This article aims to show how information systems and technologies are key success factors for companies, their advantages once implemented, such as process integration, flow control, material requisitions, inventory control, from the same platform, It will also be seen the conflicts that are generated when companies merge to be able to integrate the systems as well as the different technological platforms and it is concluded that despite these obstacles, information systems once integrated become a competitive weapon for this business world globalized.
1. Introduction
Information systems are currently a tool that, when properly implemented, becomes a competitive weapon in business, just as companies seek to differentiate themselves from their competition, information systems (IS) are a way to do it.
There are three classifications in information systems: transactional systems; which basically focused on the simplification of operational and delayed processes, when these systems arose they were very well accepted because they helped the company in its Accounting, Payroll, Collection, Billing etc. functions.
Later the decision-making support systems appeared; such as decision support systems, group decision support systems, executive information systems and expert decision support systems, which used to be introduced after transactional systems had been implemented. Examples of this type of systems are production scheduling, material purchase scheduling, cash flow, business simulations, etc.
In our days it is very important that companies integrate this type of technology through platforms that with a single movement affect other departments of the company. Thus, for example, a production order implies the purchase order of materials from the supplier, discounting the inventory of the materials available, generating cost information, generating an account payable and finally discounting the cash flow when this order of materials is paid in the future, all this integrated into an infrastructure that can be used by several users simultaneously; making queries, captures and finally throwing reports for decision making.
2. Advantages of IS and IT implementation
“A company must acquire the infrastructure that helps it make quick decisions and solve the challenges of today; otherwise, it will remain in the past ”, (El Economista, 2002), according to Luis Díaz, business consultant and specialist in SCM and ERP at JD Edwards, a firm that provides software and consulting services, ensures that since 1990 the complexity of Business increased and the need arose to integrate all functions within the company in a dynamic environment.
He explains that while in the 1970s, the dynamics of a manufacturing company only consisted of making a piece or two and not the challenge that manufacturing companies now have; Today, the important thing is to know what happens inside the company and outside it. In particular, what happens with your product and your customer.
But there is no doubt that when these systems are implemented they provide great benefits, such as some of these advantages are mentioned by El Economista (2002):
They integrate the administration of the company, finances, the administration of treasuries, human resources among others.
It is possible to analyze the value chain of either a product or a service to identify which activities are not generating value, be able to eliminate them and reduce costs.
- They integrate new technologies and cutting-edge tools such as Supply Chain Management Software that takes advantage of the functions of the Internet and communications with really low cost. They help to increase the effectiveness in the operation of companies. It can provide competitive advantages, if the competition does not count. with this technology. The information is available to all users in real time. It overcomes the distance barrier since it is possible to work with the same system in distant points. It is the first step to the integration of the Value Chain, since integrates the internal-administrative part of business.
Figure 1: Software Value Chain;
It also helps reduce waste costs, inventory control, even though they are different types of product lines, the relationship and ease of purchase and payment orders.
To mention an example; In companies like Kodak with more than a century, I realized that Fourth Shift ®, provided the solution to their problems of communication and integration of systems such as databases, connection and communication between departments and workgroups. According to information issued by SAP ® in Burger King, it was announced on June 25, 2002 that the mySAP.com site would be used as a platform to integrate its information technology in this way to increase the effectiveness of its business operations.
3. IS and IT integration
At times, we have heard of large companies that merge, and yes in most cases they integrate, but some companies suffer more with the integration of technology since it is usually different in each of the companies.
In this way the importance of growing is seen; to be bigger. One of the growth strategies is mergers; there are different types of unions; The merger where two companies and a new one is created, purchase is when a company buys part or all of another company and finally alliances, where joint strategies are created but each company has its own identity and resources to make its own decisions.
In each of these cases, the integration of information systems can be applied to have greater competitive advantages, according to Floyd, 1992, 1. In acquisitions: when a company buys a company, the controller is extremely interested in “controlling” operations and decision-making, for this an information system is needed (which normally already exists in each of these large companies), but their integration becomes a great challenge for companies.
2. In mergers; the same idea applies.
3. In alliances; When there are alliances between companies, the range of help or strategies that can be generated is immense, but let's focus on this point when the company makes alliances with its customers, everything related to CRM (Customer Relationship Management) comes to the fore. The same when a company wants to integrate processes or information with its suppliers, they face the challenge of SRM (Supply Relationship Management).
