Electronic Business: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications (4-Volumes) P14 potx

Enterprise Resources Planning ERP Systems ERP is an extension of MRPII with additional capabilities, such as better graphical user interface, the use of relational database, fourth lang

MRPII Hierarchy

The main additional functions contained in MRPII

V\VWHPV ZHUH ³SXUFKDVLQJ FDSDFLW\ SODQQLQJ

and master scheduling, as well as inventory and

production planning” (Kessler, 1991) Along with

integrating all of these additional functions in one

whole, it also implemented the procedures

devel-oped during the years of using MRP to solve some

problems that appeared in MRP It resulted in a

general control structure that breaks the

produc-tion control problem into segments and provides

a hierarchical approach (Hopp & Spearman,

2000) Hierarchy of the MRPII defers from one

software package to another One version of an

MRPII hierarchy is shown in Figure 1 (Toomey,

1996) Such a structure makes it possible for a

manufacturer to deal with the intimidating task of

coordinating thousands of orders with hundreds

of tools for thousands of end items made up of

additional thousands of components

There are many different forms of the MRPII

hierarchy but generally all of them constitute three

major parts: long range planning,

intermediate-range planning, and short-term control as shown

RQWKHULJKWKDQGVLGHRIWKH¿JXUH An explanation

of these is presented in the following paragraphs

(Toomey, 1996)

Long range planning consists of

forecast-ing, resource plannforecast-ing, and aggregate planning

Forecasting predicts demands in the future, and

resource planning determines the capacity

re-quirements over the long term while aggregate

planning determines the level of production

Intermediate planning provides rules for

planning the different functions that take place

during production Intermediate planning forms

demand management, master production schedule

(MPS), rough-cut capacity planning (RCCP),

bill of material (BOM), material requirements

planning (MRP), and capacity requirements

planning (CRP)

Demand management is the process of

convert-ing the long-term aggregate forecast into a detailed

forecast while tracking individual customer orders The MPS is the source of demand for the MRPII system The MPS gives the quantity and due dates for all parts that have independent de-mand The RCCP provides a quick capacity check

of a few critical resources to ensure the feasibility

of the MPS The BOM provides the relationship EHWZHHQHQGLWHPV¿QLVKHGSURGXFWVDQGORZHU level items (the constituent parts of the end item) The MRP conducts allocation and performs the job release function by releasing materials onto WKHVKRSÀRRUDQGFRQYHUWLQJWKHPLQWRVFKHGXOHG receipts Its output is the job pool, which consists

of planned order releases The CRP provides a more detailed capacity check on the production plans compared to RCCP

Short term planning serves job dispatching and

input/output planning Job dispatching provides rules for arranging the queue in front of each ZRUNVWDWLRQRQWKHSODQWÀRRUVXFKWKDWGXHGDWH integrity is maintained while machine utilisation

is kept high and manufacturing times are kept low Input/output planning provides an easy way

to check releases against available capacity by monitoring the level of work in progress (WIP)

at each work centre (Toomey, 1996)

Disadvantages of MRPII Systems

The inaccuracy of the bill of materials and inven-tory database is a common problem with MRPII systems (Bayhan, 1999) Inaccurate bills of ma-terials mean inaccurate material and capacity plans Providing a management system that will facilitate data accuracy will likely require major adjustments in strategic management approaches (Correll, 1995) However, the MRPII systems contain a method for planning and procuring the materials to support production During years

of using MRPII, the need for other functions arose that would, together with MRPII, create

an actually integrated manufacturing manage-ment system Consequently, it was completed by creating a large production control system named

enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems The

following section will explain this system

Enterprise Resources Planning

(ERP) Systems

ERP is an extension of MRPII with additional

capabilities, such as better graphical user interface,

the use of relational database, fourth language

generation, open system portability, and is much

more integrated than MRPII (Boyle, 2000) In

addition, Kapp, Latham, and Ford-Latham (2001)

state that the difference between ERP and MRPII

is the inclusion of a variety of manufacturing

processes within ERP, in which modern ERP

software is able to handle both discrete work

RUGHUV DQG ÀRZ RUGHUV MXVWLQWLPH -,7 DQG

MRP, electronic data interchange (EDI), and

hand-entered orders Wainewright (2002) also

stated that MRP was used for tracking suppliers,

ZRUNLQSURJUHVVDQGWKHRXWSXWRI¿QLVKHGJRRGV

while ERP was used for all type of business with

DGGLWLRQDOIXQFWLRQVLQFOXGLQJ¿QDQFLDOVSD\UROO

and human resources management

According to Wallace and Kremzar (2001),

ERP is far better than MRPII for three reasons:

