ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Editorial

It is tradition that the Electronic Journal of Information Systems Evaluation (EJISE) publish a special issue containing the full versions of the best papers that were presented in a preliminary version during the 8th European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation (ECIME 2014). The faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the Ghent University was host for this successful conference on 11-12th of September 2014. ECIME 2014 received a submission of 86 abstracts and after the double-blind peer review process, thirty one academic research papers, nine PhD research papers, one master research paper and four work-in-progress papers were accepted and selected for presentation. ECIME 2014 hosted academics from twenty-two nationalities, amongst them: Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia (FYROM), Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey and the UK. From the thirty-one academic papers presented during the conference nine papers were selected for inclusion in this special issue of EJISE. The selected papers represent empirical work as well as theoretical research on the broad topic of management and evaluation of information systems. The papers show a wide variety of perspectives to deal with the problem

Modelling business and management systems using Fuzzy cognitive maps: A critical overview

A critical overview of modelling Business and Management (B&M) Systems using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps is presented. A limited but illustrative number of specific applications of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps in diverse B&M systems, such as e business, performance assessment, decision making, human resources management, planning and investment decision making processes is provided and briefly analyzed. The limited survey is given in a table with statics of using FCMs in B&M systems during the last 15 years. The limited survey shows that the applications of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to today’s Business and Management studies has been steadily increased especially during the last 5-6 years. Interesting conclusions and future research directions are highlighted

