Jun-Der Leu

Identification of critical failure factors in the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in Taiwan's industries

In this research, we aim at exploring the critical factors causing failure in the implementation of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Relevant literature indicates the existence of critical failure factors (CFFs) in the implementation of ERP systems that support different organisation levels. As the CFFs do not go through data collection verification from the organisations that implement ERP systems, we endeavour to contribute to the ERP studies by presenting valid findings obtained from a survey on top management, ERP project managers, key users and end users from companies in Taiwan. Our results identify time frame and project management, personnel training and change management as the CFFs in the implementation of ERP systems in Taiwan. If firms can focus and improve on their management of these failure factors, they can increase the rate of success in the implementation of the ERP system.

Developing optimization models for cross-functional decision-making: integrating marketing and production planning

Although the lately evolved enterprise resource planning systems provide a unified platform for managing and integrating core business processes within a firm, the decision-making between marketing and production planning still remains rather independent. It is due in large part to the inherent weaknesses of ERP such as fixed and static parameter settings and uncapacitated assumption. To remedy these drawbacks, we propose decision model that solves optimally the production lot-size/scheduling problem taking into account the dynamic aspect of customers demand and the restriction of finite capacity in a plant. The joint decision model is developed based on the inventory followed by shortages (IFS) inventory policy. The model is practical and can possibly be used as an add-on optimizer like an advanced planning system in ERP framework that coordinates distinct functions with an aim at maximizing the total profit of a firm. In this study, two versions of the model, i.e., the decentralized and the coordinated decision-making policies, were derived. They were solved by using dynamic programming technique combined with iterative search. In addition, numerical study was carried out, comparative experiment was conducted, and sensitivity was analyzed with respect to major parameters.

An effective approach for content delivery in an evolving intranet environment – a case study of the largest telecom company in taiwan

Being the dominant telecommunication company in Taiwan, ChungHwa Telecom Co., Ltd., CHT is her symbol listed on the New York Stock Exchange, provides major communication services to more than 23 million people living in Taiwan. CHT has vast number of software developed on client-server or web-based architectures with client software installed in more than ten thousand client computers spreading over the entire nation. Since telecommunication industry evolved in fast pace, the software functions are constantly changing. The changes have to be reflected in all client software before new services can be launched. Thus, the cost and time in distributing contents to client computers has become a major concern in CHT. To improve the efficiency of contents distribution, this research helps CHT develop new software to automatically distribute contents to client computers. To minimize the chance of system locks and balance contents distribution loading, in the new system, each dispatching server sends update contents to no more than three other servers. The contents are delivered with hybrid routing strategy that combines both fixed and adaptive routing strategies. With its low error rate and speedy distribution, the new system reduces the man-minutes per year required to manage the contents distribution of a client server system from 14,227.2 minutes to 1,144 minutes, namely reduces 92% of the time. The user satisfaction of the system was also found to be above 80% among six factors of the measurement designed by Bailey, et al. [1].

Investigation of the mediating effects of IT governance-value delivery on service quality and ERP performance

This study aimed to explore the mediating effects of IT governance (ITG)-value delivery in the relationships among the quality of vendor service, the quality of consultant services, ITG-value delivery and enterprise resource planning (ERP) performance. The sampling of this research was acquired from a questionnaire survey concerning ERP implementations in Taiwan. In this survey, 4366 questionnaires were sent to manufacturing and service companies listed in the TOP 5000: The Largest Corporations in Taiwan 2009. The results showed that an ERP system will exhibit a decreased error rate and improved performance if ERP system vendors and consultants provide good service quality. The results also demonstrated that significant relationships exist among the quality of vendor service, the quality of consultant services and value delivery. The contribution of this article is twofold. First, it found that value delivery provides an effective measure of ERP performance under an ITG framework. Second, it provides evidence of the partial mediating effects of value delivery between service quality and ERP performance. In other words, if enterprises want to improve ERP performance, they need to consider factors such as value delivery and the quality of a vendor/consultant’s service.

