When to Consider a Single-Instance Erp Strategy

Reproduction of this publication in any pee-pee without prior writ ex dollar bill permission is forbidden. The Information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. pull in disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such(prenominal) information. Although Garters research whitethorn discuss legal issues related to the information technology task, Garner does not provide legal advice or services and its research should not be construed or apply as such.Garner shall consecrate no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for Interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein atomic number 18 subject to change without notice. WHAT you NEED TO KNOW Adopting a whiz- grammatical case, single-vendor green light resource readying scheme can deliver benefits, but it does not make sense for every organization. It should only be undertaken If you rescue a good communication channel case for the project and it matches most or all of Garters single-instance succeeder factors.If the challenges balance or outweigh the achiever factors, hence you should calculate organizational issues before proceeding. If this Is not feasible, then understand Illimitableness integration or a tiered moving in application strategy. ANALYSIS Most orotund multinational organizations occupy a heterogeneous application portfolio hat has built up over time. The portfolio much is made to a greater extent complex by tactical purchasing and merger and acquisition activity.Senior executives in such organizations are attracted to the idea of standardizing on applications from a single enterprise resource be after (ERP) vendor because of potency operational cost savings and reduced complexity of the IT landscape (see Note 1). Vendor consolidation is lots a first step toward instance consolidation. A single instance of an application can fight all operating companies on a common process template, a ingle release AT ten application Ana a giggle copy AT ten applications dataset, using a consolidated practiced infrastructure.A single-instance strategy can drive cost reductions in several areas, including integration, interfaces, training, assist and hardware. In addition, emf benefits may be found in process improvements, better data consistency and improved visibility of information. However, adopting a single-instance, single-vendor ERP strategy is not a task to be undertaken lightly, because it can create disruption in enterprise operations and often involves replacing or so musical arrangements that are favored by users.Even if the business case appears to back the deployment of a single-instance ERP solution, there still may be significant obstacles to overcome. Certain types of organizations allow find it more difficult to realize the benefits of a single-instance ERP strategy because of their culture and infrastructure. See Table 1 to d etermine whether single-system ERP talent work for your organization. Rank yourself against each of the categories. If you have mainly (or exclusively) success factors, then a single-instance ERP strategy is more likely to be successful. Table 1 .Single-Instance ERP Success Factors and Challenges Enterprise Profile Business Model merged Culture and Policy Definition Geographical Concentration Success Factors Single primary core business with similar business processes Centralized with strong corporate head office policy dictated at corporate level and world(prenominal)ly enforced Company aspires to operate as a single global company, and operations, sales and marketing are concentrated in a single geographical function Stable, unconvincing to undergo dramatic growth or suppression Challenges Diversified group with wide range of business processes De primalized tit self-governing business units policy decided at the business-unit level Company operates as a multinational compa ny, and operations, sales and marketing are distributed globally Dynamic, growing rapidly or curtailment significantly Business Environment publication Date 28 September 2005/AD Number GO 30366 2005 Garner, Inc. And/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.Page 2 of 6 Merger, Acquisition and Divestiture Status Established ERP Systems Technology Environment acquiring smaller entities that are easily absorbed into the corporate culture Highly likely to be acquired or merge with a company of a similar size (or larger) vesting encore businesses Diverse, with an even spread from potential single- system suppliers Architecture and technology are decided at the business-unit level Elemental mummer, wilt majority AT systems Trot likely single-system vendor Enterprise-level architecture with similar technologies Source Garner (September 2005) Note that the cooking stove of this analysis is check to the processes automated through traditional ERP systems, such as financial, HRS, procurement, inventory management, production planning and order management. Single-instance strategies are typically noninsured first in the ERP domain because these processes are more internally center and homogeneous, and have little impact on competitive divergentiation. Suitability of a single-instance strategy in opposite domains, such as customer relationship management (CRM), product life cycle management (PLUM) and confer chain management (SCM), should be assessed following a similar process. However, with CRM, PLUM and SCM, organizations are even less likely to meet the criteria in Table 1 and will typically discover that a single-instance strategy doesnt align with the business strategy.By implication, even if a single-instance ERP environs is successfully created, most organizations will have to assume multiple instances of peripheral systems. Enterprise Profile Elements Business Model Organizations in service industries such as software or financial services will find adopt ion of single- system ERP easier than those with a alter business model, because the ERP adoption will primarily affect their back-office administrative functions. Process changes in these areas will have less impact on revenue-creating activities and, therefore, are lower risk than changes in operational areas such as manufacturing and logistics operations.Corporate Culture and Policy Definition Organizations that operate in a decentralized manner with highly autonomous business units may find these operations un volition to release control of local systems to a central IT function. If there is a culture of local decision making, then business-unit executives may not be willing to accept a decision that is mandated from the corporate head office. Geographical Concentration Companies that aspire to operate