System Analysis &

Process Integration I –
EBU 307
Why Study Enterprise Systems
Architecture?
 Help management and the implementation teams understand in detail
the features and components of the enterprise system.

 Provide a visual representation of the complex system interfaces among

the ERP application and databases, operating systems, legacy
applications, and networking.

 Management can develop a better IT plan if the requirements for system

infrastructure, training, change management, and business process
reengineering are clarified.
Components of the Enterprise
Systems Architecture
 Functional
 Defines the ERP modules that support the various business functions of the
organization. Examples include:
 Accounting
 Human Resources
 Procurement
 Fulfillment
 Etc.

 System
 Defines the ERP architecture through the physical components of hardware, software,
and networking angle.
Enterprise Systems Architecture
(ESA) Model
ERP Modules

 finance and accounting

 procurement
 manufacturing
 inventory management
 order management
 warehouse management
 supply chain management,
 customer relationship management (CRM)
 human resources management
 ecommerce
 marketing automation
Finance Module

 The finance and accounting module is the most important ERP module
because it allows businesses to understand their current financial state
and future outlook.
 Key features of this module include tracking accounts payable (AP) and
accounts receivable (AR) and managing the general ledger.
 It also creates and stores crucial financial documents like balance
sheets, payment receipts and tax statements.
 It can automate tasks related to billing, vendor payments, cash
management and account reconciliation, helping the accounting
department close the books in a timely manner and comply with current
revenue recognition standards.
Procurement Module

 Known also as the purchasing module

 Helps an organization secure the materials or products it needs to
manufacture and/or sell goods.
 Companies can keep a list of approved vendors in this module and tie those
suppliers to certain items, helping with supplier relationship management.
 Can automate requests for a quote, then track and analyze the quotes that
come in
 Once a company accepts a quote, the procurement module helps the
purchasing department prepare and send out purchase orders.
 It can then track that purchase order as the seller turns it into a sales order
and ships the goods, automatically updating inventory levels once the order
arrives.
Manufacturing Module

 Earliest version of ERP, material requirements planning (MRP) systems, were

designed for manufacturers, and manufacturing remains a key piece of ERP.
 Today, ERP systems typically have production management or manufacturing
execution system (MES).
 Helps manufacturers plan production and make sure they have everything they
need for planned production runs, like raw materials and machinery capacity.
 During the manufacturing process, it can update the status of goods-in-
progress and help companies track actual output against forecasted
production.
 It also provides a real-time picture of the shop floor, capturing information on
items in progress and finished goods
 Can calculate the average time to produce an item and then compare supply
with forecasted demand to plan adequate production.
Inventory Management Module

 Enable inventory control by tracking item quantities and location down to

individual SKUs.
 Offer a complete picture of not only current but also incoming inventory,
through an integration with the procurement tool.
 Helps businesses manage inventory costs, making sure they have sufficient
stock without tying up too much cash in inventory.
 can weigh sales trends against available product to helps companies make
informed decisions that boost margins and increase inventory turn (a measure
of how often inventory is sold over a certain period).
 can help prevent stockouts and delays, which enhances customer service.
 Businesses that lack other supply chain management modules may also use the
inventory management module to handle purchase orders, sales orders and
shipping.
Order Management Module

 Track orders from receipt to delivery.

 Feed all orders to the warehouse, distribution center or retail store after
customers place them and tracks their status as they’re prepared,
fulfilled and shipped to the customer.
 Prevent orders from being lost and boosts on-time delivery rates to keep
customers happy and cut unnecessary expenses for expedited shipping.
 Advances in this module can help a company determine the most cost-
effective option for fulfilling an order—a store vs. a warehouse vs. a
third-party fulfillment partner, for example—based on available
inventory and the buyer’s location.
Warehouse Management Module

