Digitalization of operations of micro industries using web-based ERP system.

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET) e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 09 Issue: 04 | Apr 2022 www.irjet.net p-ISSN: 2395-0072
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Digitalization of operations of micro industries using web-based ERP
system.
Devansh Kapoor1, Saurabh Singh2, Aman Singh Rawat3
1,2School of Mechanical Engineering, Undergraduate Student, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
3School of Civil Engineering, Undergraduate Student, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, India
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Abstract - The aim of this study is to develop an easy to use
and cost-effective web-based operations management system
for micro manufacturing industries usingEnterpriseResource
Planning (ERP) concepts. The ERP solution primarily focuses
on digitalizing ongoing processes and link them to a central
database. The website will automate ongoing operations in a
manufacturing firm to increase production and efficiency.
With the ERP solution the firm will aim to reduce its
dependence on manual processes. The website portal willhelp
to manage raw material procurement and inventories. The
portal will also assist with employee management and will
keep records of machine related details like work installed,
maintenance schedule, person assigned etc.
Key Words: Micro Industries, Manufacturing, Operations
management, Production, Enterprise Resource Planning,
Website development, WIX
1. INTRODUCTION
The secondary sector or the manufacturing sector plays a
vital role in an economy. Industrialization is a symbol of
economic growth. The share of secondary sector in the
India’s economy is close to 25%. The sector is still subjected
to low efficiency due to unnecessary manual work being
involved. Automation delivers more efficiency and hence
boosts the growth of this sector. Automation helps to make
the working of these industries more organized and
minimizes cost incurred. Automatingprovestobeextremely
beneficial while performing recurring tasks and helps to
streamline processes. An Enterprise Resource Planning
software is deployed to automate operational processes of
any organization. In a conventional enterprise system,
departments are quite isolated with little interaction among
them on a real-time basis. Data needs to be fetched from the
relevant branch every now and then which makes the
process very time consuming and alsoleadstoduplicationof
data. ERP software consists of a central database that
incorporates packages such as financials, human assets,
income control, and inventory control which allow
interactions among the departments. ERP package alsotend
to increase human productivity as it eases off burden and
employees can rather focus on designing better business
strategies. The applications of ERP can be extended and
aligned with micro-scale industries. The ERP solutioncan be
used to digitalize day to day activities of a manufacturing
firm and help to integrate disparatedata toa singledatabase.
A brief analysis of already existing ERP packages is carried
out to identify possible improvements and to implement
those changes in the ERP model developed in the research
work. Industries have been continuously improving and
becoming more efficient. Franco Malerba andLuigiOrsenigo
[1] in their work have referred to the evidence, major facts,
current explanationsandthe relevantunanswered questions
concerning the dynamics and evolution of industrial
structure. Three levels of analysis of dynamicsandevolution
of industry are discussed. Jeremy Atack et al. [2] discuss the
American industrial revolution and how production was
mechanized to increase efficiency. The manual labour was
digitized. Various production models were analysed to
understand the effects of automation on jobs and how
economists moved awayfromthefamous“black-box”model.
The research also highlights the need of elaborationontask-
based automation models to be considered. Andreas
Schumacher et al. [3] have discussed on concepts of
Automation, digitization and digitalization and their
differentiated applications. People continue to use these
terms without proper knowledge. Digitalization refers to
increased use of digital elements and is therefore related to
social science. Automation and digitization have their links
in the field of manufacturing. All these terminologies
complement each other and automation can’t take place
without the help of digital elements. Reference[4]pointsout
the use of intelligent technologies and efficient computing
systems in order to make business operationsrunsmoother.
Business processes are aligned with technological
advancements to meetglobal competitivelevels.Theauthors
have also acknowledged some limitations of automation
such as man-machine interaction, huge investments,
complex implementation process etc. Through a thorough
study of the available literature, this researchwork presents
an automation-environment connection grid and outlines
restrictions in automation design, adoption, and effective
implementation by companies. Research work [5] reviews
various already existing portals for industries and also
discusses their limitations. Contract Manufacturing is being
used as a case study. The authors have emphasized on
changing trends of manufacturing industries and how e-
commerce is going to have a high impact on it. The research
discusses a framework to for the development of an
enterprise information portal tosupportbusinessstrategies.
SME’s need to link their daily operations with an enterprise
portal to strengthen themselves for future uncertainties. F.

