Strategic planning
Two major characteristics of EPSs are (1) variety and (2) flexibility. For instance, technological risks abound as even enterprise software are prone to obsolescence and disruptive innovations. Technology is not stagnant. Thus, variety and flexibility work to the advantage of a strategically adaptive or agile enterprise as PESTLE conditions change.To illustrate this some more, ERP software prescribes processes to realize its promised benefits. However, compliance to these rigid, prescribed processes is often assumed rather than real. In many cases, the ERP software is accepted but the practices within the enterprise reflect inconsistencies with the prescribed processes of the software. In a sense, variety and flexibility in a standard ERP implementation will still manifest in many ways such as "workarounds, shadow systems, various forms of unintended improvisations, and organizational 'drift'" as the knowledge workers in the enterprise adapt to the realities of daily activities.
With changing real world conditions, at least three components can structure enterprise strategy. These are:
- analytical frameworks for the evaluation of PESTLE data at a given time
- geographic coverage of operations to manage risks or maximize benefits from macroeconomic forces or government regulations
- projects integration to efficiently support enterprise operations
Strategy via analysis
Frameworks of analysis usually drive a firm's strategy. These enable the firm to cope with the actions of its competitors, demands of its consumers or clients, nature of its operating environments, effects of government regulations in the places where it does business, or opportunities that are available among other factors. Here, team planning is crucial. One group will normally specialize in one aspect like operations or government regulations. Managing the interrelation of PESTLE factors requires team work in the enterprise planning process.A sample framework for general analysis is the SWOT analysis. Another is the Balanced Scorecard for performance measurement analysis.
Strategy via geography
Enterprise strategy can also refer to the mix of structured actions that address the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors that affect a business or firm. These structured actions can be local, transnational, global or combination of local, transnational or global. Hence, enterprises can have any of the following geographic strategies in their plans:- local strategy
- regional strategy (Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, etc.)
- international strategy
- global strategy
- global and local strategy
Strategy via projects integration
Moreover, since management actions occur simultaneously in an enterprise, strategic planners can consider operations or project portfolio management (PPM) as crucial elements in an enterprise's strategic planning guide.For instance, the need to have strategic priorities across many projects in companies with multiple product development projects have made executives borrow principles from investment portfolio management to better manage the distribution of resources compared with the assessed risks for each project.
Thus, PESTLE factors lead to strategy formation that will enable the enterprise to adapt to changing conditions. Meanwhile, the strategies that have been formed from the analytical framework processes of evaluating an enterprise's condition will lead to detailed plans which could be part of a firm's manual of operations or projects portfolio thrusts for funding and execution across the units or geographic coverage of the enterprise.
