Improving Air Force Enterprise Resource Planning-Enabled Business Transformation

Abstract

Information technology (IT) has come to play an increasingly significant role in the way organizations conduct business, evolving from a narrow tool for automation to a potential enabler of business transformation.1 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are prime examples of IT systems being pursued by the Department of Defense (DoD) to enable transformation and improve efficiency and effectiveness. ERP systems are configurable, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software packages that enable organizations to integrate operational and management processes across a broad range of internal business activities. The DoD and the military services have implemented or are in the process of implementing several ERP systems to enable business transformation goals and meet the fiscal year (FY) 2017 deadline for auditable consolidated financial statements (Public Law 99 433, 2010). The Air Force is implementing two such systems, the Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System (AF-IPPS) and the Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System (DEAMS), and recently canceled a third, Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS). These ERPs were initiated with the intent of improving the effectiveness of the Air Force s business functions and providing operational support to the warfighter (e.g., through improved visibility and management of personnel and other assets). Importantly, especially in an era of constrained budgets, these ERPs were also intended to reduce the cost of Air Force business functions, which compete with operations and modernization for funds. Implementing an ERP system can confer a range of benefits to an organization (e.g., see Davenport, 2000; Eckartz, 2009; Shang, 2002; Staehr, 2010).

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2013
Accession Number
ADA591635

Entities

People

  • Andreas Thorsen
  • Bernard Fox
  • Chelsea K. Duran
  • Guy Weichenberg
  • Jessie Riposo
  • William Shelton

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Business Process Reengineering
  • Economic Analysis
  • Employment
  • Governments
  • Industrial Engineering
  • Information Systems
  • Literature Surveys
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Systems Engineering
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Maritime Combat Support and Expeditionary Logistics.
  • Organizational Process Management (OPM).