Jackson Laboratory is a non-profit, independent, world-renowned genetic research institute… 1 answer below »

Jackson Laboratory is a non-profit, independent, world-renowned genetic research institute founded in 1929. Located in Bar Harbor, Maine, it had a budget of $80 million and 1,200 employees, including 32 in IT. Jackson Laboratory decided to install an ERP system with a $5 million budget and a one-year time frame. Despite the installation challenges, the project’s actual cost was close to the budget and took only about six months longer than expected. Jackson Lab’s major installation challenge was the integration of its unique mousedevelopment functions into Oracle’s ERP system. One of the problems faced by Jackson stemmed from an internal HR issue (i.e., the risk that the action or inaction of the software provider would hinder the implementation). Jackson Lab coped with these challenges by modifying the ERP system to accommodate its business process, placing special emphasis on training, seeking a fixed-fee contract with Oracle, and purchasing a surety bond to reduce project risk. The surety bond was issued by an entity on behalf of a second party, guaranteeing that the second party would fulfil an obligation or series of obligations to a third party.