Name: Manisha Scrichand Enrollment #: 02-111162-100

Submitted To: Engr. Amir Manzoor Submitted On: 7th May 2020
Assignment 6: Bringing it together –ERP

Where had the ERP team been “smart”?

The main decision taken by the managers at Cisco was to implement the ERP project. Many of the
team members who worked on the initiative were the managers. These managers made significant
smart steps leading up to the success of ERP implementation. These are as follows;

• In the selection of partners, the managers even took a special preference. They considered quite
well their options before agreeing eventually on KPMG's name as their integration partners.
• Former director of IT Company who had brought through different aspects of the ERP system
became program manager on the side of KPMG, who headed up the project. The expertise he
had thus contributed to the project's success.
• The implementation process was properly scheduled and conducted in phases known as
Conference Pilot Room (CRP). This allowed for better project management and timely
completion.
• The Steering committees were put at the top of the overall process of project management for
a specific cause. They did not have to take care of the management of the project rather, they
played a significant role in funding the initiative, providing awareness and supporting the team.

Do you think that the Cisco team could do such a project again if they had to? Why? Why
not?

Cisco clearly succeeded in introducing ERP, not only because of strategic support, hard-working
implementation teams, a powerful vendor contribution from Oracle, KPMG and the hardware
vendor, but also because of several other successful factories. Therefore, I believe Cisco will not
be successful if it does this project once again. The following are the reasons:

1. Support from Management: When a big outage happened for two days, Pete Solvik planned
to update the IT system by applying ERP. The old program did not blend into Cisco's
accelerated progression and had a negative effect on the workflow. The management had to
support the project in this situation. Even if they do, for reasons including financial issues,
Cisco cannot provide budget to do so.
2. Vendors for Cisco: It can be seen that Oracle (hardware manufacturer) needed to make
significant progress to support its manufacturing, and since Cisco was a popular name and
hence, Oracle needed this project badly. Moreover, to get the professional service of vendors,
Cisco can pay a low price. Tt was a win-win venture for both of them. Much like KPMG and
the hardware supplier, they all wished the project to succeed in getting them more identified
in the future. Therefore, the profound contribution of the Oracle, and KPMG to the system in
mitigating the issue contributed to the eventual stability and improved performance of the
system at Cisco. And the contract with the hardware vendor was to purchase a capacity such
that the vendor would pay to increase the capacity, which reduced the project's overall
 expenses. Cisco was fortunate enough to choose the right time and partner with the venture.
Therefore, I don't suppose this luck would surface again for Cisco.
3. ERP Team: The team of 100 members has been described as being the best and brightest.
They were motivated and worked hard because they realized they were originators of the ERP
network of businesses and that there was a opportunity for each of them to be promoted. They
have worked hard and tried to excel in the mission. Even if they do so, the strength of
inspiration and enthusiasm may be lost.

In short, several aspects affected the performance of the Cisco ERP system. This was a lucky
encounter of successful ERP implementation for Cisco otherwise they might not be successful all
the time given the above factors.