For Leutheusser AG, several aspects can stand against using the Oracle e-business suite. One of the essential aspects of the business is the individual approach off Leutheusser AG, which implies the requirement of customizing orders online. Oracle e-business suite matches such requirements through the store module available within the Customer relation application (Oracle “Oracle iStore”). The iStore allows selling complex products that can be customized. Accordingly, the Oracle configurator rules engine makes the process simple for customers to follow, and at the same containing many options for professionals to customize. Nevertheless, it can be stated that such an option is rules-based, rather than free form, and accordingly, for one of the objectives of the company such a solution is not suitable.
Following the latter, the business model of Leutheusser implies using approximate prices, based on one of the parts of the company’s sales, which is individual production. The pricing function is one of the modules of the Order Management Applications, titled Oracle Advanced Pricing (Oracle “Oracle Advanced Pricing”). Such a module is an effective tool that will provide flexible prices. Nevertheless, the module depends on a system of modifiers to create accurate prices, rather than approximate. In that regard, it can be stated that for such functions as free-form web configuration and approximate prices, the Oracle e-business suite does not provide the necessary functionality.
On the other, hand, it can be stated that for the other part of the company’s business, i.e., standard production, the functionality of the suite will be sufficient to perform satisfy all the needs of the enterprise. Such needs include the potential for international expansions, in which the Multilanguage and Unicode support of the platform will enable Leutheusser to localize the applications and output formats effortlessly, according to different characters sets and different formats of data (Oracle “Information Globalized”).
Similarly, the licensing options provided by Oracle adapt to the company’s current needs, providing the company the choice to purchase only the modules necessary at present, upgrading the functionality of the suite as necessary. Accordingly, the price of the license is flexible, based on the number of the different modules used. Such options will provide the company the option to fully customize the purchase and save on unnecessary functions.
Another important factor in favor of the solution provided by Oracle is the level of support. The complex is generally easy to use, and thus, eliminates the need for constant IT departments in the company. The services of the IT Integrator might be sufficient to manage administration functions, configure, and/or modify the modules to suit the changes needed in functionality. Additionally, much of the price paid for the software comes from the reputation of the company, which is considered among the first-tier companies in the ERP market. The company is placed second after Microsoft in market share (Panorama Consulting). Achieving higher satisfaction from the software solution, it should be noted that one of the most important factors in identifying the needs for the system, its functionality, and price.
It can be concluded that the Oracle e-business suite can be recommended only for a part of Leutheusser operations, namely standard productions. In such a part, the complex is flexible and customizable to serve the current and future needs of the enterprise. Setting the priorities of the company, in which individual production is the main part of the business, it can be stated that Oracle’s e-business suite is not suitable for the needs of Leutheusser AG.
Works Cited
Oracle. “Information Globalized”. 2009. Oracle. Web.
Oracle. “Oracle Advanced Pricing“. 2003. Oracle. Web.
Oracle. “Oracle iStore”. 2009. Oracle. Web.
Panorama Consulting. “Tier I and Tier II ERP Comparison 2008”. 2008. whatiserp. Web.