Library+-+Enterprise+information+systems+(CRM,+SCM,+ERP,+etc.)

Enterprise Information Systems Library 70-451 Library > Enterprise Information Systems Library

Overview: < >

Library Entries:


 * Title**: Will Google Enter the CRM Market?
 * Author**: [|Lauren Carlson]
 * Link**: [| http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/crm/will-google-enter-the-crm-market-1020911/]


 * Core ideas**:
 * Google targeted personal productivity and collaboration like G-mail and Docs and introduced Google Apps Marketplace.
 * Google has the all the signs and the ability that allow them to enter the CRM Market. The most important aspects of CRM that Google possess is how well they manage relationship.
 * If Google enters the CRM Market, would they have the capability to build it or would they buy it from another vendor?

The article raises a very important question about Google next step. Since Google have already created G-mail, Docs, Calendar, their own app market place and most recently they introduced the new social media Google Plus. Google has a phenomenal way of expanding, and if they decided to dig deeper into the Enterprise software, they will introduce a new way of doing things in the Enterprise system. One of the points that was mentioned in the article was about CRM being the number 1 most searched-for term in the App Marketplace. So people are demanding for Google CRM and this made me think twice about Google. If Google knew the increase in the demand for Google CRM, why are not they fulfilling their customers’ demand? Are their constraints or risk that holds them from taking this step? Because, I believe that there are no big constraints that holds them back. In fact they have all the resources they need, and they can do it in an extraordinary way. I think Google needs to act fast about this matter, so they would not gain unsatisfied customers.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Fatima Al-Khayat, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title:** Social CRM Market will reach $1B in revenue by 2012
 * Author:** Leena Rao
 * Link:** []


 * Core Ideas:**
 * Marketing and its effects on social CRM
 * Public social networks and internal collaborative communities; the relationship
 * Growth of social enterprise

Today social CRM is very essential and at times the key to success for good companies. It is very complicated for companies to maintain and develop a good SCM or SCRM system at their offices. Hence, we should always ensure that CRM is prioritized with other goals since its market is very competitive and tends to grow. The $1b estimation isn't that big of an amount for the area under discussion as social media is a very powerful tool and has empowered customers in no better way. Anyway, the demand for social CRM is very high and the suppliers haven't met it. This right here is the basic economic problem.
 * Commentary:**


 * Entry History:**
 * [MUGHEES AHMED, initial post on Oct. 20, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title: ** Amazon Knows What You Like

** Author(s) ** : Allison Linn
**Link or reference information**: [] **Core ideas**


 * The article talks about how Amazon collects data and uses it to analyze it’s customers’ tastes and purchasing habits.
 * The article also points out how that could lead to some privacy violation issues or “knowing too much” about a person
 * Amazon’s uniqueness does not lie in how much data they collect or over what time span it’s collected, but rather in the way Amazon uses that data to create information and then uses the information to create good analysis, which is where most of it’s value lies.

Amazon is considered one of the best businesses at collecting customer data. Yes, the information extracted from this data, as well as the Analysis done on using that information are where most of Amazon’s value is. The information Amazon collects helps them decide on what products to sell and to whom these products are sold. Even more importantly, the information is most useful when suggesting items to customers (cross-selling and up-selling)
 * Commentary ** :


 * Entry history ** :
 * [Firas Bata, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

** T itle: ** Technogym Wellness System [www.technogym.com]
**Author(s)**: [|TechnogymSpa] **Link or reference information**: []
 * Core ideas **
 * Introduces a new CRM system developed by Technogym
 * Discusses some of the features the system can do
 * Explains how this system is used and what benefits it brings to the customer and the business

**Commentary**: Thechnogym’s CRM system (Wellness system) is something I would personally love to use. As a customer, the system makes it easier for me to access the gym facilities, plan a workout schedule, set goals, and so forth. A system like this is an excellent example of how a CRM system can lead to increased customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. This system does not only make the customer experience a more enjoyable one, it also provides a great deal of information for the business(Customer attendance, trends, helps the business identify dropout-risk customers, etc..). Having said that, If we look back at the arguments of "IT doesn't matter" and using the same argument, for how long will this give technogym a competitive advantage considering that it is not that difficult to copy?


 * Entry history**:
 * [Firas Bata, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title**: Marketing Management
 * Author(s)**: Philip Kotler
 * Reference information**: Kotler, Philip. "Creating Long-Term Loyalty Relationships." //Marketing Management.// Canadian 13th ed. Toronoto, Ontario: Pearson Canada, 2009. 169-170. Print.


 * Core ideas**
 * Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System is a powerful tool for building successful customer loyalty and rewards programs.
 * Companies, such as Nordstrom, who are interested in up-selling and cross-selling should use their CRM to set up a criteria that describes the ideal target customer for each particular offer.

The case study is a prime example of how CRM can develop and deepen customer loyalty. Nordstrom has used its massive customer database to reward customers on four different levels based on their spending; their rewards vary between offering basic complimentary alterations to receiving private shopping trips complete with pre-stocked dressing rooms in the customer’s specific size and even access to exclusive packages, including red carpet events. This customer-focus approach has reaped great benefits for the company and its brand/image.
 * Commentary**:

We have to remember though, that CRM is not only limited to giving customers rewards, it is the integration of the software and the heavy research which goes into figuring out the needs of the customers and acting upon them before the competitors.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Maryam Al-Subaie, initial post on Oct. 16, 2011]
 * [Nahan Arif, Oct. 17, 2011]


 * Title**: Customer Relationship Management
 * Author(s)**: No specific Author identified (Business Link- Company)
 * Link or reference information**: []


 * Core ideas:**
 * In this competitive dynamic economy, it is becoming essential to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order to develop a strong personal bond with them.
 * A successful CRM relies on the use of technology.
 * Once the business takes care of its existing customers effectively, the business can start to seek out to new potential customers in order to expand their market.

