Enterprise Resource Planning In Libraries: Requirements, Software Selection, And Benefits

Business Process

Discuss Aboiut The European Journal Of Operational Research.

Enterprise Resource Planning is software used by the business that combines different functions of the business process and place it collectively under one head. The ERP software centralizes all the activities of the business and helps the company in attaining efficiency by using innovative technologies. This process has now day become the need of the businesses to attain competence in the market. The software is used in all parts of the business to collect information, store data, create backup, issue notice, check details etc. (Asemi, and Jazi 2010).

The below mentioned report provides information software used in the business of library. It explains the need of the Stanton Library business to make use of ERP system. Further, the reports explain the business requirements, software requirements, selection of appropriate software and vendor according to the needs and requirements of the business. It also explains the ways in which the company uses ERP system and benefits received with the use of this process in Stanton Library. Lastly, it explains risks associated with the use of this process and mitigation measures. More details about the report are discussed below:

The business procedure of an ordinary library is a single line business which includes manual accounting of stock kept with the business, at that point beliefs are made, identified with the capacity of stock and after that toward the end the realities challenges the assumptions made by the administration. As of now in the library business the business procedure which is utilized is a standard strategy for recording, gathering and upkeep of information (Dixit, and Prakash 2011).

Source: (By Author)

Further, the above chart demonstrates the standard model of management which is utilized as a part of the library. In this business process case, there are a couple of disadvantages to this approach which obstructs the development of the library organization in the worldwide market. The model is the standard straight plan of action utilized as a part of libraries, in prior circumstances this model used to win in the vast majority of the business procedure; yet with the development of market and increment in rivalries, it has turned out to be troublesome for the organizations to make due with a similar model of administration. In this manner, for a similar reason, the undertaking asset arranging is required by the administration with the goal that exercises are started effectively. With the changing condition there are a couple of determinations which might be available in a business procedure so exercises are started effectively, along these lines the ERP framework helps an association in making benefits for the company (Erazo, Arboleda, and Pino 2017).

Business Requirements

The enterprise resource planning system as discussed has become the need of the business process as this process provides the competencies to the company to use their resources in such a way that they are easily identified by the customers in the target market. The Stanton Library that is placed in Australia in named among some big libraries placed worldwide, so the company requires the ERP system to function their activities properly. The ERP system will help the organization in its corporate accounting process, human resource management activities, supply chain management, managerial accounting etc. The library Stanton initiates its activities on large scale to due to which the company faces difficulty in acquiring the information about the inventory of the company through standard business process used by the company (Ha, and Ahn 2014). Thus, the company requires a good ERP system in successfully implement the following functions in the organization:

• Corporate accounting: The ERP system is required by the company to manage the accounting system of the organization and centralize in under one head. The system used by the company for accounting was good but it was on efficient. The managers were unable to gain adequate information from the past records. They faced difficulty in gaining information from the past records due to which they decision making process was also hampered. Thus, the introduction of ERP in the organization will help to waste less time on recording all the information manually and search the past records. The software will also help the company to make the payrolls, account payables etc. on time. Thus, in order in initiate accurate decision without facing deviations the company requires the ERP system (Ifinedo et. al., 2010).  
• Human resource Management: The human resource is adequately satisfied with the introduction of ERP system in the organization. The system helps to reduce the tension and workload of the employees from their work as this system provides a helping hand to them. The ERP system will increase the job satisfaction of the employees by helping them to gain information about the job description and the vision and values of the company. Also, this system adequately initiates the task of performance management as well. Resulting to which, the top level management get to know the efficiency of the employees and they reward them accordingly. Thus, with the help of this process, the company gains the advantage to retain the employees easily in the organization (Kilic, Zaim, and Delen 2014).

