CISM $4000$ Information Systems in Accounting

Assessment $2$

$$Response to Request $-$ For $-$ Proposal $($RFP$)$ for an ERP System$$

Aim:

This assessment is designed to give you the opportunity to learn about ERP systems and to

make decisions based on your investigation.

Assessment:

The assignment contains two connected parts:

$1.$ Slide Deck $10\%$

$2.$ Presentation $20\%$

Assignment Facts

Innovatek Water Solutions Pty Ltd $($IWS$),$ a medium$-$sized specialist pump supply and water

treatment company with a turnover of $$75$ million per year, is considering the purchase

of an ERP system.

As they have an urgent need to update their accounting system, they plan on purchasing an

ERP financial module as the first step and then over time, they plan on integrating this

module as part of a larger ERP rollout through the company.

Kieren Pembroke, the CEO of IWS recently issued a request for proposal $($RFP$)$ to a number

of ERP vendors.

To assist the vendors in the preparation of their responses, Kieren has provided the

following information:

$$ IWS was founded by Kieren$$s father $($Peter Pembroke$)$ in $1979.$ Even though Peter is

now in his $70$s$,$ he still plays an important figurehead role in the company and will

have influence in the choice of vendor. Kieren has emphasised that whilst the

presentation materials be to a high professional standard, it is imperative that they

clearly and simply articulate the benefits of the new system and don$$t just contain

$$cut and paste$$ from the company$$s website as his father would be very

disappointed by such an approach.

$$ The current IT systems could best be described as $$home grown$$ and have become

increasingly difficult to maintain. These systems support the major accounting

functions including: sales order processing, inventory control, accounts receivable,

accounts payable and the general ledger. These applications use multiple legacy file

systems which create both data redundancy as well as data inconsistencies. As could

be expected from such a $$home grown$$cobbled together$$ system, almost no

documentation is available, and it is difficult to produce management reports.

$$ Many of IWS$$s competitors have adopted or are adopting fully integrated ERP

systems that enable web$-$based front ends for order processing, order tracking and

order follow$-$up$.$ However, IWS$$s back$-$office systems are in disarray, and they cannot

offer these services to their clients. One of their largest clients has indicated that

they will shift their business to IWS$$s main competitor Vincent Water Technologies

$($VWT$)$ if IS cannot provide a similar $($or better$)$ level of service to the current level of

service being offered by VWT$.$

$$ Ideally the selected ERP system will support HR$,$ materials procurement and

Customer Relationship Management. It is anticipated that these capabilities will

eventually be implemented in subsequent phases.

$$ IWS currently has approximately $25$ computers $($including laptops$),$ uses a Windows

based network system and has a Hewlett Packard server that supports the legacy

systems.

$$ IWS is currently uncertain about the exact budget they should allocate for the new

financial module of the ERP system. To ensure the budget is appropriately set, they

have requested that shortlisted vendors provide guidance on the total costs,

including necessary upgrades in hardware, software, and networking facilities. This

feedback will help the company establish a realistic budget for the project, ensuring

all critical components are adequately funded

Kieren has also indicated to the ERP Vendors that whilst price will be an obvious

consideration, their proposal will be evaluated using the following selection criteria:

Selection Criteria