This website explores in much useful details of what a CRM is, why is it used, how is it used and what benefits or drawbacks does it provide to the company as a whole. It highlights how developing your customer relations with your existing customers can lead to immense benefits such as: ability to cross-sell more effectively, better knowledge anticipated needs, identification of profitable customers with the non-profitable, enhanced customer satisfaction and retention which may lead to overall increased profitability. In short, this link is a great example of how CRM may help a business to recognize the value of their customers and to fully utilize the improvements in customer relations. Although CRM may take a lot of time and money, at the end of the day it is worth the effort.
 * Commentary**:

I think the website provides good information about the benefits of CRM to the company, and how CRM helps the company to value their customers and their customer relations through a great effort and use of technology which of course at the end, as Nahan's mentioned ,will be worth it.
 * Commentary**:
 * Entry history**:
 * [Nahan Arif, initial post on Oct. 17, 2011]
 * [Dua'a Althabatah, Oct. 17, 2011]


 * Title**: What is CRM?
 * Author(s)**: Discover Sugar CRM (business website)
 * Link or reference information**: []

The video defines what is CRM first and explains how the customers were first as prospects and that their information such as name, phone number, email and email address will affect the business and influence sales process such as their title or their time that they have been using their services. Also, the video provides with so many benefits that the CRM systems offer to any organization, such as helps all department to connect with each other on one solid customer base. And also to give the organization a better view of their customers and their information which will help them a lot.
 * Core ideas:**
 * An important benefit that CRM brings to an organization is: CRM helps and benefits all business departments, all the department in the company will work together linked on one centralized base and view of customer efficiently.
 * CRM implementation allows to capture information about people who visit your website, allows you to automate the process in your company from the sales stages to managers approval to the communications with customers. Also, CRM helps in attracting and retaining customers.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Dua'a Althabatah, initial post on Oct. 17, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

__

**Author(s):** Jamie Grenney **Link or reference information**: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI1cxXNoy4s&feature=related **Commentary:** The raise use of Facebook, twitter and other social medias can give companies the opportunity to learn more about their customers, engage more often and reach out to their online networks for honest feedback. This will also provide customers the chance to contact the company easily and effectively, and learn more about the products and services offered by the company. The number of subscribers, number of twitter mentions, or video views can measure the success of social MRC.
 * Title:** What is Social CRM
 * Core ideas**:
 * The broad shift in Internet usage led for the term "Social CRM" to be applied in business..
 * Traditional CRM captures phone calls, emails, and notes from meetings, but lack the customer ownership conversation. Social CRM bridge the gap between them both.
 * Businesses can combine the CRM data with insight from the community and social media channels to get a complete view of the customer.

This is a very interesting type of CRM system that we haven't particularly discussed much in class. I think this is a crucial CRM system that many businesses often disregard. With the incline of many businesses towards e-commerce, using a social CRM to analyze customer's buying habits, trends, preferences, and so on could be very beneficial to the business. Businesses could use the data collected through this to make strategic decisions such as the choice of products offered and the marketing strategies to use when marketing these products.
 * Commentary:**


 * Entry history**:
 * [Al-Jawhra Al-Mana, initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [Firas Bata, Oct. 19, 2011]

__ http://www.destinationcrm.com/Articles/Columns-Departments/Insight/You-Want-Fries-With-That-CRM-44385.aspx
 * Title:** You want Fries with that CRM?
 * Author(s)**: Martin Shneider
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Core Ideas**: McDonald's sales have extremely succeeded, and this is due to their efficient use of their CRM system. For instance, McDonald's has implemented several CRM strategies to increase their customer base. These include the following strategies:
 * using kiosks, allowing "McDonald's to increase capacity, taking more customers' orders than before."
 * offering Wi-Fi services at their stores nationwide

These strategies have enabled McDonald's to increase their customer base, attract a different type of customers. For instance, it was noted that offering Wi-Fi in McDonald chains was risky. However, McDonald's saw it as a great opportunity to attract traveling executives to make McDonald's a more welcoming environment. With Wi-Fi, traveling executives can use the Wi-Fi at McDonald's and maybe even set up meetings due to McDonald's several strategic locations.

Using better technology as the kiosk has allowed employees to take in more orders from customers, making the process of ordering a faster and more enjoyable process. McDonald's has also set up these kiosks for customers to input their own order, making lines shorter and orders faster.


 * Commentary**: McDonalds's has always been praised for their use of CRM, emphasizing that good CRM models can help a company succeed forward immensely. This is exactly what McDonald's done, implement new and innovate CRM techniques that will allow them to have a larger customer base. They have definitely succeed in this. We have all heard this phrase "Would you like some fries to go with that burger." McDonald's has taken this simple way of cross-selling to their customers, by using more efficient technological ways to improve their CRM system.

The article exemplifies how Customer Relationship Management helps in developing better communication channels that simplify marketing and sales processes. It is also a good illustration of how CRM systems facilitate cross-selling to increase revenues.
 * Commentary ** :


 * Entry history**:
 * [Al-Muftah, Abdullrahman initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [Maryam Al-Subaie, Nov. 7th, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

__

http://www.rfidprivacy.org/wal-marts-supply-chain-management-and-rfid.htm
 * Title:** Walmart's Supply Chain Management and RFID
 * Author(s)**: No specific author mentioned (organization; Security Software Resource
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Core Ideas:** Walmart succeeds in managing costs, due to the effective SCM system they have implemented. "Walmart RFID saves Wal Mart over half a billion dollars annually, by letting it transport products at just the right time and to just the right places."

