Corporate information system (CIS) is a management ideology that combines the business strategy of an enterprise (with a structure built for its implementation) and advanced information technologies. The main role is played by the well-developed management structure, automation plays a secondary, instrumental role.
The generalized business management structure includes four main blocks: the control object itself, the control block, resources, and the mathematical model (which breaks down into three, and sometimes even more varieties - the model of the current state, transition state, and final state). Everything else is the rules of interaction between them.
"Corporate" in terms of CIS means the compliance of the system with the needs of a large firm with a complex territorial structure.
The information system of the individual units making up the firm (financial, economic, marketing, etc.) cannot pretend to be corporate. Only a fully functional system can rightfully be described as CIS.
As international experience testifies, the economic growth of the state is significantly associated with the development and use of modern automation tools and technologies in the economy. Successful business today is almost impossible without the use of modern information systems. In the most developed countries, it is the high-tech sector that ensures their prosperity and wealth.
Modern corporate information systems today play the same role as the appearance of machines in the nineteenth century. In fact, they have become the main driving force of the scientific and technological revolution and the development of the modern world economy. Skillfully selected and implemented CIS significantly improves the manageability of the enterprise and increases its efficiency.
That is why the theme of the audit work "Corporate Information Systems." Is very important.
In the first part of the test, we will talk about what corporate information systems are, what are their importance for the enterprise, what are the reasons for their implementation, and the main moments of the evolution of CIS are described.
In the second part of the control work, an analysis of the main problems associated with the implementation of corporate information systems at the enterprise will be given. It is no secret that almost half of the attempts to introduce such systems end in failure. In order not to waste money and time, you should study in detail why this happens, what may be the reasons for the lack of the expected effect of the implementation of CIS.
· The high cost of the purchased product (reaching several million dollars);
· A wide variety of CIS products on the world market (over 500 systems of class MRP II - ERP);
· A significant duration of training of specialists in the introduced product (from six months to a year);
· A significant length of the pre-sale cycle (from several months to several years) and the implementation cycle itself (the introduction cycle of CIS, even at one production site can last up to several years);
as well as a number of other reasons. That is why this problem - the problem of the correct choice of information system for the enterprise - could not be ignored.
1. THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND THE REASONS FOR THEIR IMPLEMENTATION.
1.1 The evolution of economic information systems and the emergence of corporate information systems.
Economic Information System (EIS) is a combination of organizational, technical, software, information tools, combined into a single system with the aim of collecting, storing, processing and issuing the necessary information designed to perform management functions.
The effectiveness of the application of EIS in the practice of managing economic objects depends on the breadth of coverage and the integration of management functions on their basis, on the ability to quickly prepare management decisions and adapt to changes in the external environment and information needs.
EIS since the advent of the first computers have undergone a significant change in their development.
In the 50s, on a computer, mainly certain economic problems were solved, associated with the need to process large information arrays (for example, payroll). In the 60s, the idea of \u200b\u200bintegrated automation of enterprise management and the integration of information support based on databases arose. The 80s have been marked by the introduction of personal computers in the practice of managerial employees, the creation of a wide range of workstations that allow using query generators, reports, screen forms, dialogue to quickly develop user-friendly applications. However, the dispersal of EIS in the form of workstations, local automation did not contribute to the integration of managerial functions and, as a result, a significant increase in the efficiency of enterprise management. The development of telecommunication facilities was characteristic of the 1990s, which led to the creation of flexible local and global computer networks, which predetermined the possibility of developing and implementing corporate electronic information systems.
The availability of flexible means of linking managerial employees in the process of economic activity, the possibility of teamwork, both direct executors of business operations and managers making managerial decisions, make it possible to largely revise the principles of enterprise management or conduct a cardinal reengineering of business processes.
1.2 The main reasons for the implementation of CIS.
The main objective of CIS is to support the functioning and development of the enterprise. The meaning of the existence of any commercial enterprise, as you know, is to make a profit. Despite the fact that the areas of activity of enterprises (production, services) can be very different, in general terms, management tasks are similar. They consist in organizing the management of resources received at the input of the enterprise to obtain the desired result at the output.
Thus, we can conclude that the information structure of the company should be described by the characteristic laws of management governing the control effects on the system.
It is advisable for a large industrial enterprise to use CIS, which complies with the MPP II management laws. Such CISs are able to provide the manager with the necessary information about the possibility of fulfilling applications for the supply of products. Other CIS are integrated enterprise management systems, the so-called ERP-systems.
ERP-systems can be used by large enterprises to manage data flows and their storage and contribute to the development of electronic business of the enterprise.
Planning the implementation of computer information systems, in fact, is a reform of the enterprise management system. Therefore, a well-prepared plan will avoid many problems that arise during the implementation of the system and its subsequent operation. Changing the management system is primarily associated with the use of the latest methods of working with information. Reform refers to business process management processes, planning, budgeting, and control.
The use of CIS to a certain extent changes the role of functional financial units, increasing the role of responsibility of their leaders. This also happens because the managers of the enterprise get the opportunity to directly control any results of the activities of each unit.
