Enterprise Information Systems Assignment 1 Forma.docx

Enterprise Information Systems
Assignment 1
Formatting
Your assignment should be typed using Times New Roman 12
font. It must have 1.5 line spacing.
All margins should be 1 inch.
Assignment File Name
Your file should have the following format: module code,
second name, first name, ‘A’,
assignment number, date in MMYY format.
Example:
N731A Zar Alex A1 0213.
Referencing and Plagiarism
Direct quotations of 6 to 40 words must be included in double
quotation marks followed by the

author last name and page number. For direct quotations of
more than 40 words you should use a
blocked indented paragraph. However, your assignment should
not be a mere copy and paste of
other people’s work even if you properly reference it. Quoting
or reproducing large sections of
other work and referencing it does not earn any marks as it does
not show that you understand the
issues or that you can apply them. Try as much as possible to
paraphrase other’s work and include
your own opinions and examples. When you paraphrase, note
that you still have to identify the
source of your information. All assignments are checked for
plagiarism extensively by the markers
using a variety of methods and technologies including TurnItIn.
Students that have plagiarized will
fail the module or be expelled from the course. It is important
that you reference properly all
information that you have obtained from other sources.
Instructions on how to reference are
available in the module page and the student support page. If
you have any questions regarding

your assignment please do not hesitate to contact your module
tutor.
Marking
The Student Assessment Feedback form gives you an indication
of the marking criteria. Some key
points are: In order to pass you must show that you understand
most if not all the theory at a basic
level and you can apply it. In order to get a high mark you must
show an in depth understanding
of the material, a high level of analytic ability, extensive
research and an ability to craft a well
structured answer.
Instructions for Assignment
Read the unit overviews, the associated chapters in the book,
participate in the online
discussions, read related research, the case study for this
assignment and answer the associated
questions. The case study for this assignment is on Enterprise
Information Systems for SMEs and
it is by Hicks, Culley and Powel. The case study can be found
on the module page or online

here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S09234748100
00056 http://ac.els-
cdn.com/S0923474810000056/1-s2.0-
S0923474810000056main.pdf?_tid=b00f68a8-
8ae811e292f5-
00000aacb35e&acdnat=1363074456_713fcc6fc8a3330aa10e84c
5c98e8e1a
Write this as a report, including a table of contents, abstract,
introduction, conclusion, index (if
needed) with descriptive chats and diagrams as illustrations as
required.
Reference:
Hicks B.J., Culley S.J., McMahon C.A., Powell , P. (2010)
‘Understanding information systems
infrastructure in engineering SMEs: A case study’, Journal of
Engineering and Technology
Management, vol. 27, pp. 52–73.

Questions
1) Discuss the classification of functionalities used in this
article and leading vendors. Why
are these classifications used and what do they mean. (500
words)
2) Based on the theory presented in the course, other research
on IS and the case study make
an outline of an EIS solution for an SME engineering company.
Consider the
organizational strategy, the functionalities and the applications.
(500 words)
3) Choose one or more of the functional groupings illustrated in
‘Table 1’ of the case study
and draw a possible entity-relationship diagram. You may need
to make assumptions but
try to make it as realistic as possible.
(200 words)
4) The functionalities and systems that support them are usually
designed by a small number

of people in the organization. Popular standardized ERP
systems may also be used without
any significant changes. Is it therefore important for all
members of an organization to
have an understanding of these functional areas and the systems
that support them?
Analyze the arguments for and against and defend your position.
(200 words)
Discussion forum 1
An organization uses many systems and applications from Word
to sophisticated Business
Intelligence systems. Should all their systems be strategic?
What are the criteria for a system to be
chosen as a strategic system?
Discussion forum 2
The internet has a low level of monitoring and regulation.
Organization need to take this into
account when developing their internet strategy. Are there
benefits to increasing the degree of

regulation such as in countries like China? How would the
higher level of regulation influence the
organization's internet strategy?
Discussion forum 3
Consider that you are working for a high end, luxury, shoe
manufacturer and you are asked to
explore how the organization can utilize Web 2.0. What would
you recommend? Consider the
http://vle.universityofnicosia-
online.com/mod/forum/view.php?id=9288
resources needed and the specific business objectives that
would be achieved. Choose one

technology or application and support your choice.
Tzortzopoulou-Gregory Classical Mythology Film Review
Instructor: Dr. Lita Tzortzopoulou-Gregory
CLAS 1222
Classical Mythology
FILM REVIEW WRITING GUIDE
You are required to view the film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
(2000). This film is a
modern adaptation of the Odyssey, with many obvious, as well
as obscure, references to
the original story. You will be required to write a review on the
film, providing the
following:
• a short summary, noting the main similarities/differences to
Homer’s Odyssey
• main themes addressed in the film and how they compare to
the book
• your personal response/reaction to the film in light of the
themes explored
• and whether you think that this is a particularly effective use
of modern popular

culture in presenting classical themes of universal importance.
You are NOT expected to use external sources for this paper,
and you MUST NOT look
up information about this film online. If you do, you may lose
points. You are expected
to view the film and write up your paper in your own words.
The paper should be a minimum of 1000 words, double spaced,
Times New Roman,
and it is due for submission on Blackboard no later than the due
date (end of Week 6).
NO EXCEPTIONS.
TIPS: During the film, you may want to take notes, especially
listing the scenes you
think provide references to the Odyssey. This will help you
remember what you saw
when you are writing up your review later. Pay close attention
to the characters, the
dialogue, as well as subtle background hints (for example, there
is a scene in the
restaurant where in the background there is a statue/portrait of
Homer). The film is full of
metaphors, just like the Odyssey is, and you may want to pay
attention to some of these.
The film director (Joel Coen) has obviously taken liberties with
some of Homer’s main
themes in the Odyssey, and has adapted them/modified them,
and created new ones of his
own to suit the film’s needs. In watching the film, you should
try and appreciate the
film’s own artistic expression and try not to make a judgment of
it based on how accurate
it is of the Odyssey. The film was never intended to be a re-

telling of Homer’s Odyssey,
but it is definitely inspired by it. Enjoy the film for what it is,
but also keep in mind that
your job is to discuss how the film makes use of the Odyssey.
Understanding information systems infrastructure in
engineering SMEs: A case study
B.J. Hicks a, S.J. Culley a, C.A. McMahon a, P. Powell b,*
a University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
b Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, United
Kingdom
1. Introduction
The importance of information and systems for management are
widely accepted (Jessup, 2006).
Applications such as finance, payroll, customer relationship
management (CRM), and inventory
management support operations and strategy. The full range of
business functions which commercial
off-the-shelf (COTS) information systems (IS) address is shown
in the lower portion of Fig. 1. Within
any organisation the IS infrastructure may comprise many
different functional elements and
associated software applications.
J. Eng. Technol. Manage. 27 (2010) 52–73
A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:

Available online 3 April 2010
JEL classification:
M15
O32
Keywords:
Information systems
Engineering SMEs
Functional elements
Information dependencies
Integration
Investment
A B S T R A C T
The benefits of integrated enterprise-wide information systems
(IS),
such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, are widely
accepted. The implementation of such systems in large
organisations
is established with many in their second or third generation.
However, in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the

maturity
and extent of their IS infrastructure is less clear. In engineering
SMEs,
this infrastructure needs to support not only business processes
but
also the activities of design and manufacture.
In this case study, our goal is to provide a better understanding
of
current IS infrastructure, the functional elements of IS
infrastruc-
ture, integration and expenditures are explored in ten
engineering
SMEs. A model of IS functionality is developed and used to
identify
and classify functional elements within the firms and to
compare
and contrast the IS infrastructures. The findings are contrasted
with
the SME literature and conclusions and implications developed.
� 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 0 20 3073 8086; fax: +44 0
1223 386928.
E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Powell).

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Journal of Engineering and
Technology Management
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jengtecman
0923-4748/$ – see front matter � 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights
reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jengtecman.2010.03.004
Information systems need to support core business functions and
to ensure that the overall
infrastructure is integrated. Integration provides accurate,
timely information across the organisation.
One route to integration is through Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) systems, which arose from
earlier developments of Materials Resource Planning (MRP)
systems (Langenwalter, 1999). These
systems evolved from linking stores and production departments
to their current manifestation that
include modules for sales, finance, human resources, quality
and project management. Enterprise-
wide implementations are generally provided by a single vendor
and utilise a common database
architecture, simplifying integration and data exchange. The
systems typically require major process
realignment, significant investment in hardware and systems
architecture, and training (Adam and
Sammon, 2004; Reuther and Chattopadhyay, 2004).
The IS infrastructure challenges for large organisations using
ERP involve IS evaluation and

effective planning (Irani and Love, 2001), change management
(Edwards and Humphries, 2005) and
Fig. 1. Hierarchy of business IS and functional groups and
organisational structure.
B.J. Hicks et al. / Journal of Engineering and Technology
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 53
assessment of fit (Kanellis et al., 1999). These issues are
critical where organisations are upgrading,
adding to existing applications or migrating systems. However,
such maturity is unusual in SMEs as
they lack the necessary resources and expertise to implement
enterprise-wide IS and achieve a fully
integrated infrastructure. Further, as a wide range of
information is needed for design and
manufacture (Pahl and Beitz, 1996), and information exchange,
input and flow between departments
and systems are critical (Hicks et al., 2006).
In order to provide insight into these issues, this paper
investigates the IS infrastructure of ten
engineering SMEs. It examines the range of functional elements
of the IS infrastructure and their
integration. The results are compared with the functions which
commercial off-the-shelf ERP systems
typically fulfil. The paper evaluates IS expenditure and
discusses IS strategies.
2. Classification of IS and ERP functionality
This section develops a functional classification of common
business IS for manufacturers. The

classification includes the product functionality of major ERP
systems and commercial off-the-shelf IS.
The classification is developed to:
� generate consistent terminology for describing IS and
application functionality that is appropriate
for SMEs;
� relate functions to core business areas and organisational
structure to identify IS and functionality;
� provide a framework for assessing engineering SME IS
infrastructure.
The IS and ERP functionality is shown in Fig. 1 where more
than thirty common functions are
identified. These are the set of common functions highlighted
by major IS vendors as relevant to
manufacturers. In practice, many of these functions are
provided by a single system or application
(subset) of a large (enterprise-wide) implementation. Hence,
identification of basic functions
within an organisation or a particular implementation is
difficult. For example, when asking about
sales order processing a common response would be ‘our
finance system deals with that’.
Therefore, for the purpose of identifying IS and functional
elements, a higher level grouping is more
appropriate. Such higher level groupings are commonly used by
vendors. For example, the entire
Oracle suite (Oracle, 2006) includes: CRM, Financial, Human
Resources, Supply Chain and e-
Business. In contrast, the SAP suite (SAP, 2006) is grouped as
CRM, ERP, Product Life-cycle
Management, Supply Chain, Supplier Relationship, Analytics,
Governance and Risk, and Mobile
Business. This highlights inconsistent terminology use within
the industry and it is unlikely that

anyone other than highly experienced users, vendors and
consultants is able to describe the
functionality of individual applications.
To overcome this and to provide the basis for the analysis that
follows, the product groupings
provided by manufacturers are used to infer a classification of
IS functionality. The elements include:
Materials Resource Planning, Job Management System,
Manufacturing, Computer-Aided Design,
Quotations and Reporting, Accounting and Finance, Human
Resources/Personnel, Sales and Customer
Relationship Management, E-commerce, Logistics and Dispatch,
and Monitoring and Compliance.
These are defined in Table 1 and shown in Fig. 1.
In addition to this intermediate classification, the various
functional groups are classified with
respect to the structure of engineering SMEs. Five core business
areas are defined: production and
planning, design and manufacture, finance and administration,
sales and operations. This higher level
grouping is derived through consideration of the case SMEs’
structure. The five areas often correspond
to departments’ and directors’ responsibilities. For example,
medium-sized engineers often have
directors of finance, production, technical and sales in addition
to the CEO. In smaller organisations,
finance and sales may be combined and also design,
manufacture and production. Many SMEs
maintain dynamic, entrepreneurial or organic structures to adapt
to changing markets (Covin and
Slevin, 1988). However, the structures of many of the SMEs
here remained largely unchanged
throughout the last decade.