Source: (https://brihaspati.nmeict.in/EdRP-Portal/libms.php )

• Inventory Management: Inventory management is the most difficult task for any organization initiating their business in the library industry. The company acquires loads and loads of books and magazines with them which make it difficult for them to record all the information related to in manually. Thus, the company requires the inventory management process to accurately count the exact number of stock available with them. This aspect will also help the company in managing calculate the number of books obsoleted. With the help of this process the major workload of employees will also reduce (Lee, Tang, and Sugumaran 2014).
• Customer Service Management: The front line employees of the company receive many queries related to the books for which they do not have any information. But with the use of this process, the employees can easily address the queries of the clients and solve them effectively. This will subsequently increase the satisfaction level of customers present in the market. With the help of the software, the employee can easily get to know the availability of book with the organization that the customer requires. This will increase the efficiency of service provided by the company that will help them to attain competitive advantage in the target market (Onut, and Efendigil 2010).

Thus, in order to fulfill all their requirements, the Stanton Library requires the ERP system in their business.

In order to effectively install ERP system in the business, the company requires initiating some changes in their business process. So, the ERP system requirement in Stanton Library is discussed below:

• Configuration requirement: In order effectively initiate the new ERP system in the business, the library requires to configure changes in the system used by the organization. The desktop based software requires adequate RAM to as to install efficiently and work without facing hindrance in the system. Further, the company needs to change according to the configuration requirements of the software (Ram, Wu, and Tagg 2014).
• Supportability requirement: Many times the ERP software introduced in the organization requires specialized tools and support so as to actively manage the activities of installation in the organization. In case of customization of the software, the management needs to ensure that they acquire the adequate resources that can properly support the functioning of the software installed in the business process.
• User interface requirement: The Company requires managing the input and output formats and user interactions as well. The system should properly command to the employees in the organization and the command should be initiated by the employees in the organization as well. The user interface should support to the activities of the employees and employees should easily understand it as well (Ruivo, Oliveira, and Neto 2014).
• Training and Document requirement: The enterprise resource planning system is a change management project that requires the organization to initiate several changes in the organization so as to properly install and make use of this software in the organization. So, the company should train the employee to understand the system, acquire it without resisting and make use of it properly. The company needs to train the employees to make use of the system in each and every activity. Training and support of the employees to install this software is the basic requirement of this system as the people of the company will help the organization to adopt the system and gain efficiency using it (Sudhaman, and Thangavel 2015).

Source: (https://www.cloudems.in/blog/consider-erp-education-software-system-for-all-your-library-management-activities/ )

Thus, the above mentioned are the system requirements of the ERP system. By fulfill these requirements, the library can easily acquire and use this system in the organization.  

Selection of an adequate software and vendor is the important decision for the organization because on the basis of that decision only whole functioning of the organization is dependent. So, it is very crucial for the companies to select right type of software and vendor for the business. After the acquisition of this system, all the activities of the company are dependent upon that system only. Thus, before initiating any activity related to the ERP system, the company needs to look for the internal and external attributes of the company. With the knowledge of internal information, the company will get to know about aspect for which the business requires the ERP system (Tarhini, Ammar, and Tarhini 2015). The company should adequately look for the internal aspects and then evaluate the external capabilities aligning to the interest of company. With acquisition of this information the company should search for adequate ERP system that helps them in resolving their issues and using the resources in such a way that effectiveness is achieved. Further, it should also be noted that the ERP system requires high investments, thus failure in this system can affect the company negatively (Al-Mashari, and Al-Mosheleh 2015). Further, some of the ways with the help of which the company can effectively select the right type of vendor and software are discussed below:

System Requirements

Fixing issues: The Company should initially focus on fixing the issues and then implementing verified software for the business. The ERP system implemented in the organization will not initiate efficiency until unless the system does not resolve its issues effectively themselves. The company cannot install a new project resource and ask the employees to work on it when they are already facing some issue in adjusting with their already acquired resources. Thus, in order to successfully implement the software the company should initially fix the existing issues and then install this resource in the system so that the employees positively welcome the new technology in the business (Dhar 2018).