Along with a change in the nature of information flows, there is also a decrease in the complexity of performing standard operations. One and the same document passes through various departments of the enterprise, which make the necessary changes to it. Without the use of a computer information system, each department would create its own documents from the very beginning.
After the stage of choosing corporate IP (CIS), the implementation stage begins, the importance of which can hardly be overestimated.
Indeed, all the benefits and advantages declared by the developers of corporate software obtained as a result of acquiring a specific CIS are manifested only if it is successfully implemented.
At its core, the process of implementing CIS is quite costly, since these are expensive systems and the implementation process itself takes a lot of time.
In addition, the ongoing integration of CISs leads to a further increase in the demand of enterprises for highly qualified specialists who simultaneously know several CISs and various types of business (which inevitably increases the cost of their services).
At the same time, despite the growing popularity of using CIS, not everything is so smooth and cloudless in the global CIS market. This is especially true for customer satisfaction with the progress and results of the implementation of CIS.
According to BCG analysts, CIS is vital for enterprises, however, the success of implementation depends on whether it was possible to adapt them in accordance with the intended goals as close as possible to the essence of the ongoing production process.
Respondents considered CISs of lower cost to be better. The formulation of strategies and goals are the main factor in the success of the implementation of CIS. Projects based on a clear strategic vision and strategic evaluations achieved positive results in 53% of cases (22% - in the absence of such a strategic approach). A key factor for successful implementation is a thorough analysis of the current situation.
Most information systems are designed to provide information and support decision-making at various levels of government and in various functional areas. The completeness of the implementation of management functions is one of the main criteria for the classification of management information systems.
In accordance with this, a classification has been adopted in business practice that involves dividing corporate information systems into three classes (Fig. 41).
Fig. 41.
Simple (“boxed”) CISs implement a small number of organization business processes. A typical example of systems of this type are accounting, warehouse and small trading systems, most widely represented on the Russian market. For example, the systems of such companies as “1C”, etc. For example, the system “1C: Enterprise” is a universal designer program that allows you to keep records in one information database on behalf of several organizations. The products of 1C company occupy about 40% of the Russian market for programs of this class. The cost of a single configuration, depending on the functions implemented - from 250 to 500 dollars .; the network version costs about $ 1,000.
A distinctive feature of such products is the relative ease of assimilation, which, combined with low price, compliance with Russian law and the ability to choose a system “to your taste” brings them wide popularity.
Middle class systems differ in greater depth and breadth of coverage of functions. These systems are offered by Russian and foreign companies. As a rule, these are systems that allow you to keep track of the activities of an enterprise in many or several areas: finance, logistics, personnel, sales, etc.
They need to be configured, which in most cases is carried out by specialists of the developer company, as well as user training.
These systems are most suitable for medium and some large enterprises because of their functionality and higher cost compared to the first class. Among the Russian systems of this class can be distinguished, for example, the products of the company "Galaxy".
The Galaxy system is focused on automating the solution of problems arising at all stages of the management cycle: forecasting and planning, accounting and monitoring the implementation of plans, analysis of results, correction of forecasts and plans. The functional composition of the system allows for any enterprise to determine the set of components that provides the solution to the problems of managing economic activity in three global contexts: by types of resources, by the scope of tasks to be solved (level of management), and by types of management activity.
TO upper class include systems that are characterized by a high level of detail of the economic activity of the enterprise. Modern versions of such systems provide planning and management of all organization resources (ERP-systems).
As a rule, when such systems are introduced, the business processes existing at the enterprise are modeled and the system parameters are adjusted to meet the business requirements.
These systems are functionally different: in one, a production module can be well developed, in another - a financial one. A comparative analysis of these systems and their applicability to a particular case can result in significant work. And to implement the system you need a whole team of financial, managerial and technical experts. Such systems are much more complicated to install (the implementation cycle can take from 6-9 months to a year and a half or more). This is due to the fact that the system covers the needs of the entire enterprise, and this requires significant joint efforts of the enterprise employees and program providers.
With increasing complexity and breadth of coverage of the enterprise functions by the system, the requirements for the technical infrastructure and software and hardware platform increase. All production systems are developed using industrial databases. In most cases, Internet technologies are used.
There is a large selection of top-class CIS in the Russian market, and their number is growing. Recognized world leaders are, for example, SAP R / 3, Oracle Application Oracle.
To automate the management of large enterprises, a mixed solution from the classes of large, medium and small integrated systems is often used in world practice.
When building corporate information systems, another classification can also be considered that distinguishes custom (unique) and replicated CIS, depending on the focus of the corporate client on the necessary information support functionality.
Under custom kit usually understand the systems created for a particular enterprise, which have no analogues and are not subject to further replication.
Such systems are used either to automate the activities of enterprises with unique characteristics, or to solve an extremely limited range of special tasks.
Custom systems, as a rule, either do not have prototypes at all, or the use of prototypes requires significant changes that are of a qualitative nature. The development of custom CIS is characterized by an increased risk in terms of obtaining the required results.
