IT- Business Partnership CMGT 583 Phoenix Fine Electronics (PFE) is a mid-sized company that is growing each year. We are currently operating in two states with twenty-five stores. Currently each store has an IT manager who is responsible making the decisions on what technology and software are needed and implementing the system while accurate reporting to the main office. While, the store manager is responsible for all staffing, inventory and sale functions within the store. PFE current process provides no standardization across each store with, IT managers managing their systems and in charge of accurate reporting. We are going to examine a few systems that would help PFE integrate and manage all store systems and operations for standardization. The three systems that we are going to examine are Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer relationship planning (CRM) and Business intelligence/decision support system (BI/DSS). ERP “integrates all departments and functions throughout an organization into a single IT system (or integrated set of IT systems) so that employees can make decision by viewing enterprise wide information on all business operations” (Baltzan, 2015, p.38) CRM “involves managing all aspects of a customer’s relationship with an organization to increase customer loyalty and retention and organization’s profitability” (Baltzan, 2015 p.35). BI/DSS “refers to applications and technologies that are used to gather, provide access to and analyze data information support decision-making efforts” (Baltzan, 2015, p.G.2) Please reference the chart for the advantages and disadvantages for all three systems. The system recommendation that I’m going to make for PFE excluding cost for now is strictly based on where the company current position and where we want to go. While each system will add great value to our company, the system that will add the most value is an ERP system. A unique feature for PFE has been having an IT manager at every store, however all store personnel should be focused on excellent customer service, sales and store operations. The reporting should come from the corporate level, letting daily, hour updates on how they are performing. ERP also offers scalability which will as to grow/reduce as we need to. As PFE not only looks to open new stores but we also plan to acquire new stores, an ERP system will allow us to integrate their current network/infrastructure into our as we see fit. ERP is the ideal system for PFE because it covers it all aspects the company operations, while CRM is heavily focused on the customer experience and BI/DSS focused on data to help make informed decisions. Now to ensure a successful implementation of an ERP system, there are a several things that we are going to have to do. First, we must put together a team of employees to assist us, because knowledge that they will bring for their specific will be beneficial. We also going to need a detailed outline of all op ...

1. IT- Business Partnership
CMGT 583
Phoenix Fine Electronics (PFE) is a mid-sized company that is
growing each year. We are currently operating in two states
with twenty-five stores. Currently each store has an IT manager
who is responsible making the decisions on what technology
and software are needed and implementing the system while
accurate reporting to the main office. While, the store manager
is responsible for all staffing, inventory and sale functions

2. within the store. PFE current process provides no
standardization across each store with, IT managers managing
their systems and in charge of accurate reporting. We are going
to examine a few systems that would help PFE integrate and
manage all store systems and operations for standardization.
The three systems that we are going to examine are Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP), Customer relationship planning
(CRM) and Business intelligence/decision support system
(BI/DSS). ERP “integrates all departments and functions
throughout an organization into a single IT system (or
integrated set of IT systems) so that employees can make
decision by viewing enterprise wide information on all business
operations” (Baltzan, 2015, p.38) CRM “involves managing all
aspects of a customer’s relationship with an organization to
increase customer loyalty and retention and organization’s
profitability” (Baltzan, 2015 p.35). BI/DSS “refers to
applications and technologies that are used to gather, provide
access to and analyze data information support decision-making
efforts” (Baltzan, 2015, p.G.2) Please reference the chart for the
advantages and disadvantages for all three systems.
The system recommendation that I’m going to make for PFE
excluding cost for now is strictly based on where the company
current position and where we want to go. While each system
will add great value to our company, the system that will add
the most value is an ERP system. A unique feature for PFE has
been having an IT manager at every store, however all store
personnel should be focused on excellent customer service,
sales and store operations. The reporting should come from the
corporate level, letting daily, hour updates on how they are
performing. ERP also offers scalability which will as to
grow/reduce as we need to. As PFE not only looks to open new
stores but we also plan to acquire new stores, an ERP system
will allow us to integrate their current network/infrastructure
into our as we see fit. ERP is the ideal system for PFE because
it covers it all aspects the company operations, while CRM is
heavily focused on the customer experience and BI/DSS focused

3. on data to help make informed decisions.
Now to ensure a successful implementation of an ERP system,
there are a several things that we are going to have to do. First,
we must put together a team of employees to assist us, because
knowledge that they will bring for their specific will be
beneficial. We also going to need a detailed outline of all
operations and current infrastructures for each store. Next, we
need to evaluate and detailed the current problems we face and
the goals objectives we want to achieve with the ERP system.
Then we choose an ERP system, along with a vendor. This way
we have an idea and know what we are looking for in
partnership with our new ERP system. We also won’t be sold or
fooled by any ERP presentation that looks and sounds good but
does not help us achieve our target objectives. The next step is
to clean up our data. This will allow us to remove any obsolete
information and uniform all information in the same in format
before the migration. Then, we need to setup hands on training
for all employees and developed support documentation for
specific operations for the new system. Finally, the last step is
to test and go live. This includes “testing functionality, as well
making sure specific interfaces, business processes, reporting
and transactions are working correctly” (Panorama Consulting
Solution
s, 2019). A respectable timeline for this implementation is one
to three years, to make sure we are not in rush to get this done.
This is our first project of this magnitude and we need to get
this right, so we will not have triggered down problems going
forward from a rush implementation.
Implementing a new system into a company based of operations

4. is a monumental task but its better for us to do it now while we
only have twenty-five stores, instead of waiting to do it down
the road with more stores, which would increase the risk for
more potential problems. In the twenty-first century data is
more important now than ever before and the only way for us to
have continue success is to integrate all store operations into
one ERP system, to better manager our stores and to make
inform decision with the most up to date information.

5. Advantages
ERP
CRM
BI/DSS
Focused IT Costs
Reduced Cost
Valuable insights into the business
Improved Reporting and Planning
Increased customer satisfaction
Visualize important information
Complete Customization
Maximize opportunities
Data Mining
Standardized Business Processes
Highlight poor operational procedures
Performance Management
Scalability
Improved Analytical Data and Reporting
Sales intelligence
Data Security and Quality

6. Inventory management
Forecasting
Get a competitive edge
Disadvantages
ERP
CRM
BI/DSS
Cost of the software
Software subscription or purchase fees
Data Security is questionable
Cost of implementation and maintenance
Hardware and software requirements
Regulations are evolving for business intelligence
Customization Process
IT resources needed
Multiple BI applications
Complexity
Customization
Different conclusions from the same data
Might not see cost savings or benefits right away
Staff training and upskilling
Blends professional and personal boundaries

7. References
Adair, B. (n.d.). Top Benefits of Business Intelligence Software
in 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2019, from
https://selecthub.com/business-intelligence/business-
intelligence-software-benefits/ (chart reference)
Baltzan, P. (2015). Business driven technology (6th ed.). New
York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Benefits of ERP - A Look at ERP Advantages & Disadvantages.
(n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2019, from
https://selecthub.com/enterprise-resource-planning/erp-
advantages-and-disadvantages/ (chart reference)

8. Gaille, B. (2016, May 24). 14 Pros and Cons of Business
Intelligence. Retrieved January 14, 2019, from
https://brandongaille.com/14-pros-and-cons-of-business-
intelligence/ (Chart reference)
Panorama Consulting