RFID systems have allowed Walmart to effectively track down shipment of products that it has ordered from its suppliers, constantly track down the status of the goods ordered, and have the ability to know immediately when a shipment has arrived using the RFID system. All of this, allows Walmart to reduce their inventory costs, guaranteeing that the time products arrive from the time they are shelved is extremely minimal. Walmart's SCM system is exceptionally success with the use of the RFID, making certain that the following steps are carried through:
 * forcing suppliers to attach the RFID tags to every product Walmart has ordered
 * RFID is able to notify Walmart immediately at the time when each product arrives
 * This signal is able to notify Walmart's "supply chain management and inventory database," that a list of products are now in stock and ready to be shelved
 * Walmart's use of the RFID helps its SCM system determine the length that products remain in inventory, and how long it takes for a product to remain "shelved."
 * Customer spending is also monitored with this SCM device.


 * Commentary:** Walmart's SCM methods of helping them acquire information about their products, their suppliers, and inventory has without a doubt helped Walmart succeed forward and beat out its competitors. Although there are several retail stores offering the same services and products that Walmart has, their successful implementation of this SCM system have definitely given the company a competitive advantage. This goes to show, that companies using methods to help them track down their products, make sure suppliers are delivering on time, and guaranteeing that inventory costs will remain almost obsolete, can only happen with a successful SCM system where the company can gather all this information. This is exactly what a SCM system aims to do, and Walmart has undeniably spent a great amount of time developing the best SCM system to fit their needs.


 * Entry history**:
 * [Al-Muftah, Abdullrahman initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

__


 * Title ** : << Starbucks caffeinates sales with a shot of CRM >>


 * Author(s) ** : << //Contributed by Tracy Kollker// >>


 * Link or reference information ** : << [] >>


 * Core ideas ** After two quarters of declining sales, Starbucks decided to introduce five new initiatives to restore the company with its true identity. Starbucks launched CRM systems that allowed it to better understand and serve its customer's needs. This attracted more customers and maintained current customers by rewarding them.


 * ** "Third Place": ** By employing these CRM tactics, Starbucks managed to achieve its position coming in at third place after the home and the work place. It managed to understand what type of atmosphere customers wanted to feel relaxed, content and at ease.
 * ** A loyalty rewards program: ** Customers buy the card and register it online. Card holders get the advantage of receiving free refills on coffee, free Wi-Fi access for a number of hours per day, and “on the house” upgrades.
 * ** [|MyStarbucksIdea.com] **** : ** This website replicates the idea of a blog. On this website customers can post, discuss and vote for different category ideas such as the actual coffee, the ambiance, the food, the music, etc. Forty-eight Starbucks employees will respond to customer’s posts and will then propose the suggestions posted by customers to upper management.
 * ** Better understanding core customers: ** It’s a smart way to “get to know” customers through direct communication. This system creates a means to increasing purchases, monitoring and enhancing overall customer experience.
 * ** Creating a customer-feedback protocol: ** It is a system, which collects customer opinion and comments and processes this information. This helps in Starbucks decision-making process by integrating its customer’s ideas into the overall business model. Moreover, using this system, Starbucks aims to create “ a sense of involvement in the experience and overall ownership and participation by the customer.”

At Starbucks, it is really helpful to acquire customer’s information to adapt and shape products to their desired tastes and likes, thus increasing customers and customer value. The approach that Starbucks procured really made them rise above others to become the market leaders. I believe this article is very interesting and useful to showcase how CRM systems can benefit a company. Moreover, it illustrates the importance of CRM systems that even Starbucks—the famous, enormous business—decided to take a “shot of CRM”. Although the article does not show the effects of the CRM systems, but it is clearly evident that Starbucks has gained a immense percentage of the market share and continues to growing, creating value for customers through the use of CRM systems.
 * Commentary ** :

This is a very good article which clearly states how CRM models can certainly help companies to re-position themselves to a higher level. Through dedicating themselves into knowing more about their customers and their needs and wants, Starbucks was able to become a more competitive company. While some companies do not take their customers needs and preferences into account since they believe that it is a waste of time, Starbucks gives us a live and working example of how they have become such a success worldwide through maturing their relationship with their customers.
 * Commentary: **

[Nasser Al Khori, initial post on Oct. 18, 2011] [Nahan Arif, November 16, 2011]
 * Entry history ** :

_


 * Title**: Exploring the rationales for ERP and SCM integration


 * Author(s)**: J. Michael Tarn, David C. Yen, Marcus Beaumont


 * Link or reference information**:http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=0263-5577&volume=102&issue=1&articleid=850062&show=html


 * Core ideas**:


 * **Major issues associated with ERP solutions:** The implementation of ERP systems require a lot of time and money. One of the major costs that company's tend to ignore is the cost of training. It takes a lot of money to train your whole staff to use a completely new system.
 * **ERP is the backbone of SCM:** Having a good ERP system allows the corporations to improve their SCM. They will be able to better communicate with their partners.
 * **Integrating ERP and SCM helps firms to get a competitive edge and to maintain sales:** The three main integrating methods are conformity, middleware and special integration software.


 * Commentary**: The article is very comprehensive. The authors tackle really important issues relating to SCM and ERP systems that many organizations appear to be ignoring. Firstly, it covers the individual issues of both SCM and ERP. Then it moves into the costs that each of them incorporate and how some corporations tend to overlook some of them and end up paying more than they have anticipated. The integration of ERP and SCM is very crucial for corporations. It helps them to better connect with their affiliates in a more efficient manner. Also, integrating both systems will help organizations in attaining a competitive advantage.


