Realising enhanced value due to business network redesign through extended ERP systems : Case study of HLLNet

Purpose – To examine and measure the effectiveness of enterprise systems at business network level. The paper presents the best practice case highlighting how business network systems (BNS) can be redesigned using enterprise systems to strengthen relationships with business partners and to enhance value to consumers. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the business potential of BNS redesign at the relationship level through a case study of one of the largest fast‐moving consumer goods (FMCG) networks, HLLNet. Findings – HLLNet has uniquely extended its ERP system to establish transactional and relationship‐oriented BNS and has achieved significant improvement in business performance for all partners in the network. It has achieved significant reductions in inventory, improvements in cash management and a negative working capital due to improved information flows across the network and the implementation of policies such as vendor‐managed inventory (VMI). Simultaneously it has improved its telecoms infrastructure and redesigned its inter‐organizational processes to support these information flows. This paper examines how the adoption of enterprise systems across the network, along with a redesign of BNS, can improve and contribute significantly to value to end consumers. Originality/value – The findings are quite useful to enterprises in terms of deploying enterprise systems across their value chain. They need not only to re‐engineer business processes, but also to innovate new business policies while deploying enterprise systems in order to create value out of IT investment.