Risk-based maintenance of critical and complex systems

Tableau d’honneur de la Faculté des études supérieures et postdoctorales, 2016-2017.De nos jours, la plupart des systèmes dans divers secteurs critiques tels que l'aviation, le pétrole et les soins de santé sont devenus très complexes et dynamiques, et par conséquent peuvent à tout moment s'arrêter de fonctionner. Pour éviter que cela ne se reproduise et ne devienne incontrôlable ce qui engagera des pertes énormes en matière de coûts et d'indisponibilité; l'adoption de stratégies de contrôle et de maintenance s'avèrent plus que nécessaire et même vitale. Dans le génie des procédés, les stratégies optimales de maintenance pour ces systèmes pourraient avoir un impact significatif sur la réduction des coûts et sur les temps d'arrêt, sur la maximisation de la fiabilité et de la productivité, sur l'amélioration de la qualité et enfin pour atteindre les objectifs souhaités des compagnies. En outre, les risques et les incertitudes associés à ces systèmes sont souvent composés de plusieurs relations de cause à effet de façon extrêmement complexe. Cela pourrait mener à une augmentation du nombre de défaillances de ces systèmes. Par conséquent, un outil d'analyse de défaillance avancée est nécessaire pour considérer les interactions complexes de défaillance des composants dans les différentes phases du cycle de vie du produit pour assurer les niveaux élevés de sécurité et de fiabilité. Dans cette thèse, on aborde dans un premier temps les lacunes des méthodes d'analyse des risques/échec et celles qui permettent la sélection d'une classe de stratégie de maintenance à adopter. Nous développons ensuite des approches globales pour la maintenance et l'analyse du processus de défaillance fondée sur les risques des systèmes et machines complexes connus pour être utilisées dans toutes les industries. Les recherches menées pour la concrétisation de cette thèse ont donné lieu à douze contributions importantes qui se résument comme suit: Dans la première contribution, on aborde les insuffisances des méthodes en cours de sélection de la stratégie de maintenance et on développe un cadre fondé sur les risques en utilisant des méthodes dites du processus de hiérarchie analytique (Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), de cartes cognitives floues (Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM)), et la théorie des ensembles flous (Fuzzy Soft Sets (FSS)) pour sélectionner la meilleure politique de maintenance tout en considérant les incertitudes. La deuxième contribution aborde les insuffisances de la méthode de l'analyse des modes de défaillance, de leurs effets et de leur criticité (AMDEC) et son amélioration en utilisant un modèle AMDEC basée sur les FCM. Les contributions 3 et 4, proposent deux outils de modélisation dynamique des risques et d'évaluation à l'aide de la FCM pour faire face aux risques de l'externalisation de la maintenance et des réseaux de collaboration. Ensuite, on étend les outils développés et nous proposons un outil d'aide à la décision avancée pour prédire l'impact de chaque risque sur les autres risques ou sur la performance du système en utilisant la FCM (contribution 5).Dans la sixième contribution, on aborde les risques associés à la maintenance dans le cadre des ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)) et on propose une autre approche intégrée basée sur la méthode AMDEC floue pour la priorisation des risques. Dans les contributions 7, 8, 9 et 10, on effectue une revue de la littérature concernant la maintenance basée sur les risques des dispositifs médicaux, puisque ces appareils sont devenus très complexes et sophistiqués et l'application de modèles de maintenance et d'optimisation pour eux est assez nouvelle. Ensuite, on développe trois cadres intégrés pour la planification de la maintenance et le remplacement de dispositifs médicaux axée sur les risques. Outre les contributions ci-dessus, et comme étude de cas, nous avons réalisé un projet intitulé “Mise à jour de guide de pratique clinique (GPC) qui est un cadre axé sur les priorités pour la mise à jour des guides de pratique cliniques existantes” au centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en réadaptation et intégration sociale du Québec (CIRRIS). Nos travaux au sein du CIRRIS ont amené à deux importantes contributions. Dans ces deux contributions (11e et 12e) nous avons effectué un examen systématique de la littérature pour identifier les critères potentiels de mise à jour des GPCs. Nous avons validé et pondéré les critères identifiés par un sondage international. Puis, sur la base des résultats de la onzième contribution, nous avons développé un cadre global axé sur les priorités pour les GPCs. Ceci est la première fois qu'une telle méthode quantitative a été proposée dans la littérature des guides de pratiques cliniques. L'évaluation et la priorisation des GPCs existants sur la base des critères validés peuvent favoriser l'acheminement des ressources limitées dans la mise à jour de GPCs qui sont les plus sensibles au changement, améliorant ainsi la qualité et la fiabilité des décisions de santé.Today, most systems in various critical sectors such as aviation, oil and health care have become very complex and dynamic, and consequently can at any time stop working. To prevent this from reoccurring and getting out of control which incur huge losses in terms of costs and downtime; the adoption of control and maintenance strategies are more than necessary and even vital. In process engineering, optimal maintenance strategies for these systems could have a significant impact on reducing costs and downtime, maximizing reliability and productivity, improving the quality and finally achieving the desired objectives of the companies. In addition, the risks and uncertainties associated with these systems are often composed of several extremely complex cause and effect relationships. This could lead to an increase in the number of failures of such systems. Therefore, an advanced failure analysis tool is needed to consider the complex interactions of components’ failures in the different phases of the product life cycle to ensure high levels of safety and reliability. In this thesis, we address the shortcomings of current failure/risk analysis and maintenance policy selection methods in the literature. Then, we develop comprehensive approaches to maintenance and failure analysis process based on the risks of complex systems and equipment which are applicable in all industries. The research conducted for the realization of this thesis has resulted in twelve important contributions, as follows: In the first contribution, we address the shortcomings of the current methods in selecting the optimum maintenance strategy and develop an integrated risk-based framework using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCM), and fuzzy Soft set (FSS) tools to select the best maintenance policy by considering the uncertainties.The second contribution aims to address the shortcomings of traditional failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) method and enhance it using a FCM-based FMEA model. Contributions 3 and 4, present two dynamic risk modeling and assessment tools using FCM for dealing with risks of outsourcing maintenance and collaborative networks. Then, we extend the developed tools and propose an advanced decision support tool for predicting the impact of each risk on the other risks or on the performance of system using FCM (contribution 5). In the sixth contribution, we address the associated risks in Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) maintenance and we propose another integrated approach using fuzzy FMEA method for prioritizing the risks. In the contributions 7, 8, 9, and 10, we perform a literature review regarding the risk-based maintenance of medical devices, since these devices have become very complex and sophisticated and the application of maintenance and optimization models to them is fairly new. Then, we develop three integrated frameworks for risk-based maintenance and replacement planning of medical devices. In addition to above contributions, as a case study, we performed a project titled “Updating Clinical Practice Guidelines; a priority-based framework for updating existing guidelines” in CIRRIS which led to the two important contributions. In these two contributions (11th and 12th) we first performed a systematic literature review to identify potential criteria in updating CPGs. We validated and weighted the identified criteria through an international survey. Then, based on the results of the eleventh contribution, we developed a comprehensive priority-based framework for updating CPGs based on the approaches that we had already developed and applied success fully in other industries. This is the first time that such a quantitative method has been proposed in the literature of guidelines. Evaluation and prioritization of existing CPGs based on the validated criteria can promote channelling limited resources into updating CPGs that are most sensitive to change, thus improving the quality and reliability of healthcare decisions made based on current CPGs. Keywords: Risk-based maintenance, Maintenance strategy selection, FMEA, FCM, Medical devices, Clinical practice guidelines

