Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson

In the case, you are given the evaluations, both quantitative and qualitative of the providers. However, in practice, you will have to gather this information for yourselves. How would you judge the providers on the quantitative and qualitative criteria? Describe the process in detail (though stepwise). [One way, to ask the providers to rate themselves, was a method Harley used. What else would you do?]

Judging providers on quantitative criteria would require:

-Assessment of size of ERP company

-Rank of company among competitors

-Price of product

-Number of associations with major business

-Specifications and entailments of product

Judging providers on qualitative criteria would require:

Scalar rating to assess:

1) Company culture

2) Interpersonal skills

3) Overall presentation

4) Attitude

5) Co-operation

6) Competitiveness

7) Functionality

Based on the information in the case, which provider would you select and why?

The critical criteria for this decision to choose the best product are:

1) Functionality

2) Compatibility with Harley vision

3) Long-term versatility

1) Harley has the end user in mind when selecting a supplier. It is important that the change incurred, is not so great that it affects software usage. Harley wants to change, but at the same time, move gradually toward the end result. Harley is aware of its adherence to tradition as a company, and does not want to disrupt that.

2) Harley's vision is to dramatically increase its production capacity by it's 100th anniversary (2003), approximately 5 years form the time of this case study. To do so, Harley must implement a drastic change to its SMS. By choosing a provider inline with Harley vision,that company must be be highly functional and adaptable to new technology.

3) Long-term versatility