CSF\u27s for Implementing ERP within SME\u27s

The study uses a project retrospective approach to study the implementation of ERP within eight SME’s (small and mid-sized enterprises). A project retrospective is designed to assess project performance, to identify lessons learned, and to measure success. The findings report (1) ERP project management , (2) ERP project timeline, (3) Lessons learned, (4) Risk factors, including adequacy of skill sets and level of customization, (4) Evaluation of ERP project success, and (5) Critical success factors in ERP project implementation. Many of the themes from ERP implementation studies in larger corporations were reiterated as keys to success: top management support, end-user involvement, vanilla implementation of key business processes, and team-building. In the SME’s, project sponsors were senior managers, and project managers were less likely to have ERP project experience. Formalized ROI processes and Steering Committees were not standard. Since change was mandated from the top, and since standard vanilla processes were implemented, many of these projects stayed on-course in terms of time and budget. The story of ERP implementation in SME’s indicates that these projects have definite benefits and can be effectively implemented with existing personnel and existing leadership

Everyone is Different! Exploring the Issues and Problems with ERP Enabled Shared Service Initiatives

In today’s increasingly competitive environment, there is constant pressure for corporate leaders to add value to their organizations. These contemporary organizations are increasingly moving into business models that attempt to reduce duplicate supporting processes and staff by streamlining business processes that are not central to the organization’s operations and concentrating on strategies on strategic or core, business processes. This concept, known as Shared Services, attempts to bundle some of the supporting processes and non-strategic activities into a separate organization, which in turn treats those processes and activities as the core of its own business. Shared Services consolidate and support redundant functions, such as accounts payable and procurement, for disparate business units. By leveraging economies of scale from a common IT infrastructure, such a group is able to market specific services to business units. Many organizations are employing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, for example SAP, to facilitate Shared Service initiatives by aggregating backroom functionality across departments. This research-in-progress paper investigates issues and problems with ERP enabled Shared Services in 19 organizations. The results reveal five main issues that organizations face in implementing a Shared Services initiative

Managing The Full Erp Life-Cycle: Considerations Of Maintenance And Support Requirements And It Governance Practice As Integral Elements Of The Formula For Successful Erp Adoption

Companies adopting enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have often focused primarily on implementation-related factors while neglecting those of post-implementation. As a result, the usefulness and operation of the ERP systems, once installed, are compromised. This research adopted a case study approach to demonstrate that ERP adoption efforts that fail to pay attention to post- implementation requirements (especially those relevant to maintenance and support (M&S)) from an early stage in the project lifecycle will face dire consequences. It points out that poor planning and management of M&S services can imperil the normal operations of an ERP system and the daily activities of a business. With the life span of ERP systems getting shorter, sound M&S practices can extend their life and create a stable system platform to support efficient and effective business operations. M&S issues deserve to be considered as integral elements among the critical success factors (CSF) of ERP adoption projects. In other words, ERP success requires a full lifecycle perspective to be taken by adopting companies. With lessons having been learned from the mistakes in the first project, the company in this case study revamped its ERP implementation second time out, with due consideration being given to M&S strategies and practices from project initiation onward in order to realize a stable, usable, and maintainable system. The case study explores and identifies the critical success factors (CSF) of ERP adoption, and shows that M&S must be included as a key element from the outset and throughout the system lifecycle. Our findings capture a great deal of experience for any ERP adopting companies to follow in order to avoid learning costly lessons both in implementation and subsequent M&S throughout the lifespan of the system. A set of propositions is also presented for academic researcher to consider in future ERP research endeavors

ERP Project Retrospectives—55 Enterprise Systems: Evaluating Project Success, Lessons Learned, and Business Outcomes

This paper provides a description of fifty-five ERP Project Retrospectives. The study uses the ERP project retrospectives to shed light on relevant issues identified in the literature review of ERP research conducted over the past decade (Schlicher and Kraemmergaard, 2010). The retrospectives provide insight into a number of key questions, including: (1) project justification, including the business and system benefits of ERP; (2) lessons learned, including common mistakes, challenges met, and best practices in managing these challenges; (3) and critical success factors in implementation. The study describes the similarities and differences between the literature and the walkthroughs