Modelling business and management systems using Fuzzy cognitive maps: A critical overview

A critical overview of modelling Business and Management (B&M) Systems using Fuzzy Cognitive Maps is presented. A limited but illustrative number of specific applications of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps in diverse B&M systems, such as e business, performance assessment, decision making, human resources management, planning and investment decision making processes is provided and briefly analyzed. The limited survey is given in a table with statics of using FCMs in B&M systems during the last 15 years. The limited survey shows that the applications of Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to today’s Business and Management studies has been steadily increased especially during the last 5-6 years. Interesting conclusions and future research directions are highlighted

Quantitative supply chain segmentation model for dynamic alignment

[EN] Companies deal with different customer groups, requirements differ among them, which makes it important to define the service level precisely and improve customer service through different supply chain strategies for each group. An alternative to deal with imprecision related to the segmentation processes suggested by either the Leagile or the Dynamic Alignment Schools is the application of fuzzy set theory. The objective of this work is to develop a quantitative model that uses the fuzzy set theory and, based on sales data, assess the company s supply chain(s). The model's aim is to facilitate managers' decision-making processes to achieve the dynamic alignment. It was possible to identify the supply chains that serve the client groups evaluated, providing answers faster than the analysis proposed by the models found in the literature. The application in two real situations validated the model since the results obtained were consistent with the reality pointed out by the experts of the companies assessed. The model indicates possible actions for the realignment of the supply chain by their managers. Results obtained should improve practice, preparing managers to cope with the organizations` multiple supply chains. This study is the first one that aims to segment quantitatively supply chains on a company applying fuzzy set theory, providing a novel approach to align operations and supply chain strategy dynamically.Alves Ferreira, R.; A. S. Santos, L.; Espôsto, KF. (2022). Quantitative supply chain segmentation model for dynamic alignment. International Journal of Production Management and Engineering. 10(2):99-113. https://doi.org/10.4995/ijpme.2022.16494OJS9911310

Identifying and Prioritizing of Readiness Factors for Implementing ERP Based on Agility (Extension of McKinsey 7S Model)

Studies conducted by many researchers indicate high failure rate of projects of implementing ERP systems. To penetrate in global competition market, it seems necessary to carry out studies to assess organizational readiness prior to system implementation to identify weaknesses and strengths points of the organization. Furthermore, organizations should be agile to be able to respond to market changes fast and effectively to survive in competitive environment. ERP and agility are two important tools for achieving competitive advantages. The main goal of the present study was to identify and prioritize organizational readiness factors for implementing ERP based on organizational agility. In this study, along with extension of McKinsey 7S model (strategy, structure, systems, skills, style, staff, shared values) to 9S (7S+ self-evaluation and supportive factors) model, agility criteria were weighted and rated using group AHP with fuzzy logic approach; so that accountability, speed and flexibility have obtained the maximum score. The nine organizational readiness factors were ranked using integrated FAHP and TOPSIS method based on five criteria of agility. The framework was proposed to a real case of Shiraz distribution cooperative firms. Results showed that among the nine organizational dimensions based on agility, the two added to McKinsey dimensions (self-evaluation and supportive factors) are ranked in the first and fourth places. The proposed framework help the firms “to implement ERP system with agility approach” concentrate on effective empowerments and develop strategies based on their own priority

Multi-criteria decision making with fuzzy TOPSIS:a case study in Bangladesh for selection of facility location

