Managing global systems
Managing global systems Think global Act local DHL builds a global IT organization Overnight and express package deliveries Serving 140,000 destinations in over 220 countries 4,400 local offices 238 gateways 450 hubs, warehouses 4.2 millions customers Employ 170,000 people
Managing global systems
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Presentation Transcript
Managing global systems Think global Act local
DHL builds a global IT organization • Overnight and express package deliveries • Serving 140,000 destinations in over 220 countries • 4,400 local offices • 238 gateways • 450 hubs, warehouses • 4.2 millions customers • Employ 170,000 people • More than 400 aircrafts
Challenges • Keep track of its own operations • Customer packages
Act local • Customer & employee would see information in • Local language • Important country regulations • Think global • DHL can check on status and location of any package around the world • Info is current & accurate
Original IT design • 50 data centers in each major countries • Coordinate loosely • Common set of core database application • Info exchanged on a messaging and communication network • Operate well until traffic volume expanded
Maintain 50 data centers to a single standard was difficult • Raise cost • Slow down changes • Upgrades has to deploy in 50 different countries • Take more than 18 months to complete • “info is more important than the package” • Customer might understand package lost due to hurricane • Customer is intolerable to failure of tracking
New configuration • Global computing infrastructure • 3 low-cost, regional global centers • Outsourcing software • Initially • India software company • Changed • Design: USA • Implementation & execution: India
Benefits • Cost • Maintain IT infrastructure fallen by 40% • Deploy new software • In hours (not months) • Simplify management communication
15.1 The growth of international info systems 15.2 Organizing international info systems 15.3 Managing global systems 15.4 Technology issues & opportunities for global value chains
15.1 Growth of international IS • Advanced networks & info systems • Global economic system • International trade • 22% of US economy • 1/3 of the world’s total GDP
Developing an international info systems architecture • Basic info system • To coordinate worldwide trade & other activities
Understand global environment • Business drivers • Force in the environment which business must respond • Global competition • Global funds • Challenges • Inhibitors or negative factors • 民族主義 (伊朗、玻利維亞…) • 箝制言論自由
Corporate strategy to compete • Ignore global market • Focus on domestic markets • Sell to globe from a domestic base • Organizing production & distribution around the globe • Structure of organization • Division of labor across a global environment • Where to locate • Production, administration, …..
Management issues • Business processes • How can you reengineer on a global scale • Technology platform • Choose the right technology to support business processes
The global environment: Business drivers & challenges • Business drivers • General culture factors • Global village • Telecommunication & transportation technology Communicate around the globe Communication to next block moving goods & service
Global culture • Common expectations right & wrong desirable & undesirable heroic & cowardly • Created by TV, Internet, Movie … • Global knowledge base used to be • Developed countries US, western Europe, Japan • Third world • Now, 金磚四國,四小龍
Specific business factor • Global market • Coca-cola, American sneakers, CNN • Global production & operation • Location of business activities according comparative advantage • Global coordination • Global workforce • Global economies of scale • Manufacturing has been much more affected than services
Business challenges of globalization • Particularism • Making judgment and taking action on the basis of narrow or personal characteristics • Religious • Nationalistic • Ethnic • Regionalism • Geopolitical
Made in USA • Found most of goods are foreign made • European countries prohibit processing financial information outside their border • National laws impact the profit and loss are analyzed • 員工分股費用化 • Currency fluctuation
15.1 The growth of international info systems 15.2 Organizing international info systems 15.3 Managing global systems 15.4 Technology issues & opportunities for global value chains
15.2 organizing international IS • Global strategies & Business organization • Four main global strategies • Domestic exporter • Multinational • Franchiser • transnational • Three organizational governance • Centralized • Decentralized • Coordinated
Domestic exporter • Heavy centralization of corporate activities in the home country • International sales are sometime dispersed • Ex: movie industry • Multinational • Centralized: financial control, … • Decentralized: production, sales and marketing, … • Ex: General Motors, 香港-利豐
Franchise • Product is created, designed, financed, and initially produced in the home country • Product-specific reasons must be rely heavily on foreign personnel • Ex: McDonald’s • Transnational • No single national headquarters • Many regional headquarters • Ex: Citicorp
Forces for • Decentralization • Protectionism • Serve local markets better • Centralization • Economies of scale • Power & authority
