Conclusion
On implementing an ERP packaged system, the implementation model is provided by the vendor, so what is most needed from the standpoint of the company installing the package are the requirements for configuring and integrating the package system. When integration models were applied to the companies represented by this case study, they provided the glue between the business area representative's views and the technical team. The resulting solution models were used to orient the staff resources that were brought in by the package vendor. They were also used to carve out the implementation project and orient the internal teams who would carry out the project.
Since 1984, Laura Brown has helped businesses and technical managers deliver systems solutions, and has worked as management consultant and senior technical advisor to Fortune 500 companies. She is President of System Innovations, a consulting firm specializing in enterprise application integration, data warehousing, and Internet design.
Laura is the author of Integration Models: Templates for Business Integration(2000, Sams Publishing).
Laura can be reached via e-mail at lbrown@systeminnovations.net, or on the web at www.systeminnovations.net/.