 * Entry history**:


 * [Walied El Hag Ali, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]

_


 * Title**:The Impact of Customer Relationship Management


 * Author(s)**:Satoshi Ueno

[]
 * Link or reference information**:


 * Core ideas**
 * CRM is not a system but a philosophy
 * Not all companies need to have a CRM

The author has a strong opinion of the usage of CRM, where he beleives that it is not being used correctly. In the articke he goves a breif history of how busineses sold and how the kept their relations with customers, then he descibes the preseant where he highlights the issues of CRM such as privacy concerns, and finally he gives his message of how CRM should be used in the future.
 * Commentary**:

This is a very insightful article. What I found particularly interesting is where the author lists the "four perils of CRM". The author's analysis stresses the importance of planning a cohesive strategy before implementing CRM technology in a company as it is a common issue that many companies have faced.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Khadeejah Al-Husseiny, initial post on Oct. 18, 2011]
 * [Maryam Al-Thani, November 18, 2011]

_
 * Title**:What is Supply Chain Management? (ASU-WPC-SCM)


 * Author(s)**: author not provided (Arizona State University, Carey School of Business, Depatment of Supply Chain Management)

[]
 * Link or reference information**:


 * Core ideas**
 * Introduces the field of supply chain management.
 * Describes the complex supply chain of a simple product

This video is the first module of a series of Supply Chain Management. It is a simple way of explaing the complexity of Supply Chain Management through simple examples. in this vdeo they describe bottled water and how it is manufactured and the details involved and how the business operates.
 * Commentary**:

I really liked his simple and creative way in explaining what the SCM is. Using water as an example was an effective way to let the audience get the idea of how coming up with a product is a long process, especially for water with consideration of its availability and cheapness.
 * Commentary:**
 * Entry history**:
 * [Khadeejah Al-Husseiny, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [Aisha Al-Zaman, Oct. 19, 2011]

[]
 * Title: ** How System Relationship Management System Can be of Benefit to Your Business.
 * Author(s) ** : Roger Trapp
 * Link or reference information ** :


 * Core Ideas: **
 * The core idea of this article illustrates the fundamental idea of knowing, understanding, and forecasting customers’ wants and needs through implementing effective CRM systems. It is easier for smaller businesses to understand and reach out to its customers than, say, larger chain businesses. Moreover, the use of CRM systems is the key to the success of small to medium-sized businesses. **


 * Main arguments: **
 * In smaller businesses, the link between the customer and person dealing with the customer is short, most often it would be the same person that would be making the decisions. It is also easier to understand customer’s needs and wants because of their regular purchases and “face to face” relationships with business managers and business employees.
 * Big companies on the other hand, seek this knowledge and understanding of customers which is why the adopted CRM systems. Moreover, CRM systems allow for the collection of data to be relatively easy and "it is more of a business philosophy than a technical solution to assist in dealing with customers effectively and efficiently".
 * CRM: cannot be measured as simply as a technology. Also, CRM cannot be successfully presented into a company or business without the use of technology. Moreover, “only technology enables one of the key aspects of CRM: the integration of all the means by which companies communicate with their customers (telephone, e-mail and the internet) in writing. “
 * Companies that are using the more sophisticated developments in CRM technology are seeing more benefits than those that settle for the more basic data collection approach.
 * Provides example of Netstore and a case study which further illustrate the importance and benefits of CRM systems in a business.

This article is a great article that emphasizes the use of CRM systems into the business and the importance and benefits that are gained as a result of doing so. It gives the example of Netstore, which integrated SRM systems and see them as being so valuable to the business that users are increasing organically. CRM is the key tool to understanding and knowing what your customers what and need in the future and ensure the success of the business.
 * Commentary: **

[Al-Khori, Nasser initial post on Oct. 19, 2011] [<>, < >]
 * Entry history ** :

I liked the way Ashurst emphasized the issues mentioned in "IT doesn't matter" in his arguments. Especially the risk and cost factors.
 * Title**: Customer Relationship Management for the smaller business
 * Author(s)**: Colin Ashurst, Senior Teaching Fellow in MIS at Durham Business School
 * Link or reference information**: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0Ln4H_deGU
 * Core ideas**:* Colin Ashurst talks about how companies should start with exploring customer expectations before implementing a CRM system, to maximize its benefits.
 * He emphasizes that companies must use CRM in a way that is suitable for their business processes.
 * He also talks about the capabilities that effective CRM systems can offer to small and medium size businesses.
 * He says that small companies now can get CRM systems for cheap prices, and they must decide if they are willing to take the risk, depending on how the CRM system can integrate with their company's vision.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Layal Al-Alami, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title**: Supply chain management and information technology.
 * Author(s)**: Author's name is not provided. It is from: Arizona State University, Carey School of Business, Depatment of Supply Chain Management.
 * Link or reference information**: []


 * Core ideas** :

This video is the last part of a series that talks about Supply Chan Management. In this module the speaker insists on the need of IS to manage the whole supply chain. ُThe creative and simple drawings provided while he explains his idea really helps me as an audience to get and visualize the idea. I also like that he at beginning of the video he used a metaphor by connecting global supply chain with its relation to IS with the relation of tissue and nerve system. This metaphor is trying to argue that without technological infrastructure, SCM could not be global or integrated.
 * Without technological infrastructure, SCM could not be global or integrated.
 * SCM with IT become more powerful and fast. It acts as a protector from competitors.
 * Many expected incidences included sustainability, consumer safety and others can only be effective managed by the support of technology
 * Commentary**:
 * Entry history**:
 * [Aisha Al-Zaman, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title ** : Enterprise resource planning: Implementation procedures and critical success factors
 * Author(s) ** : Elisabeth J. Umble, Ronald R. Haft, M. Michael Umble


 * Link or reference information ** : []


 * Core ideas **
 * Identifies success factors of ERP
 * Clarifies software selection steps.
 * Identifies implementation procedures critical to a successful implementation.

I believe this article simplifies the steps of implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning system in the corporation. Showing real life, successful examples of ERP helps the audience relate to their corporation and clarifies the steps more.
 * Commentary ** :

[<>, << date added
 * Entry history ** :
 * [Hamsa M Al-Massri, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]


 * Title**: Ford Manufacturing Supply Chain


 * Author(s)**: Video shared by MWhalan, made by Cisco as a promotional video on supply chain management using technology to integrate partners.


