Assessment Three - Solve Problem Task Description In this assessment, you are required to write a report respond to the specified tasks in solving problems in a case study situation. It includes...

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Assessment Three - Solve Problem Task Description In this assessment, you are required to write a report respond to the specified tasks in solving problems in a case study situation. It includes research on the current marketplace for potential ERPs and vendors. Assessment Criteria You report will be assessed on your demonstrated capability in the research on the current marketplace for potential ERPs and vendors, selection and use of quality sources, knowledge and understanding of the topics, application to the case study. You will also be assessed on evaluation and recommendations based on rational criteria, and a combination of your communication, presentation and referencing skills. You should learn to study, research and do your own work. If your work is found to be copied from another source, plagiarism penalties will be applied as per University policy. Referencing Style Harvard (author-date) Submission Online - through the Moodle unit website. Results to be returned to students As per University policies, grades for this assessment will not be released until the official certification date of term. FULL SPECIFICATIONS (v.1) CASE CONTEXT - Further development with Snow White Dry Cleaners (SWDC) In Assessment Two you submitted a Case Study Report in response to the situation of Snow White Dry Cleaners (SWDC) and specified requirements. After reading your report, the owner of SWDC, Richard Lee, discussed with some business owners in the local business chamber group. He is keen on exploring further on current marketplace for potential ERPs and vendors. He would like to have a report on systematic evaluation and recommendations for a suitable ERP system and vendor for SWDC, with the help of specialist (you).   Assumptions While the given case material sets the basic parameter, there is flexibility for you to make reasonable assumptions on information not covered by the specification. Your assumptions should be presented as part of the background information in the Introduction. TASK SPECIFICATIONS For this assessment, study the relevant concepts and knowledge in unit materials as a start, conduct further research on quality academic and industry sources, apply to the context of case situation and develop a Case Study Report for the organisation to solve the problem. For students working with group members You should collaborate with other group members and contribute to complete the Case Study Group Report. Each member should submit the same Case Study Group Report (Assignment File) to Moodle.  Assessment on the Case Study Group Report forms the base of marks for all group members (Base Marks).  In addition to that, each individual member should also demonstrate your own contributions to the group report and reflect on your teamwork skills learning experience. Each individual member should submit an Individual Teamwork Reflection Report to Moodle.  Assessment on the Individual Teamwork Reflection Report will contribute to the Individual Adjustment Factor. Final Marks for each individual member will be determined by both the Base Marks from Case Study Group Report and the Individual Adjustment Factor. The Final Marks could be the same, higher or lower than the Base Marks. For students received approval to work on individual basis You will complete the Report individually. It should be submitted to Moodle. Unlike students working in a group, you do not need to submit an Individual Teamwork Reflection Report to Moodle. Final marks will be determined by the submitted Report only. CASE STUDY REPORT  Word limit: maximum 3000 words (+10%), from the first word in Introduction to the last word in Conclusion, all words will be counted including references, table and illustration.  As a minimum, the report should cover the following topics. There is flexibility for you to add more topics, refine the structure and headings. Title page – include report title, unit information, group name, names and ID of all group members Executive Summary Table of contents – to be generated automatically by WORD Introduction •Background information and purpose of this report •Scope, include sub-topics of report   Explore the marketplace for potential ERPs relevant to organisation's requirements •Identify as many potential ERPs and vendors as possible (at least 5), including SAGE and Odoo •Research on suitable criteria to short-list potential ERPs and vendors  •Short-list potential ERPs/vendors down to three for detail evaluation Detail evaluation on three short-listed ERP systems/vendors •Perform a fit/gap analysis by matching the organisation's requirements to modules of each ERP, including considerations on To-Be business processes you identified in your previous assessment. Identify any missing functionality in the context of the organisation. •ERP architecture and its implications, e.g. scalability. You should also provide a diagram of the ERP architecture and an insightful analysis of implications of ERP architectures in the context of the organisation. •Vendors' financial position, philosophy, support