Introduction
In today's dynamic and competitive digital world, enterprise systems have emerged as a
requirement for corporate success. These systems are instrumental in improving business
operations, facilitating collaboration between company divisions and partners, optimizing
customer experiences, and coordinating with suppliers. As organizations cope with the
challenges of a continuously changing business environment, the importance of
comprehensive enterprise systems has become increasingly clear.
This study provides insights into how companies use Enterprise-Wide Information Systems
(EWIS) to support and enable core business processes. We also delve into a detailed
explanation of what it is and how it has evolved and discussed core business processes that
are common in organizations. Finally, it illustrates what ERP is, how it helps improve internal
business processes, and what benefits organizations realize by utilizing enterprise resourceplanning systems.
1. Synthesize how companies are deploying enterprise-wide information systems to
support and enable core business processes.
Enterprise-wide information systems, often known as enterprise systems, are information
systems that enable businesses to integrate information across all activities. Enterprise-wide
information systems are large-scale application software packages designed for supporting
business processes, information flows, reporting, and data analytics (Bourgeois, 2014).
Enterprise systems are used in different areas such as resource planning, supply chain
management, and customer relationship management. Enterprise-wide Systems refer to a set
of software components that work together to support the fundamental internal business
processes (Carvalho & Tanaka, 2008).
These types of software include Enterprise Resource Planning systems, Supply Chain
Management, Customer Relationship Management, decision support systems and Business
Intelligence (Carvalho & Tanaka, 2008).
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a tool that helps businesses control and
organize their interactions with clients. It assists with tasks like marketing, sales, and customer
service.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system that allows different parts of a company to
talk to each other and share information instantly. This helps avoid mistakes and wasted effort
during work. Make it easier to see and understand how things are going and use more
technology to make sure things are always accessible.
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Supply Chain Management (SCM) helps businesses gain a competitive edge. SCM systems
help build partnerships and control the movement of goods and services, which involves all
the steps from raw materials to finished products.
Businesses are using Enterprise-Wide Information Systems (EWIS) to make their work easier,
improve communication and teamwork, and gain an advantage in the global market.
2. Explain your in-depth understanding of the enterprise systems and how they have
evolved.
Enterprise systems bring together the most important activities of a company into one central
database. This allows information that was spread out in different systems to be shared within
the company, helping different parts of the business collaborate better.
According to Biel (2022), the market for enterprise resource planning systems grew by 9%,
resulting in sales of $39 billion globally. This market is expected to expand rapidly and reach
a total value of $49. 5 billion by 2025.
Enterprise Systems has progressed substantially over the years. Early Enterprise Systems
were often massive and difficult to implement and maintain. However, more recent Enterprise
Systems are more adaptable and scalable, making them easier to deploy and use.
According to Belet & Purcarea (2017), the Early Enterprise System was developed in the late
1960s. It was called the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system and was developed
through a collaboration between J.I. Case, a company that makes big machines used in
construction and International Business Machines (IBM) (Belet & Purcarea, 2017). The first
MRP system was developed, and thereafter large organisations started making their own MRP
solutions. However, it became expensive to create and needed a team of specialists to keep
it working (Belet & Purcarea, 2017). The authors continue to emphasise how early Enterprise
Systems were difficult to install and manage. The first MRP solutions were big, cumbersome,
and expensive. They required a large technical staff to support the mainframe computers
(Belet & Purcarea, 2017).
In the 1970s, more and more businesses started using MRP systems. However, these
systems were expensive and difficult for small and medium-sized businesses to afford them.
A new type of system called the Material Requirements Planning (MRP) system was
developed in the 1970s. It focused on planning the needs for products or parts based on the
master production schedule (Abdullah & Ambedkar, 2017).
Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II) was introduced in the 1980s. It focused on
making manufacturing processes better by coordinating materials with production needs. MRP
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II included different things such as managing the factory and shipping, managing projects,
handling money, and managing employees and engineering (Abdullah & Ambedkar, 2017).
In the early 1990s, a new type of business software called Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) systems was developed. These systems helped different parts of the company work
together and share information. ERP systems were developed using the technology and ideas
from MRP and MRP II. ERP systems were made to help with different business tasks and to
bring together information from numerous parts of the company. In the 1990s ERP vendors
added extra modules and functions to the main, creating extended ERPs (Abdullah &
Ambedkar, 2017).
Abdullah and Ambedkar (2017) and Oracle Netsuite (2023), state that ERP II was introduced
by Gartner in 2000 to describe internet-enabled systems that could get data from different
sources.
The newest versions of ERPs are better and more powerful. These systems can handle
various business functions (Abdullah & Ambedkar, 2017). The newest ERPs are smarter, work
better and handle a variety of business functions. (Abdullah & Ambedkar, 2017).
The evolution of Enterprise Systems has been driven by several factors, including the need
for businesses to improve their efficiency and productivity, the need to reduce costs, and the
need to make better decisions. Enterprise Systems have become essential for organisations
of all sizes, and they continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of businesses.
3. The core business processes that are common in organizations.
A process is a sequence of tasks fulfilled to achieve a goal. As a result, a business process
focuses on achieving the goal of a business (Bourgeois, 2014). Processes are
the steps or tasks that businesses must do every day to achieve their goals (Bourgeois,
2014). A business process is when people or systems do a series of tasks in a certain way to
achieve goals for the business (Kissflow, 2023).
Some of the business processes supported by enterprise software include the following
processes:

Finance and accounting processes, including general ledger, accounts payable,
account receivables, fixed assets and forecasting and financial reporting.

