SYSCO Case Study

The existence of ERP (enterprise resource planning) application quickly becomes the integrated information solution across the entire organization that allows companies to understand their business. With ERP software, companies can standardize business processes and more easily support best practices. Instead of treating these transactions separately, an ERP system considers functions to be the part of the inter-linked processes that make up the business. By conducting this kind of effective process, companies can concentrate their efforts on serving their customers and maximizing profit.

Concerning the use of attractive software in, this paper will discuss about business intelligence software at SYSCO. The analysis will employ Harvard Business School Decision Method prove-and-state model.

1. Decision options According to the case study, there are three options in how SYSCO would want to purchase the licenses and software components and get the Business Intelligence system up and running. As mentioned in the case study, there are logical reasons of preparing three options in a decision-making session, rather than any other number.

Having only three options narrows your view so it will prevent you from loosing perspective about the goal of the program. The first and last options are usually the first ‘real’ choices because it represents the extreme polars of the consideration. The middle option is generally used as a buffer and a comparison to let people know what would happen if a moderate position is taken. In many decision-making processes, the middle option is surprisingly often becomes the option of choice because it contains the value of both the other options.

This is not always the case in all decision-making activities. Sometimes, the middle option becomes one of those solutions who do not have real value inside it, something people do just to prove that they have in fact ‘do something’ about their conditions. In the case of SYSCO , the three options are:

• The ‘bare bones’ scenario The basic idea of this scenario is to save money by spending as little as can be in the short term. Thus, if SYSCO does not want to spend too much money on initial basis, this bare bones scenario is the right choice. Also read D esperate Air case analysis

In this scenario, it is suggested that SYSCO purchase the minimum number of licenses and software components. SYSCO could provide performance dashboards only to 10 people at each of its broad line operating companies, which sum-up to 830 licenses. At each operating company, only three people would also been given the right to do analysis. From corporate IT on the other hand, five people would be given the right to analysis. Another license is required for a person from every operating company to create specialized reports.

For the corporate IT groups, SYSCO would need to purchase 3 licenses to generate companywide reports. The company would also need to purchase 1,000 licenses for companies who might need to access the reports. SYSCO however, would not license new customer intelligence analytical module as offered by Business Objects, their IT vendor, but instead it would work together with Business Objects consultants to perform more calculations.

• The ‘Middle of the Road’ scenario The basic idea of this second scenario is to create a middle way between the two extremes in terms of initial investments.

In this scenario, SYSCO would buy somewhat more software components and licenses to provide a broader access to business intelligence information all around SYSCO. For instant, 10 instead of 15 user licenses shall be bought to provide for each operating company. Instead of 1,000 basic licenses, Sysco would purchase 1,300 basic licenses for their employees.

• The Volume Discount Scenario In the third option, SYSCO would take advantage of the volume discount offered by Business Objects and purchase a lot more licenses and software components for its IT structure. Read 

eliminate the middleman case study solution

The effect of such a move is of course SYSCO must make a larger initial investment, but SYSCO would have provided a broader group of people at the company that would be able to access the business intelligence data. After the installation phase is completed, SYSCO would be able to take advantage of the customer intelligence module and the supply chain module along with 1,300 basic licenses. Within all these scenarios, SYSCO have decided to use three Business Objects consultants for nine months, which would cost about 1 million in consultant fees, In addition, SYSCO would also like to purchase a basic software maintenance package.