INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

KL WORLDWIDE ENTERPRISES, INC.: PUTTING  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO WORK Professor Richard M. Kesner prepared this case    KL WORLDWIDE ENTERPRISES, INC.:  A BUSINESS OVERVIEW AND HISTORY  KL Worldwide Enterprises

 

 

Case Study Questions

Question 1

1. 1. What are KL Enterprise’s core business processes and to what extent do KL’s information management (IM) practices and information technology (IT) platform investments align with and support these core business processes?

 

Core Business Process:	Enabling Information Resource Management Practices/Platforms:
e.g. product design	e-mails, Microsoft SharePoint; data extracted from Oracle, SAP, and India and U.S. legacy systems.
add more as necessary

Question 2

1. 2. What are the current strengths in the organization’s IM/IT investments?

·         e.g. executive team commitment to the uses of IM and cost-effective IT in running the business.

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·         add more as necessary

Question 3

1. 3. What are the current weaknesses in the organization’s IM/IT investments?

·         e.g. slowness of the platform moves across the firm towards a SAP standard.

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·         add more as necessary

Question 4

1. 4. What role does IM/IT enablement play in the following areas of KL Enterprise corporate activities? By that I mean, how does IM/IT help KL carry out day-to-day operations and transacting, how does it aid management processes, and does it enable KL product and service innovation?

 

Operations	Control/Management	Innovation
e.g. manufacturing and distribution operations enabled through SAP	e.g. day-to-day and near-term management of manufacturing and distribution enabled through both the Oracle and SAP/legacy system platforms; integration of data still a challenge	e.g. product innovation and design efforts poorly integrated and poorly informated from an IRM/IT point of view