CHAPTER 12: CASE SHELL CANADA FUELS PRODUCTIVITY WITH ERP

1. How did ERP helping improve business operations at Shell?

 -Enterprise resource planning helping improve business operations at Shell to integrate and manage its daily operations that span from wells and mines. 

-To processing plants , to oil trucks and gas pumps.

-For example, ERP system has helped the company greatly in terms of reducing and coordinate the highly manual process of third-party contractors submitting repair information and invoices.

2. How could extended ERP components help improve business operations at Shell?

- ERP solution solved these inadequacies by providing an integrated web-based service order, invoicing and payment submission system. 

-Third-party contractors can enter service orders directly into Shell’s ERP system via the web easily and faster.

- Contractor’s monthly summarized invoices can be generated automatically and fed directly into ERP system’s account payable application for processing.

- Help speed up maintenance and repair operations at the company’s refineries.  

3. What advice would you give Shell if it decided to choose a different ERP software solution?

In my advice, if shell decide to choose a different ERP software solution, they can use to handle other operational tasks. 

-For example, the system can help speed up maintenance and repair operations at the company's refineries. 

-They can use ERP system to access these things directly from a centralized database.

- but it depends on the suppliers or contractors that want to search the Shell Company’s website.

- If the system that they choose can satisfy the user or the contractors the software can be proceed to use, if not Shell must use the ERP software that they already have. 

-in this era people want the easier work and if people already knows and common with the system before, they will make the work effective and efficiency.Changes can be made but not too complicated until exist the difficulty feel for them. 

4.  How can integrating SCM, CRM, and ERP help improve business operations at Shell?

- Shell will have a lot of suppliers to supply the materials that they want to sell. Therefore, Shell must determine the suitable supplier to give them the products such as supplier for junk food, water, petrol and else.

- Shell want built the good relation towards their customers by giving Shell card. Customers will use the card to get point. Then when the points become increase, Shell will give reward or present to their customers.

- For the ERP, Shell will have their own website to make the contractors easy to make any transactions, exchange, payments and else.

CHAPTER 10 : EXTENDING THE ORGANIZATION- SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Supply Chain Management

- Companies that excel in supply chain operations perform better in almost every financial measure of success, according to a report from Boston-based MR Research Inc.

- These companies understand that value chain performance translates to productivity and market-share leadership.

Basics of Supply Chain

- A supply chain consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in the procedurement of a product or raw material.

- Organization must embrace technologies that can effectively manage and oversee their supply chain.

- supply chain management involves the management of information flow between and among stages in a supply chain to maximize total supply chain effectiveness and profitability.

- SCM is becoming increasingly important in creating organizational efficiencies and competitive advantages.

- It improves ways for companies to find the raw components they need to make a product or service, manufacture that product or service, and deliver it to customers.

Information Technology's Role in the Supply Chain

- The notion of virtually seamless information links within and between organizations is an essential element of integrated supply chain.

- Information technology's primary role in SCM is creating the integration or tight process and information linkages between functions within a firm.

- Information technology integrates planning, decision -making processes, business operating processes, and information sharing for business performance management.

- Considerable evidence shows that this type of supply chain integration results in superior supply chain capabilities and profits.

+VISIBILITY

Supply chain visibility is the ability to view all areas up and down the supply chain.

Bullwhip effect occurs when distorted products demand information passes from one entity to the next through the supply chain.

*Information technology allows additional visibility in the supply chain.

+CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Demand planning software generates demand forecasts using statistical tools and forecasting techniques.

Ones an organization understand customer demand and its effect on the supply chain it can begging to estimate the impact that its supply chain will have on its customers and ultimately the organization's performance.

+ COMPETITION

Supply chain management can be broken down in"

Supply chain planning software: uses advanced mathematical algorithms to improve the flow and efficiency of the supply chain while reducing inventory. SCP depends entirely on information for its accuracy.

Supply chain executive (SCE) software automates the different stems and stages of the supply chain.

+SPEED

During the past decade, competition has focused on speed. New forms of severs, telecommunications enabling companies to perform activities that were once never thought possible.

Another aspect of speed is the company's ability to satisfy continually changing customer requirements efficiently, accurately, and quickly.

Supply Chain Management Success Factors

To succeed in today's competitive markets, companies must align their supply chains with the demands of the markets key serve.

To achieve success such as reducing operation costs, improving asset productivity, and compressing order cycle time, and organization should follow the seven principles of SCM outlines.

One of the benefits is to know immediately what is being transacted at the customer and of the supply chain instead of waiting days or weeks for the information to flow.

Organizations should study industry best practices to improve their chances of successful implementation of SCM systems. The following are keys to SCM success.

+ MAKE THE SALE TO SUPPLIERS

The hardest part of any SCM system is its complexity because a large part of the system extends beyond the company's walls.