Robert Jacobs et al. [6] briefly talk about the history and
foundation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and
showing relations with pre-existing MRP and MRP II.
Enterprise ResourcePlanningwasintroduced bytheGartner
Group in the early 1990’s. ERP is defined as a criterion for
evaluating software and its extent in integrating various
functional silos. The research discusses how various firms
adapted to ERP methodologies and how ERP evolved
through the years. The major ERP suppliers are covered, as
well as the industry's primary influence from advances in
computer hardware and software. There's also a discussion
on the current industry mergers. Reference [7] Briefly
explains ERP as a software package integrating various
operations in an organization along with various tools and
techniques. The research work highlights the customer
centric nature of ERP and its role in being competitive. ERP
implementation resolves the lack of integration among
different departments. Criteria for selecting ERP
Methodology is mentioned which includes budget,
knowledge domain of suppliers, local support, upgradation
and technology used. The work also mentions ERP
applications and selection criteria for small and medium
organizations. Reference [8] presents ERP methodologyand
how it’s implementation can prove to be quite tedious. The
paper criticallyanalysesvariousimplementation procedures
which are adopted by companies and identifies key
differences in them. The findings show that a variety of
factors impact performance, ranging from pre-
implementation planning to system configuration, which
managers should be aware of when deploying systems like
ERP. Looking at the complexity of ERP systems E.J. Umble et
al. [9] discuss critical success factors, some of which are;
clear understanding of goals, strong leadership and strong
management. Software selection steps and implementation
procedures is highlighted. The research work lists down
various functions supported by a ERP Package. Various
reasons for the failure of a ERP system are briefly discussed.
The applications of ERP are notonlylimitedtoindustries. Sai
Kumar Maddiboina[10]discusstheuseofERPdevelopa web
based application for retail shops. The website's goal is to
digitalize and automate the whole shoppingprocess,making
it convenient for customers. Reference [11] addresses the
problems faced by students during room allocation in
colleges. The aim of this project is to create an online room
allocation procedure that will replace the traditional room
allocation approach used by many large institutions or
colleges. Reference [12] aims to study the important
elements that lead to ERP system deployment failure.
According to the research, critical failure factors (CFFs)
occur in the deploymentofERPsystemsthatsupportvarious
organisational levels. SAP is a leading ERP solutionsvendor.
Vidyaranya B. Gargeya and Cydnee Brady[13]haveanalysed
the implementation of SAP ERP package and the critical
factors associated with it. The primary elements for
successful implementation of an ERP system include
working with SAP functionality and maintained scope, and
project team/management support/consultants. On the
other hand, the factors contributing to the unsuccessful
implementation include inadequate internal readiness and
training, and inappropriate planning and budgeting.
Reference [14] discuss the architecture and performance of
Oracle, another prominent ERP vendor. Oracle solutions
have helpedcompaniesstreamlinetheirbusinessoperations.
With the growing use of internet, Oracle’s web-based ERP
systems are developed to revolutionize small and medium
scale industries. Research work [15] compares various
cloud-based ERP solutionsbeingusedintheindustrynamely
SAP, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Oracle ERP Cloud. They
are assessed on the basis of Return on Investment(ROI).The
research concludes that every ERP system is different and
should be chosen according to specific needs. Reference[16]
demonstrates the use of ADDIE Model (Analyse, Design,
Develop, Implement, and Evaluate) for developing the Wix
websites. The analysis focuses on target audience set for
website application and their needs and expectations.
Developers should try to make the website user friendly
making it easy for the visitors to surf through the website.
Making the website simple also boost the user’s confidence.
2. OBJECTIVES
The objective of this work is to develop a ERP solution
specifically for micro industries. The solution is easily
customizable depending on the typeofindustryitneedstobe
deployed for. A detailed analysis of the already existing ERP
models is done and it is concluded that they do not seem to
be fit for Micro industries where initial capital is very low.
Existing ERP models require huge investments to install the
ERP package and for employee training purposes. They are
meant to handle large scale production activities. SAP ERP
system charges $150-$220 per month per user, similarly
Oracle ERP costs $80-$175permonthperuser.IBMsolutions
start from $44 per month per user. Hence, freshly set up
micro scale manufacturing firms tend to do mostoftheirjobs
manually in order to keep the initial investments low. In
order to boost the efficiency of emerging micro industries, a
low cost and easy to use ERP package is developed. The web-
based ERP package can also be used by companies shiftingto
full-fledged ERP systems during their transition period to
train their employees.TheERPsolutionwillserveasacentral
database to automate and connect different operations such
as employee management, machine management, Finance,
Inventories, Raw material procurement and Client Details.
Many advance machines can now be controlled over Wi-Fi
and thus can be linked to the ERP Portal. The portal will
digitalize conventional documentation processes and
important data can be accessed by anyone authorized
anywhere, anytime. This integration will increase the
efficiency of the firm and make the data handling process
more sophisticated. The ERP package will also assist with
record-keeping andeliminatestraditionalwayofstoringdata
into hard copies.

