ERP and SCM are two important systems for any organization. ERP is concerned with the internal data generated by various departments of an organization, whereas the scope of SCM is extended beyond the boundary of the organization. SCM dealswithboth internal as well asexternal stakeholders of the organization. ERP is more of task based whereas SCM consists of many processes that are relationship based. Both the systems deliver immense values to the organizations individually. But if the organizations want to derive the maximum benefit from these two valuable business models, then a common understanding should be in place. A fully integrated model, though is very much desirable, has not been successful till date. Organizations have to deal with multiple challenges in order to have a fully integrated SCM and ERP system.
This study has been conducted to identify the issues to develop an integrated model that can provide more value to the organizations. The objectives of the study are to analyse the role of Enterprise Resource Planning in the enhancement of operations within the organizations of SCM in Indian Industry, to analyse the role of ERP in the enhancement of external processes of SCM in Indian Industry., to analyse the support of ERP towards the Supply Chain Management Operations of SCM in Indian Industry, to analyse the role of ERP in the decision making in of SCM in Indian Industry, to analyse the impact of ERP and SCM in the age of digital disruption of SCM in Indian Industry.
The population of the study are the employees working in the organizations, in Kolkata region, where both SCM and ERP are in place. For the purpose of the study two groups of employees belonging to middle and lower management level were selected. The sampling method used for the purpose of this study is Snowball Sampling. By taking leads from the first organization, subsequent organizations were selected. In this process 16 organizations were identified. A total of 348 samples were collected out of the total 800 questionnaires those were distributed. Data has been collected from the employees with help of a structures questionnaire and has been analysed with appropriate statistical tools to find out the desired objective.
In total 12 hypotheses have been framed and each of the hypotheses is judged with the help of independent t test. The result shows that out of the 12 hypotheses, 7 are such where null hypotheses stand rejected and alternative hypotheses stand accepted. Rejection of null hypothesis means, there is a significant difference between two groups of employees with respect to a said variable. On the other hand, 5 hypotheses are such where null hypotheses are accepted. This means, against each of such hypotheses both the target groups have similar opinions and there is no significant difference between the two groups of employees. The findings show that middle level management are more in favour of 7 statements related to ERP and SCM; viz. “ERP is important to an organization”, “ERP based SCM helps to improve the efficiency of the employees”, “ERP based SCM helps to track the logistic arrangements”, “lack of trust among the employees and supply chain partners is a problem”, “information technology support is essential for successful implementation of the ERP based SCM”, “poor ICT infrastructure is a problem for successful implementation of ERP based SCM system”, “lack of training and education among the employees as well as the supply chain partners is a problem for successful implementation of ERP based SCM”. The findings also shows that there is no difference in opinion between the two employee groups with respect to 5 of the statements viz. “employees are not willing to accept any kind of changes”, “lack of motivation and employee involvement is a problem for successful implementation of ERP based SCM”, “lack of management skills and knowledge is a problem for successful implementation of ERP based SCM system”, “ERP based SCM system does not provide any kind of financial gains to the organizations”, “ERP based SCM may not be able to measure the productivity of the employees”.
SCM and ERP should go hand in hand to create a more effective organization. There is a need to improve the organizational performance with the help of technology application. The objective of the research has a direct link with the research findings as it helps to establish the linkage between ERP software and SCM. These two are most effective mechanism to reduce the cost of operation of anyorganization whoare very much active inimproving the performancein acompetitive environment. The study is also able to address the research questions set in this research. Vendor linkage is another area of concern that needs attention. There is an increase in organizational efficiency if the system is properly integrated. Onlyunderstanding the basic toolswill notsuffice thepurpose. Everystakeholders should have adequate interest in the new system that is to be implemented. The organizations who have already implemented the system are more on advantageous position; now it's time for other organizations who are till date not very much interested in the technology orientation because of initial involvement of cost. Things should be seen on a broader perspective and necessary changes should be made accordingly.