The essence of the problem of adaptation replicated CIS that is, adaptation to the working conditions at a particular enterprise, consists in the fact that in the end each CIS is unique, but at the same time, common, typical properties are inherent in it. The requirements for adaptation and the complexity of their implementation significantly depend on the problem area, the scale of the system. Even the first programs that solved individual automation tasks were created taking into account the need to configure them according to parameters.
As part of the CIS, it is customary to take into account tools for management documentation, information support for subject areas, communication software, means for organizing collective work of employees, and other auxiliary (technological) products. From this, in particular, it follows that the mandatory requirement for CIS is the integration of a large number of software products that implement various management methods.
Depending on the management method used in corporate IP, systems are distinguished based on:
- Resource Management Methods. A model is used that represents the organization as a system of resources (finances, inventories, personnel). All processes are described as transactions (business transactions), reflecting the movement of resources. The main management goal for this method is to provide resources and control over them. The management method is well described by models that have become standards: production resource planning (MRP II), enterprise resource planning (ERP). The main focus of MRP II is on the management of production resources, while ERP methods claim to manage all the resources available to the enterprise. ERP better takes into account the corporate structure of the enterprise, its international scale. Such systems manage remote enterprises and sales units around the world.
- Process management methods. The model of organization is used as a system of business processes. Here, the central concepts are the process, function, data, event. The main management goal for these methods is to ensure coordination of events and functions. This may include methods such as quality management (TQM - IS09000 standard), process management (Workflow - Association Workflow Management Coalition standards).
- Project management methods, based on the family of PMI standards (Project Management Institute - РМВОК), network-planning models, critical path method, earned volume method, etc. Management methods are supported by software for project management, commitment management (contracts), supply management and etc.
- Knowledge Management Methods. They use the organization model as a system of small teams of employees solving the common problem, and corporate knowledge and effective communications play the role of organizing factors. The main corporate management resource is becoming a corporate knowledge base in which employees can quickly find information to make the right decision and understand each other. This base concentrates the collective experience of the company and creates the basis of corporate communications. The main goal of management is to ensure coordination, communication and a quick search for information for independent decision making. This group of management methods is currently undergoing a period of rapid development and has received the general name “Knowledge Management”. In general, knowledge management methods are supported by information retrieval systems and Internet technologies.
Regardless of the group to which this or that corporate information system belongs, CIS should equally, as much as possible allow all departments of the organization to preserve existing business processes, as well as management methods and structure. Without the involvement of automation, it is practically impossible to control the constantly changing balance of resources, business processes, ongoing projects (project groups, programs) and the growing exponentially growing demand for necessary knowledge and information.
The development and implementation of enterprise management information systems, or corporate information systems (CIS), is associated with serious risk. Unfortunately, there are many examples where projects for the implementation of ready-made or custom-developed information systems failed. Meanwhile, there are special techniques and tools to minimize risks and solve key problems that arise at various stages of the CIS life cycle - from analysis to maintenance.
What is going on at the enterprise?
Before you try to choose an existing one or create your own information system, and then implement it, you need to analyze how the company currently operates. For analysis, it is necessary to know not only how the enterprise as a whole works and how it interacts with external organizations, customers and suppliers, but also how activities are organized at each workplace. One person, as a rule, does not possess such information. Indeed, the head of the enterprise is well aware of how the organization as a whole works, but is not able to know all the features of the activities of all ordinary employees. The average employee knows his duties well, but is poorly versed in how his colleagues work. Therefore, to analyze the activities of the enterprise should collect the knowledge of many people in a single place, that is, create a model of the enterprise. Many corporate information systems of foreign manufacturers (SAP R / 3, Baan, Ross iRenaissance, etc.) incorporate special tools based on original techniques. Using these tools, you can examine enterprises and build a model of their activities, but there are standardized methodologies and tools that have passed the test of time. One of these standards is IDEF0, which is based on the SADT (methodology of structural analysis and design) method, and BPwin (Computer Associates) is its supporting tool (see the author’s articles "Development Tools for Large Information Systems. Part 1", ComputerPress No. 7'98 and "New Features of CA BPwin 4.0", ComputerPress No. 3'2001).
The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe SADT methodology is to build a tree-like functional model of the enterprise. First, the functionality of the enterprise is described as a whole, without details. Such a description is called a context diagram. Interaction with the outside world is described in terms of input (data or objects consumed or changed by the function), output (the main result of the function, the final product), management (strategies and procedures that govern the function) and mechanisms (necessary resources). In addition, when creating a context diagram, the modeling goal is formulated, an area (that is, a description of what will be considered as a component of the system, and what as an external impact) and a point of view (the position in accordance with which the model will be built). Usually, the point of view of the person or the position of the object responsible for the operation of the simulated system as a whole is selected as the point of view.