1 ERP applies a single set of resource planning

tools across the entire enterprise

2 ERP provides real-time integration of sales,

RSHUDWLQJDQG¿QDQFLDOGDWD

3 ERP connects resource planning approaches

to the extended supply chain of customers

and suppliers

'H¿QLWLRQRIERP Systems

ERP is the technological backbone of electronic

EXVLQHVV HEXVLQHVV  L Q W K H ED F N RI ¿ F H  ,W ZD V

FRPPRQGXULQJWKHVWR¿QGWKHFRPSXWLQJ

VRIWZDUHIRUWKH¿QDQFHGHSDUWPHQWZDVGLIIHU-ent from that used by the human resources or

stores departments According to Kalakota and

5RELQVRQ(53³RYHUFRPHVWKHLQWHJUDWLRQ

challenges posed by disconnected, uncoordinated EDFNRI¿FHDSSOLFDWLRQVWKDWKDYHRIWHQRXWOLYHG their usefulness.”

7KHUH DUH VHYHUDO (53 GH¿QLWLRQV WKDW DUH all more or less similar (Hicks, 1997) ERP is GH¿QHG DV PRGXOHEDVHG LQWHJUDWHG VRIWZDUH packages that control all the personnel, material, PRQHWDU\DQGLQIRUPDWLRQÀRZVRIDFRPSDQ\ (Granlund & Malmi, 2002) Gelinas, Sutton, and 2UDPVXJJHVWDQDOWHUQDWLYHGH¿QLWLRQIRU ERP systems as:

Integrated software packages designed to provide complete integration of an organisation’s business information processing systems and all related data These systems are conceptually based on event-driven systems concepts, which include the FDSWXULQJRIERWK¿QDQFLDODQGQRQ¿QDQFLDOGDWD

to facilitate access and ad hoc analysis.

<HW DQRWKHU GH¿QLWLRQ LV JLYHQ E\ :DOODFH and Kremzar (2001); they state that ERP sys-tems are an enterprise-wide information system solution set of management tools that balances demand and supply, including the ability to link customers and suppliers into a complete supply FKDLQHPSOR\LQJFRQ¿UPHGEXVLQHVVSURFHVVHV for decision-making, and providing high degrees

of cross-functional integration among sales, marketing, manufacturing, operations, logistics, SXUFKDVLQJ¿QDQFHDQGKXPDQUHVRXUFHVWKHUHE\ enabling people to run their business with high levels of customer service and productivity, and simultaneously lower costs and inventories, and providing the foundation for effective e-com-merce Thus, for the purpose of this paper, ERP FDQEHGH¿QHGDVVRIWZDUHWKDWFDQEHXVHGWR integrate information across all functions of an organisation to automate corporate business proc-esses Some ERP systems, according to Markus and Tanis (2000), were developed out of admin-LVWUDWLYH¿QDQFLDODQGKXPDQUHVRXUFHVVLGHVRI the business (e.g., SAP• and PeopleSoft•), and others grew from materials resource planning in manufacturing (e.g., Baan•)

Feature of ERP Systems

The many features of ERP systems have greatly

increased the quantity and quality of information

provided to enterprises, helping them to achieve

HI¿FLHQF\LQWKHLUPDQDJHPHQWSURFHVVHV2YHU

the years, much has been learned about the success

of ERP systems Several researchers show that

ERP provided tremendous support for business

planning and organisational objectives (Bingi,

Sharma, & Godla, 1999) Some of the major

features of ERP and what ERP can perform for

the business system are noted in the following

paragraphs, based on the literature reviewed

Integration

(53¿UVWDSSHDUHGRQWKHGHFLVLRQVXSSRUWKRUL-zon in the early-1990s (Granlund & Malmi, 2002)

As an integrated enterprise-wide information

system, ERP was designed to provide managers

with easy access to internal and external

informa-tion that are crucial to the success of a company

in the business environment Companies need to

establish a streamline business process, which

FDQ VLJQL¿FDQWO\ HQKDQFH WKH FRPPXQLFDWLRQ

and cooperation among functional departments

To achieve this objective, functional

integra-tion is required (Tarn, Yen, & Beaumont, 2002;

