NIBCO'S "Big Bang"

NIBCO's "Big Bang" (Name) (University) (Course) (Tutor) (Date) In 1994, exactly three years prior to the Go-Live date, NIBCO, a mid-sized firm based in Indiana, sought to transform its information technology systems. The subsequent critical strategic planning process laid the ground for the identification and implementation an elaborate ERP system CITATION Car12 \l 1033 (Brown & Vessey, 2012). This paper analyses why NIBCO`s sought to implement the project, merits and demerits of the ‘big bang` approach as well as the manner in which the project was managed, besides providing recommendations. The decision to implement an organizational-wide ERP system in NIBCO was motivated by several reasons. To begin with, the company was motivated by the desire to develop capacity to meet the growing needs of its customers. To achieve this, the management identified a cross-functional panel to reengineer the supply chain processes throughout the firm. Secondly, the decision was also motivated by the realization that the prevailing information systems hindered efficiency and thus they were inadequate for the prosperity of the organization. This was due to the incompatibility and deterioration of the existing reporting tools and legacy systems. For instance, applications such as the manufacturing package were being run on Hewlett Packard platform, while the accounting system and the distribution package ran on the IBM platform. This hindered communication between the distribution, sales and the marketing departments CITATION Car12 \l 1033 (Brown & Vessey, 2012). Thirdly, the decision was also motivated by the management`s perception that the company was information poor and hence, the ERP system would help free the firm from the limiting information systems it had at the time. Fourthly, the company viewed the implementation of an ERP system as an opportunity to develop and enhance its global reach capabilit...