to set out an over-arching strategy model which will ultimately determine the processes and outcome of the commissioning. This article is intended to provide both an overview and introduction to the fundamentals.

Essentially the business intelligence tool consists of a mechanism (usually an application software package) whose main function is to extract information from within the already existing information resources, classify and interpret that information based on the agreed industry or sector algorithms, process that information into data sets that can point towards patterns or trends before finally establishing protocols for disseminating the resultant information to the end-users.

Whilst this may appear to be a relatively straightforward process that is based on logic, the reality is that there are many pitfalls to be found within this seeming linear activity structure. The degree of success with which each individual firm will be able to use its business intelligence can ultimately be traced back to the commissioning strategy when various tools where being selected.

The tools can very broadly be classified as consisting of spreadsheet based programs and their variants, data reports or queries, online analytical processing systems, digital Business Intelligence Dashboard Suites and mining software. These in turn will feed into localized information protocols that drive performance management. The combination for each of these tools will depend on the particular needs and constraints facing the business in question.

The vital thing at this stage is to appreciate what you want as decision maker and being aware of the availability spectrum on the market. At this stage, it is best to agree a mix of either all or a combination of the tools to be embedded within the overall strategy. It is very important to understand that not every tool detailed in the list above will be suitable for every business or for different segments within the same business.

Some people even argue that experimentation is called for in the preliminary stages before settling onto a particular combination of tools. If the business has the time and resources, the trial and error approach might give them more time to select the best combination. Alternatively they might decide to commission purpose-built tools that are designed to cater for the specific demands of a project. This is where business intelligence is highly specialized and consequently highly accurate.

Finally cost is always an issue especially if the senior decision makers are of the view that other priorities are more likely to directly impact on the bottom line. The costs are likely to go even higher if the components are bought on a standalone basis rather than as part of a package. However the skeleton overview above provides a framework through which each business will be able to assess what is available in the technology markets and then commission the appropriate business intelligence tool or combination of tools.

Every company is looking to increase its market value. For, this they are re-looking into the factors which affect the company’s productivity and management. Every company is looking to use their resources effectively so that their business is done more effectively and efficiently. Most of the companies decides to use software which could manage their whole enterprise and the information should be available with the enterprise.

With this need, enterprise resource planning came into picture. Enterprise resource planning is a software based system which helps in managing every functionality and operation of the company. It ensures that there is proper and reliable data communication between various parts of the business units. This helped many businesses to increase their productivity and cut costs on management related funds.

Usage of enterprise resource planning software have helped many companies in analyst and optimize their business process, enhancing the supply chain management, efficient control of inventory, enhanced decision making by providing precise reports, integrating various business units and developing transparency all over the business.

In a typical corporation which implemented ERP successfully , the customer sales department can get access to the purchase department, inventory department data can be viewed by the sales department and the top management can see the overall structure and the work flow of the company with a single click. This is what a comprehensive enterprise resource planning software is capable of.

The impact of the enterprise resource planning can be seen evident with the company even before 12 months of implementation. With proper planning and successful implementation ERP can provide a strong platform for better productivity. The implementation of ERP helped many companies in increasing the value chain in the market. It also created confidence among its customers. Share holders also bought shares of these companies with confidence.

In previous stage before ERP comes into practice, companies used separate software for each service. Separate tools were used for sales tracking, financial management and for human resource management. Lots of employees were employed for managing separate software. This resulted in redundant technology, service was poor and the staffs found it very difficult to integrate data from these services and create a report out of it.

Critical information could be extracted from such independent software. But, with the advent of enterprise resource planning software, managing all the resources under a single system was made much easier. Also, lots of manual work involved in resource management was cut down to a large amount.

Compared to the big industries, small and medium sized industries used the ERP efficiently. In general enterprise resource planning can be used to introduce standard industry process, implementing integration across various inter related business units within the company, real time access to the information and creating analytical report with a single click.

For the purposes of convenience we will describe the mode that essentially looks at the manufacturing model. This model will vary slightly with those within specific service industries but it gives a good example of the progression of the business performance management project.

It assumes that there are several major activities in the organization which include designing new products, creating models of the potential products, the actual manufacture of those products, and a review of the processes and finally optimizing the benefits of the product line.

