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Enterprise Systems: ERP, CRM, and Supply Chain Management

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Overview

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Organizations run on integrated information systems that connect transactions, functional areas, customers, and suppliers into a single enterprise view. In this course, you will examine how businesses use transaction processing systems, functional area information systems, and enterprise resource planning systems to manage internal operations and coordinate work across the organization. You will then explore how customer relationship management systems help organizations build stronger customer relationships, personalize service, and turn customer data into business insight. Finally, you will examine supply chain management systems and the technologies, including EDI, extranets, and portals, that help companies coordinate with suppliers, distributors, and partners. Through examples from companies such as Netflix, Dell, Walmart, Salesforce, and Southwest Airlines, you will evaluate the benefits, drawbacks, and strategic role of enterprise systems. By the end of the course, you will understand how ERP, CRM, and SCM systems work together to help organizations operate efficiently, serve customers, and manage complex business relationships.

Syllabus

Organizational Information Systems and ERP
- Every organization relies on information systems to capture transactions and support the work of its functional areas. This module begins with transaction processing systems, the foundation for organizational data, and then moves into functional area information systems that support accounting and finance, marketing, production and operations, and human resources. You will then examine enterprise resource planning systems, which connect these functional areas into one integrated platform. You will compare on-premises and cloud-based ERP implementation strategies, weigh the benefits and drawbacks of adopting ERP, and trace how ERP systems support procurement, fulfillment, and production processes.💡 Tip for Success: As you learn about each system, think of a job you have held or a company you know well. Consider which system, TPS, FAIS, or ERP, most likely supported the daily transactions happening behind the scenes.
Customer Relationship Management
- Customers today have more choices and more power than ever, making strong customer relationships a competitive necessity. This module defines customer relationship management as a customer-focused strategy, not just a technology, and explores how organizations use customer touch points and data consolidation to build a 360-degree view of each customer. You will examine operational CRM systems, including customer-facing applications such as sales force automation and customer-touching applications such as FAQs, personalization tools, and loyalty programs. You will also explore analytical CRM systems that turn customer data into business intelligence. Finally, you will compare emerging CRM approaches, including on-demand, mobile, open-source, social, and real-time CRM systems, using examples such as Salesforce, SugarCRM, and Southwest Airlines. 💡Tip for Success: Think about a company whose loyalty program or app you use often. Identify the touch points they use to reach you, such as email, an app, a website, or an in-store visit, and consider how that data likely shapes the offers and experiences you receive.
Supply Chain Management
- Behind every product a customer receives is a supply chain: a network of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers working together. This module examines the upstream, internal, and downstream components of a supply chain, along with the material, information, and financial flows that connect them. You will compare push and pull production models, explore why the bullwhip effect causes erratic ordering swings across the supply chain, and evaluate solutions such as just-in-time inventory, information sharing, and vendor-managed inventory. You will also see how companies such as Walmart and Procter & Gamble use supply chain coordination to reduce friction and improve performance. The module closes with the technologies that make interorganizational collaboration possible, including electronic data interchange, extranets, and portals. 💡 Tip for Success: Next time you order something online, trace the journey your package takes from supplier to warehouse to your door. Consider which flows, materials, information, and payment, had to work together to get it to you on time.
Course Graded Assignment
- Summative assessment for the course