Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Course Description

The purpose of the course is to understand issues related—directly or indirectly—to Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP).

The course has both theoretical and practical orientation, aiming to familiarize students with related theoretical concepts on the one hand and the use of software solutions (SAP & NAV ERPs) that are globally widespread and adopted by companies and organizations across all economic sectors (industries) on the other.

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP) are a compact set of software applications that support a wide range of business activities and functions and serve as a business tool for controlling, monitoring, and coordinating operations in the central and remote facilities of a company. They achieve data centralization, the unification and integration of all a company's applications, and the redesign of business processes, aiming to optimize operations, increase productivity, and gain a competitive advantage using new information technologies. For modern businesses in the Information Society, ERPs are the core pillar of the transactional information infrastructure that enables companies and organizations to respond to the demands and challenges of economic activity within the framework of globalization.

The course is structured into the following units:

• Introduction to ERP systems
• Business Processes
• ERP Systems Implementation
• ERP Technological Infrastructure
• Production Planning and ERP
• Financial Management
• SAP ERP Introduction & case studies
• Microsoft NAV

The course content includes the following main thematic units:

• The product and the services it offers. The evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems. Technological overview with emphasis on modern approaches to system architecture. Representation of business events in database structures. The functionality offered by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems. ERP systems as integrated information systems that support business processes.
• The implementation and application project. ERP systems as a turn-key project. ERP solution selection. Implementation methodologies. Critical success factors.
• The evolution of a 'live' system.
• The transition to E-Business, ERP software platforms and communities. ERP as a new channel for business communications. Extension of ERP systems for coordination of suppliers and customers of businesses. ERP software platforms and communities.

Learning Outcomes

The expected learning outcomes, upon completion of the course, are the acquisition of knowledge in the following key areas:

• The "ERP" product and the services it offers supporting business processes
• Factors and parameters of ERP implementation and application projects
• The evolution of ERP systems
• ERPs, e-business, ERP software platforms and communities: Contemporary trends in transition and transformation.