4. Problems faced when implementing IS and IT
The adaptation problems of information systems, among the most significant problems of these systems, are the cost, the implementation time, the resistance to change of the users, also technical problems such as the speed of response of the system, Since LAN systems are not enough, since switch and router systems are needed so that the response time of the network is adequate to the needs of the users, we agree that the 10/100 network speed that We know it is not enough when up to 500 workstations are connected.
According to Guerrero, 2004, when the ERP systems do not give the width in the organizations there is another alternative to take into account, this is the EAI (Enterprise Applications Integrations) compared to ERP, it is based on the fact that the implementation of the latter is considered as "push -oriented ”, the organization is forced to adapt to the linearity of ERP, hence much of the resistance to change that occurs during ERP implementation projects is born, one of the main problems encountered.
EAI's approach is “ pull-oriented ”, that is, it starts from existing processes and applications to “map” and integrate functions that are currently disaggregated, which occurs in a more flexible way for the company. Unfortunately, this methodology applies in a better way to Small and medium enterprises, Table 1 shows the differences between ERP and EAI:
Table 1: Comparison between ERP and EAI, Guerrero, 2004
|
ERP |
EAI |
||
| Technical | Reengineering Degree |
Medium / High |
Low / medium |
| Integration method |
Process integration |
Process mapping |
|
| Implementation Period |
Long |
Medium |
|
| Cultural | Degree of Resistance |
Tall |
Low |
| Business processes |
Centralized |
Decentralized |
5. Conclusions
We know that one of the growth strategies of companies are alliances, acquisitions and mergers and that the stage that is created after this fact is one of the most important factors for the perception of value by the shareholders of the companies, hence integration is a key factor for the future success or failure of the company.
In fact, in a study by the Boston Consulting Group reported by Zollo, 1999, it is mentioned that the most important factors when taking into account a merger is the candidate and the appropriate purchase amount of the company, but the interesting thing is that once done In the merger, the critical success factors are the integration of information systems and staff motivation.
And it is that for many companies that decide to grow using these methodologies they see as attractive the advantages of using “something from the other company”, for example the way of managing, the market experience, the use of the information that they themselves generate and therefore This is why it is very important to have a team of experts in the management of the information systems platform change in order to implement the consistency of said technology and achieve the success of the company.
For this reason, we finally recommend some factors to be able to integrate the technological platforms and information systems:
1. Personnel who have been during the purchase process
2. A detailed methodology (planning) of the integration of systems, processes, etc.
3. Contingency plan for things that can go wrong
4. Take into account the factors of each company; cultural, communication between the two.
6. Bibliography:
"ERP, backbone of the business": Publication: El Economista - Technology Supplement, Date of Preparation: 08/19/2004, Fourth Shift official page, consulted 16/11/2004
SAP, official page; accessed 11/16/2004 "Burger King Corporation Selects SAP to Enable Information Technology Strategy
Floyd A. Beams, Advanced accounting, Prentice Hall, Fifth Edition, 1992, Chapter 1.
ERP within the reach of SMEs, Jaime Guerrero, consulted; 11/05/04;
Figure 1: Value chain image; accessed 11/16/2004
Zollo, Maurizio. "M & A - the challenge of learning to integrate"; Proquest-ABI / INFORM Global database, Surveys edition Financial Times. London (UK): Dec 6, 1999. pg. 06, accessed: 10/21/04.
7. Other supports (Digital Library)
Donald H Newsom “Why be an IT director, manager, or CIO?”; Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database. Pulp & Paper San Francisco: May 2002. Vol. 76, Iss. 5 p. 27 (1 pp.)
Steven G Popovich. “Meeting the pressures to accelerate IT integration” Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database. Mergers And Acquisitions Philadelphia: Dec 2001. Vol. 36, Iss. 12, p. 30-35
William Benedon. "Book review: Information Management Issues in Mergers and Acquisitions: A Manager's Briefing." Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database Information Management Journal Lemexa: Jul 2001. Vol. 35, Iss. 3, p. 51 (1 pp.).
