Title: Information architecture of ERP systems for 'public utilities'

Authors: Mohammad Mahdi Amiri; Mehrdad Kazerooni

Addresses: Research Institute of Petroleum Industry (RIPI), West Blvd., Near Azadi Sports Complex, 1485733111, Tehran, Iran ' K.N. Toosi University of Technology, #19 Pardiss Alley, Sadra Street, Vanak Square, P.O. Box 19395-1999, 19991 43344, Tehran, Iran

Abstract: Nowadays, extremely competitive worldwide economy enterprise integration (EI) can be considered as a main factor in performance improvement when severe competition requires a low-profit environment for many of the commercial markets. This point causes interaction problems during both the design and implementation phase while utility enterprise (UE) appears as a business strategy for small, medium-sized and large utilities. Nonetheless, to support the operations of a UE, enterprise resources planning (ERP) is regarded to be the most operative computer application in the present public utility. One of the primary reasons why they cannot apply the system successfully is the incorrect procedure of implementation and design methodology. This encompasses a hierarchical and systematic design, which comprises top-down modelling in order to make public utility enterprise integration.

Keywords: enterprise resource planning; ERP; hierarchical design; information architecture; enterprise modelling; business process reengineering; BPR; information patterns; business process improvement; information technology; information systems; design methodology; performance improvement; enterprise integration; public utilities; IDEF.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIS.2014.060375

International Journal of Business Information Systems, 2014 Vol.15 No.4, pp.373 - 391

Published online: 07 Jun 2014 *

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