At the design stage a concept will be created to resolve a problem. Performance management is there to ensure that that concept adequately meets the needs that have been expressed and is a viable proposition. This process will require quite extension consultation and managers should not be surprised if they have to go back to the drawing board over and over again. Logic suggests that it is better to take time planning than to have an inappropriate product.

The next stage is to translate that concept into a model. Performance management will have a role to play here in terms of ensuring that the prototypes accurately match the agreed conception so that any problems can be resolved at this stage. The model can then be tested against various stringent criteria to ascertain whether it can truly cope with any variables that are expected. Where the prototype is not accurate, the problems with the design will be lost in translation.

At the execution stage, the prototype will be turned into an actual product. Hopefully by this stage any problems will have been resolved and it will be an accurate reflection of the concept. If the work is done in batch stages, it is the role of performance management to check the final product against both the concept and the prototype. Any problems should then be dealt with either on a practical basis or through strategic management action.

The review stage is a continuous testing process against the agreed performance indicators. The product will be reviewed by clients and they will give feedback. Improvements can then be suggested to be implemented at a later stage. The role of performance management here is to check the product against all the standards that have been set and highlight any problems as well as suggesting ways of dealing with them.

The final stage is the optimization stage where feedback from both the users and technicians will be used to suggest and implement improvements. The optimization stage can continue throughout the life time of the product. The role of performance management is to ensure that the optimization actually occurs and that it occurs according to the agreed patterns at the design stage. Therefore business performance management is consequently active throughout the lifetime of the product.

Implement an enterprise resource planning software has lots of ups and downs. The anticipation that a company expects might differ. It is very essential for the ERP vendors to make sure that the anticipations of the staffs who are going to use the tool is met successfully.

Some of the essential points and challenges that should be noted during the implementation of the ERP software are as follows:
1. Effective planning and implementation :
As with any other software installation, enterprise resource planning software also requires high level of planning for the successful ERP System implementation. The requirements from the company which opts for installation should be taken and customizations should be done accordingly. The customers should also ask for more templates based on the skills of the staff.

Templates are better used to reduce the time involved in customizing the tool manually. Before implementing a template, the impact which the template poses on the work flow should also be well determined. The changes to the template should also be done proactively. Instead of dwelling on the changes, templates which have customizable feature can be readily used.

2. Training :
Similar to the customization in the implementation, the vendor of enterprise resource planning software should also decide on customizing the training needs. It is always better to choose the vendor who has lots of experience in implementing the ERP to similar companies. These types of vendors will have more knowledge and they have better understanding of the business and try to fit in the ERP’s smartly and easily.

Based on their experience, they also know the right path of training to be provided. Most vendors would have a general session for explaining the whole ERP system architecture on user level. Then, separate trainings will held based on the nature of work they are going to do using ERP.

3. Mock live experience :
Mock live experience is a live training before starting operations. For performing this mock live experience, ERP would be implemented on some of the systems and trainings are given to the staff so that they can get an idea about what they are going to work. They can better understand the platform.

The hands-on experience will definitely throw some light on their understanding of ERP. Mock live experience also helps the staffs for providing valuable points on customization before enterprise resource planning software gets fully implemented in their company.

4. Anticipation management :
Anticipation management is one of the essential keys for an effective ERP implementation. Staff should have a clear understanding of the daily routine work with the ERP.

5. Follow up and support :
Experts of ERP should always be present in the site where ERP is used to handle problematic situations.

Material resource planning is also a software based management of inventory and product productivity managing. It was also used for managing the process of manufacturing. Enterprise resource planning got evolved from material resource planning when the software architectures got ‘routing’ as one of its major part.

Material resource planning didn’t take care of capacity planning of a company. The method of finding the capacity of production which the organization requires and meeting the demands in the market is termed as capacity planning. As with increase in the demand and supply of products got increased, demand for software which could manage capacity planning also got increased.

By incorporating capacity planning, material resource planning got changed into enterprise resource planning. Enterprise resource planning handled improvement in planning of every operation within a company like inventory, shipping, invoicing, manufacturing, accounting and logistics. Every business units present in the company like human resource management, quality management, marketing, sales, billing, delivery and inventory management are also covered by ERP.