Global systems to fit the strategy • Centralized systems • Systems development and operation • Domestic home base • Duplicated systems • Development at home base • Operations over foreign location • Decentralized systems • Each foreign units design its own unique solution
Networked systems • Systems development & operations in an integrated & coordinated fashion
Reorganizing the business principles for developing global info systems • Organizing value-adding activities along lines of comparative advantage • Located where they can best be performed
Develop & operate systems units at each level of corporate activity • To serve local needs • Host country systems • To handle telecommunication, systems across national boarder • Regional systems • To create linkage, coordinate development • Transnational systems
World headquarter • Office responsible for development of international systems
15.1 The growth of international info systems 15.2 Organizing international info systems 15.3 Managing global systems 15.4 Technology issues & opportunities for global value chains
15.3 managing global systems • Disorganization on a global scale • Multinational companies • Dispersed production & marketing • Regional & national center • Centrally financial control • World headquarter
Challenges • Resistance the efforts to agree on common user requirement • Local needs vs. central interest • Change local procedures to align other units • Might interfere local performance • Difficult to coordinate development across the globe
Global systems strategy (步驟 1) • Define the core business processes • Identify & set priority of a list of critical core business processes • Communicate & coordinate • Work • Information • Knowledge • Conduct business process analysis • How are orders taken? • How are they shipped? • …
Identify center of excellence • Division or unit stands out in the performance • Rank-order them
Global systems strategy (步驟 2) • Identify the core systems to coordinate centrally • Identify a list of core systems to an absolute minimum • Dividing off a small group of systems as absolutely critical • Divide opposition
Global systems strategy (步驟 3) • Choose an approach: Incremental, Grand design, Evolutionary • Avoid • Piecemeal approach • Lack of visibility • Lack of power to convince senior management • Grand design • Require huge resources • Nothing get done properly • Evolve translational applications incrementally • Precise & clear vision of the transnational capability
Global systems strategy (步驟 4) • Make the benefits clear Global systems’ contributions • Contribute to superior management & coordination • Ability to switch suppliers • Ability to move production • Ability to use excess capacity • Vast improvement in production, operation, and supply and distribution • Locate value-adding activities to most economical region
Global customers & global marketing • Unleash new economies of scale • Ability to optimize the use of corporate funds • Capital in surplus region can be moved efficiently • Cash can be managed more effectively
The management solution to problems of developing the global IS • Agreeing on common user requirements • Establishing short list of • Core business process • Core support systems • Process of rational comparison • Develop a common language for discussing
Select a viable change strategy Introducing changes in business process • Evolutionary but with a vision • Convincing others that changes is feasible & desirable • Assure others that change is in the best interests of company & their units • Coordinating applications development • making incremental steps toward a larger vision • easier to coordinate
Coordinate software releases • Ensure that all operating units convert to newer software updates at the same time
Encouraging local users to support global systems • Dealing resistance from local units • Cooptation (抽選、 統整合作) • Bring the opposition into the process of designing • Implementing the solution without giving up control over the direction and nature of change
How should cooptation proceed • Permit each country unit the opportunity to develop one transnational system • Sense of ownership • Downside Assume the ability to develop high-quality system is widely distributed not always the case
Develop new transnational centers of excellence • Initial identification & specification of business processes • Define the info requirements • Perform the business & system analysis • Accomplish all design and testing • Roll out implementation to other parts of the globe
15.1 The growth of international info systems 15.2 Organizing international info systems 15.3 Managing global systems 15.4 Technology issues & opportunities for global value chains
15.4 technology issues and opportunities forglobal value chains Offshore challenges • Managing global teams & global technology services • Technology challenges of global systems • Standardize a global computing platform • Finding specific software applications to be used worldwide • Internet reduce network problems • Info might not flow seamless • Different application software
Technology challenges of global systems • Computing platforms and systems integration • New transnational systems vs. • Existing suite of applications • Globally dispersed • Different division • Different people • Different hardware