ABSTRACT
Exploring the functional and technical integration challenges facing a global enterprise, this chapter presents an assessment methodology for document integration issues that in turn may lead to identifying opportunities. Integrating highly autonomous and decentralized organizations presents a higher degree of difficulty than a homogeneous enterprise does, and managers should review corporate allocation schemes, transfer-pricing algorithms, and cost-versus-profit-center designations. A review of business drivers serves to establish the underlying justification to pursue systems integration initiatives further. Changes in the global business environment and organizations in general are driving the need for new technologies and a high degree of systems integration. Technology infrastructure upgrades, core business systems integration, and decision-support capabilities can be driven in conjunction with any number of global business initiatives used to create the parallel organizational changes necessary for success.