Before ERP was developed, many software were available just to manage an individuals to manage their income. But, with the complexity involved in managing resources for corporations, many vendors started developing software in the name of ERP.

During the 1990’s period, many companies faced the Y2K problem. The systems other than ERP didn’t have the capability to eliminate this problem. Many companies which foresaw this Y2K problem thought wisely and they started replacing existing systems with ERP systems.

From then on, the ERP systems had a boost in their production. We can say that, a considerable amount of risk involved in the Y2K was reduced to a huge amount by the ERP systems. There was a rapid growth in sales after companies started implementing ERP.

ERP systems are sometimes called as back office. This is because, ERP systems doesn’t include data which are related to customer or general public. They are not directly involved in this system instead only the information which are closely related to the company are take into account by ERP. But this may not be 100% correct. Because, a type of ERP called as customer relationship management ( CRM ) deals with data directly related to customers. This type of ERP is called as front office.

In the early 2000’s, the term ‘ERP II’ got evolved. This is to indicate that the next generation of ERP software was available. ERP II based software had many more new features included. The key feature is that they came as web based software tool. This ensured that there is a real time access to the systems for everyone including customer, suppliers and to the employees. Now, the ERP software is being called as Enterprise Application Suite or EAS. EAS systems are now including every segments of the business and using browsers as thin clients, information is made available to its users.

The science of business performance management heavily relies on the ability to create a series of critical tests to assess whether the program is successful or not. These do not necessarily have to be on a strategic level. They can also be set on an individual or local basis.

The first stage is to set up a business data analysis program with the specific goals of trying to change the performance levels of the organization from the less desirable to the more desirable characteristics.

The desirable characteristics are crucial because they will contain a basis for ambition as well as a realistic target based on the knowledge of the industry as a whole. Once these goals are measurable, they then become key performance indicators (KPIs) that will form the basis of any assessment of the project either on a one off basis or on a continuous basis.

Key performance indicators are always supported by data and therefore it has to be a management priority to ensure that there are facilities for presenting accurate data in a timely fashion. Obviously performance management will mean different things to different people and there might be the scope for allocating different data sets or schedules depending on need. Sometimes there is an obsession with financial performance indicators whereas it is possible to measure the non-financial data which gives you an accurate picture of the organization.

There are a large variety of business performance metrics and indicators, and they cannot be exhaustively described within the constraints of this article. However I will briefly touch on some of the major ones; the most important metrics will measure customer satisfaction and their relationship with the company. This is the basis for any profitability and therefore they ought to be prioritized.

The accountant will naturally pay close attention to the financial metrics such as cash flows, debt, capital investments and the speedy conclusion of commitments. Without finance the company will fail so managers must never ignore the implications of finance in any business performance management activity that they undertake. However this should not be to the total exclusion of other criteria.

There are also non-traditional metrics that are slowly creeping into business practice. For example twenty years ago the environmental impact of business activities was largely ignored as a fad for the dopey rich kids or the political correct tree huggers. The pursuit of the bottom line was king and such concerns were not even subordinate. They were simply excluded altogether. However as the awareness of ecological issues has grown, it has been necessary to insist that this is included as part of the core metrics.

As always the key is to understand what is need to get your business to the place you want it to be. The metrics and key performance indicators are the tools for you to assess whether you have been successful in your business performance management program.

Advantages:
A company which doesn’t use ERP really finds it difficult to have proper communication with each other business units. Even though many software applications are available to share the resources efficiently, ERP overtakes every other software with the fact that ERP are centralized service for any kind of information available related to the company.

Some of the major advantages in using ERP are discussed below:

1. ERP systems have many software components included within it which helps in forecasting data. Forecasting can’t be done more efficiently with other software. Since ERP includes many software which tracks past history of information, forecasting is done in simple way. This also helps in efficiently managing the inventory and thus the productivity of the company increases automatically.
2. Different business units should have proper communication. Proper communication ensures good productivity and efficiency. ERP software acts as a medium through which proper communication is made between the business units.
3. Using ERP helps in making design engineering better. It helps in shaping the product better.
4. Tracking the order and fulfilling the customer needs is also a main task of the company. ERP provides this service with simple user interfaces. Orders are tracked efficiently and delivery is also monitored for the fulfillment of the customer.
5. ERP tracks every financial data starting from the invoice to the cash receipts. So, using ERP software makes it easier to track the revenue cycle.
6. The inter dependencies between the different materials in the process of making the product can be best managed by ERP.
7. Matching of costs of the product, inventory and order purchasing can be easily managed by ERP.