Then, the general function in the process of functional decomposition is divided into large subfunctions. Each subfunction, in turn, is decomposed into smaller ones - and this happens until the necessary detail of the description is achieved. In fig. Figure 1 shows a tree of functions called a tree of nodes of a functional model.
Each node corresponds to a separate fragment of the description - a diagram (Fig. 2). A model is a collection of hierarchically arranged diagrams, each of which is a description of a function or activity.
Work on the diagrams are depicted in the form of rectangles (function blocks). Each work depicts a function or work and is referred to as a verb or verb phrase denoting an action, such as “Manufacturing a Product”, “Customer Service”, etc. The arrows are marked with a noun and indicate objects or information that connects the work with each other and with the outside world. Unlike models that display the structure of the organization, work on the top-level diagram in a functional model is not an element of the control of subordinate works, but their combination. The work of the lower level is the same as the work of the upper level, but in a more detailed exposition.
After each decomposition session, the author of the chart forms a folder - a set of documents that includes the chart itself, additional reports, etc. The folder is sent to an expert in the subject area, who is well versed in a simulated fragment of an enterprise’s activity, for conducting an examination. At the level of the contextual diagram, this may be the manager of the enterprise, at the level of the first decomposition, the head of the department, etc., up to the ordinary contractor. Before decomposing further, at the current level, all expert comments must be entered into the diagram. Thus, each of the experts supplements the model in the part in which it is most competent. The result is a model that is fully adequate to the system, which allows you to visualize the existing shortcomings, redirect and improve business processes, and analyze the cost of production. This model can serve as the basis for creating an information system.
BPwin allows you to create process models and supports three modeling standards (notations) in one model at the same time - IDEF0, DFD and IDEF3. Each of these notations allows you to consider different aspects of the enterprise. IDEF0 diagrams are intended to describe business processes in the enterprise; they make it possible to understand which objects or information serve as raw materials for the processes, what results follow from the work performed, what are the controlling factors and what resources are needed for this. IDEF0 notation helps to identify formal shortcomings of business processes, which greatly facilitates the analysis of the enterprise. Data Flow Diagramming (DFD) diagrams are used to describe workflow and information processing. To describe the logic of interaction of information flows, IDEF3 notation (also called workflow diagramming) is more suitable, which is a modeling notation that uses a graphical description of information flows, the relationships between information processing processes and objects that are part of these processes.
As a result of the enterprise survey, a functional model of the existing AS-IS work organization (“as is”) is built. Based on this model, consensus is reached between different business units on who did what and what each business unit adds to the process. The AS-IS model allows you to figure out what should be done today before deciding what should be done tomorrow. The introduction of an information system will inevitably lead to a restructuring of the existing business processes of the enterprise. Analysis of the functional model makes it possible to understand where the bottlenecks are, what the advantages of new business processes will be, and how deep the existing structure of business organization will undergo. Detailed business processes can identify weaknesses in an organization even where functionality at first glance seems obvious. Signs of imperfect activity can be useless, uncontrolled and duplicate work, inefficient workflow (the right document does not appear in the right place at the right time), the lack of feedback on management (the work is not dependent on the result) and input (objects or information are used irrationally) etc.
What gives the introduction of CIS?
The deficiencies found in the AS-IS model can be corrected when creating the TO-BE model (“as it will be”) - a model of a new organization of business processes. The TO-BE model is needed to assess the consequences of implementing CIS and to analyze alternative, including the best, ways of doing work and documenting how the enterprise will function in the future. As a rule, several TO-BE models are built, from which the best one is selected by some criterion (Fig. 3). For example, each of the TO-BE models may correspond to a specific information system.
The problem is that such criteria can be many and difficult to highlight the most important. In order to determine the effectiveness of business processes after the introduction of CIS, a metric system is needed, that is, quality should be quantified.
BPwin provides analytics with two tools for evaluating the model - Activity Based Costing (ABC) and User Defined Properties (UDP). ABC is a common technique used by international corporations and government organizations to identify cost drivers in an organization. Cost analysis is an accounting agreement used to collect costs associated with work in order to determine the total cost of the process. ABC is based on a work model, since quantification is not possible without a detailed understanding of the functionality of the enterprise. Typically, ABC is used in order to understand how the output costs add up, and to facilitate the selection of the desired model of work during the reorganization of the enterprise (Business Process Re-engineering, BPR). Using cost analysis, you can determine the actual cost of product production and customer support, identify the most expensive work (those that need to be improved in the first place), etc. in each of the AS-IS and TO-BE models. Consequently, cost analysis allows you to evaluate the consequences of the implementation of CIS and find out whether the information system will lead to increased productivity and economic effect, and to which one.
ABC can be carried out only when the work model is consistent (follows IDEF0 syntactic rules), correct (reflects the business), complete (covers the entire area under consideration) and stable (it passes the examination cycle without changes). This technique includes such concepts as a cost object (the reason why the work is performed; usually this is the main output of the work, the cost of the work is the cost of the cost objects), the cost driver (the characteristics of the inputs and controls of the work that affect how it is performed and how long the work lasts) and cost centers (cost centers can be interpreted as expense items).