 * Link or reference information**:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyO9QSo0FjU&feature=related


 * Core ideas**: * Jim Yost, the Vice President of Ford says that the supply chain of Ford has expanded in a way that led them to consider a different approach to managing their current supply chain.


 * He mentions that with the huge supply chain they are currently dealing with, Ford cannot operate with a "sequential" method of operations, they now need to know where everything is at all times.


 * Jim Yost also talks about the change in information sharing when the supply change is bigger. He says that they can no longer rely on pushing information to suppliers, as they now use information sources that are shared by everyone in the chain (Pull information sources). This helps everyone know everything they need with less time and effort.


 * Commentary**:

The video offers a great learning opportunity from Ford, and shows how firms must know how to manage their supply chains, to guarantee quality and stay in business. For was able to let its supply chain grow comfortably, without being concerned about information loss, because of theur well established SRM system. The video also shows how Ford was willing to let its competitors be part of the system, to improve and enhance the operations of all parties involved.


 * Entry history**:


 * [Layal Al-Alami, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<>, < >]


 * Title **: Enterprise information systems project implementation: A case study of ERP in Rolls-Royce

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Author(s) **: Yahaya Yusufa, A. Gunasekaran, Mark S. Abthorpe

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Link or reference information **: []

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Core ideas ** (1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Explains the ERP in detail and its positive effects on the business when implemented in an effective way.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">ERP is only helps to plan the resources; they needed to be managed as well.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">When the ERP system is implemented changes have to be made such that legacy systems will be needed to be replaced
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Successful implementation of ERP will occur through training both for the upper management and the staff.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">Commentary **: <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This article explains the use of ERP systems in a manufacturing business and how the implementation of such ERP can be made a success. Rolls-Royce implemented such a system that was successful for them although major changes had to be made before it could run smoothly. This example clearly shows the importance of ERP in an industry and the benefits a company can reap from such projects. Companies should be more vigilant when making such high cost decisions. Adding to the case we studied in class about CISCO this presents us with a similar situation where certain changes were made to the actual plan during the implementation of the ERP system. By looking at both Rolls-Royce and CISCO we can conclude that implementing a new ERP system is not an easy task and the plans made for the implementation can change during the process.


 * Entry History**
 * [Anas Ali Chaudry], initial post on Oct. 19,2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * Title**: Netflix's self-made CRM crisis and how social CRM can help


 * Author(s)**: Harish Kotadia, PH.D


 * Link or reference information**: http://hkotadia.com/archives/4336


 * Core ideas**:
 * The importance of customer's satisfaction and how it relates to social media.
 * Customers can use social media tools to express their approval or disapproval of the product and impact other potential customers.
 * Netflix best option is to also use social media to communicate with their customers and explain their actions.


 * Commentary**:

The article emphasis on the role of the customer's satisfactions and capability to express the customers experience using social media. Harish Kotadia defines social CRM as the business strategy of engaging customers through social media with goal of building trust and brand loyalty. Nowadays customers can share their experiences of the products publicly, therefore marketing mangers must consider the social media platform and how to approach their customers using similar social media tools.
 * **Entry history**:
 * [Noor Al-Mohannadi, initial post on Oct. 20, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * Title ** : Beware Online "Filter Bubbles"
 * Author(s) ** : Eli Pariser

This is a great explanation of how CRM systems can be a bad thing rather than provide the people with what they want. The video is really well explained and well presented, the presenter shows you on a customer level or user level how CRM works but not the right way, where you are not presented with the facts or information that are there, but websites tailor what you get based on your preferences. We are definitely effected by it, but I think we never really think of it this way, it is an eye opening video that makes you realize that the simplest act you do on the internet or the information you share becomes what defines on the web and what you receive is not what is out there, which is misleading because sometimes you would want to know the facts and surround yourself with the right information rather than what the “binary gate keepers” think is right for you.
 * Link or reference information ** : []
 * Core ideas ** :
 * 1) What you share becomes what you get
 * 2) How Google and Facebook work to tailor what you see and receive
 * 3) The risks of being in a “filter bubble” and how companies should tailor information thoughtfully and consider not what we do but what is the truth
 * Commentary ** :

I really think that this video is really helpful in identifying the misleading aspects of internet usage that we used to ignore. What I like mostly is that the presenter shows us that this misleading information we might get can effect many aspects of our lives not just business. Now, I believe that we should really check carefully the importance and the relevance of the information we are getting to be able to have more reliable and trusted piece of knowledge.
 * Commentary:**


 * Entry history ** :
 * [Sara Al-Mannai, initial post on Oct. 20th, 2011]
 * [Najla Al-Madhadi, Oct. 20th, 2011]

-

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Title **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">: How Social CRM Could Succeed In Improving The Sales: A case Study of Zappos.com **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Author(s) **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">: Huang, YuJing
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Link or reference information **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">: []

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Core ideas **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The history of Zappos.com
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">What CRM and social CRM means, and how they are different from each other.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">How Zappos.com used Social CRM which lead to its successful and therefore increasing or improving in their sales.

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Commentary **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">: <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">The article gives a brief summary of the history of Zappos.com, and also explains the difference between CRM and social CRM. The author also mentioned how Social CRM is helpful on gathering customer data with lower costs. The article gives three reasons of how Social CRM of Zappos is so successful, and provides brief explanation under each reason. The author also mentioned in the article that Zappos thinks that its customer service is not just a department and it's more than that. This shows us that Zappos really care about their customers. There is a point mentioned in the article that I found personally so interesting is that Zappos customer service chat with customers without any time limit and even send flowers to them and thank-you notes. This shows that they really want to please their customers in any way, gain their trust, and also gain their loyalty.