The classification creates a consistent terminology for IS
functionality to present a framework to
support the identification of the functional elements of the IS
infrastructure in engineering SMEs, and
Management 27 (2010) 52–7354
to develop a ‘benchmark’ model against which the observed IS
infrastructure may be compared and
contrasted.
3. Research method
Ten organisations are studied (Fig. 2) all based in the UK South
West and all satisfy the formal
definition of an SME (Europa, 2004).
Of interest here are organisations operating in advanced
engineering (SWRDA, 2005), characterised
by extensive and continuous design, development and
manufacture of new, variant and special
Table 1
Functional grouping of IS applications.
Functional element Core purpose/function Business function
1 Materials/Manufacturing
Resource Planning
Managing and monitoring stores, purchasing,

procurement and logistics
Production and
planning
2 Job Management System Management and monitoring of
where work is in
production and the status of particular projects
3 Manufacturing Scheduling of component manufacture and
monitoring of process status and capacity
4 Computer-Aided Design 2D drafting and 3D modelling
software Design and
manufacture
5 Human Resources/Personnel Records of employees, their
contact details
and training status/proficiency
Finance and
administration
6 Accounting and Finance Preparation and management of
budgets,
job costing, monitoring costs and cash flow
7 Quotations and Reporting Preparation and production of
management

accounts, budgets, forecasts and costs
8 Sales and Customer
Relationship Management
Management of customer and supplier
information. Often including all correspondence
and records of contact
Sales
9 E-commerce Extra-organisational facility for customers
and suppliers to checking/availability of stock,
process orders process, make payment
and monitor progress
10 Logistics and Dispatch Management of warehouse (goods
out/in),
transport and delivery
Operations
11 Monitoring and Compliance Systems for monitoring and
improving
utilisation of resources, processes
efficiency, infrastructure and emissions/waste

Fig. 2. Turnover against number of employees.
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 55
purpose machinery rather than mass producing components or
sub-assemblies. Many of the firms
supply processing, packaging, pharmaceutical, food technology
and measurement equipment. Such
activities require that a wide range of information is managed
effectively to undertake the processes of
design and manufacture (Pahl and Beitz, 1996; Ullman, 1992).
For example, information relating to, or
represented by, CAD files, electronic documents, emails,
correspondence, suppliers’ literature, analysis
models, service reports, meeting records, manufacturing
schedules, lead times, procurement
information and attendance all need to be managed. Further,
these organisations supply many
customers and use a wide variety of suppliers across the globe.
Such organisations are dependent upon
information to achieve and sustain competitive advantage.
Accurate and timely information from
departments, suppliers and customers, needs to be available
across the organisation.
Four specific areas of the IS infrastructure are investigated:
� functional elements of IS infrastructure;
� information dependencies and functional relations in the IS
infrastructure;
� investment in IT, IS and support;
� evolution of the IS infrastructure.

Data was collected using two complementary methods; a
questionnaire and detailed audit
followed by semi-structured interviews. A bottom-up approach
was adopted, where organisations
were audited and directly involved in characterising their IS
infrastructure. Fig. 3 highlights five data
collection activities and illustrates their relationship to the four
areas of the study. The two data
collection methods and the five activities are discussed next.
3.1. Questionnaire and audit
The questionnaire and audits involved three data collection
activities. The questionnaire obtains
background information on each SME and its operational
metrics. The metrics include turnover,
product range, employees and expenditure on software and
hardware. Following the questionnaire,
two focussed audits were conducted to construct and verify
inventory. The first dealt with the IS
infrastructure, involving identifying the software applications
and describing their functionality.
Here, an IS is a system that manages corporate information
within or across a department, an entire
organisation or for a specific function. The classification of IS
functionality was referenced to identify
functionality and to functional elements. In order to explore
departmental and organisational
Fig. 3. Research methodology.
Management 27 (2010) 52–7356

dimensions the audit considered individual departments
(business areas) and the central information
technology (IT) function. The second auditing activity
considered all software applications, their
purpose or function and software licences. This activity was
undertaken for each department and
considered all hardware. These activities identify the functional
elements of the IS infrastructure and
examine IS infrastructure expenditure.
3.2. Semi-structured interviews
The second method of data collection involved semi-structured
discussions with senior personnel
to explore the functions of the various elements of the IS
infrastructure. It elicited information
dependencies between elements of the infrastructure and the
functional relationships.
Information dependencies are identified where/when common
information (data) is produced by,
or required by, a number of different elements of the
infrastructure. In contrast, the functional
relationships are defined where/when one or more elements and
associated systems are used to
achieve a specific purpose. During the semi-structured
interviews the overall IS infrastructure of the
SME was reviewed and its evolution discussed.
All the interviews were conducted at participants’ offices and
factories and included directors, and
representatives from key departments – technical, IT and
finance. Participants were interviewed in
groups of up to three, enabling a consensus, so the data provides

a unified and reliable perspective.
4. IS in engineering SMEs
The approach establishes and audits software applications and
elaborates their functions. These
functions are not supported by, or limited to, a particular
software application or suite. However,
particular functions are frequently supported by a single
dedicated software system.
Establishing the principal functional elements of the IS
infrastructure is key to understanding
information handling elements within the engineering SMEs. It
also provides the basis for comparing
the typical suite of IS applications (Fig. 1) with an empirical
model representing the current
infrastructure.
4.1. Establishing functional elements
Identifying functional elements relies on clearly defining the
functions of particular IS. However,
distinguishing between some of the elements is difficult where
production and planning-related
components are considered. Fig. 4 shows an audited list of the
functional elements within the ten
SMEs and the software applications.
The difficulty in distinguishing functional elements of the IS
infrastructure can be attributed, in
part, to the nature of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems.
Often systems implemented to
deal with particular functions are capable of dealing with
related ones, such as those associated
with production and planning. As a consequence, organisations

and users frequently classify a
particular software application and its entire functional
capability as a single element of the
infrastructure.
In the case of planning or production, two thirds of the
organisations, where two functional
elements can be identified, use only a single computer-based
system to perform both. The inability to
determine which systems support which functional elements can
significantly frustrate the capacity
to plan and develop the IS infrastructure. For example, it is
more difficult to specify the requirements
for new systems and assess the capabilities of potential
solutions to meet these. In the case of
production and planning, three elements are identified (MRP,
JMS and manufacturing) by three
different organisations. Most SMEs (six) identify only two
elements, but there appears no correlation
between the two elements implemented. That is to say,
organisations implement different
combinations of the three elements.
In addition to problems of distinguishing between elements of
production and planning, there is
overlap between the functions of accounting and payroll. For
example, in five SMEs a single computer-
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 57
based system is used to perform both functions. One
organisation outsources its payroll, which is
interesting given that this requires weekly data for over 150