Risky business: when a CRM vendor masqueraded as an ERP specialist

Taking a social shaping perspective we unpack the development trajectory of a packaged software product to show, that contrary to mainstream accounts, design is not completely specified a-priori and that the process continues throughout implementation, and use. We show how developers, in this case third party vendors, can continue to engage in shaping packages during implementation and also how users contribute to the development effort. In particular, we illustrate how a customer relationship management package application targeted at a particular organisational function was configured to make an enterprise wide system and the key role of the vendor in this effort. To do this we refer to a 3- year qualitative field study of an expanding United Kingdom based consultancy company undergoing extreme ICT related change. This empirical research is used to explore an often ignored phenomenon, that of the role of vendors in appropriating ICTs and the potential risks they bring. Through this, we highlight the plight and responsibilities of low-level organisational actors in this process in cognisance of the fact they usually have a minor role in ICT selection but become a major player in dealing with vendors at the implementation stage when the devil is truly in the detail. The risks we identify relate to: vendor sales pitches of products as specifically related to their capabilities and the products they put forward; the calling upon of organisational resources by vendors; vendor knowledge of the application are and the actual ‘social’, ‘technical’ and ‘organisational’ capabilities of vendors to deliver a working product. We also point to the risks managers in vendor and consumer organisations create by placing their staff in difficult conditions within appropriation processes. The implications of our work centre on the need for further research related to: vendor/developer risks of packaged software, custom and open source projects; notions of professionalism and ethics in the software industry and project working conditions

Managing ERP Implementation Failure: A Project Management Perspective

In recent years, rapid progress in the use of the internet has resulted in huge losses in many organizations due to lax security. As a result, information security awareness is becoming an important issue to anyone using theInternet. To reduce losses, organizations have made information security awareness a top priority. The three main barriers to information security awareness are: (1) general security awareness, (2) employees’ computerskills, and (3) organizational budgets. Online learning appears a feasible alternative to providing information security awareness and countering these three barriers. Research has identified three levels of securityawareness: perception, comprehension and projection. This paper reports on a laboratory experiment that investigates the impacts of hypermedia, multimedia and hypertext to increase information security awarenessamong the three awareness levels in an online training environment. The results indicate that: (1) learners who have the better understanding at the perception and comprehension levels can improve understanding at the projection level; (2) learners with text material perform better at the perception level; and (3) learners with multimedia material perform better at the comprehension level and projection level. The results could be used by educators and training designers to create meaningful information security awareness materials

ERP: More than Just a System The Role of ERP in Mergers and Acquisitions

Company takeovers continue to be a common corporate practice. Where these involve the acquisition of similar businesses the speed of integration is regarded as a contributory factor to the success of the acquisition. In this paper the contribution of the implementation of the acquirer’s ERP system to integration is explored. ERP implementation may impose the acquirer’s business procedures, processes, data formats, values and underlying culture and has the potential to be a powerful tool to drive the level of integration being sought. In this qualitative study the authors explore a series of ERP implementations in the Asia Pacific region that appear to have successfully contributed to the integration of a global company’s business in this region, and contrast these findings against other conflicting outcomes reported in the literature. Implementation strategies that are considered to have contributed to this success were developed. These strategies were based on an appreciation of the cultural dimensions predominant in the region, and included emphasis on the strategic aim, sharing leadership between Head Office and the local business, project teams comprising a mix of Head Office analysts and regional business people, and strong communication practices in which a sense of community was developed

Identifying the Critical Success Factors for Low Customized ERP System Implementations in SMEs

So far the level of ERP system customization has not been taken into account when identifying critical success factors for ERP implementations in small to medium size enterprises (SMEs). This research empirically tests the influence of the level of system customization on success factors by surveying 216 SMEs. We find that motivation system and project team empowerment are more important in low customized ERP implementations. This study is relevant to both theory and practice as it identifies and analyzes factors contributing to a higher success rate in low customized ERP system implementations in SMEs

Implementing packaged enterprise software in multi-site firms: Intensification of organizing and learning

Packaged enterprise software, in contrast with custom-built software, is a ready-made mass product aimed at generic customer groups in a variety of industries and geographical areas. The implementation of packaged software usually leads to a phase of appropriation and customization. As the associated processes remain ill understood, particularly for multi-site implementations, the objective of this paper is to understand the impact of packaged software in a multi-site organization. Adopting a case study method, this paper reports on a multi-site project that was analyzed at the group, site, and corporate level. Our findings suggest that as organizational units face the unsettling experience of having to implement a single source code across globally distributed sites, packaged software intensifies organizing and learning processes across these levels. The paper identifies specific processes for these levels and concludes with implications for research and practice. Our research extends IS research on packaged software implementation with an emphasis on multi-site firms