On the basis of briefly introducing the principle and development of enterprise resource planning (ERP), this paper analyzes the necessity of establishing ERP system in enterprises and the main problems existing in the implementation of ERP in China, and advances some effective strategies for implementing ERP in Chinese enterprises.

Keywords: ERP system; Management information system; Enterprise informatization

First, the development of ERP system and its main technical characteristics

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a software package composed of different functional modules. It adopts the latest achievements of computer and network communication technology, and is an operation platform and management information system aimed at planning various resources of enterprises and realizing the unification of logistics, capital flow and information flow. ERP information system can unify the information used by different departments in an enterprise in a database, so that employees in different departments can use the same database. In this way, the data used by different departments are the same. This data identification can bring great benefits to enterprises, such as reducing input errors, improving the efficiency of data input and use, and most importantly, helping enterprise managers make better business decisions. In addition, due to the reduction of data interaction, the labor cost is also reduced. For example, in a foreign bank, after adopting ERP system, there are only two employees in the finance department, one is bookkeeping and the other is auditing, which is completely competent for all the work, saving labor costs for the company.

The development of ERP has mainly gone through the following stages: order point method, time period MRP, closed-loop MRP, MRP ⅱ theory, ERP stage and ERP ⅱ theory. In other words, ERP theory is constantly improving and developing. We can review and summarize the development stages of ERP through table 1

ERP represents the highest level of integrated enterprise management software system at present, and its technical characteristics can be summarized as follows:

First, advanced system architecture. In architecture, it is a platform-based management information system, which is customer-centered, based on Internet applications, and consists of data layer, N-layer business layer and presentation layer. It has a complete multi-level business framework, including business framework, Web framework and application framework, which can meet the needs of business and information technology development and realize technical independence and data independence of business processes. It can run on Linux, AIX, Solaris, BSD, Windows and other systems, and supports various types of databases such as Oracle, Sybase, DB2 and SQL Serve.

Second, information is highly integrated. ERP can effectively integrate production management, sales, finance, customer relations, procurement, human resources and other management modules to form a huge system. ERP stores all kinds of enterprise management information in a unified database, which realizes the * * * sharing of enterprise information, thus improving the effective cooperation and rapid response at all levels within the enterprise.

The third is real-time online management. Enterprise headquarters can conduct online business approval and remote monitoring of branches at all levels through ERP, and subordinate branches can also query all kinds of information of headquarters through ERP, which is real-time online management, so ERP can be highly connected with the Internet and has strong data exchange and communication capabilities.

Secondly, the main problems existing in the application and implementation of ERP in China enterprises are analyzed.

The success rate of ERP implementation in China enterprises is not high. After careful analysis of many cases, we found that the implementation of ERP mainly has the following problems:

First, ERP product providers are mixed. The domestic ERP market is not mature, so it is difficult to regulate the behavior of manufacturers. For example, in order to achieve their own sales goals, individual companies reach contracts irresponsibly, regardless of whether their products are suitable for the buyer's reality, which leads to the failure of subsequent implementation and poor results.

Second, the understanding of ERP is biased. Some enterprises only pay attention to the false reputation when choosing ERP vendors, but ignore whether the products are suitable for their actual situation and needs. ERP is not only a computing software, but also includes advanced management ideas, methods and means such as the integration and operation of enterprise resources and the coordination of logistics, information flow and capital flow. Therefore, whether the enterprise's management ideas are consistent with the system, whether the business context is clear and controllable, and whether all aspects of resources are coordinated and orderly will directly affect the success of the system operation. However, quite a number of enterprises have failed to effectively combine business process reengineering with ERP implementation, resulting in only using computers to replace some of the original manual operations, making it difficult to give full play to the overall functions of ERP.

Third, the lack of enterprise implementation conditions. The implementation of ERP mode is a process of overall management improvement and innovation for enterprises, which will conflict with the long-term culture of enterprises, and the change of enterprise culture is a long process, which requires a set of corresponding enterprise culture to innovate step by step. In addition, the basis of ERP operation is accurate and complete basic data and smooth information flow, which are areas that China enterprises need to further improve. At the same time, there is still a certain gap between the traditional enterprises in China and the implementation requirements of ERP in management mode, organization and working mode, which restricts the smooth progress of ERP.