issues, hardware & software infrastructure, direction and currency of software, release strategies and the involvement of users in upgrades and resource development resources. Selection of ERP systems and vendor •Identify ERP evaluation criteria for the organisation (include both functional and technical evaluation) •Evaluate the short-listed ERPs/vendors by using the evaluation criteria, based on the information from detail evaluation. •Rank the preference for each short-listed ERPs/vendors, with full justifications. Feasibility analysis •Research on the way to conduct feasibility analysis, including strategic, operational, technical and economic perspectives •Conduct and present feasibility analysis on purchasing / subscribing the top two preferred ERPs/vendors Other relevant topic •Other relevant topics you would like to add Recommendations Conclusion •Summary on major findings and recommendations for the organisation •Future steps on ERP project  Reference List Guidelines for Case Study Report Minimum number of references: 15 For this assessment, you are required to demonstrate your capability in the selection and use of quality sources, knowledge and understanding of the topics, application to the case context. You should use quality sources from academic literature and industry to support and illustrate your report. Learn to research on updated sources through different channels such as CQU Library academic journal databases. You must use industry and academic literature to inform and support your report.  A minimum of 15 updated references (sources published 2012 or later) are required, at least 8 of which must be from academic sources (peer-reviewed journal, conference or edited book chapter papers). If you are aiming at achieving higher than pass level, you are encouraged to research further on more quality sources.  Persuasive and argumentative report Your readers include non-technical business managers. However, you can assume that they are intelligent people who understand good explanation on technical solutions and business arguments.  There is no single right answer that will address all issues. Successful arguments can be made for different options. Your task is to present a persuasive and argumentative piece of writing in report form.  From your research and discussions in the report, you are expected to analyse, to justify and to draw your own conclusions. FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS – for both reports •header: assignment title, centred, and unit code, right aligned  •footer: student ID, left aligned, and page number, right aligned •presentation: use short paragraphs with headings and sub-headings to improve readability •text formatting: Times New Roman, 12 pt. You may use appropriate emphasis such as bold and italics •paragraph formatting: single spaced and 6 pt space after each paragraph •page formatting: should be in A4, portrait orientation, with 2.54 cm margins
Answered Same DayFeb 04, 2021

Answer To: Assessment Three - Solve Problem Task Description In this assessment, you are required to write a...

Dilpreet answered on Feb 07 2021
146 Votes
EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATION FOR SUITABLE ERP VENDOR
Executive Summary
Through this report dedicated efforts have been made to explore the products and services of various ERP vendors available in the market for fulfilling the functional and information needs of SWDC. With the expansion of this chain, the owner of the business has decided to implement ERP systems and this report is a commissioned effort to help the management of the business chooses the best alternative among the several choices available in the market. The report shall provide detailed evaluation of the products and services provided by various ERP vendors and shall also highlight the most suitable options for the sustainable growth and d
evelopment of the business.
Table of Contents
Introduction    4
Scope    4
Business Requirements    4
Exploring the Marketplace for Potential ERP Vendors    5
Oracle ERP Cloud    5
SAP ERP    6
Sage ERP    6
Odoo    6
NetSuite ERP    7
Criteria to Shortlist Suitable ERP Vendors    7
Fit/Gap Analysis of the Requirements with the Available Options    8
Products and Services of Sage ERP    8
Products and Services of Odoo    9
Products and Services of NetSuite ERP    10
ERP Architecture    11
ERP Implications    12
Selection of ERP Systems and Vendors    12
Feasibility Analysis    12
Recommendations    13
Conclusion    13
References    15
Introduction
In the past decade it has been observed that SMEs like Snow White Dry Cleaners (SWDC) have entered into an endless chase to save time and cost of its business operations and perform their business with high efficiency and across various branches of the business. For this it is important that the business focus on regulatory compliances and employ uniform processes throughout its offices in different locations. To achieve these goals and objectives SWDC must deploy ERP systems. ERP systems are software systems that have been designed and developed by various ERP vendors and are implemented at the client’s end to integrate and streamline the entire major operations of a business across various locations onto a single unified platform (Hustad et al., 2019).
