Analyzing the Effectiveness of an ERP’s Order Fulfilment Process

The purpose of this chapter is to investigate how an oil company’s information system, STRIPES, has assisted in ensuring a competitive advantage for its customers through its operational capabilities. This system systematically examines the processes, from the point where the customer places their order to the time he receives their ordered fuel in their tank. For this chapter, we will be applying the Delone and McLean information system success model in the context of operational order fulfillment in this oil industry. This study will rely on three research questions to allow us to explain the effectiveness and efficiency of this information system and provide us with a better understanding of how oil companies maintain its competitive advantage. The research methodology is a way of interviews and questionnaires for those that use this information system on a daily basis within the organization. A structured questionnaire was sent out to 50 operators within the organization which consisted of order fulfillment personnel and delivery analysts to terminal dispatchers and their respective supervisors. Of these, we received responses from 26 personnel. In total, we looked at four features which include quality of service, customer deliverables, flexibility of system use, and service for order fulfillment.