Business Intelligence/Business Analytics System Implementation

Business Intelligence/Business Analytics System Implementation

Data collection, analysis, and presentation are all components of business intelligence (BI), which is used to improve decision-making. BI systems provide information on a company’s performance and can be used to make better decisions. Companies use BI applications to analyze customer behavior, forecast sales and profits, track production schedules and costs, improve supply chain efficiency, manage budgets, and more. In addition to providing insights into past performance, BI software can help predict future trends so companies can adjust their strategies accordingly. For example, if a business sees customers buying more of one product, they may need to increase supply or lower prices. In this case, the ERP system is an example of a BI application or framework that Amazon Home Service could use. Amazon Home Services is a leading provider of home improvement services in the US. The company was established in 2015 to provide a wide range of home improvements, including plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and more. Amazon has grown rapidly since its founding, having completed over 1 million jobs by 2018 (West, 2019). As part of this growth strategy, Amazon has implemented several business intelligence tools to help it better understand its customers and improve its operations. In this case study, we will explore how Amazon uses business analytics to improve customer experience and increase customer satisfaction.

Project Proposal

Amazon Home Services requires a business resource planning (ERP) system that can easily integrate with their current systems and give visibility into their sales data in order to scale efficiently and decisively. Implementing the right ERP system can be challenging for any organization, especially one growing rapidly like Amazon Home Services. This case study will focus on how Amazon Home Services implement an ERP system at the company. Amazon Home Services ERP system will be developed to manage its day-to-day operations efficiently (Epizitone and Olugbara, 2020). The business decided to implement an ERP system which could increase employees’ general productivity levels because it wants to make sure that they always have access to crucial information. This project will be done by an experienced team of software developers who are trained on how to install this type of system within a short period.

System Diagram

The diagram shows how the Amazon Home services business can be run with an ERP system. The revenue cycle refers to how money comes into your company, for example, through sales of products or services, interest income, dividends, etc. The expenditures cycle refers to how money leaves your company, for example, by paying taxes and salaries. The payroll cycle refers to how employees are paid and their benefits calculated. The general system is just that - general systems like accounting and inventory management are not included in this diagram because they are not specific to any one industry or type of business.

Revenue Cycle

The diagram shows the revenue cycle at Amazon Home Services. It is a simple process where an invoice is created by the service provider and sent to accounting. Next, accounting creates a payment slip that is sent to accounts payable. The provider then marks the invoice as paid.

Expenditure Cycle

The expenditure cycle is very similar, but instead of invoices being paid out, they are being paid in. An expense report is created by a department head and sent to accounting, creating a purchase order for that department head. Accounting creates a check from their account payable account and sends it back to them; it may also be done electronically if the diagrams below show how the different departments interact to provide a seamless customer experience.

Payroll Cycle

Amazon Home Services is a global home services company that provides customers with a wide range of services. This includes its delivery staff and contractors who work for the company. These employees must be paid regularly to continue working for Amazon Home Services. The payroll process is run by an outside company called Payroll Express, which processes these payments and sends them to the appropriate people. In addition, each employee has a bank account with Payroll Express, which they use to make monthly deposits into their accounts.

The Production Cycle

In addition to paying all of its employees, Amazon Home Services also needs to ensure that it has enough stock on hand. This means that there needs to be some inventory management system in place for the company. There are several ways this could be done, but one possible solution is an inventory tracking system like Shopify or Bigcommerce. This would allow Amazon Home Services to keep track of the various processes.

Fig.1 ERP Implementation on How Different Departments Interact. Extracted: https://vilmate.com/blog/custom-erp-software-development/

Fig 2. ERP Implementation Diagram

Finance

Amazon Home Services Finance department is responsible for generating the invoices and ensuring that the payments are made on time. This can be done by using an ERP system.

CRM

Customer relationship management software stores customer information like name, cellphone number, and address. The CRM software also allows you to generate reports based on these details and analyze them to make necessary changes in your business model if required (Heinzelmann, 2017).

