Prince Georges Community College Wk2 Enterprise Resources Planning Discussion Guidelines: I have provided the proposed solution we are to USE (SEE attache

Prince Georges Community College Wk2 Enterprise Resources Planning Discussion Guidelines:

I have provided the proposed solution we are to USE (SEE attached doc). Below is my assign section
DO NOT USE THE WORDS “YOU” OR “YOUR” IN FORMAL WRITING.
This is due in the next 24hours
In the attached doc my assign section is “ROSS”. You look at the sample I attached but this does not correspond with out chosen software. IT IS JUST A GUIDE
Please read WEEK2 on the BUSINESS CASE.

The purpose of this section is to explain why the project is needed. It should address the following:

What benefits can the organization achieve from this solution? Use the following categorizations and identify some benefits in each area:
Financial benefits
Non-financial benefits
ROSS What other value might the organization gain from this solution?

Approach to Developing this Section

Develop a clear and concise explanation of how the proposed solution (from Section III) directly addresses the problem or opportunity identified in Section II. Then, review the case study to explain how the proposed solution aligns with the business strategy and/or objectives. The team may need to infer business strategies and objectives from the information presented about the direction in which the business is headed. There are several ways to categorize benefits (other than just financial or non-financial benefits). The Week 2 readings provide some insights.