Approval of employees: While selecting the software, the company should not only evaluate the capabilities of the product but also analyze the capabilities of the employees to perform the functions effectively. The company should communicate with the employees and ask them to provide brainstorming ideas according to which they should select the software. As the employees who will make use of the ERP software and attain efficiency out of it. So, acquiring software according to their suggestion is very important for the organization (Ghosh et. al., 2017). 

Conversation, not checklist: checklist is the traditional method used by the organization to select software for the organization. The checklist process many times do not evaluate all the aspects connected to the ERP system due to which the company takes wrong decision in selecting the ERP software for the organization. So, in order to select a particular software, the company should not checklist the specifications of the software and purchase it from the business, instead the technical team should hold conversation with the vendor and ask for the best type of software that will match to the activities of the organization. The company should explain their business model and requirements to the vendor and ask them to suggest a suitable ERP system for the business that can enhance efficiency and eliminate deviations from the organization as well (Kapp, Latham, and Ford-Latham 2016).

Source: (https://codecanyon.net/item/library-management-system-lms/14273959 )

Further, these were thee ways that the organization should keep in mind while selecting adequate software for the business. However, selection of the vendor is also very crucial decision for the organization as the vendor only ensures the proper installation of the software in the business and provides after sales services as well (Kim, and Jeong 2017). Further, some of the aspects that the company should keep in mind while selecting the vendor are discussed below:

• After sale services: The company should choose a vendor that provide them god after sales services. When an organization switches to efficient ERP system from their standard business process, they face many difficulties in using it. Thus, the vendor should provide post sales services to the company every time the company faces issue in handling the software.
• Easy Contract Terms: The contract created by vendor should adequately provide flexible working terms to both the parties. Also, the important requirement and fees should be prior mentioned in the contract (Marian 2017).
• Domain Expertise: The vendor selected by the company should have a true domain name, the vendor should be authentic and hold identified goodwill in the target market.

Software and Vendor Selection

Lastly, the company Stanton should make use of the LMS (Library Management System) in their business that is a type of ERP software. The company should purchase it from the best renowned company present in the market. The software is designed specially to meet the needs of the library business process (Sarno, et. al., 2015).

The three ways with the use of which the library association can completely use the product are explained below mentioned:

• In front work area: the front line of the library business includes the receptionists and the businessperson serving the guests. The framework can help the salesman such that that they don’t have to recollect the client who has leased/acquired the book and they don’t have to review what book is kept on which rack. The framework will assist them with gathering the information about the arrangement of books and it can likewise assist them with knowing about the clients who have issued the book (Wease et. al., 2018).
• In back office administration: in back office administration, the framework can help the association such a path, to the point that the primary motivation behind the company will get fulfilled itself. Like, the stock administration framework will get more productive, the representative need not to physically note down the points of interest of capacity of goods; everything will be remained careful in the product as it were. This procedure will start proficiency and exactness also. It will likewise give update in regards to the decreasing in stock (Yeh, and Xu 2013).
• Making security for the library: security is one of the significant parts of the library business. With the procedure of digitalization of work, it will turn out to be simple for the representatives to keep the clients in place and take care of the stock. The organization would know the exact details of the employees and the company like login time, logout time, and the name of the book which they were perusing and so on. This will start security of items and decrease the danger of theft too (Ptak, and Schragenheim, 2016).

Source: (By Author)

The level of efficiency of the library can be increased with the use of ERP system in the business. It should be noted that before using the ERP system in the business, the library used to perform all the work manually. They used to record the transactions in their books of accounts that which was an inefficient system of corporate accounting. Thus, with the introduction of this process, the company started recording data on the cloud based software that eliminated the workload of the employees and helped them focus on other important aspects as well. The functions of the company became diversified due to which they started using innovation and technology in every business activity. Lastly, with the use of ERP system in the business, the company gained the efficiency to serve to the employees and the customers in a better way and satisfy them accordingly (Nwankpa, and Roumani 2015).

