Many firms are using information technology to build systems to further integrate key internal business processes and to link the firm's business processes to those customers, suppliers, and other companies in its industry. Some business processes support the major functional areas of the firm while others are cross-functional, transcending boundaries between sales, marketing, manufacturing, and research and development. [Figure 2-12]

FIGURE 2-12 The order fulfillment process Generating and fulfilling an order is a multistep process involving activities performed by the sales, manufacturing and production, and accounting functions.

           Enterprise applications, consisting of enterprise systems and systems for supply chain management, customer relationship management, and knowledge management, are increasingly used for this purpose.

           Deployment of enterprise applications requires firms to think more strategically about their business processes. Business processes are the unique ways in which organizations coordinate and organize work activities, information, and knowledge to produce a valuable product or service. Organizations have business processes supporting each of the major business functions and business processes that span multiple functions. Organizational efficiency can be increased by automating parts of these processes or by using information technology to redesign and streamline the processes. [Figure 2-13]

FIGURE 2-13 Enterprise application architecture Enterprise applications automate processes that span multiple business functions and organizational levels and may extend outside the organization.

          Enterprise systems, or enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems model and automate many business processes, such as filling an order or scheduling a shipment, with the goal of integrating information across the entire company and eliminating complex, expensive links between computer systems in different areas of the business. Information that was previously fragmented in different systems can seamlessly flow throughout the organization so that it can be shared by business processes in manufacturing, accounting, human resources, and other areas of the firm. Discrete business processes from sales, production, finance, and logistics can be integrated into company-wide business processes that flow across organizational levels and functions. [Figure 2-14]

FIGURE 2-14 Traditional view of systems In most organizations today, separate systems built over a long period of time support discrete business processes and discrete segments of the business value chain. The organization’s systems rarely include vendors and customers.

          The enterprise system collects data from various key business processes and stores the data in a single comprehensive data repository where they can be used by other parts of the business. Managers emerge with more precise and timely information for coordinating the daily operations of the business and a firm-wide view of business processes and information flows. [Figure 2-15].

FIGURE 2-15 Enterprise systems Enterprise systems integrate the key business processes of an entire firm into a single software system that enables information to flow seamlessly throughout the organization. These systems focus primarily on internal processes but may include transactions with customers and vendors.

          Supply chain management focuses on coordinating all of the activities and information flows involved in buying, making, and moving a product until it reaches the customer. Supply chain management systems are a type of interorganizational system, crossing organizational boundaries, that provide information to help firms and suppliers control, and coordinate procurement, production, inventory management, and delivery of products and services to customers. Firms that skillfully manage their supply chains get the right amount of products from their source to point of consumption with the least amount of time and the lowest cost. [Figure 2-16]

FIGURE 2-16 Haworth’s supply chain management systems Customer orders, shipping notifications, optimized shipping plans, and other supply chain information flow among Haworth’s Warehouse Management System (WMS), Transportation Management System (TMS), and its back-end enterprise systems and other corporate applications.

          Customer relationship management (CRM) systems focus on coordinating the business processes surrounding a firm’s interactions with its customers in sales, marketing, and service, to optimize revenue, customer satisfaction, and customer retention. They consolidate customer data from multiple sources and communication channels to help firms identify profitable customers, acquire new customers, improve service and support, and target products and services more precisely to customer preferences. [Figure 2-17]

FIGURE 2-17 Customer relationship management (CRM) Customer relationship management systems examine customers from a multifaceted perspective. These systems use a net of integrated applications to address all aspects of the customer relationship, including customer service, sales, and marketing.

          Knowledge management systems support processes for discovering and codifying knowledge, sharing knowledge, and distributing knowledge, as well as processes for creating new knowledge and integrating it into the organization.