When conducting a cost analysis in BPwin, the time and money units are first set, then the cost centers are described, and then for each work on the decomposition diagram, the duration, the frequency of this work as part of the overall process (frequency) and the amount of each cost center, that is, the cost of each work is set for each expense item. The costs of the parent work are defined as the sum of the costs of subsidiary work for each cost center. Such a rather simplified calculation principle is true if the work is performed sequentially. If the execution scheme is more complicated, you can refuse to count and set the total amounts manually or use the specialized EasyABC cost analysis tool. The results of the cost analysis are graphically presented on a special BPwin report - Activity Cost Report (ABC). ABC allows you to evaluate the cost and time characteristics of the system. If cost indicators are not enough, you can enter your own metrics - user-defined properties (UDP). Each work can be associated with a set of UDP and analyze the result in a special report Diagram Object Report.
What is the cost of implementing CIS?
AS-IS and TO-BE models allow you to describe the initial and final state of the enterprise - before and after the implementation of CIS, ignoring the very process of development (selection) and implementation. But since the implementation of the information system is also work, it is possible to use BPwin to create a model of this work (see the TO-BE ’model - in Fig. 3). The TO-BE ’model is not a model of an enterprise’s activity, but a model of measures to transfer an enterprise to a new technology of work, that is, to implement CIS. Using this model, with the help of cost analysis it is possible to estimate the amount of funds required for the acquisition / development and implementation of an information system. Such models can be built for the transition to various TO-BE models, that is, for the implementation of various CIS (both ready-made and custom-made) and choose the best option.
Does the CIS data structure support enterprise operations?
The answer to this question is possible if the company independently develops an information system or the data structure of the acquired information system is open and documented. The database should fully provide every function of the enterprise. In order to verify this, the data structure must be associated with a functional model. The data model can be created again or recreated from the existing information system using ERwin (Computer Associates) - a data design system (for more details, see the article "Tools for developing large information systems. Part 2" in ComputerPress No. 8'98, and also in the author’s book “BPwin and ERwin. CASE-tools for the development of information systems.” M., “Dialog-MEPhI, 1999).
The relationship of the functional model and the data model indicates the completeness of the analysis, guarantees the availability of a data source (entity) for all data needs (work). Associations of objects contribute to the consistency, correctness and completeness of the analysis.
The arrows in the BPwin functional model indicate specific information used in the simulated system. In ERwin, at the logical level of the data model, information is displayed in the form of entities (correspond to tables at the physical level) consisting of entity attributes (correspond to table columns). Entities consist of a set of separate records - instances of entities (correspond to entries in the table). Certain requirements are imposed on the data model (data normalization), which should ensure compactness and consistency of data storage. The basic idea of \u200b\u200bdata normalization is that each fact should be stored in one place. This leads to the fact that information, which is modeled as a single arrow in a functional model, can be contained in several entities and attributes in the data model. In addition, the diagram of the functional model may contain different arrows depicting the same data, but at different stages of processing (for example, unprocessed parts - machined parts - complete assembly). Information about such arrows is in the same entities. Consequently, several entities in a data model can correspond to the same arrow in a functional model, and, conversely, several arrows can correspond to one entity.
An arrow in a functional model can correspond to a separate entity in the data model. Arrow information can only be contained in a few entity attributes. Different attributes of the same entity can correspond to different arrows. In fig. 4, the arrow “New part” corresponds to the attributes “Part number” and “Name of the part”, the arrow “Cash amount” corresponds to the attributes “Quantity”.
Jobs in a functional model can create or modify data that matches incoming or outgoing arrows. They can act as a whole on entities (creating or modifying instances of an entity), as well as on individual attributes of an entity.
BPwin allows you to connect the elements of a data model created using ERwin, document the impact of work on data, and thereby allows you to create specifications for data access rights for each process.
Does the functionality of the CIS support the activities of the enterprise?
The developers of information systems in the process of creating software are faced with a number of difficult tasks. Working with object-oriented technologies for creating applications, they create client-server applications that must meet the requirements of reliability, manageability and high performance. The solution to these problems is possible only with the high efficiency of analysis and design. On the one hand, BPwin allows you to build an adequate model (work model) of existing processes in the enterprise (AS-IS), analyze this model and build a model of future processes (TO-BE). On the other hand, developers using object-oriented analysis and design tools such as Rational Rose by Rational Software or Paradigm Plus by Computer Associates can describe the functionality of an information system using Use Cases diagrams (Use Cases diagrams are part of an object-oriented language modeling of information systems UML, Unified Modeling Language). The business processes of modern enterprises and organizations are very complex. As a result of the analysis, activities and functions (use case) can be described, information about which was obtained from a variety of sources, therefore, synchronization of works and functions is necessary. Such synchronization allows you to identify the compliance of the information system with the real business processes of the enterprise and find out whether the implemented CIS will support the activities of the enterprise.
