Beginning Sap R/3 Implementation at Geneva Pharmaceuticals

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Volume 4, Article 2 August 2000 BEGINNING SAP R/3 IMPLEMENTATION AT GENEVA PHARMACEUTICALS Anol Bhattacherjee Accounting and Information Management College of Business Arizona State University Anol.Bhattacherjee@asu.edu CASE STUDY Communications of AIS Volume 4, Article 2 SAP R/3 Implementation at Geneva Pharmaceuticals By A. Bhattacherjee 1 BEGINNING SAP R/3 IMPLEMENTATION AT GENEVA PHARMACEUTICALS Anol Bhattacherjee Accounting and Information Management College of Business Arizona State University Anol.Bhattacherjee@asu.edu ABSTRACT Faced with intense competition in the generics drugs industry, eroding margins, and continuous price pressures, Geneva Pharmaceuticals, the North American subsidiary of Novartis International AG, made a bold, multi-million dollar decision to reengineer all its demand and supply processes using the SAP R/3 system. This case describes Geneva's journey through the first two of three phases of R/3 implementation from mid-1997 to mid-2000, and the company's plans for Phase III (scheduled for completion by late-2000). It highlights initial mistakes during this journey, strategies that helped overcome those mistakes, and how R/3 delivered operational efficiencies and competitive advantage under difficult business circumstances. As the case illustrates, ERP implementation is much more than technology change, it also incorporates substantive process and people changes; and without appropriate change management strategies and experienced leadership, ERP projects are likely to fail. Keywords: Enterprise resource planning, IS implementation, business process reengineering, project management. Communications of AIS Volume 4, Article 2 SAP R/3 Implementation at Geneva Pharmaceuticals By A. Bhattacherjee 2 I. COMPANY BACKGROUND Geneva Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is one of the world’s

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