Implementation Management of an Ecommerce-Enabled Enterprise Information System: A Case Study at Texas Instruments

Joseph Sarkis and R.P. Sundarraj

Cases on Worldwide E-Commerce: Theory in Action, edited by Mahesh S. Raisinghani, IDEA publishers, Pennsylvania, to appear 2002.

The integration of enterprise systems and the supply chain to an organization is becoming more critical in an ever changing, globally competitive environment. As markets mature and customer preferences become more diverse and specific, quick response to those needs is required to maintain competitive advantage. This quick response will require close relationships, especially communications and information sharing among integrated internal functional groups as well as the suppliers and customers of an organization. Texas Instruments (TI), headquartered in Dallas, Texas, is one organization that has come to realize this requirement for building and maintaining its competitive edge. One strategic decision made by the organization was to implement an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with a focus on linking it with a global electronic commerce (ecommerce) setting. This case study provides an overview of the efforts of TI's internal and external ERP implementation that led to over 70% of the transactions being conducted in a global ecommerce setting. TI's strategic goals include providing visibility of the ERP system to external constituents via Web linkages and standardizing internal processes and information technology to support market need. The ecommerce linkage is especially important in achieving these goals. Thus, TI's ERP system is central to managing its supply chain and Web ecommerce linkages from both a customer and supplier perspective. .

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