+ WEAN EMPLOYEES OF TRADITIONAL BUSINESS PRACTICES

Operations people typically deal with phone calls, faxes, and orders scrawled on paper and will most likely want to keep it that way.

+ENSURE THE SCM SYSTEM SUPPORTS THE ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS

It is important to select SCM software that give organizations and advantage in the areas most crucial to their business success.

+ DEPLOY IN INCREMENTAL PHASES AND MEASURE AND MOMMUNICATE SUCCESS

Design the deployment of the SCM system in incremental phases.

+ BE FUTURE ORIENTED

The supply chain design must anticipate the future state of the business.

SCM Success Stories

The following picture depicts the top reasons more and more executives are turning to SCM to manage their expended enterprises.

This is a list of several companies using supply chain management to drive operations.

Dell: Business grows 17 percent per year with a $40 billion revenue base.

Nokia: Supply chain best practices are turning ideas into profitable businesses

Procter&Gamble: Consumer-driven supply chain is the defining architecture for large consumer companies. Best practice in product innovation and supply chain effectiveness are tops.

IBM: Hardware supply chain product-development processes overhauled to the tune of 70 percent better, faster and cheaper.

Wal-Mart Stores: Every low price defines the customers demand driving Wal-Mart's partner integrated supply chain.

Toyota Motor: Lean is one of the three best practices associated with benchmarked supply chain excellence.

CHAPTER 11: BUILDING A CUSTOMER-CENTRIC ORGANIZATION-CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

Question 1
Why is it important for any company to use CRM strategies to manage customer   information?

-will provide better customer service.

-it will increase customers cost revenue.

-customer can make call centers more efficient.

-it will help sales staff close deals faster with customers.

-company will identify cross sell products more effectively.

Question 2

If the virtual world is the first point of contact between a company and its customers, how might that transform the entire shopping experience?

It will be positive and negative effects for both parties.

Positive side :

-it more easy to make conversation and transaction.

-the communication will be more effective because customer can face to face with seller.

-the customers can give comments or critics in front of the virtual tools.

Negative side:

- higher cost in maintenance.

- customers will not know or difficult to determine the actual products.

- if having problem in machine technician it will be difficult to making conversation.

CHAPTER 9 : ENABLING ORGANIZATION IN DECISION MAKING

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

what is artificial technologies?

It is something that systems similarly with human intelligence..

In the simple words something like robotics because it's stimulates from human behavior and thinking.

There are four categories of Artificial Intelligence:

EXPERT SYSTEMS

• kind a process of solving difficult problems.

• the example company using this software is Cell Matrix Corporation.

• A Cell Matrix is an electronic structure with a set of physical and functional properties that are convenient for designing and manufacturing circuits. 
• The Cell Matrix computing architecture is essentially a construct for thinking about, designing, and building digital circuits. 
• Whereas computer programming languages provide a way of thinking about and solving problems.

• This company has apply expert systems a part of artificial intelligence. 

 

NEURAL NETWORKS

• To emulate the way the human brains works. 
• It is also analyze large quantities of information to establish patterns and characteristics in situations where the logic or rules are unknown.

• Organization who apply this software is Brighterion.

• Brighterion is the leader in smart analytics offering products for real-time,cross-channel fraud prevention, device ID, clickstream analysis, credit risk, chargeback, KYC, AML compliance, and homeland security intelligence. 

• Our products are used and trusted by the largest institutions and governments around the world.

GENETIC ALGORITHMS

• BioComp Systems one of the company who applied genetic algorithms.

• For over 20 years, the key BioComp technology staff have researched, applied, and learned the utility of different algorithms. Every algorithm has its strengths and weaknesses. 
• We look for and invent "robust" algorithms, ones that are flexible and powerful enough to be applied in many ways with little or no modification. 
• Through this process we have modified select algorithms to improve their performance and results.

• This is used to make decision towards company future.

INTELLIGENCE AGENTS

• Is a special-purpose knowledge-based information system that accomplished specific task on behalf of its users. 

• Example of organization using this is shopping Yahoo software programs that operate unattended, usually on the Internet.

• Intelligence agents also have the capabilities to handle supply chain buying and selling.

the movie of artificial intelligence(take a look ^_^)

CHAPTER 8 - Accessing Organizational Information (Data Warehouse)

-ROLES AND PURPOSES OF DATA WAREHOUSES AND DATA MART IN ORGANIZATION 

-The purpose of the Data Warehouse in the overall Data Warehousing Architecture is to integrate corporate data.  It contains the "single version of truth" for the organization that has been carefully constructed from data stored in disparate internal and external operational databases.

-The amount of data in the Data Warehouse is massive.  Data is stored at a very granular level of detail.  For example, every "sale" that has ever occurred in the organization is recorded and related to dimensions of interest.  This allows data to be sliced and diced, summed and grouped in unimaginable ways. 