Zheng, Yen, & Tarn, 2000) The current ERP

systems provide companies with the mechanism

to systematically and effectively measure the

per-formance of key business processes and evaluate

the contribution of various aspects of the business

(Davenport, 1998)

An ERP system has the potential to integrate

all processes and functions of a business and to

present a complete picture of the entire

organi-VDWLRQ(53DVVXUHV³VHDPOHVVLQWHJUDWLRQRIDOO

WKH LQIRUPDWLRQ ÀRZLQJ WKURXJK D FRPSDQ\´

(Davenport, 1998) by means of a single database

that enables the various departments within an

organisation to successfully share information and

contact each other (Hedman, 2002) The single

database approach means common access to a single set of data Therefore, all departments’ access the same information, as Figure 2 shows, and thus the need for redundant data entry is eliminated (Hedman, 2002)

Packages

ERP systems are commercial packages that are bought from software vendors (e.g., SAP•, Baan•, Oracle•, J.D Edwards• and People-Soft•) (Harrell, Higgins, & Ludwig, 2001) Software vendors such as SAP•, PeopleSoft•, and Oracle• have developed a variety of applica-WLRQVVXLWDEOHIRUDGRSWLRQE\¿QDQFLDOVHUYLFHV industry, highlighting the change from the more traditional uses of ERP systems within business

to a more general perspective (Martin, 1998) Pawlowski, Robey, and Raven (2000) indicate that ERP packages can be considered shared in-formation systems, which are systems which cross typical organisational boundaries and therefore have multiple users and stakeholders who have different cultures and approaches to work

Best Practices

%HVWSUDFWLFHVFDQEHGH¿QHGDV³WKRVHSUDFWLFHV that have been shown to produce superior results; selected by a systematic process; and judged as exemplary, good, or successfully demonstrated”; WKHVHSUDFWLFHVDUHWKHQDGDSWHGWR¿WDSDUWLFXODU organisation (American Productivity and Quality Centre, 1997) The use of best practices, when incorporated within all areas of an organisation, including its stakeholder relationships, can lead to

an organisation attaining world class performance (53 SDFNDJHV DUH LQWHQGHG WR ¿W WKH QHHGV RI many organisations and therefore support generic business processes ERP vendors therefore claim WRKDYHGHVLJQHG³EHVWSUDFWLFHV´%\ORRNLQJDW academic theory and individual companies, they claim to have designed the best way to do business (Markus & Tanis, 2000) Best practices in an ERP

system are captured in the different choices that

must be made when implementing the system An

ERP system generally has a number of different

best practices available, which implies that a

com-SDQ\FDQFXVWRPLVHWKHVRIWZDUHVLJQL¿FDQWO\DQG

PDNHLW¿WWKHVSHFL¿FQHHGVRIWKHRUJDQLVDWLRQ

For example, SAP’s R/3• system offers more

than 1,100 best practices Because such a large

number of best practices are available, virtually

each implementation is unique Since, the portfolio

of best practices chosen varies from

implementa-tion to implementaimplementa-tion (O’Leary, 2000)

However, since ERP packages are based on best

practice, they are of a normative nature Because

of the normative nature of ERP, the performance

often requires changing business processes and

therefore includes at least some degree of business

process reengineering (BPR) (Hedman, 2002)

%35FDQEHGH¿QHGDV³WKHIXQGDPHQWDOUHWKLQN-ing and radical redesign of business processes to

achieve dramatic improvements in measures of

performance such as quality, speed and services”

(Hammer, Champy, & Hammer, 1993) BPR is a

vital part of the process innovation, helping in

the redesign and re-evaluation of the processes

used in organisations to achieve their objectives

(Turban, Lee, King, & Chung, 2000) However,

the inclusion of BPR in the implementation of ERP

adds considerably to the risk and expense of the

implementation (Markus & Tanis, 2000)

