Answer to Question #251051 in Management for tanmay

Question

Suthar Timber Merchants in Patiala, India, features a large selection of building supplies, 

including timber, fencing and decking, moldings, hardwood flooring, sheet materials, 

windows, doors, ironmongery, and other materials. The prices of building materials are 

constantly changing. When a customer asks about the price on fixtures, fittings, hangings, 

and other items, sales representatives consult a manual price sheet and then call the 

supplier for the most recent price. The supplier in turn uses a manual price sheet, which 

has been updated each day. Often, the supplier must call back Suthar's sales reps because 

the company does not have the newest pricing information immediately on hand. Assess 

how the use of ERP systems/ softwares can help the business improve their situation. 

Identify the cons of implementing the ERP solution/ software solution for Suthar Timber 

Merchants do to avoid a failure in the implementation.

Answer 1

Enterprise Resource Planning system plays an imperative role as it improves overall business productivity through managing efficiently all the resources of Suthar Timber Merchant. Employees across the Merchants can access shared data and information without the need to maintain manual records. Everyone can access the data immediately, hence the company management can take significant decisions quickly and eliminates duplication during manual sheets entry. ERP integrates and analyse important financial data. It also uplift the productivity and lessen delays in the Timber Merchants. The cons of implementing the ERP solution in the Merchant is; high cost of software installation for example the initial software investment is high especially when moving from other older systems to ERP. Also the Merchant will take a lot of time to train its employees and detracts from everyday business operations. Migration of data from old sheet to ERP is difficult. Data migration can be overwhelming, but working with an experienced ERP implementation specialist can streamline the process and provide recommendations for completion. Another con is customization may be required to meet Suthar Timber Merchant's particular business needs.