HS2041: Enterprise Systems- Case Study Assignment

Internal Code: MAS1378

Case Study Assignment:

At A Glance: IGT Headquarters: 9295 Prototype Drive, Reno, NV 89521 Phone: (775) 448-7777 URL: www.igt.com Business: Designs and manufactures slot and gaming machines for casinos and government lotteries. Technology Chief: Rayleen Cudworth, vice president of information systems Financials in 2005: Revenue of $2.4 billion; net income of $437 million In 2002, International Game Technology (IGT), a leading manufacturer of slot machines and lottery machines, depended on several different systems to manage its sales, customer orders, manufacturing and accounting. When an executive, sales manager or production staffer wanted to learn the status of a particular order, there was no single system he or she could go to—each functional area had its own system that contained a different piece of information about that order. This dependency on a host of applications by different functional groups was common among large manufacturers until the mid- to late 1990s. Keeping all of these systems connected and talking to each other was an onerous, if not Sisyphean task for those assigned to information systems. By 2000, many companies had begun scrapping these older systems in favour of a single core, or "backbone," information management system. Evolving out of what had once been called material requirements planning (MRP), this new software package was dubbed enterprise resource planning (ERP). It consisted of a set of core business applications, including finance, manufacturing, distribution and human resources, all linked together for the first time. Although it was a little late to the ERP party, IGT was in many ways typical of companies that adopted the enterprise technology. For one thing, the company desperately needed a more cohesive information technology infrastructure that would allow for growth. And, similar to many manufacturers, IGT had lots of business information contained in applications that lacked smooth integration. IGT’s accounting department wanted one system to do all the accounting, but IGT’s management was concerned that if accounting started buying its own software, all other departments would follow. It would be more sensible to acquire a full ERP system. Assignment Description: In this assignment you need to read a case study on Enterprise Resource Planning implementation and answer three questions. This assignment will let you define and describe the evaluation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. It will also let you examine and judge the role of EPR and their adoption process in organization. Most importantly, you will learn to analyse and develop arguments organisation’s ERP selection, planning, implementation and ongoing support phases. Student will also argue about the roles of key stakeholders in an organisation’s ERP selection, planning, implementation, adoption and ongoing support phases. Assignment requirements: You need to read the case study on ‘IGT ERP Implementation’ and answer the following questions: 1. What are the key goals IGT wanted to achieve using an ERP system? 2. Discuss the pros and cons to customising the system. 3. How should IGT handle change management during ERP implementation? Answers to the three questions can be presented in a Question Answer style. A formal business report structure is not required. Marks for a valid post will be given based on quality of the post. The quality of the post will be judged based on the marking guide provided at the bottom of this assignment.