The Evaluation of Post Implementation ERP Investment Performance by DEA Approach

The information technology (IT) management has become one of the critical factors that enterprises want to assess the business benefits and performances of ERP systems. This research tries to evaluate the relationship between ERP continuous investment and technical efficiency by using DEA approach. This study also utilizes the Tobit regression to investigate the relationship between efficiency scores and ERP continuous investment based on the concept of total costing ownership (TCO) for technology assets. The research results show as follows: (1) Maintenance expenses of ERP system whether on line or on the scene, has a favorable impact on companys technical efficiency. (2) Salary expenses of ERP personnel, has a favorable impact on companys technical efficiency. (3) Training expenses of ERP staffs has no significant impact on companys technical efficiency. (4) The company invests on ERP system continuously has positive affect on technical efficiency. (5) The local ERP systems show higher technical efficiency than international brands for those surveyed companies in Taiwan.

Logistics planning of the IC manufacturing industry: A method based on the SAP-APO

The SAP-APO is an IT-solution for the supply network planning of global enterprise. It provides a decision support for the business operations in terms of long-terms as well as mid-terms business logistics optimization. This paper develops a logistics solution based on the framework of SAP-APO for the IC manufacturing industry. In it, an integrated solution framework is proposed and some planning algorithms are developed. In the viewpoint of IC manufacturing logistics, because of complex product-mix, the planning issues in terms of demand planning, production planning, capacity planning as well as material planning are quite complex and are hard to be considered in an integrated manner, the proposed solution considers the planning into two phases: the first phase coordinates the demand planning and production planning, and the second phase coordinates the production planning and MRP. These two solution phases execute their planning issues independently and then collaborates their solutions in the mid-term master planning level. This solution framework is suitable for the IC manufacturing companies which have already implemented SAP R/3 system as their planning platform.

Performance of the internal audit department under ERP systems: empirical evidence from Taiwanese firms

In this study, the performance of the internal audit department (IAD) and its contribution to a company under enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems was examined. It is anticipated that this will provide insight into the factors perceived to be crucial to a company’s effectiveness. A theoretical framework was developed and tested using the sample of Taiwanese companies. Using mail survey procedures, we elicited perceptions from key internal auditors about the ERP system and auditing software, as well as their opinions concerning the IAD’s effectiveness and its contribution within a company. Data were analysed using the partial least square (PLS) regression to test the hypotheses. Drawing upon a sample of Taiwanese firms, the study suggests that a firm can improve the performance of the IAD through an enterprise-wide integrated, effective ERP system and appropriate auditing software. At the same time, the performance of the IAD can also contribute significantly to the company. The results also show that investments in computer-assisted auditing techniques (CAATs) are crucial due to their tremendous effectiveness in regard to the performance of the IAD and for the contributions CAATs can make to a company.

Implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning Using the Value Engineering and System Dynamics Methods

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an integrated software package applied by many enterprises as an operations platform over the past years. However, according to an industrial survey, the failure rate of ERP system implementation is relatively high because of high implementation costs and long implementation time, incapable implementation teams, process misfits, resistance to change and inadequate training. This paper proposes a Value Engineering (VE)-based framework that combines the System Dynamics (SD) method to support implementation of ERP systems. Within the framework, VE is a systematic, functionally oriented method for generating decision alternatives, whereas SD can simulate the possible outcomes in terms of the generated decision alternatives so that a suitable strategic decision for the ERP implementation can be evaluated and selected. The proposed method is applied to a SAP R/3 implementation case in the manufacturing industry. The application case shows that the method can achieve a positive result indicating the high value-added output of ERP systems implementation.

An analysis of ERP systems based on n-tier architecture

The proliferation of ERP systems naturally leads to an intriguing question of products classification. In this paper, a framework for analyzing ERP systems is proposed. This framework includes various IT infrastructures that can be incorporated in the n-tier architecture. By using cluster analysis, different groups of ERP systems are classified to verify the correctness of the framework. The results may be useful for ERP vendors to improve their products strategy and help companies to evaluate most suitable ERP products to satisfy their requirements

Using value engineering and TRIZ for better business process management

Business Process Management (BPM) is to optimize processes to gain competitive advantage. It is very important for an enterprise to keep in good status. However, many business process improvements are not very successful. This paper proposes a model using value engineering and TRIZ for better performance. Value engineering is an approved systematic method focusing on quantitative function analysis to find innovative alternatives. In order to get better innovative ideas, TRIZ is adopted by analyzing engineering parameters to find related inventive rules for more constructive improvements. An empirical case is illustrated to prove that the model with value engineering and TRIZ can really help an enterprise to reposition their manufacturing equipments and gain better profit.