To connect the BPwin process model and the Paradigm Plus object model, the BpLink utility is used (Fig. 5), which is called as a separate program from the Paradigm Plus environment. The goal of integrating Paradigm Plus and BPwin models is to establish a logical connection between work (activity) and function (use case), which allows you to create a single technological chain - from business process analysis to generating application code, including a description of application requirements. BpLink helps to solve the following problems:
- import jobs and their hierarchy from BPwin to BpLink;
- import of functions (use case) from Paradigm Plus to BpLink;
- creating links between jobs and functions;
- report generation;
- export job information to Paradigm Plus;
- export feature information to BPwin.
The use of CASE-tools, especially in the early stages of the development and implementation of CIS, allows you to choose the most effective system from the market or to design a quality system to order, as well as to build the optimal implementation strategy for the selected or created CIS.
ComputerPress 9 "2001
Characteristics of the software market for the automation of the organization.
Properties of a corporate information system.
The concept of corporate information system.There are several approaches to the definition of “corporate information system”. KORUS IT holding specialists define CIS as a technology for making optimal management decisions in accordance with formalized management methods and rules, ensuring the collection, processing, storage, transmission and presentation of information to the extent necessary for decision-making. At the same time, CIS is simultaneously considered as a business tool by automating the main business processes (accounting, financial management, logistics, sales, marketing, management reporting, relations with customers and partners).
Under corporate information system (CIS) we will understand the organization’s information system that meets the following minimum list of requirements:
1. Functional completeness of the system:
– compliance with international management accounting standards MRP II, ERP, CSRP;
- automation within the framework of the system for solving planning, budgeting, forecasting, operational (managerial) accounting, accounting, statistical accounting and financial and economic analysis;
- the formation and maintenance of accounting simultaneously according to Russian and international standards;
- the number of once taken into account the parameters of the organization from 200 to 1000, the number of generated database tables - from 800 to 3000.
2 Localization of the information system:
– functional (taking into account the peculiarities of Russian legislation and the settlement system);
- linguistic (interface, help system and documentation in Russian).
3. Reliable information security system, including:
– password system for restricting access to data and implemented management functions;
- a multi-level system of data protection (means of authorization of input and corrected information, registration of time of input and data modification).
4. The implementation of remote access and work in distributed networks.
5. The availability of tools for adapting and maintaining the system:
- change in the structure and functions of business processes;
- changing the information space (changing the structure, adding and removing databases, modifying the fields of tables, relationships, indices);
- change of input interfaces, viewing and updating information;
- change in the organizational and functional content of the user's workplace;
- generator of arbitrary reports;
- generator of complex business operations;
- generator of standard forms.
6. Providing data exchange between previously developed information systems and other software products operating in the organization.
7. The ability to consolidate information:
– at the organization level - to combine the information of branches, holdings, subsidiaries of organizations included in the holding, etc .;
– at the level of individual tasks (planning, accounting, control, etc.);
– at the level of time periods - to perform an analysis of financial and economic indicators for a period exceeding the reporting one.
8. The presence of special tools for analyzing the state of the system during operation:
– analysis of database architecture;
– analysis of algorithms;
– analysis of statistics on the amount of processed information (the number of records, documents, postings);
– log of operations;
– list of working server stations;
– intrasystem mail analysis.
KIS is both a way to automate the activities of the organization and a tool for business management.
If we compare the advantages and disadvantages of domestic and Western corporate information systems, we can note the following. The undoubted advantages of Western ERP-systems include a clearly prescribed sequence of actions during production planning. However, they do not support the Russian standards of ESKD (Unified System of Design Documentation), ESTD (Unified System of Technological Documentation), and it is necessary to finalize the modules "Finance" and "Fixed Assets" taking into account national characteristics.
Russian CISs are much cheaper than Western ones, take into account Russian specifics, but not all can belong to the class of corporate systems.
2. Standards of corporate information system.Organization management systems for a fairly long period of development have gone from simple manual methods of accounting for material inventories and production resources to complex computer systems that claim to comprehensively cover the organization.
The interest in research in the field of inventory management was "ensured" by the active growth of large-scale and mass production of consumer goods and trade after the Second World War. In search of ways to improve the efficiency of organizations, practitioners and theorists of production management had to take their minds off from researching operations in production itself, which were based on the work of F. Taylor and G. Ford, and pay attention to the fact that the use of mathematical methods of demand planning and inventory management leads to significant savings frozen in the form of work in progress and at the same time prevents production disruptions due to lack of materials and components.
Since it is impossible to develop “absolutely optimal methods of inventory planning”, the researchers focused on the fact that it is necessary to choose and adapt algorithms to the specifics of specific warehouse tasks, depending on the production cycle or supply of stored items, cost, product sizes, packaging, applicability and demand, volumes warehouses, etc. It was found that the choice of the optimal volume of the order lot is one of the most important conditions for increasing the efficiency of the organization, since their insufficient volume leads to stu administrative costs for repeat orders and excess - the freezing of funds.
So the foundation was laid for modern management information systems. Next, we briefly consider their evolution and the essence of the most important of them.