Production

An ERP system allows the company to track every product its company produces. It also enables them to identify any possible defects in the production process, which can help improve their overall efficiency at work.

Purchasing

Amazon Home Services Purchasing department should use ERP software to track all purchases made while running the business. By not purchasing items that their business may not currently need but which may be required in the future if they run out of certain items in their inventory, they will be able to save money.

Information Systems Personnel Considerations

The information systems personnel are always a challenge when implementing any new technology. This is especially true with ERP systems because they require significant time and effort to set up correctly. The company needs to consider whether or not they have enough people on staff that can work on developing and maintaining such a system if they choose one that requires extensive programming skills. If not, they may need to hire additional people or outsource some of their work to someone specializing in these projects (Jagoda and Samaranayake, 2017). Another consideration is where the new system will be installed within the company’s facility or offices. They should make sure that it has enough space for all of its components and wiring connections so that it does not get damaged during installation or usage over time from being moved around too much by employees who do not know how to treat expensive equipment like this one properly will probably be worth millions of dollars once it is fully operational (Kenge, and Khan, 2020). The following are the information systems personnel considerations that will be considered while implementing the ERP system at Amazon Home Services:

a) The organization has to ensure that an appropriate number of IT staff is available to support the ERP system. Additionally, the IT staff members need to be knowledgeable and skilled to support the ERP system’s various modules.

b) The organization has to ensure adequate hardware and software for supporting the ERP system (Jagoda and Samaranayake, 2017).

c) The organization must ensure a sound backup system for disaster recovery.

d) The organization has to ensure that it has proper firewalls and other security devices installed on its network to prevent unauthorized access from being made from outside sources.

The person responsible for maintaining the new system after it goes online must be familiar with all aspects of its operation and troubleshoot any problems that may arise during normal operations or when significant changes occur in the company’s business environment. This person should also have good communication skills to quickly communicate any problems to those who must decide how to resolve them and implement solutions quickly. Other personnel must be considered programmers, analysts, testers, and quality assurance specialists (QA) (Kenge and Khan, 2020). These people are necessary to develop an effective ERP solution that meets all of Amazon Home Services’ requirements for managing its operations efficiently while minimizing errors due to human error.

Enterprise Risk Management Considerations

ERM is a systematic approach to identifying, analyzing, and managing risks to an organization’s mission and goals. It is a way of thinking about risk management that enables organizations to anticipate and respond to risks to achieve their objectives effectively. A system of processes and practices, ERM helps an organization manage its exposure to risk across the enterprise. ERM requires a holistic approach, which means that all aspects of an organization should be considered when assessing risks and their potential impact on achieving strategic goals (Mahar et al., 2020). For example, ERM would include examining how the risks associated with financial performance may affect customer experience, employee engagement, brand reputation, or any other aspect of an enterprise’s operations.

The critical elements of ERM include:

• Identifying factors that could affect Amazon’s potential to meet its strategic goals;

• Recognizing the relationships between these variables;

• Managing these relationships to ensure the achievement of strategic goals;

• Monitoring and reporting on progress against strategic goals (Mahar et al., 2020).

• Identifying new opportunities for improvement or enhancement based on past successes or failures.

Implementing an ERP system at Amazon Home Services is a complex process. It has to be implemented following the risk management principles and practices used by Amazon. To mitigate risks and ensure successful implementation, the following considerations should be made:

1. Determine which business processes should be automated. To do this, one needs to identify all processes currently being performed manually by the employees. This will help determine which processes can be automated using an ERP system and which cannot.

2. Establish timelines for completing each step of the project. Based on the outcomes of step 1 above, the timelines should be created. As such, if a particular process cannot be automated or requires more time than anticipated, it should not be included in your timeline as it will delay the completion of your project as a whole (Pohludka, Stverkova, and Ślusarczyk, 2018).

3. Set up a testing environment for all phases of your project (development, testing, and deployment). This helps ensure that bugs are identified early in development and can be fixed before rollout so that they do not cause problems later.

