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Practical project: selecting an ERP system

  • 04.04.2024
  • Practical Project
Das ERP-Projektteam mit Produktionsleiter, Juniorchef und Seniorchefin der Firma Krauss während der Abschlusspräsentation an der FH Kufstein Tirol.
© FH Kufstein Tirol

The ERP project team with the production manager (left), junior manager and senior manager of the Krauss company at the final presentation at the FH Kufstein Tirol.

In a practice-oriented project, students of the Master's program in ERP Systems and Business Process Management at the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol demonstrated their expertise. The aim was to support a medium-sized company in Bavaria in selecting a new ERP system.

For decades, the company has specialized in the processing of metals, mainly for the automotive industry. The high-precision parts are largely manufactured by turning and milling, with some of the production being fully automated and robot-assisted. The aim of the project was to present the company with various ERP systems and their manufacturers. The company's experts defined the requirements for the future ERP system with the students during a visit on site, as well as some virtual meetings. Particular emphasis was placed on the topics of production planning, warehouse management, documentation, article management and quality assurance.

THE EXISTING SYSTEM LANDSCAPE

The company is currently using a number of different programs that are somewhat outdated in terms of their functionality and user-friendliness. These systems are largely not linked to each other, which means that there are no interfaces. Employees therefore have to manually enter the information into the individual databases.

THE APPROACH

The students collected the results of the process analysis, working methods and processes in the company in a requirements document in order to obtain a defined overview of the company's most important requirements for a new system. 

In the next step, companies in the industry were contacted and asked about the systems they used in order to find out which systems were in productive use on the market. The students recorded the requirements on an online platform, which included a list of almost 300 possible systems for the company.

The project team from the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol selected ten systems from these results, which they examined more closely. After contacting the selected providers, the students transferred the results of the discussions, system demos and information material into a comparison matrix and presented it to the company at the final presentation at the beginning of February 2024.

THE RESULT

The project team discussed the four most suitable ERP systems with the company, which had been identified as the most suitable after the research. In addition to potential software solutions, the students also shared tips from their practical experience to help the company transition to a new system.

The highlighted recommendations are:

  • Watch out for hidden costs
  • Do not rule out combining several systems
  • Keep it simple - adapt processes to the system and streamline/optimize them
  • Investing time in getting to know the system properly is worthwhile
  • Involving employees is the key to success

In the next step, the company will approach the most interesting providers to get to know them better. A decision will be made in the course of 2024 and the introduction of the new system will be initiated.

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