Business benefits: https://www.business-case-analysis.com/business-benefit.html III.
Proposed Solution
The situation Jerry finds himself in trying to manage and maintain two businesses as one is not a
unique one. Organizations throughout the years have been looking to solve this dilemma and
have had success accomplishing this task implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
solution. An ERP solution affords organizations the ability to “integrate planning, purchasing
inventory, sales, marketing, finance, human resources, and more” (LaBarre, 2019) in one system.
After conducting research on numerous ERP solutions, Alpha Team is proposing Jerry
implement a Software as a Service (SaaS) based version of QFLOORS. This cloud-based
service will allow Jerry and his staff to access Trusty Carpets and Metro Carpets inventory,
orders, accounting data, and much more from anywhere, with any device, provided the device
has an internet connection (Turner, 2019). The QFLOORS application has been developed with
“flooring-specific features” (QFloors Products, n.d.). QFLOORS provides business owners the
tools necessary to manage all aspects of their business. These tools include but are not limited
to, Vendor invoicing, Integrated Accounting, Inventory Management, Real-time Product
Catalog, and Built in CRM/Lead Tracking (QFloors Products, n.d.). QFLOORS motto is “Raise
profits and lower stress, with this complete business management software, for small to large
floor-covering businesses. QFloors helps streamline operations, reduce overhead and boost
productivity” (QFloors Products, n.d.).
Week 2 Group Assignment: Sections II, III, & IV
II. Problem or Opportunity Analysis
A. This section describes the one fundamental business problem or opportunity which
the resulting proposed solution will address. Depending on whether the team has
selected a problem or an opportunity, provide the following information in Section
II:
• Business Problem – Provide a summary of the core business problem, including:
o A description of the core issue
o The reasons why the problem exists
o How the problem aligns to the business strategy or vision
o The elements which create it (e.g., human, process, technology)
o The impact it is having on the business (e.g., financial, cultural, operational)
o The timeframes within which it must be resolved
o The reason the problem was chosen from among those identified in Section I.
OR
• Business Opportunity – Describe the business opportunity which has been
identified, including:
o A summary of the business opportunity (not a solution)
o How the opportunity was identified
o How the opportunity aligns to the business strategy or vision
o Any supporting evidence to prove that the opportunity is real
o A timeframe within which the opportunity will likely exist
o The positive impact that realization of the opportunity will have on the business.
o The reason the opportunity was chosen from among those identified in Section I.
Approach to Developing this Section
As the team examines the problems and opportunities identified in Section I, it should
focus on which problems/opportunities are most important to the business and should be
addressed first. Select one problem/opportunity area (or, two or three closely related
problem/opportunity areas that lend themselves to a single solution). Since the business case
is being developed to support an IT solution, the problem or opportunity must be appropriate
to an IT solution. Describe the business problem or opportunity which the resulting project will
directly address. Note: this is a discussion of the problem or opportunity, and no solutions
should be identified or discussed yet (that will come in the next section of the business case).
III.
Proposed Solution
This section provides a one-paragraph high level description of the solution. The
solution must include a commercial software product. The product name, a brief description,
and essential information to support the expected improvements in Section IV should be
included.
Approach to Developing this Section
Research solutions appropriate to the business problem or opportunity identified and the type
of business in the case study. Team members should research, identify and select an
appropriate commercial software product. There are a wide variety of industry-specific
software solutions available. The team should also decide on the type of implementation – will
the software be installed and maintained on premise/site or will a hosted solution be used?
Each member of the team will use this software solution to develop his or her individual indepth technical description, to be submitted separately according to the class schedule
IV.
Expected Improvements- Ross & Rotimi
The purpose of this section is to explain why the project is needed. It should address the
following:
•
•
ROTIMI How will the proposed solution address the stated problem in Section II, or how
will the proposed solution take advantage of the business opportunity identified in
Section II?
ROTIMI How does the proposed solution align with the business strategy and/or
objectives?
•
•
ROSS What benefits can the organization achieve from this solution? Use the following
categorizations and identify some benefits in each area:
o Financial benefits
o Non-financial benefits
ROSS What other value might the organization gain from this solution?
Approach to Developing this Section
Develop a clear and concise explanation of how the proposed solution (from Section III) directly
addresses the problem or opportunity identified in Section II. Then, review the case study to
explain how the proposed solution aligns with the business strategy and/or objectives. The team
may need to infer business strategies and objectives from the information presented about the
direction in which the business is headed. There are several ways to categorize benefits (other
than just financial or non-financial benefits). The Week 2 readings provide some insights.
Sample By other Students but they used CRM salesforce software I just want you to have a
sample to work with
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•
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i.
Tangible Benefits
Salesforce CRM software is mobile friendly product, so customers might access
the digitalized promotion not just from home, but from anywhere and any device
with internet access. This significantly increases Trusty Carpet’s exposure across
the marketplace.
Salesforce CRM software provides a way through social media to instantaneously
reply to client issues at whatever method is most appropriate. This will be
particularly important to the new home owners Jerry Montgomery hopes to reach
the promotional strategy.