Fourth, the enterprise's implementation strategy is improper. When some enterprises implement ERP, due to the lack of high-level managers' attention and effective organization and overall planning, it is difficult for all departments to cooperate well in the implementation process, and many elements are difficult to reach the designated position, so it is impossible to achieve comprehensive integration. In addition, many enterprises don't realize that ERP needs full participation and lacks comprehensive personnel training, which makes it difficult for ERP system to play its due role. Moreover, the lack of strict assessment and the low accuracy of data collection are also important reasons for the unsatisfactory implementation of ERP plan.

Third, the implementation of ERP computer information system in Chinese enterprises countermeasures and suggestions

1. When choosing a suitable architecture platform for ERP system, the following technical implementation issues should be considered.

The first is architecture. At present, almost all ERP systems adopt multi-tier client/server structure to manage applications more effectively. Therefore, the success of ERP system largely depends on its network operation ability and topological structure. Therefore, the design of ERP software must choose reasonable and efficient network structure, transmission protocol and network software, so that the network performance can fully meet the requirements of ERP software.

The second is system integration. The vast majority of users will use other vendors' software systems in addition to ERP systems when implementing enterprise information projects, so they often need different databases and hardware platforms. However, the data and production of an enterprise are a unified system, and it is often necessary to integrate these separate subsystems. Only in this way can we give full play to the role of ERP projects. Therefore, ERP software should be easy to integrate and exchange data.

The third is scalability. Enterprises need to constantly adjust their core business processes in the process of their own development, including finance, human resources, manufacturing, logistics, customer service and sales. The faster an enterprise develops, the more frequently its core business processes are adjusted. Therefore, when installing an ERP system, one of the main considerations is scalability.

The fourth is the operating system and database software. The design of ERP software should consider the reliability of the operating system and try to choose a portable scheme. The stability and convenience of operating system is the basis of ensuring the safe use and convenience of ERP data, while database software is the basis of storing and operating a large amount of enterprise data needed to realize ERP, which is closely related to the success or failure of ERP software. So the design of ERP software must rely on a reliable and efficient database system.

Fifth, data backup and security. The data maintained in ERP software is the vital management data of enterprises, and even a lot of data need to be kept secret, so the security of data must be considered. The realization of data security can be hardware level, operating system level, database level and application software level. Generally speaking, the above measures are often comprehensive to fully ensure data security.

2. Create a suitable corporate culture. The previous analysis has proved that the inadaptability of ERP in China lies not only in the software itself, but also in the failure of China enterprises to establish and consolidate corporate culture. Many enterprises don't pay attention to the construction and creation of corporate culture, or even talk about corporate culture at all. Therefore, in order to make ERP flourish in China, enterprises should establish and improve corporate culture.

3. Solve the impact of scientific and technological development on ERP system in time. From several stages of ERP development, ERP is constantly improving with the development of science and technology. New science and technology are always closely linked with the progress and development of management methods and means. Only by not absorbing new science and technology, all management means and methods, including ERP system, can we keep up with the progress of the times. Therefore, there should be professionals to study how ERP system absorbs modern scientific and technological achievements and integrates the latest achievements of modern science and technology into ERP.

4. Cultivate qualified ERP consultants. Strategically, a professional IT consulting team will promote enterprises to improve themselves, thus making implementation easier and achieving better results. However, there are not enough qualified ERP consultants in China to help many China enterprises implement ERP. Enterprises will encounter many problems in the process of implementing and applying ERP, and the thorough solution of these problems can not effectively solve all the problems they face only by relying on their own internal strength. At this time, we need to use some external forces, such as the professional services of management consulting companies, to help enterprises successfully implement ERP systems. Therefore, we urgently need to train a group of competent ERP consultants.

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