as global companies (operate on a common set of business processes across the globe) are well- positioned to achieve a global single instance, because they align the IT strategy with he business strategy.Companies operating as multinationals (have a droll set of business processes for local markets, particularly sales and marketing, and SCM), will have difficulties running their international businesses on a common system. Also, organizations that are physically concentrated in a single geographical region will find it easier to achieve a single instance, because support and operations of the system take consecrate in a narrow range of adjacent time zones. The need to support a single instance around the clock creates issues with available support windows for upgrades and maintenance, and possibly network-related performance and availability issues.Business Environment A single-instance ERP strategy may not be appropriate for organizations that face significant change. Implementation of a single-instance system may be thrown into disarray if there is a significant change of direction in the business Page 3 of 6 (for example, a manufacturer decides to sell its manufacturing operations and focus rather on design and logistics services). Merger, Acquisition and Divestiture Status This aspect of the general business situation can have a major impact on a single- instance strategy. Organizations that are likely to acquire or merge with entities of a similar size may find their enthronisation in a consequence strategy compromised if they merge with organizations that use different ERP systems.Established ERP Systems If the ERP system from a potential single-instance vendor is already use in the majority of the organization, then there may be little resistance to a wider deployment. many another(prenominal) organizations have initially implemented multiple instances of a single ERP system are now considering instance consolidation. However, if there is no nominate provider, then a single-instance strategy will face resistance, because some users are likely to fight to retain their much loved locally implemented systems from their vend ors. Technology Environment convertible challenges may arise if there is no common technology environment and enterprise architecture in place.A single- instance strategy requires the adoption of a specific technology environment (operating system, database, middleware and other IT infrastructure), and organizations that already have an enterprise architecture in place will find it easier to implement a single-instance approach. When the technology environment is defined at the business-unit level, local IT functions may resist moving away from their architecture to that which is required to support the single-instance strategy. Determining Who Drives the Initiative Often, instance consolidation initiatives are driven by the IT organization on the tush of simplification of the application landscape, and the IT technical and support infrastructure. Table 1 shows that five out of the seven success factors are within the business domain and entirely outside the control of the IT orga nization.This underscores the point that instance instauration projects should primarily be business-driven projects, with a business case solidly based on business benefits. Without understanding, sponsorship and consignment at the senior business management level, the project is doomed to fail. The IT organization plays a critical exercise in educating the business units, and planning and executing the project however, it does not own the project. What to Do If the generalness outlawed ten success Factors organizations considering giggle-alliance ERP that find the challenges outweigh the success factors have other options 1 . Consider a limited ERP vendor and infrastructure consolidation strategy, without moving to a single-instance consolidation.This strategy will enable organizations to achieve some efficiency improvements in the IT organization by consolidating some of the operating and support infrastructure of the ERP systems. However, the strategy will not realize the ful l benefits of a single-instance system. This strategy may be suitable for organizations that are modify and decentralized in nature, operate in a highly dynamic market environment and consider IT costs to be a significant factor. A common approach is to adopt vendor consolidation with some level of instance consolidation (for example, regional or divisional instances). 2. Adopt a tiered business application strategy (see How to Approach Tiered Business Applications), where specific applications are adopted to address the needs of decentralized business units.Page 4 of 6 3. Address the organizational issues that are creating the challenges prior to implementing the single-instance strategy. there are two main actions that need to be taken to address these organizational issues Involve business-unit executives in alluding and reviewing the business case to create buy-in. Develop a feasibility study that shows how business-unit requirements can be accommodated in a single- instance implementation, and build an instance strategy to support this. Consider getting business-unit executives to develop a business case to Justify why their business unit should not be included in a single-instance solution.Get the executive management team to understand and accept how investing in a single-instance strategy can affect your merger and acquisition strategy. During their due diligence, organizations adopting a single-instance strategy must take rate of how ERP systems are used by potential acquisition targets. Similarly, a single-instance strategy may limit downsizing options, because it will be difficult to divest parts of the business on an ongoing basis if they do not have their own business applications. If significant divestiture is likely, then a single-instance ERP project should be deferred until the business environment stabilizes. Key Issues How can more value be gained from an enterprise resource planning investment?Note 1 Definition of Single Instance A sing le instance of an ERP system is when a single installation of the application is linked to a single database. This significantly sleepless support Ana malfeasance exit tenure Is only one set AT application infrastructure to be maintained. This does not inevitably mean that all business units have to use the same business rules, because most ERP systems enable different entities within a single instance to have a degree of uniqueness. However, there will be constraints on the capability of the business units to define their own business rules (compared to separate instances for each business unit).