Above mentioned advantages are generic advantages of ERP systems. Benefits of system centralized ERP are discussed below. System centralized ERP have data in one place. Some of the advantages of this kind of ERP are:

1. The problem of synchronizing complex systems like human resource, finance, sales and marketing are handled and eliminated by these ERP systems.
2. Cross functional services which need communication between different business units are permitted by this system.
3. A top down view of the organization can be easily figured out.
4. A considerable amount of risk in losing important data is eliminated.
5. Production time and delivery time can be reduced to a high level.

Disadvantages:
One of the common problems which ERP implemented companies now face are the inadequate funding required in providing training for using the ERP. Other than these, some of its disadvantages are discussed here:

1. The customizations options available in the ERP software are limited.
2. ERP systems are expensive.
3. After implementation, migration of the system might become expensive.
4. Sensitive information regarding a company can’t be shared efficiently with ERP.

To successfully implement an enterprise resource planning software, the company should clearly mention its requirements to the vendor and there should also be sufficient software managing staffs employed by the company solely for operating and maintaining the ERP applications.

Studying enterprise resource planning requires studying different areas. This is not as simple as to learn single software. There are many areas involved in its study which varies from the implementation of the software, outsourcing of ERP, studying impact which it can cause to the international business economy, job opportunities, etc.

The main for the development of ERP is ultimately to increase the productivity and value of a company by assisting the company in fine tuning the manufacturing process. The first software which was implemented for a similar kind of management was named as ‘Material resource planning’ (MRP) in 1975. And later by incorporating many new technologies MRP got evolved into enterprise resource planning (ERP).

The enterprise resource planning systems will collect the data related to the company and stores into a single repository. It also takes into account the several processes and the data sources pertaining to the company. For implementing these data and product services, various software and hardware modules will be used. These hardware and software modules are integrated to form a single enterprise resource planning system.

If the ERP system is planned and implemented successfully then it is undoubtedly going to serve the company is raising its productivity. But there are many challenges involved in planning, implementing and integrating the ERP system.

The challenges involved starts from the point of selecting the right vendor. Failure of enterprise resource planning can never be analyzed or traced back. So, before implementing the software, lots of planning should be done. Also, the requirements posed by the vendor should be fulfilled completely. The vendor also should be in a position to provide successful implementation within time and the quality should also be good.

Some of the other challenges are lack in knowledge level of the employees. The management should thoroughly understand the process and should choose the right vendor. Lack in expertise might cause huge loss. Some companies limit the budget of implementing ERP software to a very minimal level. This in turn will result in less customization and templates.

The real usage of ERP software might be in a toss. Sufficient information can’t be managed and leading to very minimal information to be available. The other major challenge which every organization faces is the lack of support staffs. For a successful ERP implementation, there should be sufficient number of employees assigned by the company to work on the tools. If the companies are able to overcome these challenges, then certainly ERP is going to yield them a lot of profit.

With the help of enterprise resource planning the company can streamline their work flow, can provide enhanced support to their customers, real time availability of data on sales, inventory and raw material availability, reducing a considerable amount of paper works and finally it assists in the global operations.

As a whole enterprise resource planning is software designed to boost the company’s productivity. Though there are lots of advantages with enterprise resource planning, there are also few drawbacks with this. One of the main drawbacks is that it takes more time and amount to implement.

Let’s see some of the key features which make this software a huge success in the market:
1. Financial management:
Corporate Financial administration is always a big and important task in any company. Every company is under scrutiny of monetary bodies which regulates the financial flow. ERP has a good financial administration component which makes it a attraction for many companies. There are several benefits in enterprise resource planning related to financial management.

Starting from the invoices to the cash receipts, ERP can be customized to store much information and if effectively used, ERP can help in stabilizing the financial situation of a company. ERP provides real time tracking of cash flow and timely financial reports can be created.

