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This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight benefits of integrated business planning, forecasting, and process management. The paper focuses on need of advanced business intelligence and the crucial role of integrated business planning, forecasting, and process management. Various case studies are used to highlight benefits.

The paper focuses on need of advanced business intelligence and the crucial role of integrated business planning, forecasting, and process management. Various case studies are used to highlight benefits.

Benefits of integrated business planning, forecasting, and process management. Case studies are used to highlight benefits.

Benefits of integrated business planning, forecasting, and process management.

The value of the paper is that there is very little published writing on benefits of integrated business planning, forecasting, and process management stressed upon by the use of case studies.

Uses information gathered from the advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) literature to develop an integrated conceptual framework for effectively planning and implementing these systems. Then examines the efficacy of this framework by investigating the relationship between adoption of various advanced manufacturing technology (AMT), the way that firms plan for and implement them and their eventual performance. A detailed survey instrument was administered to a cross‐section of manufacturing firms in the USA to collect the required data. The results of this investigation indicate that the rate of adoption for integrated technologies was higher among firms that adopted more extensive formal planning approaches. In addition, these firms were found to be outperforming other firms. Also provides managerial and research implications of these and the other findings of this study.

The purpose of this explanatory research was to understand how firms align strategic planning and budgeting both ex ante and ex post. After the literature review indicated that there was a shortcoming in explaining how the alignment was done, we interviewed management accountants at 20 large, profitable, stock-market listed firms with head offices in the Toronto area of Canada. To understand practice through interviews, we used qualitative, multi-case field research to address our research question, how do firms achieve alignment between their strategic plans and budgets, both ex ante and ex post? Our findings and contribution were that, rather than multiple processes (strategy, strategic planning, budgeting, and forecasting), strategic planning and budgeting are part of a single process. Alignment of strategic planning and budgeting is undertaken prior to the beginning of the fiscal year (ex ante) and during the fiscal year (ex post). Both provide opportunities to change ineffective strategies, strategic plans, and actions to minimize financial harm. Ex ante and ex post alignments enable the accomplishment of firms’ financial objectives through explicit and verifiable decisions. With forecasting heretofore being an unclear and ambiguous subprocess, this chapter has made it transparent and manageable in assisting with accomplishing the strategy, strategic plan, and budget.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how big data analytics capabilities (BDAC) enable the implementation of integrated business planning (IBP) – the advanced form of sales and operations planning (S&OP) – by counteracting the increasing information processing requirements.

The research model is grounded in the organizational information processing theory (OIPT). An embedded single case study on a multinational agrochemical company with multiple geographically distinguished sub-units of analysis was conducted. Data were collected in workshops, semistructured interviews as well as direct observations and enriched by secondary data from internal company sources as well as publicly available sources.

The results show the relevancy of establishing BDAC within an organization to apply IBP by providing empirical evidence of BDA solutions in S&OP. The study highlights how BDAC increase an organization's information processing capacity and consequently enable efficient and effective S&OP. Practical guidance toward the development of tangible, human and intangible BDAC in a particular sequence is given.

This study is the first theoretically grounded, empirical investigation of S&OP implementation journeys under consideration of the impact of BDAC.

Manufacturing and engineering depend heavily on computers for many low‐level operations, including design, resource planning and production scheduling. But only a few companies have implemented the sort of enterprise‐wide computerized planning/project management found in other industries. However, substantial gains in productivity, flexibility, and production costs are to be made from integrating all aspects of the planning and scheduling process. Examines the need for integrated, company‐wide planning in manufacturing/engineering companies, and highlights how it is increasingly being applied to the different parts of the production cycle.

This paper aims to improve upon the highly dispersed sales and operations planning (S&OP) research by integrating the findings of existing studies to identify and measure the size of the effect of S&OP on firm performance.

The methodology adopted was a systematic literature review of 271 abstracts and 55 papers. Three databases were selected for the search – Emerald, EBSCO, and ScienceDirect.

Although empirical evidence of the effects of S&OP in the supply chain is described, relatively few of the 55 papers reviewed estimate the effect of S&OP on firm performance. The research findings indicate a lack of unifying frameworks for the measurement of S&OP and constructs related to firm performance. The review offers partial evidence of the effect of S&OP on firm performance, suggesting the need for additional scientifically sound survey or case study research on S&OP.

Practitioners will benefit from insights related to the intermediate role of S&OP in mediating the effects of structural changes on firm performance. There is at least partial evidence that cross‐functional planning processes can mitigate the negative effect of misaligned organisational structures and contradictory incentives schemes on firm performance. Formal and informal communications between functions, networking and internal integrating roles can boost performance. Furthermore, internal alignment seems to facilitate supply chain integration with both suppliers and customers, particularly when inter‐organisational information systems favour supply chain integration.

This paper contributes to providing a better understanding of the role of S&OP as a determinant of firm performance in the supply chain.

The purpose of this paper is to show how QFD can be used as part of a structured planning and analysis framework for micro‐sized enterprises to build‐up their e‐business capabilities.

This case study has been produced using a new framework which integrates the balanced scorecard, value chain and quality function deployment techniques into an integrated framework known as the E‐Business Planning and Analysis Framework (E‐PAF). It has been produced using an action research approach.

A new framework with a supporting case study is provided. This case study has demonstrated that the framework can be applied successfully to micro‐sized enterprises (those with less than ten employees) to successfully plan new strategic and technical developments. This will enhance the online service that the company is able to provide.

This paper presents a single case study. The technical recommendations are currently being implemented.

Such analytical techniques are most commonly associated with large organisations, and are not specifically associated with e‐business planning. This paper provides a new framework that will be of general applicability to other similarly sized enterprises that are looking to improve e‐business capabilities.

The second part of this article continues the analysis of business planning by dealing with the pressures on a business to make use of planning down that may result from the implementation of financial policy (described in Part I). Planning down implies centralised policy direction and control, requiring operational activities to achieve levels of performance set for them. This is then contrasted with planning up, in which divisional and operational activities are able to exercise greater influence in the formulation of their own policies and objectives. Under this approach the corporate centre has to balance the forecasted financial consequences in the annual capital budget, aggregating and reconciling the various proposals it receives, using guidelines or criteria for resource allocation, rate of return and cash flow. The article concludes by comparing the two approaches and their relative advantages and disadvantages.

This study uses information obtained from the advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) literature to develop a conceptual framework that seeks to illustrate the impact of the management information systems (MIS) department on the different facets of AMT adoption. A detailed survey instrument was administered to a cross‐section of manufacturing firms in the USA to collect the data required to test five hypotheses relating to the efficacy of this framework. The results of this study indicate that the proposed framework is particularly useful in explaining the role of MIS departments in firms that are attempting to integrate advanced process and information technologies. This finding and other results of this study and their implications are discussed.