**<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Entry history **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">: <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < > <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">- <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">**Title:** Inside Hilton's CRM Strategy <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">**Author(s)**: Unknown. <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">**Link or reference information**: <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2004/08/11/inside-hiltons-crm-strategy/ <span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">**Core Ideas:**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">[Fatima Abdulla, initial post on Oct. 20th, 2011]

<span style="display: block; font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: left;">The hotel giant, Hilton hotel Spa and Resorts, had recently created a new CRM system that will allow it to perform its business operations exceptionally well. The Hilton group has always experienced a rivalry between itself and the Marriott Group, who also experiences a steady growth of customers like that of the Hilton. Now, however; the implementation of the Hilton's new CRM system, will allow the hotel chain to experience some of the following competitive advantages:


 * understanding who their valuable customers are, and which customer "not to invest in."
 * the CRM system will allow the hotel giant to gather information about their customers extremely fast. This, in turn will allow the hotel giant to "pin-point customer preferences" and complaints in an organized an efficient manner.
 * Checking-in at any of the hilton hotels will now be an easier and faster process for the customer.
 * one of the most important results this CRM system produces, is the ability for all hilton employees to know with a click of a button, who their loyal customers are, their "bad customers," and the overall experience that customers had while staying at any of the hilton hotel.s

There are several ways in which a CRM system can serve as a competitive advantage to a company. Understanding the business goals of a company will determine which CRM system fits the requirements one wants to achieve. The hilton has definitely taken into account these things, completely changing its reservation system with a new CRM system that is able to find out extensive information about their customers. They realized the importance of adopting this more efficient system to hopefully beat out some of its competitors, like the Marriott Hotel group. With this new CRM system, it is a sure possibility that they might.
 * Commentary:**
 * Entry history**:
 * [Al-Muftah, Abdullrahman initial post on Nov. 19, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]

[]
 * Title**: IBM Analytics Helps Papa Gino's Grab a Bigger Slice of the Pie
 * Author(s)**: ibmbusinessanalytics
 * Link or reference information**:
 * Core ideas**:
 * Papa Gino's Invested in Qbit an IBM analytic to help with business processes
 * Biggest advantage was the mobile App, where they can see what exactly it is that customers want and how to improve customer satisfaction

The video shows an example of a company 'Papa Gino's' investing in IBM analytics 'Qbit' and how their investment improved their business processes. They are now organizing customer behavior and customer data to transform it into useful knowledge, better than they had before and in a better time frame, a process of data gathering to actionable data. They can now anticipate the need of customers and employees, as well as improve delivery timing and define long term business strategies and improve the business
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Khadeejah Al-Husseiny, initial post on Nov 19, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >


 * Link**: [| http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/crm/will-google-enter-the-crm-market-1020911/]


 * Core ideas**:
 * Google targeted personal productivity and collaboration like G-mail and Docs and introduced Google Apps Marketplace.
 * Google has the all the signs and the ability that allow them to enter the CRM Market. The most important aspects of CRM that Google possess is how well they manage relationship.
 * If Google enters the CRM Market, would they have the capability to build it or would they buy it from another vendor?

The article raises a very important question about Google next step. Since Google have already created G-mail, Docs, Calendar, their own app market place and most recently they introduced the new social media Google Plus. Google has a phenomenal way of expanding, and if they decided to dig deeper into the Enterprise software, they will introduce a new way of doing things in the Enterprise system. One of the points that was mentioned in the article was about CRM being the number 1 most searched-for term in the App Marketplace. So people are demanding for Google CRM and this made me think twice about Google. If Google knew the increase in the demand for Google CRM, why are not they fulfilling their customers’ demand? Are their constraints or risk that holds them from taking this step? Because, I believe that there are no big constraints that holds them back. In fact they have all the resources they need, and they can do it in an extraordinary way. I think Google needs to act fast about this matter, so they would not gain unsatisfied customers.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Fatima Al-Khayat, initial post on Oct. 19, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * Title**: Case: Wal-Mart Supply Chain Management Practices
 * Author**: P. Mohan Chandran
 * Link**: http://mohanchandran.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/wal-mart.pdf

Wal-Mart is the World's largest private sector employer with over 1.28 million employees and with more than 5000 retail stores worldwide. Sam Walton, the Founder of Wal-Mart has focused on improving sales and constantly reducing costs. He also focused on adopting efficient distribution and logistics management systems and using innovative technology (IT) tools. Through these techniques and IT innovations, Wal-Mart was able to at a leadership standpoint in the market.
 * Core ideas**:
 * //Procurement and distribution//: Wal-Mart purchased good directly from manufacturers, skipping over all intermediaries to purchasing costs and offer customers best prices. This stage included building over 40 distribution centers, located in different locations in America to ensure the steady, consistent flow of goods and products. Wal-Mart implemented barcode technology and hand-held computer systems which made managing the centers easier and more efficient. All employees had "real-time" information regarding information on inventory levels and stocks.
 * //Logistics management:// The use of "Cross-Docking" logistical technique, which was a system that works by having the finished goods directly picked from manufacturers, arranged, and then shipped to customers. This reduced the handling and storage of goods and also eliminated storage space.
 * //Inventory Management//: Created ability to cater to specific needs and wants of stores and store customers; accelerated delivery system by which stores could receive in a day. Very heavy investments were made by Wal-Mart in IT to track sales in all stores and cater to the needs and wants depending on the demand of goods. By doing so, Wal-Mart reduced inventory and allowed stores to manage their own stocks. Moreover, employees hand the "Magic-Wand" which was a hand-held computer that tracked inventory and back up stocks in dostribution centers near by. Wal-Mart used a Point-of-Sales system (POS) to monitor and track sales and stocks. Wal-Mart owned the biggest, most high-tech computer system (as a private company) and invested about 4 billion dollars (1992) to building a "retail link system"

This case elaborated the importance of IT technology in businesses. The leader in the market, Wal-Mart has implemented a system to track needs and wants of customers and had the ability to cater to those stores within 24 hours. This is really impressive and this is one of the highlight stories that illustrates Wal-Mart's success. They were able to track down products and were needed and when they were needed to bring them to stores, ready for customers to purchase.
 * Commentary**:


 * Entry history**:
 * [Nasser Al-Khori, initial post November 20, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Title **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**:** The Long Conversation: Learning How to Master Enterprise Systems **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Author(s) **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**:** Oswaldo Lorenzo, Peter Kawalek, Boumediene Ramdani **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Link or reference information **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**:** http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/cmr.2009.52.1.140?&Search=yes&searchText=systems&searchText=information&searchText=enterprise&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Denterprise%2Binformation%2Bsystems%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3Dsocial%2Bmedia%2Binformation%2Bsystem%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=1&ttl=1526&returnArticleService=showFullText

**<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Core ideas **


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Organizations have to meet or exceed their expectations for enterprise systems which is harder process than just acquiring ER system to the organisation.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Organizations should place less emphasis on the technical and temporal aspect of ES projects and to view them as being part of a long journey led by users.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Usually, organisations shift their focus after users get some experience with the ES. Objectives move from just automation and consolidation to the process analysis and combining big project with the ES.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Every ES project has to get through adaptation process in the workspace. Users should understand the true value of ES and should bring more value by using it effectively.


 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Commentary: **

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I have found this article very interesting because most of the time we discuss how ES systems should be implemented and how it is very important process. However, we did not really focus on how ES affects workspace and eventually end users. Effective implementation of ES does not guarantee that organization is going to get value from it. It is end users responsibility and their task to use ES effectively and get business value out of it. Author claims that it is very hard process for users to achieve such understanding. Usually, it takes time for users to combine their project with ER rather than just automate workspace.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Posting history:**
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[Nijat Ibrahimov, initial post on Nov. 20, 2011]
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">**Author(s)**: CloudComputingWorld.org
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Title **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">: Cloud Computing and Sales Force Automation
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Link or reference information **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">: http://www.cloudcomputingworld.org/cloud-computing-for-businesses/cloud-computing-and-sales-force-automation.html


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Core ideas: **

The benefits for companies choosing cloud computing and making the switch to cloud-based SFA (Sales Force Automation)
 * Automating the companies sales force makes sales easier, faster and more effective.
 * Using a cloud computing system is more flexible that systems that run individually through a hard drive or server.
 * Sending data and information “in the cloud” solves problems that occur due to servers, data-backup and disaster recovery and these issues are outsourced to the provider, saving expense for the company and ensures focus on sales and CR.
 * "Most cloud-based CRM and SFA platforms are easy to use and easy to put into place" - setting up the platform takes less than 1month, giving the company time to train employees in the meanwhile, and do better business.

This is a hot topic for many companies and businesses and many are realizing the benefits. I believe the benefits are really valuable and can bring more success to the business. When using the cloud computing system in SFA for example, gives the managers more "hands-on" control of the sales process and they can decide what they want to do next. This system also allows for better customer relations, which is extremely important for businesses and without good customer relations the business or company would not succeed. One of the other points that the article explores is the ease and flexibility for cloud computing in SFA, since it can be accessed through the internet. I believe this article is very critical and important for businesses that want to bring sales force together and increase sales. Cloud computing is the way to go for SFA.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Commentary **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">**Posting history**:
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">[Nasser Al-Khori, initial post on Dec 1, 2011]
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >


 * Title**:Amazon bonding customers with integrated services.
 * Author(s)**: Angus Jenkinson
 * Link or reference information**:[]
 * Core ideas** (1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):
 * Amazons CRM strategy is one of the leading reasons for its success
 * Easy to use, Brand awarness and customer realibiity made Amazon into one of the best online sellers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Collecting information about users based on the items they select or search or even have them in their "cookies" Amazon presents similar items that the customer might like therefore creating more sales and satisfying their customers more.


 * Commentary**:

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">This is very interesting case study as the author discusses about the Amazon and how the company uses its strategy to increase the customer satisfaction. Amazons CRM is very complex inbuilt technology which collects a lot of data about their customers. The system mainly focuses on constant customers who shop frequently by presenting them the new offers or similar items that they have bought before. Nevertheless the new customers are also taken with care by using their cookies and presenting them with the items they usually search for. This in return increases customer satisfaction and saves a lot time. For the company it means more profits, more loyal customers, and a better image. One of the successes about Amazon is that they make each customer feel as individual. The different options available like wish list or customizing your page or leaving feedback about item makes customers feel more special which is one of the most important aspects of CRM. The case study shows how successfully implemented CRM strategy can make your company a leading in its sector.
 * Posting history**:


 * [Orkhan Rustamzade, initial post on December 2, 2011]
 * [<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Title **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: 6 steps to Customer Relationship Management
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Author(s) **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: Susan and Derek Nash
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Link or reference information **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">: []
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Core ideas **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">(1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Establishing a good and clear customer experience strategy by either understanding the overall organizational vision and mission or by sharing the customer experience strategy via communication programs
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">It is better to focus on choosing the right people with the right interpersonal skills, because lack of the right attitude could impact on the client satisfaction very badly
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">It is important to orient the right people into the company’s customer relationship culture and that’s by providing training in some important areas required to give a good customer service.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">It is highly encouraged to have a good and effective delivery process because that would make it smoother for the customer interaction
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">It is necessary to have some sort of recovery from issues that might happen. By listening to customer feedback and complaints we would have a step into recovering effectively from a certain issue.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">**Commentary**:

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">I think the article really shows and focuses about the importance of the customer experience and the qualities that the company should have to ensure a better customer experience. These six steps might not be the only ones but they are absolutely very important in order to have a good CRM system. The steps are ordered also in a way that you shouldn’t jump to the next step until you effectively executed the last step. In each step the authors explain and demonstrate the kind of qualities and performance the employees should have in order to have a fully engaging and interesting customer service experience.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">**Posting history**:


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[Hussain Hejji, initial post on Dec. 5, 2011]
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]