Human Resources processes, including personnel administration, payroll, time
management and performance management.

Sales and Marketing processes, including order processing, quotations, and sales
planning,
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
Manufacturing
and
production
processes,
including
procurement,
inventory
management, planning production scheduling and quality control.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate software applications that support
core business processes, such as accounting, finance, human resources, manufacturing, and
supply chain management (Dwivedi et al. (2020).
4. Describe enterprise resource planning systems and how they help to improve
internal business processes.
A software program that combines and automates core business processes is an Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) system.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate software applications that support
core business processes, such as accounting, finance, human resources, manufacturing, and
supply chain management (Dwivedi et al. (2020).
The ERP system brings together different core processes by connecting the flow of information
and functionality, features and capabilities Furthermore, it improves how well a company
operates by bringing together all data and information from different parts of the company and
getting rid of any unnecessary or repeated data and information.
Muscatello et al. (2003), suggested that the ERP system is a set of integrated software units,
alongside with the main database that enables firms to manage the use of resources such as
assets and human resources efficiently and effectively. AlMuhayfithi and Shaiti (2020) defined
an ERP system as a software package; that comes in a set of software components in which
the units are responsible for processing and collecting information for a set of work functions
(AlMuhayfithi & Shaiti, 2020).
ERP systems can help improve internal business processes in several ways. They can help
organizations to improve efficiency, and productivity, reduce costs, and make better decisions.
Improved Efficiency
According to Abdullah and Marathwada (2017), ERP systems help to improve internal
business processes. Moreover, ERP assists in implementing advanced management ideas
and helps schedule the daily tasks of an organization. ERP systems bring all the organisation’s
data into one place, which helps to make sure that the data is accurate and can be used well.
Improved Decision-Making
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ERP systems also assist organizations in making better decisions by giving them up-to-date
information and understanding of their business operations. These systems help businesses
react fast to market changes and stay ahead of rivals.
Cost Savings
By using computerized systems to do important tasks and make them more efficient, ERP
systems can help businesses reduce spending (Maregesi, 2023).
Increase Productivity
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems help with doing the same tasks over and over
again, like typing in data. This allows employees to spend their time on more important and
useful activities. This results in getting more work done, making fewer mistakes, and finishing
tasks quickly (Maregesi, 2023).
Furthermore, ERP systems are helpful for all types of organizations, regardless of their size.
But it is important to think about what the organization needs and wants, and how helpful and
expensive the ERP system will be.
5. What benefits would an organization realize by running its enterprise resource
planning system?
Organizations can realize several benefits by running an enterprise resource planning (ERP)
system. Silchenkov (2021) highlights the positive aspects of an ERP system, including
increased efficiency in production processes and the ability to apply best business practices
to other organizations. Yang 2002 emphasizes in-house benefits such as reduced inventory,
improved quality, and shortened cycle time. Furthermore, Poon (2012) defined ERP systems
as software suites that automate and integrate business processes, allowing organizations to
share data and practices across the enterprise. Overall, the research indicates that ERP
systems can provide operational and strategic advantages to organizations.
According to Levin and Ivliev (2020), ERP systems are helpful, for the whole organisation
organization. Apart from technical, operational, and strategic benefits, previous research
shows many different benefits. These include improving performance speed, and productivity,
and making business processes more efficient. It also helps with customer service and makes
things cheaper and more environmentally friendly. Additionally, collaborative efforts can
decrease problems in communication and minimize the waste of materials and time.
Some of the key benefits of using ERP are:
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
Improved efficiency and productivity: This helps organizations improve their efficiency
and productivity by automating manual tasks and streamlining workflows.

Reduced costs: help organizations reduce costs by improving data integration and
accuracy and by providing real-time visibility into business processes.

Enhanced decision-making: Provides organizations with the data and insights they
need to make better decisions.

Improved customer service: helps organizations improve their customer service by
providing a single view of the customer and automating customer-facing processes.
ERPs are essential for organisations of all sizes. By carefully considering their needs and
goals, organizations can select and deploy ERPs to help them achieve their objectives. Lastly,
ERP provides an innovative competitive advantage through automated collaborative
networking through the elimination of duplicated activities across various functional areas
(Uddin et al., 2020).
Conclusion
In conclusion, Enterprise systems are a crucial tool for businesses. Additionally, Enterprise
systems are a valuable tool for organisations of all sizes. However, it is important to carefully
consider the needs and goals of the organization and the costs and benefits of the Enterprise
system.
Reference
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