employees to be transferred externally.
4.1.1. Principal functional elements
Twelve principal functional elements of IS infrastructure
emerge that support business processes,
and design and manufacture (Table 2). Grouping these elements
by organisational structure reveals
that finance and administration require most elements (five),
while production and planning, and
design and manufacture require three. Sales require a single
dedicated functional element. However,
sales teams require access to systems supporting production and
design functions as well as finance
and administration. For example, where designers visit
customers to discuss upgrades or revisions it is
important that sales are aware of the content and outcomes.
Despite the difficulties in separating functionality and software
applications, the study reveals
twelve principal functional elements. For six SMEs it is
possible to identify at least nine different
functional elements (Fig. 5). Further, in two of these, ten
separate elements can be identified, while in
one SME all twelve elements exist. The average number of
functional elements of IS infrastructure is
about eight. The relative levels of implementation of each
functional element and the number of
different software applications are shown on the right-hand side
of Fig. 5. The relative levels of
implementation across organisations range from 40% to 100%
of the total principal functional
elements with an average of 70% (>8 functional elements).
4.1.2. Core functional elements

In addition to examining the implementation of functional
elements, this research explores the
relative levels of implementation of specific functional
elements. Three core functional elements are
clearly identifiable and implemented across all organisations.
These are accounts, payroll and CAD
that together represent the core set of IS necessary to operate
and support an engineering SME. These
Fig. 4. Functional elements of IS infrastructure of engineering
SMEs and associated software applications.
Management 27 (2010) 52–7358
Table 2
Functional elements of the IS infrastructure.
Functional element Core purpose/function Business function
1 Materials/Manufacturing
Resource Planning
Managing and monitoring stores, purchasing,
procurement and logistics
Production and
planning
2 Job Management System Management and monitoring of
where work is in

production and the status of particular projects
3 Manufacturing Scheduling of component manufacture and
monitoring
of process status and capacity
4 Computer-Aided Design 2D drafting and 3D modelling
software Design and
manufacture5 Product Data Management Managing CAD models
and assemblies (2D and 3D) and
other documents which relate to specific projects
6 Computer Numerically
Controlled (CAM)
Control of manufacturing equipment
7 Personnel Records of employees, their contact details and
training
status/proficiency
Finance and
administration
8 Time and Attendance Monitoring employees’ time at work and
also monitoring
manufacturing and production times for particular

operations and jobs
9 Payroll Control payments to employees and subcontractors
10 Accounting Preparation and management of budgets, job
costing,
monitoring costs and cash flow
11 Quotations and Reporting Preparation and production of
management accounts,
budgets, forecasts and costs
12 Customer Relationship
Management
Management of customer and supplier information.
Often including all correspondence and records of contact
Sales
Note: The term CNC is used rather than the more common term
CAM because it reflects terminology used by the participants.
Fig. 5. Aggregated analysis of functional elements and software
applications.
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 59
are unsurprising given that there are legal and statutory

requirements governing accounting and
payroll, and that CAD systems are now a prerequisite for the
design and production of any engineering
system.
It is also possible to assess the least widely implemented
components – CNC and personnel
systems. One reason for the low level of implementation of
CNC systems is the varying levels and
complexity of in-house manufacture of components across the
organisations. Further, many SMEs still
use simple manually generated code for machine tools. In the
case of personnel systems, some of the
information is contained within payroll and only this basic set
of personal information is managed by
the organisation.
4.1.3. Additional elements of IS infrastructure
In addition to the principal elements of IS infrastructure, a
number of additional elements either
relate to, or are implemented by, others. For engineering SMEs,
these external organisations generally
include suppliers, customers, subcontractors and other sites.
These market-oriented elements
(Lucchetti and Sterlacchini, 2004) provide the basic components
for e-commerce capabilities.
However, none of the SMEs has fully implemented e-commerce
applications. More specifically the
elements include email, Internet, electronic catalogues, MRP
systems and Extranets/Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI). Electronic catalogues (Culley and Webber,
1992) and product configurators
(Configure One Inc, 2004) are becoming increasingly common
as organisations try to rationalise
product ranges and smooth production runs. These systems

represent the current available range of
products and possible configurations and may require
information from the PDM and MRP systems, if
current stock levels are included. Extranets and EDI systems
generally incorporate some similar
functionality to the electronic catalogues but may include
quotations, stock levels and lead time. EDI
may also support sales order processing and financial
transactions. Further, these elements often
provide customer-specific information such as production
progress and anticipated delivery times
and may therefore require information from the MRP system
and the JMS.
4.2. Dependencies between elements of IS infrastructure
Twelve principal functional elements of engineering SMEs’ IS
infrastructure have been established.
In addition, there is a need to understand their dependencies and
relationships. Information
dependencies arise where common information (data) is
produced, or required, by a number of
infrastructure elements. Such dependencies determine the level
of integration (communication)
necessary within the infrastructure. In contrast to the
information dependencies, functional
relationships arise where one or more elements and associated
software applications may be used
to achieve a specific function or purpose. Such relationships do
not necessarily demand integration,
rather they define access requirements.
4.2.1. Information dependencies
Nine information dependencies are identified. These
dependencies (D1–D9) are summarised in

Table 3. Although the dependencies are described at a high
level they clearly identify the necessary
links between elements of the infrastructure and provide insight
into the nature of these links. For
example, the type of information that needs to be exchanged is
shown.
It is useful to categorise the information dependencies by the
core business functions in order to
highlight inter-departmental dependencies. A breakdown of
dependencies and business functions (Fig. 6)
shows that there are two information dependencies between
systems within the business functions of
design and manufacture, and finance and administration and a
single dependency within production and
planning. The remaining four dependencies are across business
functions and multiple IS. Three
dependencies involve production and planning, two with finance
and administration, and one with
design and manufacture. The final dependency involves sales
and finance, and administration.
4.2.2. Functional relationships
In addition to the nine elemental dependencies, two system
level dependencies are identified.
These concern quotation and reporting, and accounting that
require information from many other
Management 27 (2010) 52–7360
elements. For example, quotation and reporting systems
typically use information from eight

elements and their associated systems; MRP, JMS,
Manufacturing, Time and Attendance, Payroll,
Personnel, CRM and PDM elements. In practice, the accounting
functions are dependent upon these
elements, with the general exception of PDM.
Fig. 6. Information dependencies across functional elements of
the IS infrastructure.
Table 3
Information dependencies.
Information systems Information dependency Business function
D1 CNC and CAD Creation and exchange of machining
instructions (CNC code)
Design and manufacture
D2 CAD and PDM Management and organisation of part
drawings and documentation (Drawings
and Design Office Instructions)
Design and manufacture
D3 MRP and PDM Creation, management and completion of
Bills of Materials (Bills of Materials)
Production and planning
and design and manufacture