2. Human resource management:
Some of the key factors in the human resource management are payroll management, employee administration, tracking the personal information of the employees and little other legal information. Using the traditional human resource management was complex. Managers found it very difficult to track the progress of an employee and also on tracking the information regarding the employees.

With the advent of ERP, a lot more information can be gathered and maintained related to human resources. This involves talent management, recruitment management, scheduling, attendance and time management, etc. The tools can also be customized based on the need of the human resource managers.

3. Supply chain management:
Assessing the demand and matching the needs of the customers is also one of the key functions of the business. With increase in the competitions, this part is gaining much importance in a business. Failing to collect and forecast this information can have adverse affect on the productivity. It can also degrade the company’s status in the economy. ERP software can take care of the supply chain management right from the beginning till the end.

4. Customer relationship management:
This method also called as CRM is the most required part in sales. Customers are the most valuables to each company and they work based on the needs of the customers. CRM ensures reliable and proper communication of customer related information to the sales team and then to the marketing team.

However it is increasingly becoming clear that social media is a particularly powerful tool in the struggle to obtain relevant business intelligence as well as to communicate with existing customers and potential customers. This article touches on some of the new opportunities for businesses to interact with users of social media as well as understanding what they are saying about the markets.

A cryptic comment or a customer complaint can go viral within minutes. We have heard of those employees who sent unfortunate emails that became global. Other employees used FaceBook to say uncomplimentary things about their colleagues or employers and ending up losing their jobs. Previously these issues could be contained within the normal customer service channels. These days that is not always possible.

Users of social media and bloggers can devastate a customer by merely highlighting problems that occur. A case in point is that of a well known supermarket where one of the employees was caught on camera misusing some of the products intended for consumption by the customers. Apart from the normal disciplinary processes, the supermarket had to launch a concerted social media campaign to try and rebuild their reputation. Even people who did not use social media ended up becoming aware of the issue through the print media that picked up the story.

It is no longer acceptable for senior managers to ignore social media as a means of obtaining business intelligence. The first stage is to make sure that there is a social media presence for the company on most of the major social media networks.

This can be achieved via the use external agency staff or in-house employees who monitor what is happening to the brand. They will note perceptions and gather management information that should feedback into the business intelligence structures.

Once a presence has been established the company can do one of two things. First of all it can work to enhance its message and publicity through creating its own buzz on the net. This does not necessarily have to involve advertising.

Product reviews and invitations for customer feedback have been known to attract quite large followings. This enables the firm to access the online market and retain some control over its image and brand awareness. The second route is to look at the possibilities of countering any negative perceptions as well as reacting to negative feedback through corrective management action.

Businesses can also use social media to enhance user experiences by acting on customer feedback and offering alternative experiences. One example is that of the airline reviews through which previous customers can place comments about their travels and how they were treated. Good business intelligence should use this opportunity to tell their side of the story as well. If the problems that have been identified and improvements are being made, then it is up to business intelligence champions to publicize this within the social media world.

Whereas some organizations can see this as an unwelcome intrusion into the normal working day, the project manager has a role to play to get people to buy into the IT project and use their collegiate working protocols to ensure that all the targets are met.

Some approaches take the view that team building exercises have to be independently planned and implemented to ensure consistency and monitoring. However team building at its best is derived from the willingness of colleagues to resolve a problem by using their different skills and experiences.

The first task is always to make people feel valued. A person will never be able to fully participate in any team work unless they feel that they are genuinely valued and that their contribution makes a significant difference to the outcome of that task. When managing InfoTech projects, there is often a tendency to invite external consultants who will not know a lot about the employees they are expected to work with.

Apart from the normal introductions and the basic orientation, they will move straight to the work. Some of their tasks may involve asking people questions which can be intimidating. Sometimes they will also ask people to change the way that they are working and this can increase the level of resentment across the board.

The frustrations of trying to get people to buy into the project will further increase its lifespan thus creating a culture of skepticism and disbelief. Where managers are not directly involved in the implementation of the project the consultants will struggle to get any cooperation and will often make mistakes.

How then can team work develop from such a scenario ? The first challenge is always to ensure that different workers are given the opportunity to take ownership of the project by contributing to the key performance indicators and also marking the milestones of each piece of work.