**<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Title **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: Successful ERP Implementation the First Time <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Link or reference information**: <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">[] <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;"> **Core ideas** **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Commentary **<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">:  <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;"> This article provides guidelines and advice to companies that wish to implement a new ERP system, based on previous experience of organizations that both succeeded and failed in implementing a new ERP system. In addition to the key elements presented above, and in the article, the author also emphasizes on the importance to assess your own skill. The author also makes it clear that selecting software is not an easy decision to make, as we have seen in the Cisco case. Companies must pay a close attention to what software they acquire, and must ask whether this software fits to the companies needs. Lastly, the answer to “How will we use the ERP system?" may indicate the readiness of the company to implement the ERP system.
 * Author(s)**: R. Michael Donovan
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">ERP’s benefits are a direct result of effective preparation and implementation, and appropriate use
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">No amount of advanced information technology can offset the problem of a flawed business strategy and poorly performing business processes
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Define a business strategy that will give you a competitive advantage or, at the very least, make you competitively equal
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Acquire flexible ERP information technology that can accommodate rapidly changing business conditions
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Have the implementation led by a senior executive who has the authority to make changes happen and happen quickly
 * Commentary ** :

I really like this article because it explains how ERP system fails in reality due to the bad management of an organization. Many organizations fail to implement the ERP system and, as a result, they started to question the benefits and advantages of integrating ERP system. They start to blame the vendors for this failure. However, the author mentions that vendors are not responsible for this failure. In fact, the organization itself holds all the responsibility for this failure because they don’t understand the core function of ERP, which is to support the organization’s business strategy not to redefine the strategy to suit the system. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-align: left;">**Posting history:**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[Mohammed Al-Rawahi, initial post on Dec. 6, 2011]
 * [Ahmad Al-Sarraf, on Dec. 11, 2011]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * Title ** : Seven Golden Rules for Successful CRM
 * Author(s) ** : Richard Smith
 * Link ** : []


 * Core ideas ** :
 * The article emphasizes the fact that there are almost 75% of CRM projects failure in their first year that results both lost of productivity as well as wasted corporate investment.
 * The article states that for the CRM solutions to be effective, they must be designed to match and fit the business processes of each organization in order to get the benefit of implementing CRM, which is to improve the relationships between employees and customers.
 * The article explains in details seven rules that CRM should follow to guarantee its success and, therefore, increase relationships with customers and organization’s overall productivity.

I think this article is interesting because it focuses on the importance of customer relationship management system (CRM) and how we can guarantee its success in an organization. There are seven guidelines that help the organization to ensure the effectiveness of CRM and receive the full benefits of implementation such as: enhance relationships between employees, customers and partners, increase customers’ satisfaction and improve organization’s overall productivity. Therefore, CRM has become a critical system that supports an organization’s business.
 * Commentary ** :


 * Posting history: **

[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]
 * [Ahmad Al-Sarraf, initial post on Dec. 9, 2011]


 * Title ** : The S in SCRM is not about Social Media


 * Author(s) ** : Wim Rampen

http://wimrampen.com/2010/03/23/the-s-in-scrm-is-not-about-social-media/
 * Link ** :


 * Core ideas ** :


 * SCRM will not replace CRM, but expand on it
 * Social aspects of CRM will change the way most companies must go about CRM
 * SCRM offers a new "front office" for customer relations management


 * Commentary ** :

While this article initially sets out to prove that "social" CRM is not a game changer, but rather an evolution of its predecessor, it winds up listing many new ways in which social media affects the way CRM is conducted. For one, the inherent structure of CRM changes through public visibility and the option of many agents interacting. this changes the scenario of CRM from one-to-one to many-to-many, making CRM all the more important as individual failures can have large scale ramifications. Also, social media offers customers an address to first approach the company with complaints and suggestions, replicating the "front office" model.


 * Posting history: **
 * [Patrick Steinhagen, initial post on Dec. 13, 2011]

[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]

= <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Title: The future of CRM: one size does not fit all =


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Author(s) **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: Anthony Leaper

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Link or reference information**:

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> []


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Core ideas **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Current CRM system vendors adopt a ‘one size fits all’. They try to create general applications an add features to appease everybody.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This must change because real world businesses are now demanding a much more flexible system, one which focuses on the needs of the individual accessing the information and the needs of the customer.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Future CRMs will become much more personal and dynamically change according to needs.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Commentary**:

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Here, the author senses that having one application that does everything does not really fit the needs of a user the best. The article comments on need for understanding the needs of the business, the person using the CRM and the customer, all of which are very dynamic and demanding. General CRM systems will no longer serve our purposes, and its nice to see how technologies like the iPhones can be made into CRM systems that serve specific functions.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Posting history**:


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[M Hammad Abbasi, initial post on Dec. 13, 2011]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Title **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: Google+: The New Facebook for Business


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Author(s) **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: Ray Grainger

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Link or reference information**:

http://www.startupnation.com/business-articles/9739/1/google-plus-social-glue.htm


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Core ideas **<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">(1, 2, or 3 bullet points that summarize the core idea presented in the article):


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Google+ offers an easy-to-manage way of handling business communications among employees.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The platform does not just offer Google+. Any tool by Google is automatically integrated with other Google tools such as Google Apps and Google Docs.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Business are increasingly moving to an integrated cloud, and so Google+ will be a good way for these businesses to make the shift.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Commentary**:

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">It’s interesting to see technologies like Google+ being seen as an almost ERP style system. The authors are valuing not just the ability of Google+ to connect with people, but also how much of Google’s tools are integrated into Google+. Google has Google Apps for Small Businesses, Gmail, Google Docs, and other tools that are all integrated in the cloud along with Google+. For a web business this can be most invaluable because, like the article states, most of these tools are online 24/7 and they are free.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> **Posting history**:


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[M Hammad Abbasi, initial post on Dec. 13, 2011]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">[<<next person who added commentary>>, < >]