D4 Manufacture, MRP
and JMS
Scheduling and monitoring of production
information (Stock, WIP and build status)
D5 Manufacture, MRP
and JMS
and Accounting
Costing and variance analysis of manufactured
components (Cost [Materials, Labour and Parts])
and finance and administration
D6 JMS and Time and
Attendance
Monitoring and analysing time spent on
manufacturing activities for particular jobs
(Time and Process status)

and finance and administration
D7 Time and Attendance
and Payroll
Calculating payment for employees (Time) Finance and
administration
D8 Payroll and Personnel Personal information necessary for
payment
(Personal information)
Finance and administration
D9 CRM, Quotation and
Reporting, and
Accounting
Provision of accurate quotes for particular
customers (Cost [Materials, Labour and
Parts] and Time)
Sales and finance and
administration
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 61

4.2.3. Software applications
Establishing the functional elements of the IS infrastructure
necessitates evaluating the range of
software applications implemented (Fig. 4). The right-hand side
of Fig. 5 shows the number of IS and
the ratio of systems-to-functional elements. Two firms maintain
as many as ten different software
applications to fulfil the functional elements of IS
infrastructure. Indeed, the organisation in which
twelve separate functional elements are identified implements
eleven different applications. In
general, the average number of IS is seven, covering planning
and production, design and manufacture,
finance and administration, and sales.
The ratio of IS to functional elements provides an insight into
automated integration. In practice,
the information dependencies identified in Section 4.2.1 can be
satisfied either manually (data is
transferred by users or operators), semi-automatically (using an
end-user-developed intermediary to
collect or exchange and parse information), or automatically
(information is dynamically updated
across dependent systems/applications). Automatic exchange is
only generally available where a
single vendor system is implemented for two or more dependent
elements.
A systems-to-function ratio approaching one implies that
dedicated IS are implemented for each
functional element. Further, if the ratio approaches one and
there are a large number of different
systems, then such infrastructures are much more complicated
to integrate than an infrastructure

with a low number of systems and a low ratio (<0.6). For the
SMEs here the ratio of systems-to-
functional elements is between 0.7 and 1. In general, there are
an almost equal number of software
applications to functional elements. This supports Hicks et al.
(2006) who identify automatic exchange
of information as important to engineers.
4.3. Functional model of IS infrastructure
The previous sections characterised the functional elements of
IS infrastructure and defined the
information dependencies and functional relations between
them. By combining these, a
functional model of the key elements of infrastructure and their
relationships can be constructed.
The overall model is shown in Fig. 7c, with the two stages of its
development which are shown in
Fig. 7a and b.
Fig. 7a represents the twelve elements and their grouping
according to business areas that tend to
represent identifiable departments in engineering SMEs. Fig. 7b
represents the information
dependencies and functional relations. The dependencies are
represented by the intersections of
the sets that denote each functional element. The quotation and
reporting element has been resized to
enable the two functional relations (quotation and reporting, and
accounting) to be represented. The
dependencies are numbered corresponding to Table 3. Mapping
these dependencies onto the system
model highlights that all the elements possess at least one
information dependency. That is to say,
there are no independent elements of IS infrastructure. Fig. 7b
retains the grouping by the four

business functions. These are represented by the bold lines with
the names outside the diagram. This
grouping highlights the importance of what, in reality, are
frequently inter-departmental
dependencies between systems, reinforcing the need for a
properly integrated IS infrastructure.
The functional model is extended in Fig. 7c to include the
additional elements of the infrastructure
identified earlier. These include e-catalogues, MRP, Extranets
(EDI), email and the Internet. The first
three are generally used by suppliers, customers and
subcontractors. The final two elements provide
general communication elements.
In Fig. 7 three core elements of the IS infrastructure (CAD,
payroll and accounting) are highlighted.
There are no information dependencies or functional relations
between these elements. Although
salary costs are required for accounting purposes, such
information is relatively low volume and only
required monthly or annually and can be acquired and
transferred manually when required.
4.4. IS/IT expenditure
Expenditure on IS, IT and support determine the total cost of
ownership (TCO) (West and Daigle,
2004). Fig. 8 shows this and organisational metrics for
comparison. Here, expenditure represents all
direct costs a three-year period. IT expenditure includes all
hardware, while support costs include
Management 27 (2010) 52–7362

Fig. 7. A functional model of IS infrastructure of an engineering
SME. (a) The functional elements of the information systems
infrastructure. (b) The internal elements of the information
systems infrastructure and the information. (c) The total
information systems infrastructure including internal and
external elements.
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 63
salaries of IT staff and subcontractors. For IS, the figures
include all software and licences. This also
includes desktop office-type applications, although these
represent a small proportion of
expenditure given that many licences are distributed with new
PC packages. Further, an increasing
number of the functional elements of the infrastructure are
supported by such end-user-developed
applications.
Annual IS/IT expenditure ranges from $9k to $315k with an
average of $135k. Such a range is
expected given the large variation in firm size. It is also
unsurprising that the minimum expenditure
corresponds to the SME with the smallest turnover (organisation
K), which also maintains the fewest
different IS (software applications). In contrast, the largest
expenditure does not correspond to the
largest turnover or the greatest number of different IS.
However, the SME with the largest expenditure
(C) does possess the greatest number of computers. When

compared to a firm with a similar number of
computers (H) the IS/IT expenditure of C is twice the level of
H. Further, H maintains a greater number
of IS. The reason for this difference is C’s expenditure on IS
and support due to implementation of a
new IS and a second full-time IT officer appointed.
More insight can be gained by considering expenditure
expressed as a proportion of turnover
(Fig. 8). Total IS/IT expenditure ranges from 0.3% to 2.1% of
turnover with an average of less than 1%.
Fig. 7. (Continued ).
Management 27 (2010) 52–7364
These values include IT, IS and support costs. If solely IS are
considered, the expenditure of each
organisation ranges from $4.5k to $75k and 0.15% to 0.5% of
annual turnover with an average of 0.21%.
If IT is considered, the expenditure of each organisation ranges
from $3k to $60k and 0.06% to 0.5% of
annual turnover with an average of 0.25%. These figures
slightly exceed that of IS but are considerably
lower than the expenditure on support. Annual support
expenditure is equal to expenditure on IT and
IS, representing on average over half of the total expenditure.
Additional insight into the relationship between expenditure and
size can be obtained by
examining employee and computers numbers (Fig. 9a and b).
Although the sample population is
relatively small it is still possible to formulate qualitative

