Factors Affecting to Success of System Implementation: A Case Study from Apparel Industry in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Inventory Management System tracks the product through entire supply chain. It facilitates the smooth flow of operations function while considering the sales. Paper based inventory management system may not provide the level of reporting that is needed in the complex business environment. Hence computerized inventory management systems are used and it provides the competitive advantage for any organization in the manufacturing sector. However the implementation of any kind of system in any organization would not be an instant success. The change process should be smooth in order to minimize the disruptions. This study focuses on the factors that affect the success of the inventory management system implementation while analyzing the causes for demand decline. This implementation mainly focuses on increase of sales, however preliminary analysis shows that there is a demand decline. Hence, empirical data was collected from literature to develop the research model. This study considered data from the initial 50 weeks of inventory management system. Data was collected from the fortnight forecast report, weekly dispatch report, weekly depletion report, in transit report, production report, non-confirmed carton details, and top-up reports. Customer demand variations were analyzed from the weekly reports generated by inventory management system. A simulation has been performed to identify deviations of actual demand and system generated demand. Sales of the products decline after 21st week, and simulation runs show about 90% success, which implies actual issuing quantity and system generated demand quantity has some variation. This company has the core competency on information technology while it is weak in strategy formulation, strategy implementation, change management, and resource management.