Communication Issues for Small and Medium Enterprises

This chapter considers communication issues for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from both provider and customer perspectives. SME communication infrastructure at the individual site should usually be built around Ethernet-based local area network with a remotely manageable integrated access device that enables high speed Internet access, virtual private networking, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) functionality and collaborative services. We further address several open quality of service (QoS) issues that include: service level agreements, signaling for quality of service and management aspects. The proposed framework for service management encompasses interfaces for QoS-aware and legacy applications, generic service level specification, functional model of service negotiation and management policies.

State of the Art Solutions in Enterprise Interoperability

More than 99% of European enterprises are SMEs. While collaboration with other enterprises provides potential for improving business performance, enterprise interoperability research has yet to produce results which can be used by SMEs without the need for high start-up costs (e.g. learning, infrastructure and installation costs). Therefore the Commius project (funded by the European Union) aims towards the development of such a “zero costs of entry” interoperability solution for SMEs, allowing them to reuse existing and familiar applications for electronic communication. This chapter provides an overview of the research field “Enterprise Interoperability.” Based on a four layer interoperability framework, this chapter will examine which technical, process-based and semantic solutions for enterprise interoperability are available at the moment and which strategic motives drive or prevail SMEs to engage in E-business activities.

Business Integration Model in Services Sector SMEs

The objective of this chapter is to show the importance of integration business processes and information systems for service sector SMEs and to present an opportunity of synchronous and simultaneous development of both business process integration (BPI) and enterprise information system (EIS) utilizing the introduced Business Integration Model (BIM). BIM approach is based on modeling core business processes, which are supported by modern IS. Process centric and customer centric modern organization relies on enterprise management standards like ISO 9000 family. The task is to achieve the business goal of the process measured by defined Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and to improve the processes continually. The presented “Autotransport” case describes BIM design and implementation for the core process “Transport services management.” The critical factor of the success of implementation of Business Integration Model (BIM) is undoubtedly readiness of employees to accept a process approach in the execution of their tasks.

Product Lifecycle Management

While most SMEs in general are willing to invest into PLM systems, many are still apprehensive to the sometimes large initial investment to be made in terms of both software cost and the time needed to implement and integrate such system into their digital enterprise technology infrastructure. In light of this, it is crucial for their decision makers not only to understand the current PLM market, but also to become familiar with emerging trends and future developments in order to select a PLM solution that best fit the needs of their enterprise. In this chapter, the authors summarize a detailed analysis of the PLM market with the aim to provide educators, students, and decision makers in industry with an overview of the current PLM market as a whole. In addition, emerging trends and future developments are addressed.

Process Re-Engineering Success in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

The factors that lead to business process re-engineering (BPR) success in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are not clearly understood. This article reviews the main contributing factors to BPR success using a framework that considers culture, structure, technology and resource. Eight Taiwanese case studies are used to explore issues contributing to, or impeding, successful process re-engineering in small firms. The analysis shows that BPR success is empowered by innovation, employee empowerment, top management commitment and strategic direction and is dependent upon customer relations, IS involvement and financial resources.

Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solution Implementation in SMEs

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution implementation is a complex process, that requires substantial resources and efforts, and yet the results are very uncertain. The ERP hype has already reached SMEs, so the authors have examined the strategies, methods and critical success factors from SMEs point of view. The results of our survey in SMEs in Slovenia have shown that SMEs have to pay attention to different critical success factors in different phases of the implementation process. Moreover, there are differences in implementation process as opposed to large companies. Case studies of two SMEs have shown similar results. Recommendations for future SME implementations and comments of our findings can be found in conclusion.

Contrasting Approaches to Preparedness

This chapter reflects on ongoing research in SMEs in the manufacturing and service sectors. It contrasts different approaches to the issue of preparedness from an organisational and social perspective, in two cases where new enterprise-wide business processes were implemented and integrated in different settings. In both cases, the emergence of new systems presented a huge challenge to companies hard-pressed to marshal the resources to mount effective change and implementation projects on this scale. The cases presented enable a comparison of different strategies used, one firm responding to organic growth, and the other to rapid industry-driven change. The chapter focuses not on the implementations per se, but instead on the issue of preparedness for change. The chapter concludes by drawing out general lessons concerning how to support and maintain organisational preparedness for enterprise wide change in different industry settings.

Challenges and Trends Towards an Effective Application of ERP and SCM Systems in SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered as both the backbone and the main driving force of economic development and innovation. Technology is playing an increasingly significant role in the success or failure of SMEs. The purpose of this chapter is to present international trends and challenges on the field of ERP and SCM systems, thus to: (a) record background information on legacy and current supply chain IT systems for SMEs, (b) discuss the importance of both ERP and SCM systems and the complementarities of ERP and SCM systems, (c) present survey conclusions of ERP and SCM systems adoption in various industries and countries, mainly in Europe and reveal the most prominent trends and barriers, (d) identify the technologies that are used to provide integrated view of information for SMEs, with emphases on both technological and organizational dimensions and recommendations to SMEs and (e) provide future trends, possible future areas of work and conclusions. Contemporary SMEs must carefully examine integration approaches and their technological and organizational issues such as hidden integration costs and management of change considered with human organizational concerns, cultures and business objectives. Application Service Providers, Web Services and Service Oriented Architecture as well as ERP and SCM application’s maturity and open source software solutions, especially for SMEs requirements, are amongst the anticipating future trends in the field.

E-Impresa

Electronic commerce, marketing on line, and network economy are today’s keywords of (possible) success. But how many managers effectively know about the cost and benefits of starting to sell their products and services through the Web? How much they should invest at the beginning and how long does it takes to have a break-even point of their investment? In order to give support for better understanding the process of the Web marketing and to have more elements to decide to “dive” or not in this virtual world a System Dynamics (SD) model (Forrester J.W. 1961, 1971, 1980), has been developed. The model has the aim to support strategic decisions for SME involvement in e-Commerce, pointed out to guarantee sustainable growth and medium-long term success. The project e-Impresa1 analyses the whole process of the investment in building and maintaining a web site, taking into account the main variables of E-commerce. Through a case study, a SD business game model has been developed. The model gives the opportunity to users to evaluate different what-if analysis through the simulation period time (2 years) at each model step time (4 weeks). This chapter will explain the overall architecture of the model and will present some results of use of the model in different conditions.

Enterprise Information Systems

The implementation of Enterprise Information Systems is a difficult task, even for large companies. It can be even more so for Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs), for most are seriously constrained in terms of time, money and skills. The key to successful implementation lies in achieving an alignment between strategy, technology, organization and people, and also in achieving commitment to the new technologies. An implementation method called HiSTOP, which stands for High Integration of Strategy, Technology, Organization and People, is described. This method provides a means of adjusting all four elements so that each is appropriate and also so that all four elements fit together. Although the method was initially designed with SMEs in mind, the method is also suitable for larger companies, hence the chapter considers both types of enterprises. The method places emphasis on development of internal implementation competencies. The key foundational principles of the method are discussed along with some key findings from early trials.