Application of SAP R/3 in on-line inventory control

An organizational competitiveness depends upon the effectiveness of information flow and subsequently the material flow. Information systems especially computer based ones greatly contribute to the effective communication within an organization whether it could be manufacturing or services. For companies to be competitive, they need to have access to "the right kind of information at the right time". An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can help to improve the communication within an organization. In this paper, the authors describe how SAP R/3 software came in rescue of a potentially devastating inventory management situation in a large corporation with worldwide operations. The paper describes in detail the assessment of system requirements at various locations (production and storage facilities), configuration of SAP R/3 to meet those requirements, difficulties in system implementation, and benefits realized.