observations on the basis of overall
trends. More specifically, it is possible to approximate the
bounded region over which the
relationships between expenditure, number of computers and
number of employees occur (one
circled outlier is omitted). In the case of expenditure against
employee numbers (Fig. 9a) the results
lie within a hatched region which can be qualitatively
characterised by a linear relationship having
a coefficient approaching unity. This implies that if employees
double then the total IS/IT
expenditure will also double. Further, this relationship suggests
that, on average, the organisations
spend $1200 on IT/IS for every employee. For expenditure
against number of computers (Fig. 8b)
the results lie within a hatched region qualitatively
characterised by a linear relationship having a
coefficient of almost two. This implies that if the number of
computers doubles then IS/IT
expenditure will treble.
The relationship between IS expenditure and the number of
different software applications
(Fig. 10) reveals an overall trend for expenditure to increase
with the number of different systems, but
there is no clear relationship. For example, one firm with four
systems has similar expenditure to
another with ten. This lack of correlation also holds when total
IS/IT expenditure is considered and the
functional elements of IS infrastructure are considered. The
latter of which is unsurprising given the
close ratio of systems-to-functional elements (!1).
Fig. 8. A comparison of IS/IT expenditure across engineering
SMEs.

Management 27 (2010) 52–73 65
4.5. IS strategy
For the engineering SMEs, it is difficult to identify an overall
strategy which has driven the
development of IS infrastructure. This is largely due to a lack of
documentation and records relating to
Fig. 9. IS/IT expenditure against key organisational metrics. (a)
IS/IT expenditure against number of employees. (b) IS/IT
expenditure against number of computers.
Fig. 10. IS expenditure and the number of information systems.
Management 27 (2010) 52–7366
the choice and rationale for current and future systems. This
lack supports the notion that SME IS
generally develops through need rather than planning. The IS
infrastructure has evolved
incrementally over the last two decades. This evolution has
been primarily driven by parallel
developments in CAD, and finance and accounting. Such
developments were driven by the necessity to
reduce the time and routine operations involved in drafting and
also conform to the legal and statutory
requirements for accounting, auditing and reporting. The critical
role of these elements in shaping
current infrastructure is further supported by the fact that CAD,

accounting and payroll are the only
three functional elements of the IS infrastructure to be
implemented across all the SMEs.
Despite the critical role of these elements and their long-term
parallel development, often software
applications which support the business functions of design and
manufacture, and finance and
accounting are not well aligned. This is illustrated by a number
of responses from design and
manufacturing which suggest a feeling of isolation from the
financial function(s). One reason for this
perceived isolation is that IS are viewed as a cost rather than a
resource by owner-managers. As a
consequence, the financial support and hence evolution of the
infrastructure is controlled or
significantly influenced by finance employees/director. Further,
it is likely that these individuals are
involved in accounting and reporting processes and so are more
attuned to the needs of these
functions. None of the SMEs identified an information
dependency between IS supporting design and
manufacture and finance and administration.
5. Comparisons
In this section the findings are contrasted with the standard
functional model of IS infrastructure
developed earlier and the IS/IT in SMEs literature. The
comparison deals with functional elements,
level of integration, expenditure and IS strategy.
5.1. Functional elements of the IS infrastructure
This section compares/contrasts principal functional elements of
the IS infrastructure with the

functional grouping of common business IS developed earlier.
This functional grouping represents the
standard IS model presented by vendors. In particular, there are
elements of the standard functional
model that are not identified by the SMEs and also functional
elements identifiable within the firms
that are not presented in the standard model (i.e. not included in
the suites offered by major vendors).
These additional elements are often supported by dedicated
software from specialist vendors.
When comparing the standard model with the functional model
of IS infrastructure, eight of the
eleven functional groups are implemented within the SMEs.
These include all groups within
production and planning, design and manufacture, finance and
administration and the majority of
sales elements (2.5 out of 3). In this instance, the 0.5 is used to
reflect the fact that only a proportion of
e-commerce functionality is implemented across the firms.
While all organisations maintain some
market-oriented elements (Lucchetti and Sterlacchini, 2004)
including an Internet site and electronic
product catalogues only three exchange financial information
with suppliers, and even this is limited.
Although nine out of ten SMEs claim to exchange drawings and
documentation with customers and
suppliers this is by email rather than through EDI.
Notwithstanding this, the SMEs are clearly
progressing from purely MRP and MRP II levels of
functionality to CIM and EDI (Coronado et al., 2000).
While nearly all the functional elements within the four
organisational groups of production and
planning, design and manufacture, finance and administration
and sales are implemented across the

SMEs, there are no elements within the Operations group and,
in particular, logistics and despatch, and
monitoring and compliance. This may be partly due to the
limited resources and size of the firms but it
may also be that within the advanced engineering sectors, firms
are not generally involved in high
volume manufacture and, hence, carry relatively low stock and
despatch finished goods relatively
infrequently. For example, a machinery manufacturer may not
produce more than two machines in
any week. Further, where monitoring and compliance are
considered, only a couple of organisations
maintained explicit IS for quality or environmental
management. This lack of explicit IS for supporting
quality (ISO 9000/2) and environmental management supports
Hicks et al. (2006) who reveal that
many engineering SMEs believed ISO 9000/2 certification just
contributes to issues concerning
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 67
information storage. While the SMEs may not have IS
implemented to support aspects of quality
control, improvement and assurance, many have well-
documented, paper-based procedures.
When comparing the functional model of the IS infrastructure of
engineering SMEs with the
standard model, four additional elements are identifiable,
including: Computer Numerical Control,
Payroll, Product Data Management, and Time and Attendance.
Payroll is surprisingly not an intrinsic
part of the finance system. However, most firms (six) maintain

