Customer Reviews

Why ERP? A Primer on SAP Implementation

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I was excited to find this book, an introduction to ERP in one slim volume.

Unfortunately, the authors do not use their pages well. The book meanders (even more than one might expect from a "novel"), the writing includes a definite Southeastern U.S. regional tone, and the editing is very poor (I spotted a number of grammatical errors and several instances where a sentence had been cut in editing and not repaired).

Overall, this is a sloppy piece of work. One might expect better from a major publisher, but...

I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

This book is presented as the ERP version of "The Goal", and it is true that it takes the form of a novel. However, it is not clear that the weakly developed fictional elements add or detract from the message. The case study, however, is useful, and overall this is a palatable way to get an introduction to the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning. Like most writing on ERP, it focuses on one software product, in this case, SAP R/3. However, it is not a disguised advertisement and should be useful for managers contemplating adopting any such system in their companies.

What steps an organization needs to consider and take before moving into an ERP environment is given so simply in this book. Jacobs and Whybark present the facts in such a way that anyone in an organization understands that ERP is not a magical cure for their ills. Yes, this book is written very much like "The Goal," yet one knows this from the start. Where is it written that such a book must be full of theories, processes and analogies that makes it boring and undigestable. I applaud Jacobs and Whybark for giving the business world an easy to understand and follow guideline for ERP.

Overall, the book Why Erp? gave a good description on implementing SAP R/3 in a complicated manufacturing business. It provided a solid and concise understanding of the process of installing a SAP system to the average novice reader. This book emphasizes that it's not that simple to implement and integrate resources of an entire manufacturing process into one system. It involves lots of planning, patience, and asking the right questions on whether if SAP is right for your firm. Although I think this book was detailed enough to understand the outlying mechanics of ERP, I think that my ability to comprehend was delayed due to some of the technical jargon. This book would be helpful for experienced information systems administrators, but not for the average everyday Joe. It's like reading Japanese backwards!!! I would suggest to the authors of this book for it to be simplified even further to explain the details of ERP in way for the average reader to understand and absorb the basics of the system. In conclusion, if you're a manufacturing/operations geek...you will love this book!!!! =)

I am a Professor in the Management Information Systems area and I use this book as a quick and relatively painless introduction for students who know absolutely nothing about the software that supports Integrated Business Systems. It is an excellent read for that purpose. It focuses on why Enterprise Systems are valuable for some companies, the dangers of blind adoption, the value and power of systems integration, and some of the costs associated with implementing these systems. Just as important, it does this in an interesting way. At least more interesting to my students, who are either dual majors in business administration and information systems or straight majors in some area of business administration. While the other reviewers are correct in their blistering reviews of the book from a technologist's perspective, the book is not written for technologists. As the title suggests, it is a primer and primers are written at the most elementary level.

I have not come across a better book for someone with no knowledge of Integrated Business Systems to learn quickly in 119 pages what Enterprise Systems are about.

I read this book as a requirement for my Management Informations Systems class. While it is a dry read, I acknowlege that it was a noble effort to present the information in the form of a novel. Do not read this book if you are an expert on SAP or very familiar with ERP systems. This is little more than a text book put in the form of one large example. Keep your expectations low and you'll be fine.

Most useful content from these 120 pages could be condensed in to a 2 page Wikipedia article (and likely already is). The author drops a massive load on the literary community as he attempts to wrap a case study in a relatable plot- careful to include light-hearted character quirks. You might sit this one out.

This actually is a good read. It kept my interest for a full 2 hours, which is what is took to read it. The case study is real and on the mark. It illustrates that even if SAP is being widely adopted in your industry (in this case furniture), it may not be the right solution for you. In this instance, SAP (or the SAP implementation approach) was wrong because the company, whose business model was "make to order", tried to cut time and costs by directly implementing a configuration which worked well for a company that has a very limited (few part numbers with minimal change) product line.

The author also did a realistic job in presenting the politics of the situation. The company president wanted an easy integration under a tight deadline. The IT geek wasn't interested in the business model and wanted a showcase quick installation. The marketing guy wasn't interested in the details and wanted to showcase the installation. The book's hero is a healthy skeptic, who is trying to understand ERP, its benefits, and how it fit his company's business.

Based the book's title, I thought I was picking up another SAP marketing book. But it is not that at all. It's objective and deals with business issues. No ABAP, idocs, and organization elements here.

Shame on you all for writing and publishing this book. Why can't you come up with an original idea instead of trying to copy Goldratt's THE GOAL? Mr. Jacobs your no Eli Goldratt. And as for McGraw-Hill-What kind of bottom feeding is this for a company of your stature. The reason THE GOAL works is that it presents new ideas. It's the content stupid!

This is the worst book I have ever read in my life. Authors would do themselves a favour if they have just written a decent 15 page scientific paper rather than this trash. Even 1 star for this book is too much. What makes it even worse is that stereotypes that these so called PhDs are projecting. These two should be banned from publishing and teaching. If anyone wants the book I wil ship it to you. For free. Otherwise, this is going into the recycling paper bin.