Abstract. The choice of an ideal facility location becomes essential as businesses work to streamline their processes and increase efficiency. In this study, the Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method is applied to choose the best facility location for Rokomari.com, a well-known Bangladeshi online book seller. The goal is to compare Fuzzy TOPSIS’ effectiveness and efficiency to expert judgment when choosing a facility location. The research begins by examining the existing fulfillment center of Rokomari.com located in Motijheel, south Dhaka, and the company’s desire to establish a new branch in north Dhaka for faster service expansion. Eleven potential alternatives are evaluated using the Fuzzy TOPSIS method, which incorporates fuzzy set theory to represent criteria values and preferences as fuzzy numbers. This approach enables the consideration of uncertainty and vagueness in decision-making, offering a more comprehensive evaluation of the facility location alternatives. The study incorporates the expert opinion of four managerial experts from Rokomari.com in addition to the Fuzzy TOPSIS analysis. To gain a thorough understanding of the decision-making process, their observations and viewpoints are contrasted with the Fuzzy TOPSIS findings. The study aims to compare the analyses produced by Fuzzy TOPSIS and expert judgment in order to assess the efficacy and efficiency of each method for choosing a facility location. The results of this study offer insightful information about the use of Fuzzy TOPSIS in the context of choosing a facility location. Additionally, it adds to the body of knowledge by contrasting the results of Fuzzy TOPSIS with professional judgment, highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of each method. The outcomes can help decision-makers at Rokomari.com and other comparable organizations choose a facility location in a knowledgeable and efficient manner

The impact of enterprise resource planning system on Iranian firms performance

In the past two decades, there has been a significant growth market for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in developing countries. However, due to recent economic development of these countries such as Iran, the demand for ERP systems increased considerably. Besides these growths, failures in ERP implementation also have been increased. Therefore, there is an urgent need for understanding ERP implementation and post evaluation issues in developing countries. The main objectives of this study is to identify common ERP modules, critical success factors (CSFs) of ERP implementation among the manufacturing firms in Iran in order to assess the impact of ERP systems implementation on performance across four perspectives (financial, customer, internal process and learning) of the balanced scorecard (BSC). For this purpose, a theory-based model has been developed to examine the relationship between ERP system status and firms performance perspectives. Empirical analyses are based on survey data drawn from 93 Iranian manufacturing firms, which have adopted ERP systems for at least a year. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is employed to test the research hypotheses and Fuzzy DEMATEL method is applied to find the impact of ERP implementation modules and performance indicators. The result indicates that there is a positive significant relationship between ERP system status and changes in financial, customer and learning perspectives of performance. In addition, CSFs and ERP modules on performance perspectives indicated a positive interaction. On the other hand, fuzzy DEMATEL analysis shows, sale and distribution module of ERP had the strongest impact on performance within Iranian manufacturing firms. Consequently, the managers who want to implement ERP systems can use the ranking to choose suitable ERP modules. The results of the study suggest that firms that emphasize CSFs throughout the ERP implementation process achieve higher performance improvement. Further research should gather data from various sources and also from the service sectors

A hybrid approach to achieve organizational agility: An empirical study of a food company

Purpose: In today’s intense global competition, agility is advocated as a fundamental characteristic for business survival and competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical methodology to achieve and enhance organizational agility based on strategic objectives. Design/methodology/approach: In the first step, a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) of the organization being studied are recognized and classified under the perspectives of balanced scorecard (BSC). Critical success factors are then identified by ranking the KPIs according to their importance in achieving organizational strategic objectives using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). In the second step, three houses of quality (HOQs) are constructed sequentially to identify and rank the main agile attributes, agile enablers, and improvement paths. In addition, in order to translate linguistics judgments of practitioners into numerical values in building HOQs, fuzzy logic is employed. Findings: The capability of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by applying it to a case of a multi-national food company in Iran. Through the application, the company could find the most suitable improvement paths to improve its organizational agility. Research limitations/implications: A limited number of KPIs were chosen due to computational and visual constraints related to HOQs. Another limitation, similar to other agility studies, which facilitate decision making among agility metrics, was that the metrics were more industry-specific and less inclusive. Practical implications: A strong practical advantage for the application of the methodology over directly choosing agility metrics without linking them is that through the methodology, the right metrics were selected that match organization’s core values and marketing objectives. While metrics may ostensibly seem unrelated or inappropriate, they actually contributed to the right areas where there were gaps between the current and desired level of agility. It would otherwise be impossible to choose the right metrics without a structured methodology. Originality/value: This paper proposes a novel methodology for achieving organizational agility. By utilizing and linking several tools such as BSC, fuzzy TOPSIS, and quality function deployment (QFD), the proposed approach enables organizations to identify the most appropriate agile attributes, agile enablers, and subsequently agile improvement paths