a separate dedicated payroll system. Of
the other three functional elements (CNC, PDM and T&A) such
systems are generally provided by
specialist or dedicated COTS software vendors. Further, CNC
and T&A systems are highly dependent
upon specialist hardware, not just standard IT and are not
represented in the standard vendor model.
5.2. Integration within the IS infrastructure
The levels of integration within the IS infrastructures are likely
to be poor due to the relatively high
ratio of software applications to functions (0.7). Information
dependencies can be satisfied manually,
semi-automatically or automatically. Automatic exchange is the
most effective and efficient means to
ensure that accurate and up-to-date information is available
across the firm, and is generally only
available where a single vendor system is implemented for two
or more dependent elements.
To investigate the levels of automatic data exchange and, hence,
levels of integration, the IS
implemented to support the functions across each of the nine
dependencies are evaluated (Table 4).
The table highlights those dependencies for which the
functional elements are fulfilled by software
applications from the same suite or vendor. The final row
highlights the total ‘same systems’ from the
SMEs where both functional elements are implemented.
The first dependency CNC and CAD (D1) is arguably not
integrated within any of the SMEs. This can
be attributed to the specialist nature of CAD and CNC systems
(Xu et al., 2005). In the case of CAD and
PDM (D2) half the information dependencies are fulfilled by

integrated systems. Where dedicated
COTS PDM systems are implemented, the dependency and
related elements are integrated. This is
because PDM systems are usually specified to support a
particular CAD system and integration is a
critical design requirement. Notwithstanding this, there is one
implementation where the CAD system
has been upgraded and the PDM-to-CAD integration is no
longer fully automated. The dependency D3
(MRP and PDM) is discussed after D4, D5 and D9, and
collectively with D6–D8.
The fourth dependency: Manufacture, MRP and JMS (D4)
arguably represents the most integrated
part of the IS infrastructure and is integrated across eight of a
possible nine organisations. This reflects
the need to integrate aspects of production and planning (MRP
I). A similar observation concerns the
fifth dependency: Manufacture, MRP and JMS and Accounting
(D5) which represents the core
dependencies addressed by MRP II systems. Here five SMEs
implement a common software system to
fulfil both functions. Three of these are COTS systems while
two are end-user-developed systems
created from desktop applications. Another dependency to
benefit from integration by virtue of end-
user-developed systems is dependency D9; CRM, Quotation and
Reporting, and Accounting, where
three out of seven implementations are integrated by these. The
implications of user-developed
systems are discussed later.
The dependencies D3, D6, D7 and D8 arise from poorly
integrated parts of the infrastructure.
Dependencies D3 and D6 (MRP and PDM, and JMS and Time
and Attendance respectively) are inter-

departmental. Dependencies D7 and D8 (Time and Attendance
and Payroll, and Payroll and Personnel
respectively) are internal to finance and administration.
In order to overcome the issues of integration, considerable
work has been undertaken to develop
Materials Resource Planning (MRP) systems into Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) systems
(Langenwalter, 1999). These systems have evolved from
initially linking stores and production
departments to their current manifestation which include
modules for sales, finance, human
resources, quality and project management. For the SMEs here,
this addresses the integration of MRP
and JMS and in part MRP and JMS Accounting (MRP II).
However, they have not been widely
implemented to address other aspects of the business (ERP).
One major reason is that these enterprise-
wide implementations typically require major business process
realignment, substantial investment
in the latest hardware technologies and systems architecture,
and significant training (Adam and
Sammon, 2004; Reuther and Chattopadhyay, 2004). As a result
and due to limited resources, and often
Management 27 (2010) 52–7368
Table 4
Information dependencies fulfilled by software applications
from the same suite or vendor.
Organisation Dependency

D1 D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9
CNC and
CAD
CAD and
PDM
MRP and
PDM
Manufacture,
MRP and JMS
Manufacture,
MRP and JMS
and Accounting
JMS and Time
and Attendance
Time and
Attendance
and Payroll
Payroll and

Personnel
CRM, Quotation
and Reporting,
and Accounting
A N – – – N – – – N
B N Y N Y Y – – N Y
C N Y N Y N – – N –
D N – – Y Y N N N N
E N N Y Y N N N – Y
F N N Y N Y N N Y Y
G N N N Y Y N N – N
H N Y N Y Y N N – N
J N – – Y N – – – –
K N – – Y N – – – –
Total 0/10 3/6 2/6 8/9 5/10 0/5 0/5 1/4 3/7
Same information system vendor/suite Y or N.
B
.J.
H

ick
s
e
t
a
l./
Jo
u
rn
a
l
o
f
E
n
g
in
e
e
rin
g
a
n
d
T

e
ch
n
o
lo
g
y
M
a
n
a
g
e
m
e
n
t
2
7
(2
0
1
0
)

5
2
–
7
3
6
9
unique business processes, such systems have not been as
widely implemented. Only three firms
possess MRP II/ERP implementations and include SYSPRO
(SYSPRO, 2006) and MFG Pro (Minerva,
2006).
In addition, inter-departmental integration is not as widespread
as expected because of the
numerous software applications available for particular
functions. Many have been developed by
vendors in relative isolation from other IS and vendors. For
example, CADCAMNet (2005) lists over
fifty vendors for product data management (PDM) systems.
Further, CAD systems and associated
software modules have been developed by software vendors
particularly for engineers. Equally, the
development of accounting and finance software has been
driven by statutory requirements.
However, in practice members of finance and design
departments require information from both
systems, including, for example, cost information and part
codes.

5.3. Expenditure/investment in the IS infrastructure
When considering relative levels of IS and IT investment, there
is no benchmark against which the
expenditure of the engineering SMEs can be compared. In the IS
literature there is no generally
accepted method for evaluating IS expenditure and benefits
(Delone and Van de Ven, 2000;
Mylonopoulos et al., 1995). Yet, a study of US manufacturers
demonstrates that most organisations
spend over 4% of total budget on IS/IT (Industry Week, 2003).
In the same study, organisations
realising the most significant improvements in cost control and
productivity are those with an annual
investment of 4% or more. These figures contrast the findings
here where expenditures range from
0.3% to 2.1% of turnover with an average of less than 1%.
The relationship between expenditure and the functional
elements of the IS infrastructure and the
number of software applications reveals a general trend but no
strong correlation between
expenditure and the number of different systems. In order to
reveal a stronger correlation between
expenditure and IS it is necessary to remove in-house end-user-
developed applications. Such
applications do not generally represent a significant direct cost,
although there will be a hidden cost in
terms of employee time. Factoring out these applications reveals
a clearer relationship between
expenditure and the number of different IS (Fig. 11). The trend
line suggests that the expenditure
associated with the core set of three IS for engineering SMEs is
around $15k p.a. This includes the CAD,
payroll and accounting systems. The results also suggest that
the addition of subsequent IS; such as