Improving the management of an organization is inextricably linked to the standards of a corporate information system. Currently, the following main generally recognized CIS standards are distinguished:
1st standard - MRP (Material Requirement Planning) or material requirements planning. This standard applies to the 70s. XX century. The essence of the MRP standard is to minimize the costs associated with stocks and various production sites. The basic concept in this standard is the concept of a product specification (PTO - Bill Of Material), which shows the dependence of demand for raw materials, semi-finished products, etc., on the plan for the production of finished products. Based on the production plan, product specifications, and taking into account the characteristics of the technological chain, the calculation of production needs in materials is carried out. The disadvantage of this standard is the lack of accounting for capacity utilization, labor costs when calculating material requirements.
The starting point in the MRP method is the collection of data on orders for the organization’s products, as well as forecasting the demand for its products.
However, the main disadvantage of the method was that in its basic version the principle of unlimited load was laid down, ignoring the limited capacity.
2nd standard - MRP II(Manufacturing Resource Planning), or planning of production resources. This standard, which dates back to the 80s, is an MRP standard combined with elements of business process modeling and planning feedback developed for a specific type of production. The MRP II standard is more focused on medium-sized organizations.
MRP II is MRP planning plus features for managing warehouse, procurement, sales, finance, and manufacturing. Since the majority of funds in an industrial organization are somehow related to production or stocks, the use of the above functions makes it possible to include the functions of accounting and financial management in a single system. In addition, in a number of implementations of the MRP II concept, individual functions of personnel management as a production resource began to appear.
3rd standard - ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) or an organization’s resource planning system dates back to the 90s. It represents the implementation of the MRP II standard in conjunction with the financial planning module and is more universal because it can be installed both in industrial organizations and in service sector organizations (banks, insurance organizations, educational institutions).
- large;
- with a complex type of production;
- with an extensive branch network;
- with a wide range of products;
- with an increased volume of warehouse operations.
ERP in general terms can be considered as an integrated set of the following main subsystems:
- financial management;
- management of material flows;
- Production Management;
- project management;
- service management;
- quality control;
- personnel Management.
4th standard - CSRP (Customer Synchronized Resource Planning) or organization resource planning, synchronized to the consumer. This standard dates back to the late 90s. and represents the implementation of the ERP standard in conjunction with the automation of customer interaction. If the first three CIS standards are more focused on the organization’s internal business processes, then CSRP goes beyond the framework of a particular organization and focuses on external business processes.
One of the most recent (in terms of development) standards for managing production resources - CSRP (resource planning synchronized with the consumer) - was proposed by SYMIX. The essence is that when planning and managing the organization, it is possible and necessary to take into account not only the main production and material resources of the organization, but also all those resources that are usually considered as “auxiliary” or “overhead”. These are all the resources consumed during the marketing and “current” work with the client, after-sales service of goods sold, transshipment and servicing operations, as well as in-shop resources, i.e. the entire “functional” product life cycle. This is crucial to improve the organization’s competitiveness in industries where the product’s life cycle is small and it is required to respond quickly to changing consumer desires.
5th standard - ERP P (Enterprise Resource and Relationship Processing), or management of internal resources and external relations of the organization. By definition of the Gartner Group, ERP II is a corporate information system open to all participants acting in the field of common business interests.
Currently, the process of integrating ERP-systems with electronic business is under development. Nevertheless, two opposing ways of building new systems are already observed.
3. Properties of the corporate information system.Any corporate information system provides the ability to use "Reference models" - reference management and planning schemes developed for specific industries (fields of activity). Reference models take into account the experience of implementation in advanced organizations and include proven practice procedures and methods for organizing a business. The use of reference models allows the implementation of CIS in a particular organization to save time and money by using a debugged model for a similar industry (field of activity) type of production.
Corporate information systems have the property “Dynamic functionality”, which provides the possibility of a phased and smooth restructuring of the information system of the organization and implementation of CIS based on a single business model of the organization. At the same time, when commissioning new processes and control procedures, previously implemented system modules are not affected.
Another of the properties of CIS “Power scalability” which means maintaining operability and performing all functions of the corporate information system when changing the scale of the organization. For example, at the stage of implementation of CIS, 40 jobs were provided. With business growth, a larger number of jobs may be required - 120. If the system is scalable in terms of capacity, then its work will not be disrupted with an increase in the number of jobs, and all new jobs will have the same capabilities as the original 40.
The concept of building CIS in the economy provides for the presence of standard components:
1. The core of the system, providing comprehensive automation of a set of business applications, contains a complete set of functional modules for automating management tasks;
2. A workflow automation system within a corporation;
3. Auxiliary instrumental information processing systems (expert systems, training and decision-making systems, etc.) based on CIS data warehouses;
4. Software and hardware of the CIS security system;
5. Service communication applications (e-mail, remote access software);
6. Internet / intranet components for access to heterogeneous databases and information resources, services;
7. Office programs - text editor, spreadsheets, DBMS desktop class, etc.
8. Special purpose systems - computer-aided design (CAD) systems, automated process control systems (process control systems), banking systems, etc.
