Integration and Development of Enterprise Systems Using a Phased Approach
Identifying Work Processes For Integration
Prior to selecting the SAP software as the corporation's enterprise management system,
PG&E has already performed some analysis of various key legacy and stand alone
systems that provide the critical data for asset and expense management. With the
implementation of the SAP system, the corporate IT strategy has determined that the
information stored in the SAP database repository will serve as the database of record for
the company. In addition, the IT strategy also emphasized the use of off-the-shelf
software and open systems architecture whenever possible, to minimize the cost of
integration and support.
With this strategy as the starting point, PG&E identified the data needed for each of the
SAP modules, the manual process or existing systems that provided them. Some
examples are listed below:
| SAP Financial System: |
Data Needed
-Settlement Costs |
Process or System Providing the Data
Estimating Tools
|
| SAP Work Management System: |
Data Needed
|
Process or System Providing the Data |
| -Work Orders |
Preventative
Corrective
Construction |
Various legacy maintenance databases
(being now consolidated in SAP/WM).
Outage Management System
Estimating Tools
|
| -Asset Information |
Installed
Removed/Abandoned |
Estimating Tools
Estimating Tools |
| Data Needed |
Process or System Providing the Data |
| -Existing |
Pole Inventory Database
Mapping records - manual (mylar) and
electronic (3 different mapping systems)
Electric Facilities Databases
Gas FM Database |
| SAP Materials System: |
Data Needed
-Work Orders |
Process or System Providing the Data
-SAP/WM and Estimating Tools |
| -Compatible Units |
Material codes/cost
Reserved for work orders
Long lead time |
Warehouse Management System WMS and SAP MM
(consideration being given to migrating implementing SAP/MM warehouse
functionality for legacy WMS)
Estimating Tools
Estimating Tools |
Prioritize/Define Scope and Phases of System Integration
Once the data requirements, data sources and the process or systems providing the data
have been identified, analysis of this information will help define the priority and scope
of possible phases of enterprise system integration. Some of the factors considered by
PG&E are as follows:
- " Which process/system(s) are the provider(s) of the most data needed for the
enterprise management system ?
- " Which data requirement(s) have the greatest number of process/system(s)
providing that data ?
- " Which process/system(s) that provide data may be integrated or replaced to reduce
duplicate data entry and/or improve data/job processing efficiency?
- " What are the short term cost/benefits for integrating or replacing the
process/system(s)?
- " What are the long term cost/benefits for integrating or replacing the
process/system(s)?
- " Which of these process/system(s) integration or replacement would provide the
maximum benefit for the minimum process change, cost and duration.