Salesforce software will enable Jerry and his staff to run reports on sales data in
real time. This will assist them to see what is selling and enable them to stock
inventory accordingly.
Salesforce will store information about customers that helps build stronger
relationships that customers appreciate and remember (Salesforce).
Salesforce can be used for effective marketing. Since customer information is
stored in a single location and Salesforce integrates with Google, the company
can communicate with customers easily and quickly. It can even help them focus
communications by type of customer or other grouping methods as they see fit.
Finally, a reduction in operating costs since former manual processes are handled
by the software, improvement of the onsite inventory, and improvement of staff
productivity and performance (Varasi).
ii. Intangible Benefits
• Acknowledgment as a green company through social media will improve Trusty
Carpet’s image with its clienteles and regulatory entities. This will serve to attract
environmentally mindful Millennials and may bring in honors and awards from
agencies.
• Utilizing CRM software from Salesforce will provide the customer with a greater
experience in doing business with Trusty Carpets; one that will uplift them above
the competition and give them a competitive advantage. This will result in better
customer satisfaction.
• A positive reputation for excellent customer relations and communications.
iii. Financial Benefits
Salesforce can assist with the overall financial profit and sales margins, improve sales
forecasting, and provide better tools for financial management. There are also many non-
financial benefits of implementing CRM into the business model such as bringing added value
and service to the customer and provide a centralized tool to sales employees that can enhance
the point of sale experience.
A major financial benefit to implementing CRM would be the ability to survive through
economic recessions. For companies with less than 100 employees, those that had implemented
CRM prior to the economic crisis of 2008 had better financial results during the economic crisis
than similar companies that implemented in the years immediately after (Němeček, 2012). This
is because the companies that had implemented CRM prior to 2008 “were able to have standard
and good communication with their suppliers and customers and were able to quickly make new
contracts in the year 2010” (Němeček, 2012).
a. How Salesforce Will Bring Value to Trusty Carpets
There is added value throughout the company with the use of CRM. Through date and timestamp technology, it is not difficult to find and fix issues throughout the sales process. For
example, when Pegasus Airwave implemented CRM, the practice of finger-pointing blame to
other departments or employees when an issue occurred had nearly vanished (Weinberger,
2004). This greatly improved morale and employee’s work environments. Through the timestamp technology, it was discovered that there was an “inability to communicate true, live
information” (Weinberger, 2004). The ability to pin-point exactly where the problem was
assisted to improve the overall processes within the company. Sales personnel will also gain
value and insight through CRM. Through CRM, all pieces of the sales puzzle are kept in one
centralized location. This will give the sales personnel the ability to see how a customer is
billed, how much a customer ordered, and provide valuable customer information to the sales
personnel when performing sales calls.
Building a Business Case
This document describes the course-long group project to develop a business case
for an IT solution that will provide improvements for the organization in the Case
Study (posted separately under Content>Course Resources).
What is a Business Case?
A business case is a tool used in making business investment decisions, such as:
investing in an IT asset like a new information system, a new network, or
additional storage capacity; entering a new business venture; or discontinuing a
product or service. A business case is a structured proposal that provides the
necessary information regarding how the proposed course of action would
benefit the organization. The developers of a business case have an obligation to
use good information-gathering techniques, perform a thorough analysis, and use
proven financial models to support the recommendations. This strengthens the
credibility of the business case and provides management with the information
they need to make an appropriate, objective decision.
The scope of the information requires significant effort on the project team’s part.
However, a strong business case provides decision-makers with the exact
information they need to make an educated, well-informed decision. Without this
level of effort, senior management may lack sufficient information and therefore
delay making a decision, or in the absence of more complete information,
management may make a poor decision. A poor decision could result in approving
a solution that is not in the best interests of the organization, implementing a
system that does not fit into the existing IT architecture, failing to take advantage
of maximum benefits through a more comprehensive solution, or failing to
support a solution that would meet the defined business need and add value to
the organization.
Business Case Assignments
A quick web search will reveal a variety of templates for a business case proposal,
and many organizations and agencies have a particular format that is consistently
used within their organization. For this class the following template will be used
by each team. The template is robust but recognizes the timeline of an eight week
Building a Business Case – 07/21/2019
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course and therefore provides a balanced product that meets course goals and
provides experience developing each major area of a business case.
The teams will develop each section of the business case, to be submitted
according to the class schedule and as shown in green in this document. Using
the outline below, each week team members should read the weekly assignment
and develop the assigned section(s) of the business case, ensuring that everything
called for in each section is included. Sections should be numbered as shown,
with sub-headings used as appropriate. An introduction for each section that
have multiple parts should be provided, explaining what is contained in the
section. Following the requirements for each section in the instructions below, an
approach to developing the section is included. Additional resources containing
explanatory material are located in the weekly content areas and in the Course