MRP, JMS, manufacturing and PDM systems add around $8k
each p.a.
5.4. IS strategy
The SME IS literature suggests that IS infrastructure evolves
incrementally to meet changing
business activity, needs of particular departments or external
factors (Ferneley and Bell, 2005). This
Fig. 11. IS expenditure and the number of commercial off-the-
shelf IS.
Management 27 (2010) 52–7370
study supports this, if only that in many cases there is no
evidence or documentation of a formal
strategy (Naylor and Williams, 1994). Despite the apparent lack
of formal planning, this study suggest
that IS infrastructure is primarily driven by parallel
developments in CAD, and finance and accounting.
As a consequence, decision makers in these areas possess a
limited view of their department’s or their
organisation’s activities and may not fully appreciate the
information flows and their values to other
departments and the firm. This approach may reinforce the view
of some departments that their
systems are largely independent and support their activities and
processes rather than the entire firm.
Further, the notion that system elements are acquired and
implemented on an apparently ad hoc
basis seemingly driven by necessity rather than planning is also

supported as the SMEs all possess
many different, poorly integrated systems. For example,
engineering organisations maintain up to
eleven different IS to deal with all the various functional
elements.
This variety of systems and the associated lack of planning and
integration can result in a poorly
functioning or underperforming IS infrastructure (Levy and
Powell, 1997; Brittain, 1992). Further,
Kaasbøll (1997) suggests that the relative lack of planning
frequently results in new elements that may
only replace a current problem with a new less well-understood
problem or cause negative effects. For
the SMEs here, these factors can have a significant impact on
their responsiveness and ultimately long-
term performance. In particular, engineering organisations need
to be able to provide accurate,
competitively priced quotations for new systems, which can be
produced within their capabilities and
current capacity and generate an appropriate contribution.
Successfully achieving this is critically
dependent upon the availability of accurate and up-to-date
information from across the organisation,
and hence the IS infrastructure.
Participants highlighted that bespoke software and COTS has
been dropped in favour of simpler
systems created in-house using desktop office software. The
reasons include reduced software and
support cost, the ability to include firm-specific knowledge,
develop functionality as it is required and
align systems to business processes. The most common
functional elements of the IS infrastructure
that are fulfilled by such applications are quotations and
reporting, and then customer relationship

management followed by personnel and product data
management. All these functions lend
themselves to spreadsheets, relational databases and linked
reports. Linked reports use technologies
such as Object Linking and Embedding to dynamically link data
and objects across different files. One
of the main reasons for the increasing use of Microsoft Office-
type applications is their relatively low
cost, combined with the significant improvements in
functionality and the relative ease of data
exchange. Further, generic templates for supporting various
business functions are freely available
and can be easily altered by proficient users, and do not require
expensive third-party customization.
One potential disadvantage of such end-user-developed systems
is their scalability which is a barrier
to use in larger organisations.
6. Conclusions
This study of the information infrastructure of ten engineering
SMEs establishes the nature and
maturity of their IS infrastructure. The functional elements,
level of integration and expenditure on IS
are explored. A vendor-based model of IS functionality is
developed, including over thirty IS functions,
grouped into eleven functional classes and five organisational
groups. The model is used to identify
functional elements and provides a comparison for the observed
IS infrastructures.
A bottom-up study of the IS infrastructures of engineering
SMEs reveals twelve principal functional
elements: Materials/Manufacturing Resource Planning, Job
Management System, Manufacturing,
Computer-Aided Design, Product Data Management, Computer

Numerically Controlled (CAM),
Personnel, Time and Attendance, Payroll, Accounting,
Quotations and Reporting, and Customer
Relationship Management. It also identifies three core
functional elements: Accounts, Payroll and
CAD, defined as core as they are implemented in all
organisations. A comparison of this functional
model with the standard vendor-based model, reveals that none
of the SMEs possesses functional
elements to support operations and, in particular, logistics and
despatch, and monitoring and
compliance. Further, the engineering SMEs possess four
functional elements to their IS infrastructure
not included within the standard vendor model – Computer
Numerical Control, Payroll, Product Data
Management, and Time and Attendance.
Management 27 (2010) 52–73 71
A critical aspect of the work investigated information
dependencies as a way of understanding
integration. Thus, in addition to considering the functional
elements of the IS infrastructure, the study
establishes the dependencies between infrastructure elements.
Nine information dependencies are
identified and these are used as a basis to evaluate the level of
integration within the infrastructure.
The IS infrastructures are not generally well-integrated,
particularly where dependencies are inter-
departmental. It is, however, shown that the dependency
between Manufacture, MRP and JMS, and
Accounting is relatively well-integrated, and it is arguable that
these elements form the basis of a

typical MRP II system.
Assessment of expenditure of on IT, IS and support reveals an
average expenditure of less than 1% of
turnover – 0.21% on IS, 0.24% of IT and 0.47% on support.
Further, the empirical data suggests that, on
average engineering SMEs, spend around $1.2k on IT/IS per
employee. In addition to exploring the
relationships between total IT/IS expenditure and organisational
size the expenditure on IS alone is
examined. This reveals that the core set of IS: CAD, payroll and
accounting, require an investment of
around $15k p.a. and that subsequent information systems such
as MRP, JMS, manufacturing and PDM
each demand a further investment of approximately $7.5k p.a.
The final part of the study explores the evolution of the IS
structure and hence the IS strategy. This
confirms previous findings that suggest that SMEs undertake
relatively little IS planning and generally
lack a long-term strategy. In addition, the evolution of the IS
infrastructure within the engineering
SMEs is largely driven by developments in CAD and Finance
systems. Although not part of a formal
strategy, firms are beginning to drop commercial off-the-shelf
systems for simpler end-user-
developed software applications constructed in-house from
desktop software. The findings suggest
that the IS infrastructure of engineering SMEs is approaching an
equivalent level of capability to MRP II
and that organisations are beginning to embrace certain aspects
of e-commerce and Electronic Data
Interchange. In order to progress to ERP/CIM and full EDI
capabilities it is necessary for these
organisations to focus on achieving a more integrated IS
infrastructure and, in particular, addressing

the core information dependencies.
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