Alongside different advantages got to the organization with the use of ERP system execution in the business, they obtain numerous dangers for the process as well. As the ERP system complex process, which if not utilized productively can affect the development of the company, thus it should be utilized in appropriate ways so certain outcomes are accomplished for the library (Kulkarni, et. al., 2015). A portion of the dangers got to an association with the utilization of ERP system is talked about in the below mentioned passage:

• Use of inappropriate software: all ERP software has their diverse capability and particulars. Some are client driven, other are product and so forth. In this manner the organization might first sufficiently care for their procedure necessity with the goal that they can additionally choose the product which can help them in starting business action. On the off chance that the application which is obtained isn’t altogether tried and attempted in the process then it can unfavorably influence the working of the business. So, if it is concluded that the software isn’t right for the business process then the entire framework can get influenced in a negative manner for the product and the library can face issues (Rajan, and Baral 2015).
• Customization: when the software is bought then it has been tried to work in particular scenarios to outshine their capabilities while working with the association, yet when the company starts to customize the software according to their requirements , at that point the adjustment the software might show positive results or act  offensively on the business process of library. Customization of software as indicated by the necessity of the organization can commonly create issue for the company because the vendors do not own up to the changes made by the company. As the standard software is prepared by vendor which their commitment however they do not hold the risk to give a certification of the changes in programming as well (Chang, et. al., 2008).
• No accurate vision: it should be noticed that for an organization it is difficult to keep up their position in the market without the execution of software simultaneously in their business. Be that as it may, usage of the ERP because all organizations getting the significance in the market offer to attain software in their business is not a valid reason to use the product. The main objective to execute the ERP in the company should accurate and distinguished; going together in the group isn’t the best approach to attain the market productivity.
• Threat of price sensitive information: when the software is used to store the information about the business, at that point huge information and documents are exchanged by the company and the internal information is accordingly stored and exchanged. Giving the internal information of the association to other association puts the organization at a danger of theft. Many hackers present in the market may hack the system of the company and attain information from it (Miranda, et. al., 2016).

Apart from advantages, the library is prone to various risks with the use of this ERP software in their business. So, below mentioned are some of the ways with which the company can easily overcome the problems caused with the implementation of ERP system in the business.

Before selecting adequate software for the business the company should look after at the internal process that can help them to find out the best software for them. The company should initially understand the requirements of their business and the need of ERP implementation in the business. The library should also identify the risks associated with the use of ERP and the way in which they can resolve it. Then only they should select adequate software, in this way the company can easily mitigate the threat of choosing wrong type of software for their business (Nwankpa 2015).

Further, the company should regularly check the software and find out if there is any deviation present in it. The company should make sure that all the employees have adequate knowledge about the system, its use and its importance to the company. Then only their can initiate proper functioning of the process. The management should implement a plan on the basis of which all the employees should welcome and implement the software in the business.

Further, the company should aim for customization only when the employees have good knowledge about the process and they are sure about the innovation that they are going to use will help them to grow. As the vendor do not take responsibility of the customized software so the company should not take the risk of customization unless until they are unanimously sure about it.

Conclusion

Thus, in the limelight of above mentioned events, it should be noted that ERP is most important requirements of the businesses nowadays. Use of this process provides efficiency to the business in handling the activities of management. The ERP software combines yet decentralizes the activities of the business to drive benefits for the organization. Further, the report adequately explained the requirements in the Stanton library to make use of this ERP software. The organization used to face issues in managing bulk of stock present with them, but with the use of this process they can easily gain information about the accurate data of stock available with them. Further, the report also explained that the enterprise resource planning software also give rise to many threats for the company that can be overcome by using above mentioned mitigations. Lastly, it should be noted that the use of this type of software will provide a helping hand to functions and activities of library in the external market.

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