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54 Chapter 2 • Systems Integration

Discussion Questions

1. Refer to the Air Cargo case in this chapter. Discuss 4. What is the relationship between the logical and
the silo problem at ACI and how it was solved via physical system integration? Why is it important
the e-Enterprise system. for organizations to have both together?
2. Refer to the Air Cargo case in this chapter. Discuss 5. Why is business process re-engineering needed for
both short-term and long-term benefits of the implementing an ERP?
e-Enterprise system. 6. Discuss the role of management in systems
3. Why do you think functional silos are not appropri- integration in terms of the ethical and other
ate for today’s organizations? Discuss your answer challenges they face during the systems integration
from organizational and technical perspectives. process.

CASE 2-2
Real-World Case
Systems Integration at UPS Corp

Source: Adapted from Aimee Desrosiers. (2006). Case Study Report, U Mass Lowell; Emigh, J. (August 3, 2005).
UPS Bolsters Online Shipment Tracking, Ziff Davis Internet; and UPS’ Sutliff: Communication Key to
Alignment, CIO Insight (January 28, 2003).

In the mid-1980s, United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) was struggling for market share with a
relative newcomer to the shipping industry, Federal Express (Fed Ex). After only 10 years
in business, Fed Ex was emerging as a formidable player largely due to the company’s cul-
ture of embracing technology as a strategic competitive advantage in improving efficiency
and customer service. In contrast, UPS studied their processes and employed less-technical
changes (e.g., reducing physical motions in handling boxes) to shave time off their deliver-
ies. Fed Ex started as an airfreight company and UPS as a truck delivery company, but the
two increasingly desired market shares in the other’s core business.
UPS faced the typical challenges of any shipping company. They knew that shipping
errors due to the wrong address or loading the box on the wrong truck were expensive and
time consuming. Errors happened frequently on systems that required manual data entry,
and multiple systems required redundant processes to utilize the data. Much of the products
UPS handles look similar, which allows for picking errors. UPS’s phone-in customer ser-
vice received an overwhelming number of phone inquiries each day that required time- and
cost-consuming processes to locate approximate package status. They had also identified
the Internet and integrated technology as global business drivers of the future. It was at this
time that UPS decided to invest heavily in technology to drive growth.
UPS first identified their internal competencies and assets and looked for areas that
could be improved through a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT)
analysis. They found that they had an extensive infrastructure and expertise in transporta-
tion. UPS next examined such external factors as their customers, the emerging business
marketplace, and the competition. Traditional brick-and-mortar business and emerging
e-Business all had similar requirements: integrated information and real-time connectivity.
Their customers desired the power to buy, sell, and research on their own terms—not where