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Read the business case on Woolies' experience implementing an enterprise-wide information system: Anatomy of an IT disaster or how Woolies spent $200 million on SAP When it comes to IT disasters the $200 million, six-year implementation of SAP merchandising systems at supermarket and liquor group Woolworths ranks in the middle of the pack. That is not to say the SAP implementation did not cause enormous problems. The highest-profile problems occurred at Big W last year. When the SAP system went live, the discount department store was unable to put orders through to suppliers. Suppliers were furious as the systems glitches prevented them from selling products at a time when shelves were empty. It caused millions of dollars in lost sales. One of the less well-known negative side effects of the SAP implementation was in the supermarkets group. Prior to the roll-out of the software each supermarket manager was given a weekly profit-and-loss statement. This was an important part of managing profitability, but its value went far beyond that. It contributed to increased accountability among store managers for the performance of their businesses. The weekly prot-and-loss statements had to be stopped about 18 months ago. These weekly prot statements will be back at the end of this month. SAP was unable to produce the weekly prot statements because the data collection processes used under the new system did not match those used under the old systems. Loss of Corporate Memory The old Woolies system was built in-house about 30 years ago with a combination of people from the company and outside contractors. It was called CASS, which stood for corporate application support system. One of the key failings that occurred at Woolies during the SAP implementation process was the lack of attention given to documenting processes used by staff in the day-to- day running of the business. Too much of the intellectual property of what was then the best-performing supermarket group in Australia was left in the heads of people who worked at Woolies. This carried lots of risks because when people left, they took with them key pieces of information. Loss of corporate memory is often referred to as a key risk in companies, but it is only PAGE 4 OF 9 when something as critical as a new merchandising system is jeopardised that senior management learn its importance. Woolies lost a lot of senior people as senior executives were changed. Business Enabler Another failing which has been repeated at other companies was the lack of relationship between the software implementation and the business objectives. Woolies previously had its chief information ofcer reporting to its head of retail services. Under new chief executive Brad Banducci, the CIO will be reporting directly to him. Woolies recently lost its CIO Clive Whincup. It is in the market for someone who believes in technology as a business enabler. Another failing in the Woolies implementation was the long period of time taken. Woolies committed to an upgrade of its merchandising systems in 2009. It was called Project Galaxy. The SAP software was chosen to replace four separate platforms. In hindsight six years was far too long because it meant that no one in the business took it seriously. It seemed to jump up on people and that led to lack of preparation for change. The Woolies SAP implementation has not been a rolled gold disaster. In the retail space that award goes to the SAP implementation at Target in Canada about four years ago. Poor implementation of the SAP software at Target triggered a breakdown in the company's supply chain. That led to empty shelves and contributed to the eventual closure of the Canadian arm at a cost to the US parent company of about $USYbillion. Widely Used It should be noted that the German-owned SAP makes reliable and widely used software for thousands of Australian and international companies. In retail it is well known for its precision. When functioning properly it can make operations more efcient, streamline the movement of goods through supply chains, enhance the customer experience and allow increased use of self-service facilities. In Canada, Target did eventually fix its SAP problems, but a reassessment of the benefits found the path to prot was too long for the board of the parent company to tolerate. Woolworths is privileged to have on its board Kathee Tesija, a supply chain expert who actually helped to fix the SAP problems at Target in Canada. She led the merchandising and supply chain functions at Target Corporation from 2008 and was chief merchandising and supply chain ofcer and executive vice-president when she left in 2015. Shareholders in Woolies should see the benefits of SAP in the next few years as Banducci continues his transformation program. This article was originally published by Tony Boyd in the Australian Financial Review Chanticleer column: httgs://www.afr.com/chanticleer/anatomy-of-an-it-disaster-or-how- woolies-spent-ZOO-milIion-on-sap-20160609-ggfowf REQUIRED: With reference to the above scenario, answer the following questions: 8) Woolies' case is steeped in signs of existing business problems and presents a rich opportunity to contribute to business research. With the background information provided, assume the role of a qualitative researcher, and propose a research question (RQ). Describe the broad research purpose and explain the motivation for your proposed R0. (10 marks) [Answer word limit - 300 words] Discuss two (2) qualitative research methods that you would use to answer your proposed RQ from part a. Explain why these methods are appropriate for addressing your R0 in this scenario. (20 marks) [Answer word limit - 600 words]