The core of each production system is embodied in it recommendations for production management. There are currently several sets of such recommendations. They are a description of the general rules by which the planning and control of the various stages of the corporation should be carried out. The following are some of the existing management technologies.
The main principles of building CIS include:
1. The principle of integration, which consists in the fact that the processed data is entered into the system only once and then reused to solve as many tasks as possible; the principle of one-time storage of information;
2. The principle of consistency, consisting in processing data in various sections, in order to obtain the information necessary for decision-making at all levels and in all functional sub-systems and divisions of a corporation; attention not only to sub systems, but also to the relationships between them; evolutionary aspect - all-stages of product evolution, the ability to develop must lie in the foundation of CIS;
3. The principle of complexity, which implies the automation of data conversion procedures at all stages of the corporation's product promotion.
Corporate information systems (CIS) for the management of medium and large enterprises are a necessary tool to increase the efficiency and transparency of business processes and provide centralized support for management decision-making at all levels and in all areas of the company’s business. Thus, the purpose of CIS (corporate information systems) is accounting, control, analysis and optimization of the financial and economic activities of the enterprise. They should have a flexible development tool that allows you to adapt the system to accounting in the enterprise. The goal of CIS is to provide managers and employees of the enterprise with comprehensive and high-quality information for making and monitoring the implementation of management decisions.
The corporate information system should provide:
An integrated approach to the composition of subsystems and tasks of automation of enterprise management;
The work of all program modules of the system in a single information space with the provision of the possibility of local work of individual subsystems, user groups and workstations;
Using a unified document management system, ensuring the principle of single data entry, the ability to use the system output documents as primary;
Possibility of simultaneous system maintenance of several enterprises, with the receipt of consolidated reports;
Ability to work with users serving different enterprises with unified or autonomous analytical directories;
Openness of information storage structures;
Possibilities of work in the conditions of distributed data processing;
The use of common software libraries in all subsystems with the support of a unified data processing technology and standardized interfaces.
In addition to these parameters, an important role in choosing CIS is played by the quick payback of the initial investment and ensuring a smooth transition from the old system to the new one.
Advances in information technology have made it possible to overcome the fundamental technical, software and instrumental problems of creating CIS. There are modern hardware and software platforms of the client-server architecture, tools for performing distributed parallel computing and controlling the computing process in heterogeneous networks, methods and tools for developing programs and databases that provide the ability to create open, portable, scalable applications and databases, and rapid development capabilities etc.
As an enterprise management tool, a corporate information system should be industry-oriented and should be a set of functional modules aimed at automating certain business processes. In the Russian market, such companies as KIS developers, such as SAP, Baan, Oracle, Computer Associates, IFS, Columbus IT Partners, IT, Atlant-Inform, Galaxy, Parus, Interface, Infosoft, etc., are best known.
In general, CIS is a complex and dynamic system with many objects and relationships. The process of its implementation in the enterprise is a very difficult task, the final result of which is far from always predictable.
The implementation process is accompanied by many negative factors that increase the risk of a negative result. To some extent, they are a consequence of the trends listed below in the use of information technology and the construction of CIS.
Information technology carries with it the need for a complete review of the principles and methods of doing business. For example, a significant increase in the speed of all processes occurring in the organization is required: staff training, decision making, interaction with suppliers and customers, etc. An increase in the speed of processes is achieved, including through their integration.
Most of the data in corporate information systems, based on the prevailing accounting procedure, relates to the assets and costs of the enterprise. Such information may be useful to the accountant and, to a much lesser extent, to the manager. Therefore, in recent years, more and more new concepts have been actively developing - taking into account economic chains, economic added value, rating evaluation system, network economy. Their appearance in many respects contributed to the rethinking of the value of information as an economic category. The information system should contain not only historical data, but also forecast and planned data for the future.
Since the main risks for the enterprise are concentrated in the external environment (the main risk is the loss of demand for the company's products), the information system should contain a significant amount of data characterizing the external environment. This information, as a rule, is more difficult to formalize and unambiguous perception. Accordingly, there is a shift from automation to informatization. The procedures for processing incoming data become less algorithmic and, accordingly, more creative.
The trend towards the widespread use of information management systems in the context of the intellectualization of most areas of activity is shifting competition to the field of personnel management. In modern management, there is a transition from traditional forms of personnel management to the development of creative resources of each employee in the framework of the formation of design and target groups and self-governing teams. The best personnel and a higher corporate culture than competitors are today the most important factors that enable effective management of various risks.
The specifics of Russian business and the difference from developed Western countries also lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of personnel at Russian enterprises have a very low business culture. The reason is obvious the long-term functioning of enterprises in the conditions of an administrative-command system and a pseudo-market economy. This feature cannot be ignored when implementing CIS.
It should be noted that it is not necessary during the implementation of CIS to strive to solve 100% of the problems. It is economically feasible to create a system that resolves 80% of problems for Pareto for minimal money.