CR Coombs, NF Doherty and J. Loan-Clarke. "Factors affecting the level of success of community information systems" Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database Journal Of Management In Medicine Bradford: 1999. Vol. 13, Iss. 3, p. 142-153
Grover, Varun, Cheon, Myun Joong, Teng, James T C. “The effect of service quality and partnership on the outsourcing of information systems functions” Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database Journal Of Management Information Systems Armonk: Spring 1996. Vol. 12, Iss. 4, p. 89 (28 pp.)
Thomas, Guy H., Langemo, Mark. "A New Look at Information Systems and Records Management." Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database Weapon Records Management Quarterly Prairie Village: Jul 1992. Vol. 26, Iss. 3, p. 3 (4 pp.)
“Seeking Out a Merger Made in Heaven” Proquest -ABI / INFORM Global database
Bankers Monthly New York: Feb 1991. Vol. 108, Iss. 2 P. 25 (2 pp.)
Morrison, MJ James, AD “The role of dedicated integration teams in the post-merger management of technology” Manchester Univ., UK; This paper appears in: Management of Engineering and Technology, 2001. PICMET '01. Portland International Conference on. Meeting Date: 07/29/2001 - 08/02/2001 Publication Date: 29 July-2 Aug. 2001. Location: Portland, OR USA On page (s): 12 - 13 vol.1 Volume: 1 Inspec Accession Number: 7168058
Daim, T. Kocaoglu, DF “Staying ahead of the competition: technology acquisition and its global implications” Eng. Manage. Program, Portland State Univ., OR, USA; This paper appears in: Innovation in Technology Management - The Key to Global Leadership. PICMET '97: Portland International Conference on Management and Technology. Meeting Date: 07/27/1997 - 07/31/1997 Publication Date: 27-31 July 1997 Location: Portland, OR USA On page (s): 225 - 228 Reference Cited: 12 Inspec Accession Number: 5739315
Card, D. Comer, E. “Why do so many reuse programs fail? “Software Productivity Solutions, Indialantic, FL, USA; This paper appears in: Software, IEEE. Publication Date: Sept. 1994 On page (s): 114 - 115 Volume: 11, Issue: 5 ISSN: 0740-7459 Reference Cited: 0 CODEN: IESOEG. Inspec Accession Number: 4780658
Reed, FM Walsh, K. Grice, R. “Information acquisition for technological innovation and technology strategy in small firms” Wolfson Sch. of Mech. & Manuf. Eng., Loughborough Univ., UK. This paper appears in: Engineering Management Conference, 2002. IEMC '02. 2002 IEEE International.Publication Date: 2002.On page (s): 137 - 142 vol.1 Volume: 1.Inspec Accession Number: 7529198
Brehm, L. Heinzl, A. Markus, ML "Tailoring ERP systems: a spectrum of choices and their implications" Dept. of Inf. Syst., Bayreuth Univ., Germany. This paper appears in: System Sciences, 2001. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference Publication Date: 3-6 Jan. 2001, On page (s): 9 pp Number of Pages: CD-ROM Inspec Accession Number: 6859526
Yongjean John Ki-Heung Yim “A study on an environment of ERP introduction” This paper appears in: Info-tech and Info-net, 2001. Proceedings. ICII 2001 - Beijing. 2001 International Conferences on, Publication Date: 29 Oct.-1 Nov. 2001 On page (s): 84 - 89 vol.6, Volume: 6 Number of Pages: 6 vol. (391 + 853 + 567 + 410 + 350 + 178) Inspec Accession Number: 7348435
Ross, JW “Surprising facts about implementing ERP” Sloan Sch. of Manage., MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA; This paper appears in: IT Professional, Publication Date: July-Aug. 1999 On page (s): 65 - 68, Volume: 1, Issue: 4, ISSN: 1520-9202 CODEN: IPMAFM Inspec Accession Number: 6341739
Somers, TM Nelson, K. “The impact of critical success factors across the stages of enterprise resource planning implementations” Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI, USA This paper appears in: System Sciences, 2001. Proceedings of the 34th Annual Hawaii International Conference, Publication Date: 3-6 Jan. 2001 On page (s): 10 pp. Number of Pages: CD-ROM Inspec Accession Number: 6859525