Resources area.
The instructions for some sections include questions to be answered. These
should not just be listed as questions and answers in the business case; they
should instead be used to ensure your explanation covers all the important
points.
Each week, the team will add to the previously developed components of the
business case and submit the entire business case through the assigned sections,
including the Appendix and References entries. Corrections and improvements to
previously submitted sections should be made as part of the next submission,
using the feedback received. Although teams should make corrections each week
according to the feedback received, only the sections due for the particular week
will be graded. The entire business case will be graded at the end of class.
The remainder of this document describes each section of the business case and
provides the requirements and an approach to developing each section. The
grading rubric for each deliverable is provided with the assignment instructions in
the Assignment Folder.
Building a Business Case – 07/21/2019
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Sections of the Business Case
Executive Summary
I.
Background and Environmental Analysis
II.
Problem Analysis
III.
Proposed Solution
IV. Expected Improvements
V.
Alternatives Analysis
VI. Feasibility Analysis
VII. Requirements Checklist
VIII. Context Diagram
IX.
Project Management
X.
Acquisition Strategy
XI.
Risk Management
XII. Security
XIII. Additional Implementation Issues
XIV. Performance Measures
XV. Conclusion
References
Appendices
Executive Summary included in the Week 8 Group Assignment
The executive summary is the first section presented in the business case and the
last written, similar to an abstract for an article. It is a high-level view of the
entire business case document. It succinctly conveys vital information about the
project and communicates the entire story to the reader. It explains, in plain
language and in a condensed form (1 page or less), the problem that the project is
intended to solve, the expected outcome, and the resources required to complete
the project. The resources include the initial investment cost and the on-going
operational costs. Since most business investment decisions are based on their
returns on investment, the predicted ROI and a projection of when it should be
achieved are also provided. Because some stakeholders read only the executive
summary, it is important to provide any essential information required for them
to make an informed decision, yet should not repeat the level of detail contained
in the body of the business case. The executive summary should also briefly
Building a Business Case – 07/21/2019
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describe the document that follows (the business case), telling the reader what is
contained.
Approach to Developing this Section
After the entire business case is finished, develop a one-page (or less) summary as
described above, and include the most important facts for the decision-maker.
Read the article on writing an executive summary from the UMGC Library, located
in the Week 8 Content. First impressions are important. Get this right!
Week 1 Group Assignment: Section I; include the Title page. Also, the Appendix
and References pages should be created in Week 1 and submitted even if they
are blank. They will be there each week and can be updated according to the
weekly assignments.
I.
Background and Environmental Analysis
(Notice the proper formatting above with Roman numeral and heading
capitalization; use these for your business case.) The purpose of this section is to
give a clear introduction to the business case and project. It provides the
background on the core aspects of the business and its operation in sufficient
detail to set the stage for the explanation of the problems, opportunities, or
changes that will follow. This section also contains an analysis of the environment
within which the business operates, identifying problems or opportunities in a
number of areas, setting the stage for Section II, where the team will identify one
problem or opportunity area for which a technology solution will be proposed in
the business case.
Approach to Developing this Section
A. Background. Begin with an introduction (A.) to the situation portrayed in the
case study to provide a background on the organization and its current operation.
Include the important points, but do not just reiterate the information in the case
study.
B. Environmental Analysis. Conduct some research on industry analysis and
trends for the business in the case study, and select those that could impact the
Building a Business Case – 07/21/2019
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business. Include a description of at least one problem or opportunity in each of
the following areas:
• An opportunity or change to the Business Vision, Strategy or Objectives
• Business processes or technologies which are not operating efficiently or
have been rendered obsolete
• New technology trends (or opportunities resulting from new technologies)
• Commercial or operational trends which are driving changes in the business
or industry
• New or better products, technologies or processes in use by competitors
• Changes to statutory, legislative or other environmental requirements.
Provide facts or evidence to support the conclusions drawn above, using one or
two sentences with citations/references as appropriate.
Week 2 Group Assignment: Sections II, III, & IV
II. Problem or Opportunity Analysis
A. This section describes the one fundamental business problem or
opportunity which the resulting proposed solution will address.
Depending on whether the team has selected a problem or an
opportunity, provide the following information in Section II:
• Business Problem – Provide a summary of the core business problem,
including:
o A description of the core issue
o The reasons why the problem exists
o How the problem aligns to the business strategy or vision
o The elements which create it (e.g., human, process, technology)
o The impact it is having on the business (e.g., financial, cultural,
operational)
o The timeframes within which it must be resolved
o The reason the problem was chosen from among those identified in
Section I.
OR
• Business Opportunity – Describe the business opportunity which has
been identified, including:
o A summary of the business opportunity (not a solution)
Building a Business Case – 07/21/2019
5
o
o
o
o
o
How the opportunity was identified
How the opportunity aligns to the business strategy or vision
Any supporting evidence to prove that the opportunity is real
A …
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