This paper presents a fast, inexpensive and safe process to plan and monitor ERP implementation processes like SAP R3. Based in concrete experiences at industrial unities of multinational companies, the process is considered simple and effective to control this kind of dynamic projects.
2. ABSTRAC
CT
This paper presents a fast, inex
r xpensive an safe process to pla and mon
nd an nitor ERP
implementa ation proce esses like S
SAP R3. Baased in conncrete expe
eriences at industrial
unities of m
multinationa companie the proc
al es, cess is con
nsidered sim
mple and efffective to
control this kind of dyn
s namic projec
cts.
(ERP) ENTERPRISE RESOURC PLANN
E CE NING
The systems for En nterprise Resource Planning, kn nown as E ERP, are a set of
interdepend dent eleme ents organiz zed into a single and complex w whole that seeks to
capture and globally m manage the business. D to the c
Due complexity o the implem
of mentation
and to the dynamics of the bus
e siness enviro
onment, it iis necessar to ensure that the
ry e
deadlines, the scope, and the cos of the pr
sts rojects are g
guaranteed, with the low
west cost
control pos ssible. The main stages of the process are de
s escribed belo with suggestions
ow,
for fast, inexpensive a and safe immplementation, based on our con ncrete expeerience at
industrial units of multinational commpanies.
The main p
processes are:
→ Tea division and stratification.
am a
→ Imp
plementation Methodolo
n ogy, Definitio of Scope and Deadllines
on e
→ Pre
eparation of Network En
nvironment a Creation of Resour Pool
and rce
→ Def
finition of the Web Envir
e ronment
→ Con
nsolidating the Macro P
t Project and Integrated M
Managemen
nt
TEAM DI
IVISION AN STRATI
ND IFICATION
N
The first step in th solution is to stra
he atify the te
eams, takin as a base the
ng
Communic cations Planning and th company organizatio
he y onal structu
ure. Three levels are
created for the projec control. They are: production productio managem
r ct n, on ment, and
coordinatio (Exhibit 1).
on
Coordin
nation
Produc
ction
Manageement
Produc
ction
Exhibit 1 – Team stratification for project control
m
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3. IMPLEME
ENTATION METHODO
OLOGY, DE
EFINITION OF
SCOPE AN DEADL
ND LINES
Most of the time the m
e methodology to be used in the impllementation is that deve
y d eloped by
the actual s
software ma
anufacturer, such as AS
SAP for SAP R3 (Exhibit 2).
P t
Exhibit 2 – Ac
ccelerated SAP Implementation Assistant for project sc
cope definition.
The level o detail of the methodology, which will be universally applied in all of the
of
modules, should be d
s defined toge
ether with th implementers, as w as structuring the
he well
generic content of the work that will be con
e ntrolled by th project, and creatin a basic
he ng
Work Breakdown Structure for all of the modules.
From there each mod
e, dule is detailed until the work pack
e kages are es
stablished. The work
packages a controlle by the p
are ed project team themselv and, upon being co
ms ves ompleted,
reflect the e
execution of the methodology activ
f vity.
The group using m
p, mainly the eexpert judg gment of c consultants and imple ementers,
determines the deadlines for eac work pac
s ch ckage. A fu undamental considerattion is the
simultaneous executio of the me
on ethodology a activities in each moduule. For exa
ample, the
prototyping of the fin
g nancial and production planning, etc., should be carrie out in
n ed
parallel. If a module has compleetely differen features from the re which im
nt est, mpedes it
from fitting in with th standard methodology, it will be develo
g he d oped separately and
consolidate after the other mod
ed e dules, as is the case of the Basis group of SAP R3
s f
(Exhibit 3).
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4. Global Project
Sales an Distributio (SD)
nd on
Accelerated
Material Managemen (MM)
nt
ABAP 4
Basis
SAP
and
IT
Product
tion Planning (PP)
Finance (FI)
F
Con
ntrolling (CO
O)
Resourc Pool
ce
Exhibit 3 – S
Structure of Implem
mentation in Parallel and objects for Global Project.
PREPARA
ATION OF N
NETWORK ENVIRON
K NMENT AND
CREATION OF RESO
N OURCE POOL
Parallel to t group w
the work in the modules, a computer n network infr
rastructure iis created
for remote manageme ent. Taking advantage of the computers made availab for the
g e ble
project teaam, a set o directories is created at the server, which will file the projects
of s d e
relative to each group in distinct folders, wiith access c
p control pos
ssible for ea user .
ach
Each team will have user acces to the se
m ss erver, separated by grroups of us sers, with
access privvileges defin beforeha
ned and.
All of those users will c
e constitute p of the po of resou
part ool urces that w now be c
will created as
a new projject file containing a lis of the sys
st stem users, as well as a set of all the other
resources to be used in the projject. The list should include the E-mail add
d dresses of
each resou urce so that the electro
t onic mail se
erver directs the messa ages, thus in
nstalled in
that same server. Wit the pool defined, ev
th very project file of every module is linked to
y s
the pool of resources, creating a n network.
The greate benefit of this structu is the ce
est f ure entralized mmanagement of the team and the
t m
better visu
ualization of the effort and the a
f availability o each resource of the pool,
of
independen of whic module it actually belongs to. With the links estab
ntly ch . e blished, it
becomes necessary to allocate th resource in the pro
n o he es oject activitie allowing all of the
es, g
responsibilities within e
each module to be esta
e ablished (Exh hibit 4).
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5. Exhibit 4 – In
ntegrated Resourc Pool control.
ce
DEFINITIO OF THE WEB ENV
ON E VIRONMEN
NT
The web e environment is created through a w server to be installed in the s
web server. All
information about the project can be publish as a we page us
n n hed eb sing pre-defined Web
Pages (Exhhibit 5).
Exhibit 5 – We page with gener information abo a functional gro in SAP/R3.
eb ral out oup
Through m mail box p programs fo the we
or eb, which are include in mos project
ed st
manageme software such as T
ent e, Team Inbox of MS Pro
x oject 98, the are installled in the
ey
computers of production member of the pro
rs oject so that these can update their activities
t r
without hav
ving to direc access the project manageme software saving the need to
ctly ent e, e
acquire sof
ftware user licenses and making it much easie to update the team (E
d er Exhibit 6)
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6. Exhibit 6 – Micro
osoft Team Inbox f Project Control by e-mail in a We Environment
for eb
These resu sugges an appar
ults st rent gain ac ccording to the scores obtained by these
o s
participants although the study must be deepened with other groups a
s, h y and other
companies to produce a working result that is more scientifically pro
s e s oven.
CONSOLID
DATING TH GLOBA PROJEC AND
HE AL CT
INTEGRAT MANA
TED AGEMENT
Finally the project files of each mo
s odule are consolidated filtered, an classified forming
d, nd d,
a global file of the pro
e oject that in
ncorporates and compares the modules item by item,
m
allowing th total con
he ntrol of the project, at the detail level desire and to the extent
ed
necessary, with a simp mouse c
ple command (E Exhibit 7 and 8).
d
Exhibit 7 – Glob Project View
bal
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7. Exhibit 8 – Integrated Cost in Global Project
n
CONCLUS
SIONS
The greate objective of this study was to f
est e find an inex
xpensive, sim
mple, and v
viable way
that can be employed to set up c
e complex and large scale ERP syste
d e ems, withou causing
ut
any loss of reliability in regard to h
how it functio and the failures of t program
ons e the ms.
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