Fig -1: Functions of web-based ERP solution
3. METHODOLOGY
A micro enterprise isanenterprisewhereinvestmentinplant
and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakhs. Due to financial
constraint the investment on ERP package development and
training needs to be minimal. Web based ERP solution is
found to be suitable for smallbusinessesasitcanbeaccessed
remotely from anywhere. They are also easy to maintain and
offer trouble free installation and upgradation. Website is
designed using WIX Editor. It is a free user-friendly platform
for webpage development without the knowledge of any
coding skills. WIX also offers pre built templates and
elements which makes it very a convenient and hassle-free
process. The web page user interface is made lightweight to
reduce unnecessarydataconsumption.Thewebpageismade
to be accessible by authorized people only where they can
login using their Employee ID and password. All the features
are displayed as Tabs on the left sideof the web-pagemaking
it easy for the users to navigate through the website. The
website displays Notice/upcoming events in the spotlight
section. The website portal stores employee data such as
Department, Designation and Check in-out time. The portal
alsolinks employeebankaccountandsalaryslip.Thewebsite
proves to be very beneficial in handling invoices and
inventories. There are various types of machinery deployed
in an heavy industry and managing them can prove to be
quite complex. The website offers critical machine
information such as machine name, type and maintenance
schedule. A successful enterprise always focuses on
continuouslearningandimprovement.Trainingmodulesand
ERP user guides are integrated within the portal system
which can be accessed by the employees.
4. INDUSTRY PORTAL WEBPAGE
Login Page is shown in Fig 2. The home page is shown in Fig
3 where users can find various tabs, each assigned for
different function. The Notice section is displayed at the
center of the home page. Fig 4. displays bills and invoices of
various spare parts, raw materials, lubricants etc. The
machine details are tabulated as showninFig. 5.The website
aims to digitize almost all operations which take place in a
micro-scale industry. From storing Employee data as shown
in Fig 6 to Client Information shown in Fig 7. The website is
easily editable and easy to manage.
Fig -2: Login Page
Fig -3: Home Page
Fig -4: Invoices Section

Fig -5: Machine Information Section
Fig -6: Employee Details
3. CONCLUSION
The website developed can be a prototype ERP solution for
micro-scale industries. Such firms can develop their own
ERP solution using free website development platforms like
WIX. The sole aim of an ERP being able to digitalize on-going
business operations should be met. The ERP solution must
align with business needs.
The prototype example developed in the course of research
is user friendly, easy to maintain and cost-effective. Use of
simple website elements and tabs to navigate makes it easy
for users to navigate through the portal and avoids the need
of any employee training. The website can be edited and
managed using a central server and can be accessed using
phone or desktop PC.
Micro-scale industries are capable of solvingunemployment
problems and in order for them to grow, they need to be
efficient and ready to adopt to latest technological
advancements. Digitalizingbasicenterpriseoperationshelps
to perform tasks efficiently and also makes it convenient for
the management to keep recordsofall necessarydocuments.
REFERENCES
[1] Franco Malebra and Luigi Orsenigo.” The Dynamics and
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“Automation” of Manufacturing in the Late Nineteenth
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Fig -7: Client Information

[10] Sai Kumar Maddiboina, Siyon Khosla, Navaneeth S. Sai
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[15] Faisel Mohamed Elbahri, Omar Ismael Al-Sanjary,
Musab A. M. Ali, Zakiya Ali Naif, Omar Ahmed Ibrahim, M. N.
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[16] NATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
Issue: Volume 8 Number 2 2020.
BIOGRAPHIES
Devansh Kapoor
Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical
Engineering,
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore
Saurabh Singh
Bachelor of Technology, Mechanical
Engineering,
Aman Singh Rawat
Bachelor of Technology, Civil
Engineering,

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