BA 302 Business Process Management - SAP Simulation - Homework

Assignment:

If you purchased the Magal & Word book through the OSU bookstore or if you purchased it on-line from Wiley, you have access to a series of SAP simulations of the Procurement (Ch. 3), Fulfillment (Ch. 4) and Production (Ch. 5) processes discussed in the book.

By now it should be clear that the goal of Magal & Word's book is to show you the complexity of cross-functional business processes on the one hand and the usefulness of ERP systems such as SAP for managing the information flows associated with those processes on the other.

In class you have worked on generating an activity diagram of Magal & Word's Procurement process and you have read the two chapters covering the other two processes (Fulfillment and Production).

At this time we want you to 'experience' these three processes; not with a paper-based system, but with SAP. We'll do that through the SAP simulation offered through the WileyPlus Website.

The nice thing about these simulations is that whereas it would be rather difficult to let you work with a real SAP system, the simulations give you the look-and-feel of SAP without the cost and complexity of having to run, maintain and train on a real version of the system. (Later in this course we'll use simulation again; then to explore the stochastic components of business processes).

The SAP simulations are very simple. You don't have to learn any computing or SAP skills and you cannot break anything. The simulations are entirely Web based and their only intent is for you to have seen at least once how a business process is managed through an ERP. Therefore, you will not be graded on this exercise; all we want from you is that you take yourself through the simulations so that you get at least some sense of what SAP is, what it looks and feels like and how one interacts with it.

How to do it:

• You must run the simulations for the Procurement process (already modeled in class):
• To do this you must first register yourself in WileyPlus for this class:
  • Look up the Course URL associated with your section of the class in the table below:

  Fall 2009 BA302 Class Section	Instructor	WileyPlus Course URL
  Section 001 - MW 1400-1550	Reitsma	http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls134126/
  Section 002 - TR 1200-1350	Curry	http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls121158/
  Section 003 - TR 1400-1550	Curry	http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls134124/
  Section 004 - TR 1600-1750	Curry	http://edugen.wiley.com/edugen/class/cls134125/

  • Point your browser to the "WileyPlus Course URL" of your course section.
  • If you do not have an account yet, click on the register link above the space to add your !!!ONID!!! e-mail address (If you use a nonONID email address, your instructor will not be able to give you credit for the exercise). This e-mail address will be your login for this WileyPlus course. Read and accept the Limited Use End User License Agreement, enter your !!!ONID!!! email address and press submit.
  • You are now taken to a registration page. Fill it out and press submit.
  • At some point you will be asked to enter your registration code. If you purchased the Magal & Word book through the OSU bookstore or if you purchased it on-line from Wiley, you will have received such a code. If you acquired your book in another way, you can purchase a registration code on-line at this time.
  • Complete the registration and you're ready to go.

• Once at the "WileyPlus Course URL" (see table above) select "Assignments," and find your way to the simulation assignments.
• Select the 'Procurement Process Simulations.'
• Although you may freely select the order in which you go through the various parts of the Procurement process simulation, we highly recommend that you follow the regular process sequence:
1. Create Requisition Exercise.
2. Create Purchase Order Exercise.
3. Receive Shipment Exercise.
4. Receive Invoice Exercise.
5. Send Payment Exercise.

• Please note that each of these exercises consists of two steps:
1. A practice round in which you are told where and which data to enter.
2. A round in which you get new numbers and you have to 'work' the system yourself; enter the data in the right amounts and at the right locations yourself.

• Complete the four Procurement simulations and you're done.