Tosco Case Study
A11-02-0006
ERP in Tosco (B)
It was a warm February day in 2001. Sunshine provided some (badly) needed relief from the winter’s blues. Donna was sitting in her office observing the green lawn bathing in the warm sun. What a beautiful day. After four-and-a-half years of implementation and approximately $40 million (excluding costs of Tosco’s internal staff and ongoing maintenance costs of COMETS) over the initial approved budget, COMETS was a success. Unlike many IT projects that are scrapped after millions have been spent, COMETS worked and had allowed Tosco to grow through major acquisitions, even during the implementation process, without adding many more personnel. However, implementing COMETS was far from smooth or easy. The COMETS project was finished. Donna reflected on the whole experience.
Project Implementation
Because of the unique business process Tosco maintained, the company decided on the customized approach. To write the software programs for COMETS, Tosco formed teams comprised of operational and accounting users, systems analysts and programmers, and consultants from Aspen Consulting. Most of the Tosco people assigned to the project were assigned part-time. People, when available, were pulled off their jobs from different functional areas and locations. The teams were made up of 70% Tosco and 30% Aspen Consulting in order to keep costs down, obtain buy-in from upper management, and retain knowledge within Tosco. Budget was tracked monthly within the COMETS project. In the first year of implementing the COMETS system, Tosco had another major acquisition, that of the Circle K convenience stores, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The teams had to re-examine some requirements and get additional funding, although the convenience stores would largely continue to be run on their own system. The Circle K acquisition expanded Tosco’s core business, and adjustments had to be made to the COMETS system. In 1996, as Donna expected, the cost overruns on
ERP in Tosco (B)
It was a warm February day in 2001. Sunshine provided some (badly) needed relief from the winter’s blues. Donna was sitting in her office observing the green lawn bathing in the warm sun. What a beautiful day. After four-and-a-half years of implementation and approximately $40 million (excluding costs of Tosco’s internal staff and ongoing maintenance costs of COMETS) over the initial approved budget, COMETS was a success. Unlike many IT projects that are scrapped after millions have been spent, COMETS worked and had allowed Tosco to grow through major acquisitions, even during the implementation process, without adding many more personnel. However, implementing COMETS was far from smooth or easy. The COMETS project was finished. Donna reflected on the whole experience.
Project Implementation
Because of the unique business process Tosco maintained, the company decided on the customized approach. To write the software programs for COMETS, Tosco formed teams comprised of operational and accounting users, systems analysts and programmers, and consultants from Aspen Consulting. Most of the Tosco people assigned to the project were assigned part-time. People, when available, were pulled off their jobs from different functional areas and locations. The teams were made up of 70% Tosco and 30% Aspen Consulting in order to keep costs down, obtain buy-in from upper management, and retain knowledge within Tosco. Budget was tracked monthly within the COMETS project. In the first year of implementing the COMETS system, Tosco had another major acquisition, that of the Circle K convenience stores, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. The teams had to re-examine some requirements and get additional funding, although the convenience stores would largely continue to be run on their own system. The Circle K acquisition expanded Tosco’s core business, and adjustments had to be made to the COMETS system. In 1996, as Donna expected, the cost overruns on