Further data are presented on the efficacy of our SAP process‐oriented research methodology, which focuses on analyzing collaboration across multiple overlapping SAP solutions. Looks at three SAP projects currently being implemented in the US Navy. The projects focus on aviation weapon system program management, aviation supply and maintenance, and naval maritime maintenance. Collaboration was complex and difficult to achieve, given the scope of the project but desirable if it was cost‐effective. The research hypothesis was that development and execution of a methodology for analyzing the gaps and overlaps across multiple SAP software instances to assess collaboration or convergence potential were possible. It was concluded that collaboration was not cost‐effective, and that the three projects should be merged into two SAP solutions (both solutions were version 4.6c of the R/3 software). Results did not provide a general approach for merging SAP projects, but an analytical approach that could be used to analyze convergence possibilities for stand‐alone SAP solutions is provided. It is not believed that a general approach is achievable. There are millions of configuration possibilities and many unique project characteristics. Hence the analytical approach is somewhat general but general convergence principles are beyond the scope of this research.
[1]
Thomas R. Gulledge,et al.
Public sector enterprise resource planning
,
2003,
Ind. Manag. Data Syst..
[2]
Thomas Gulledge,et al.
What is integration?
,
2006,
Ind. Manag. Data Syst..
[3]
Kostas S. Metaxiotis,et al.
Integrating industrial maintenance strategy into ERP
,
2003,
Ind. Manag. Data Syst..
[4]
August-Wilhelm Scheer,et al.
ARIS Toolset: A Software Product is Born
,
1994,
Inf. Syst..
[5]
David C. Yen,et al.
Exploring the rationales for ERP and SCM integration
,
2002,
Ind. Manag. Data Syst..
[6]
August-Wilhelm Scheer,et al.
ARIS - Business Process Frameworks
,
1998
.
[7]
August-Wilhelm Scheer,et al.
ARIS - Business Process Modeling
,
1998
.
[8]
Dr. Mathias Kirchmer.
Business Process Oriented Implementation of Standard Software
,
1999,
Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
[9]
Young B. Moon,et al.
Enhancing ERP system's functionality with discrete event simulation
,
2005,
Ind. Manag. Data Syst..
[10]
Thomas Teufel,et al.
Sap R/3 Process Oriented Implementation
,
1998
.
[11]
T. Hillman Willis,et al.
Extending the value of ERP
,
2002,
Ind. Manag. Data Syst..