Information Systems Security Considerations

The first step in implementing a new ERP system is conducting an information systems security risk assessment. This is necessary because Amazon Home Services’ business processes are still evolving, and the organization needs to understand how these processes may impact its existing information security infrastructure. Amazon Home Services has recently launched the Amazon Home Services Marketplace, a new channel for customers to access multiple home services providers in one place. The company plans to increase its investment in marketing and advertising campaigns for this channel over time. The main focus of these campaigns will be on local marketplaces such as Yelp and Google My Business. The company expects that these campaigns will result in increased revenue from customer acquisition at the cost of increased customer support since customers will have more questions about their service providers’ credentials and qualifications once they have been matched with them through Amazon’s marketplace portal. The security of information is an essential aspect of any organization. An organization must protect its data from unauthorized access, modification, disclosure, or destruction (Syafiraliany, Lubis, and Witjaksono, 2019). The security of information can be achieved through various controls such as physical, administrative, technical, and operational controls. Physical control involves controlling access to a facility by locking doors or other physical barriers to prevent unauthorized entry into facilities containing sensitive information. Administrative controls involve assigning duties and responsibilities for handling confidential data, reviewing documentation before releasing it to other parties, conducting periodic audits of processes and procedures concerning confidentiality, and so on. Technical controls involve using passwords, encryption techniques, and other software applications to protect data from unauthorized access (Reitsma and Hilletofth, 2018). Operational controls ensure that only authorized personnel have access to computer system terminals and use passwords when accessing the system. The information systems security factors that must be considered include:

● The system should handle large volumes of data without any issues.

● The system should have a flexible design that allows for expansion in the future.

● It should be able to work in a dynamic environment, and it should be able to handle changes while running.

● Good network connectivity and redundancy should be built into the system to continue operating even if one or two components fail or become unavailable.

Information Systems Privacy Considerations

Information security and data protection are two critical components of information privacy. Amazon Home Services is considering an ERP system to increase productivity and efficiency. The following list describes the fundamental concepts of privacy:

Data collection is critical to any business operation because it helps identify potential customers and improve customer experience. However, this process must be done ethically, legally, and transparently to avoid lawsuits or other legal issues (Syafiraliany, Lubis, and Witjaksono, 2019). Data collected should only be used for legitimate business purposes and not shared with third parties without consent from users (selling lists).

Data storage: refers to how Amazon Home Services will retain long personal data and whether it will be stored in multiple locations (e.g., cloud storage or physical location). Storing sensitive data such as financial information in multiple locations.

Data accuracy: Data should be accurate and up-to-date.

Data security: Sensitive data should be appropriately protected from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure so that only authorized personnel can access it.

Data retention: The data retention period refers to how long an organization should keep personal information in its system before permanently deleting it from its storage systems or archives. Organizations must establish appropriate retention periods based on their business needs to avoid violating laws relating to data protection and privacy requirements. For example, if an organization wants to keep records of customer transactions for tax purposes. Data should not be kept longer than necessary for its intended use and should be destroyed when no longer needed for business purposes (for payroll records).

The data minimization principle: states that only data necessary for its intended purpose should be collected and stored. Avoid gathering additional data if it will not help the organisation ’s goals or the customer experience. This concept also encourages organizations to delete personal information no longer needed for any reason (account cancellation) (Chondamrongkul, 2018).

Change Management Considerations

Change management is a critical component of any IT project and is even more important when implementing a new ERP system. Without proper change management, you could end up with a lot of extra work and frustration on your hands when things don’t go as planned, or even worse, create unnecessary risks for the business. In a nutshell, change management ensures that all changes made to an application are documented and properly managed throughout its life cycle (Andrianto, 2019). The goal of change management is to reduce the risk of failure during a change initiative. The project manager can use change management techniques to help identify potential problems before they occur and ensure that the team has what it needs to implement the change successfully. To successfully implement an ERP system at Amazon Home Services, the company will need to establish processes for recording changes made by users and ensuring that those changes are thoroughly tested before release into production environments. The following phases make up change management:

a) Planning Phase: It must decide what needs to change and how it will be implemented during this phase. You also must ensure no conflicts with other projects or activities that may affect your project’s outcome or result.

b) Implementation Phase: In this phase, they will need to implement all changes made during the planning phase into your current system without disrupting its current operation or workflow. This can be done by devising an effective plan of action that includes communication with all parties involved in this project, including end-users and stakeholders, so they can get used to this new system before it is fully implemented into their daily tasks and processes within Amazon Home Services (Ali, and Miller, 2017).