 Can deliver a rapid return on investment for businesses that operate their own
warehouses.
 Can efficiently guide warehouse employees through all warehouse processes
based on the layout of the facility, from putaway when shipments arrive to
picking to packing and shipping.
 It can also help companies plan labor based on expected order volume.
 can support different picking strategies like batch picking, wave picking and
zone picking depending on which is most efficient for a given business, and
some modules can show employees the most efficient pick path.
 When it is integrated with inventory management and order management
module, employees can quickly find the right products and get shipments out
the door quickly. Faster delivery ultimately increases customer satisfaction.
Supply Chain Management
Module
 Track each step in the movement of supplies and goods throughout the
supply chain, from sub-suppliers to suppliers to manufacturers to
distributors to retailers or consumers.
 Can manage any materials or products returned for refund or
replacement.
 can include a wide array of modules like procurement, inventory
management, manufacturing, order management and warehouse
management.
Customer Relationship
Management Module (CRM)
 Store all customer information.
 Include the company’s communication history with a person—the date
and time of calls and emails, for example—and their purchase history.
 CRM improves customer service because staff can easily access all the
information they need when working with a customer.
 Many businesses also use CRM to manage sales leads and opportunities.
 It can track communication and suggest which customers should be
targeted for certain promotions or cross-sell opportunities.
 Robust CRM modules may support customer segmentation (enabling
more targeted marketing).
Human Resource Management
Module
 Can monitor workers’ attendance and hours and measure things like
employee productivity and absenteeism.
 Payroll also fall in this module
 HRM could be viewed as CRM for employees
 It has detailed records on all employees and stores documents like
performance reviews, job descriptions and offer letters.
 It tracks not only hours worked but also paid time off (PTO)/sick days
and benefits information.
 Since the HRM module stores a vast amount of information on every
employee across the organization, it eliminates a lot of duplicate or
inaccurate data that many organizations store in various spreadsheets.
E Commerce

 Allow companies to quickly launch a business-to-business (B2B) or

business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce website.
 Leading commerce applications include user-friendly tools that allow
employees to easily add new items, update product content (item
descriptions, titles, specs, images, etc.) and change the look and feel of
the website.
 When the ecommerce module is integrated with other ERP applications,
all payment, order and inventory information feeds from the ecommerce
module into the shared database.
 That ensures all transactions are added to the ledger, out-of-stock items
are removed from the site and orders ship on time.
Marketing Automation Module

 manage marketing campaigns across digital channels like email, web,

social media and SMS.
 can automate email sends based on campaign rules and has advanced
customer segmentation features, so customers only receive relevant
messages.
 can provide detailed reports on the performance of campaigns to shape
future marketing plans and spend.
 Increase leads, customer loyalty and, sales.
ERP Systems Architecture

 On Premise
 Cloud ERP
 SaaS ERP
On Premise

 On-premise ERP software means that the company purchases the software
and installs it on its own servers.
 The company has to further invest on add-ons, long-term and short-term
server maintenance.
 It gives the leverage of customizing the software as per the typical needs of
an organization.
On-Premise Advantages

 Data is secured within your company-owned servers

 Data is secured as you don’t have to worry about data security threats and
data leaks
On-Premise Disadvantages

 Spend significant time in implementation, setting up the system and loading

new modules
 Infrastructure cost is high because you have to invest in servers to increase
data handling capacity
 Need to allocate extra IT staff to run the software on your system
Cloud ERP

 Managed offsite and delivered through remote servers.

 Often single-tenant, which means the business has its own virtual application and
database servers (versus sharing with other companies).
 Because your business manages the software, including maintenance and upgrades, it’s
as close as you can get to an on-premises ERP without having an on-premises ERP.
Advantages of Cloud ERP

• Cost savings because there’s no need to buy/maintain hardware

• Faster and easier implementation
• Better security
• Anytime, anywhere access via any device with an internet connection
• Configurable software – to your specific needs
SaaS ERP

 Similar as cloud ERP, SaaS ERP software is managed offsite and delivered through
remote servers.
 Businesses pay a subscription fee based on the number of users and computing power
or storage they need.
 SaaS ERP is multi-tenant which means multiple companies use the same vendor’s
servers and infrastructure.
Advantages and Disadvantages of SaaS ERP

Advantages:
• Scalable infrastructure
• The vendor is responsible for the hardware and software, including patches, upgrades,
and maintenance

Disadvantages
• Is difficult to customize and may not support third-party mission-critical applications
• Vendor determines when updates are done – not you