Since, the implementation of traditional ERP systems will involve a lot of cost and time SMEs like SWDC should implement cloud-based ERP system as this will require less time and cost as compared to traditional ERP systems. Selecting a right Cloud ERP vendor is a critical process and organisations need to make well informed decisions about this to ensure uninterrupted success in all their business operations and processes (Elmonem et al., 2016). This report shall help SWDC to explore the market place for the available choices of ERP vendors and shall help to short-list the best ones out after a detailed evaluation based on the feasibility studies, ERP architecture and other potential benefits, which the chosen system may provide to the business organisation.
Scope
In this report, the research, analysis and evaluation scope are limited to ERP system based on public cloud services and Software as a Service approach (SaaS). This will help the business to automate all its critical operations and mitigate the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of handling the large inflow and outflow of data in terms of daily cash flows, procurement of external service and management of other vital business processes.
Business Requirements
With the expansion of its business operations across various locations in Australia, it is vital for the business to streamline its business operations into a common platform in order to enhance the productivity of its employees, which may then contribute towards the growth and development of the organisation. With the increasing number of customers, it became important for the owner of SWDC to opt for introduction of technology-based ERP systems into the business. In order to achieve the desired outcomes and get rid of the tiring manual process of data entry and record keeping, which the organisation utilises, the management of the organisation must focus on the ERP softwares available in the market and chose the best one out of it. As it has been identified earlier SWDC requires three basic ERP modules including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) module, Finance module and store module.
Exploring the Marketplace for Potential ERP Vendors
As discussed, earlier Cloud-based ERP systems operate on Software as a Service (SaaS) concept, meaning that software are used as services and are not owned by a particular organisation. These software are provided by different ERP vendors over the internet. Some of the most popular ERP vendors and their services have been discussed here.
Oracle ERP Cloud
Oracle is a popular ERP vendor with a good customer base. Oracle has a flexible approach when it comes to the pricing of its software and allows the client to run the software from anywhere at any time to enjoy the services it provides to make the business operations synchronised and integrated for better performance of the business. This vendor allows its clients to pay only for the services they may like to use, thus helping to save a lot of monetary and non-monetary resources (Elbahri et al., 2019). It provides a suite of cloud applications for project management, procurement, finance, risk management and many more core day-to-day business activities regardless of the geographic locations of the offices. The software services provided by this vendor are capable of inherent scaling as per the latest upgrades in the technology. Some of the widely used services of Oracle ERP cloud are:
1. Procurement: This particular cloud service of Oracle includes contracting, sourcing, supplier management and procure-to-pay.
2. Project management: enterprise-grade solution for businesses that are project- centric and help the business through project extensions.
3. Financials: Helps to manage cash flows, assists in revenue management and other expenses of the business.
4. NetSuite: Provides the client with facilities for better management of their accounts, human resources and customer relationship management (CRM).
SAP ERP
SAP ERP is another big name in the ERP software industry and is widely deployed by many business organisations for automation of their everyday business processes. SAP provides its customers with integrated platform, which is innovative in its unique way for total workforce management within the organisation. SAP cloud suites are designed and developed to cater all the business needs of its valuable customers such as sales management, CRM facilities, supply chain management, human resource facilities and many more (Singh & Sood, 2018). Some of the most popular products and services offered by SAP ERP cloud are:
1. SAP S/ 4 HANA cloud: includes automation supported by artificial intelligence, conversational interfaces with digital assistance, next generation business processes and quick implementation.
2. Finance: Assists the organisation with automated accounting and financial close. Helps in treasury management and other operations such as finances and paying the taxes (Jacobs & Kaur, 2016).
Sage ERP
This cloud-based ERP software has been developed by keeping the...
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