The primary change management considerations in the Amazon Home Services organization are:

Change impact assessment: The impact assessment should be based on the various functionalities and systems impacted by the ERP implementation project. This should include internal IT and external systems such as accounting, payroll, marketing, and sales (AboAbdo, Aldhoiena,  and Al-Amrib, 2019).

Change readiness review: It is crucial to evaluate the organization’s readiness for change. This includes evaluating whether there are any cultural barriers or other factors that may inhibit the successful implementation of an ERP system.

The economic and technological changes in the last few decades have enabled companies to grow into large enterprises. This has made it necessary to develop new management tools and techniques to help manage such large organizations. ERP systems are one of those management tools that can be used to manage the complexities of large organizations. ERP systems provide a single access point for information about a business’s different aspects. This makes it possible for managers to make better decisions because all relevant data is available in one place. ERP systems also offer features that can help automate many tasks, thus saving time and money while improving efficiency. Amazon Home Services is an online platform where customers can find, buy and sell home improvement products. The company has been using a homegrown inventory management system for several years but wants to switch to a more comprehensive solution that will allow it to manage its entire supply chain in one place. The company has recently implemented an ERP system for its retail business unit (Amazon Retail), which will enable it to manage its sales channels more effectively and improve its customer service capabilities. For Amazon Home Services to transition from its existing inventory management system into an ERP system, several issues must be considered. 

References

AboAbdo, S., Aldhoiena, A., & Al-Amrib, H. (2019). Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning ERP system in a large construction company in KSA. Procedia Computer Science, 164, 463-470.

Ali, M., & Miller, L. (2017). ERP system implementation in large enterprises–a systematic literature review. Journal of enterprise information management.

Andrianto, A. (2019, April). Impact of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation on user performance: studies at the University of Jember. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1211, No. 1, p. 012040). IOP Publishing.

Chondamrongkul, N. (2018). ERP implementation in university: a case study in Thailand. International Journal of Business Information Systems, 27(2), 177-192.

Epizitone, A., & Olugbara, O. O. (2020). The mixed method approach determines critical success factors for successful financial ERP system implementation. Academy of Accounting and Financial Studies Journal, 24(2), 1-10.

Heinzelmann, R. (2017). Accounting logic as a challenge for ERP system implementation: a field study of SAP. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change.

Jagoda, K., & Samaranayake, P. (2017). An integrated framework for ERP system implementation. International Journal of Accounting & Information Management.

Kenge, R., & Khan, Z. (2020). A Research Study on the ERP System Implementation and Current Trends in ERP. Shanlax International Journal of Management, 8(2), 34-39.

Mahar, F., Ali, S. I., Jumani, A. K., & Khan, M. O. (2020). ERP system implementation: planning, management, and administrative issues. Indian J. Sci. Technol, 13(01), 1-22.

Pohludka, M., Stverkova, H., & Ślusarczyk, B. (2018). Implementing and unifying the ERP system in a global company as a strategic decision for sustainable entrepreneurship. Sustainability, 10(8), 2916.

Reitsma, E., & Hilletofth, P. (2018). Critical success factors for ERP system implementation: A user perspective. European Business Review.

Syafiraliany, L., Lubis, M., & Witjaksono, R. W. (2019, October). Analysis of Critical Success Factors from ERP System Implementation in Pharmaceutical Fields by Information System Success Model. In 2019 Fourth International Conference on Informatics and Computing (ICIC) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.

West, E. (2019). Amazon: Surveillance as a service. Surveillance & Society, 17(1/2), 27-33.