It is not enough to be aware what you need from a member of a team, you also need to understand that they will have their own view about the value of their work and how it can be progressed. Personalities are the drivers of any team building exercise. Therefore it is advisable to only select people who are able to work within a team. This is more difficult than it actually sounds. No matter how well trained or skilled an IT technician is, if they cannot effectively communicate with the people in the organization, then all their work will be lost.

Business IT projects should be seen as an opportune moment to foster joint partnerships between different employees and different departments. Once ownership is established it is then much easier for people to buy into the project and contribute ideas. Managers who implement new business IT projects are then tasked with valuing each person’s contribution.

The first major challenge is to identify which project requires which indicators. The list of performance desirable will be virtually endless and the managers will have to make a decision to prioritize or deprioritize certain factors.

A weighting index can be applied and the decision making about the factors can be democratized so that everyone has a chance to contribute their own interests. However the business has to have its own standards that ensure that the strategic objectives are being carried out even at the lowest units.

The balanced scored gives opportunities for managers to include socially responsible measures within the performance management framework yet still retain the core issues such as sales figures. This can enhance the reputation of the company and mean that it does not fall foul of recent legislation covering the conduct of companies. Environmental issues are such one area that can be included in the score card.

The problem with including worthy causes is that they are very hard to measure and in fact could be working directly against the other traditional objectives of the firm. Take for example the need to control emissions versus the need for an oil refining company to make as much profit as possible. The balanced score card would put these diametrically opposed issues against one another.

Managers have tended to deal with this problem by concentrating on the bottom line. The issue of profits enables them to concentrate minds. The only problem with this approach is that it is now not only the government that is placing legislation against anti social business practice but also consumers. Boycotts are not uncommon if a particular company is found to be violating the moral standards of their customers.

A far better way is to think of the firm as an organism that requires different nutrients to thrive and grow. Some of those nutrients are more expensive than others but the bottom line is that the organism needs those nutrients and must therefore have a balanced diet. The purely traditional methods of assessing the business performance of a firm can be outdated and mind end up costing more.

A lot of effort should be put into identifying the areas which can easily be put onto the performance scorecard. A broad priority list can then be created to ensure that as many of the non popular causes as possible are included. The business performance management protocols can then decide when to add an element and when to subtract it.

After all the greatest ambition of performance management is to provide the decision makers with a situation where the organization as a whole is thriving and contributing to the business objectives of the owners. It is better to have too much information than no information at all.

ERP has a variety of applications and processes which are available throughout their all business units. Implementing an ERP system is too complex and it can be done only by experts who have in-house skill in this software. This is also the most cost efficient way. There are many consultants and technical advisers available who can assist and implement the software provided requirements are clearly stated.

There are basically three types of services associated with ERP. They are consulting, support and customization. The amount of time required to implement ERP varies for different companies. The factors which depend on the time of implementation are the size of the business, number of modules the business includes, customization required for ERP as demanded by the company, the possibility of the implementation of the demand posed by the company.

ERP systems are distributed applications. They can’t be implemented all at once. There are a number of phases and steps involved in implementing an ERP system. A typical ERP implementation system requires one year and it involves around 150 consultants. This is for big and medium sized companies. But, for small scale companies which have less than 100 employees, the amount of time required for implementation is less. For these companies, planning and implementation doesn’t require more than 3-4 months. With the increase in demand for customization of the software, the time to implement will also increase.

For a successful implementation of ERP, companies should hire third party consultants for a short time till their implementation is over. The companies which implements ERP should also employ some staffs who are dedicated to manage the ERP systems.

Some of the management services required are business analysis, program management and change management. Employing these staffs is also a prerequisite for implementation of ERP. A significant amount of time is required to plan for data migration. This is also the most important point in implementation.

Process preparation:
Most of the ERP vendors have a standard process for their clients. The companies are generally forced to implement the ERP software according to the standards. During this process, vendors make a clear understanding of the business operations of the company and gathers as much as information required from the company.

Configuration:
Before starting the installation of the software, a check is made on the systems to verify whether they could meet the requirements for the software and service to run without any problem. If the systems don’t meet the requirement, the company should upgrade their system configuration. Once the configurations are verified, installation procedure is started.

Services:
After the installation is done, vendors trains the staffs who are going to use the ERP. Trainings are given on using the ERP applications.