-Typical Data Warehousing Environment

• Contrary to popular opinion, the Data Warehouses does not contain all the data in the organization.  
• It's purpose is to provide key business metrics that are needed by the organization for strategic and tactical decision making.
• Decision makers don't access the Data Warehouse directly. 
•  This is done through various front-end Data Warehouse Tools that read data from subject specific Data Marts.
• The Data Warehouse can be either "relational" or "dimensional".  
• This depends on how the business intends to use the information.

-The relationship of business intelligence and data warehousing 

•  changing data into information and knowledge.
• Many of the tool vendors who sell their products or software call it business Intelligence software rather than Data warehousing software.
• Business Intelligence is a term commonly associated with data warehousing. 
•  Business Intelligence is a generalized term where a company initiates various activities to gather today's market information which also includes about their competitor. 
• Today's business Intelligence systems are contrasted to more classical way of information gathering in mining and crunching the data in the most optimal manner. 
• In short we can say BI simplifies information discovery and analysis.
• In this way the company will have a competitive advantage of business and intelligently using the available data in strategic and effective decision making. it has the ability to bring disparate data under one roof  with a meaningful information and ready for analysis.

Business intelligence

• usually refers to the information that is available for the enterprise to make decisions on.
•  A data warehousing (or data mart) system is the backed  or the infrastructural, component for achieving business intelligence. 
• also includes the insight gained from doing data mining analysis, as well as unstructured data.
• Example, data warehousing. All the source data from disparate sources are used to load/Stage data. Different sources can be flat files, another database or some other process. The starting point of the Data warehouse should extract the data in order to load into its environment.This is extracting. This data may not be the expected format or size. your business demands are different or your organization business requirements are different. So the business process has to modify the data or better word is to transform the incoming data to meet requirements and objectives. This is called Transformation. 

Once every slicing and dicing of the data is done along with applied business rules, this data is ready for loading into the target tables. This process is called Loading. So overall till now we have done Extraction, Transformation and Loading. In short we call this ETL. There are lot of tools available in today's market which does help in achieving the ETL process. Once this data is loaded in to the database, this is ready for next processing. We call that database as Data warehouse database. 

The next process could be building of data marts or directly reporting from it. There are lot of tools or software available for reporting/analysis. Some call it business reporting or analysis tool. But if you see the whole process has intelligence involved in business. we can call this or the gurus call it Data warehousing and the system involved from end to end is called business intelligence system. 

CHAPTER 7: STORING ORGANIZATIONAL INFORMATION-DATABASES

 -Define the fundamental concept of the relational databases model

   

• Organizational information is stored in database. Applications and programs, such as supply chain management system and customer relationship management system, access the data in the data in the databases so the program can consult it to answer queries.
•  The record retrieved in answer to become information that can be used to make decision. 
• The computer programmed used to manage query a database is known as Database Management System (DBS).

 -Evaluate the advantages of the relational databases model

• increase flexibility
• increase scalability and performance
• reduced information integrity
• increase information security

-Define a databases management system and its relationship to a websites 

•   Databases management system is used to access information from a databases. is a software through which user and application program interact with a databases.  the relationship is, the user send request to DBMS and the DBMS  perform actual manipulation of the information in databases.

-Explain why an organization would want to integrate its databases
 

• data integration refers to the organization inventory of data and information asset as well as the tools, strategies and philosophies by which fragmented data asset are aligned to support business goals. company want integrate it databases because they will connect, communicate, dealing and having a relation with customer everyday

CHAPTER 5:ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES THAT SUPPORT STRATEGIC INITIATVES

The chief information officer (CIO)

• responsible for over seeing all uses for IT and ensuring the strategic alignment of IT with business goal and objective.
• often report directly to the CEO.
•  CIOs must posses a solid and detailed understanding every aspect of an organization coupled with tremendous insight into capability of IT.
• Broad functions of a CIO include manager,leader and communicator.

The chief technology officer (CTO)

• similar to CIOs except the additional responsibility for effectiveness.

• responsible for ensuring the throughput,speed,accuracy,availability, and reliability of an organization's IT.
• direct responsibility for ensuring the efficiency of IT system throughout the organization.
• possess well -rounded knowledge of all aspects of IT (hardware,software and telecommunication).

The chief security officer (CSO)

• responsible for ensuring the security of IT systems and developing strategies and IT safeguards against attacks from hackers and viruses.
• possess detailed knowledge of networks and telecommunication because hackers and viruses usually find their way into IT systems through networked computers.

The chief privacy officer (CPO)

• responsible for ensuring the ethical and legal use of information within an organization.
• newest senior executive position in IT.

The chief knowledge officer (CKO)

• responsible for collecting, maintaining, and distributing the organization's knowledge.
• design programs and systems that make it easy for people to reuse knowledge.