Advantages of ERP Systems

Implementation

7KH EHQH¿WV RI LQVWDOOLQJ DQ (53 V\VWHP DUH

widespread An ERP system restructures a

FRPSDQ\¶VGDWDÀRZVDQGSURYLGHVPDQDJHPHQW

with a direct access to a wealth of information

(Davenport, 1998) According to Wallace and

Kremzar (2001), operating the business in a rapidly

changing and highly competitive environment

is the primary purpose of implementing an ERP

V\VWHP2¶/HDU\VWDWHVWKDW³RQHRIWKH

primary reasons for the movement toward ERP

is that the competition has it [and that] a lot of ERP purchases are premised on the need just

to stay in business.” Thus, the implementation

of an ERP system can be seen as a competitive necessity Although implementing an ERP system PD\EHFRVWO\DQGWLPHFRQVXPLQJWKHEHQH¿WV are worthwhile With careful planning and selec-tion of the right ERP system, a company may H[SHFWWRDFKLHYHVLJQL¿FDQWEHQH¿WVLQFOXGLQJ dramatic increases in responsiveness, produc-tivity, on-time shipments, and sales, as well as decreases in lead times, purchase costs, quality problems, and inventories (Wallace & Kremzar, 2001) According to a survey regarding R/3 cited

in Al-Mashari (2001), the most common reason for implementing ERP is standardisation of pro-cesses and systems Another much cited reason IRULPSOHPHQWLQJ(53LVWKHPL[LQJEHQH¿WVRI the system (Al-Mashari, 2001)

While the ability to enhance the management RILQWHUQDOSURFHVVHVLVRQHEHQH¿WRILPSOHPHQW-ing an ERP system, enterprise resource plannRILQWHUQDOSURFHVVHVLVRQHEHQH¿WRILPSOHPHQW-ing DOVREHQH¿WVPDQ\RIWKHH[WHUQDOSURFHVVHVRIDQ organisation Turban et al (2000) argue that ERP system assists with customer relationship manage-PHQWE\RIIHULQJFXVWRPHUVDPRUHHI¿FLHQWDQG higher-quality level of service, including the abil-ity to order products online and to inquire about product pricing and the status of an order Kalakota and Robinson (2001) explain that for large companies, ERP speeds communications and the distribution and analysis of information, facilitating the exchange of data across corporate divisions by unifying the company’s key pro-cesses, product planning, logistics, accounting DQG ¿QDQFLDO VHUYLFHV KXPDQ UHVRXUFHV DQG sales distribution

ERP system enables an organisation to inte-grate all data that is used in the entire organisa-tion Davenport (1998) lists some of the many functions supported by SAP’s R/3• package shown in Figure 3

Disadvantages of ERP Systems

Implementations

Although the implementation of an ERP system

brings many advantages, it may also bring

dis-advantages One of the main disadvantages is

WKHODFNRIIHDWXUHIXQFWLRQ¿WEHWZHHQDYDLODEOH

packages and company needs (Markus & Tanis,

2000) ERP implementation can be a

consider-able drain upon an organisation in terms of both

cost and development time Even a medium-sized

installation can take up tens of millions of dollars

DQGUHTXLUH\HDUVRIWZHDNLQJEHIRUHWKHEHQH¿WV

DSSHDU7KLVLVUHÀHFWHGLQWKHLGHQWL¿FDWLRQWKDW

approximately 90% of ERP implementations are

late or over budget (Holland et al., 1999) It takes

an average of eight months after the new system

LVLQVWDOOHGWRVHHDQ\EHQH¿WV RFK6ODWHU 

Baatz, 1999) ERP’s can have a negative impact on

the work practices and culture of an organisation

if it is being implemented inaccurately (Soh, Kien,

& Tay-Yap, 2000) However, the more accurate

WKH (53 LV LPSOHPHQWHG WKH PRUH EHQH¿W WKH

company will achieve

Implementing Enterprise Resource

Planning (ERP) Systems

The implementation of an ERP changes the way

organisations perform business and how people

complete their work (Koch et al., 1999)

Con-sequently, the implementation of ERP systems

ultimately results in changes to processes

(busi-QHVVRULHQWHG DFWLYLWLHV ZKLFK LQ WXUQ LQÀLFWV

changes to work practices (people-oriented

activities) ERP implementation should involve

the analysis of current business processes and the

chance of re-engineering, rather than designing

an application to make the best of bad processes

(Scheer & Habermann, 2000) The

implementa-tion of ERP software is not a technical task The

implementation of ERP systems is a

business-based endeavour, as organisations try to match

the technological imperatives of the ERP software

with the business needs of the company Daven-port (1998) states that technical challenges are not the main reasons that enterprise systems fail Organisations fail to reconcile the technological imperatives of the ERP system with the business needs of the enterprise itself (Davenport, 1998) Although statistics are quoted showing many companies are adopting ERP technology (Kumar

& Hillegersberg, 2000), it may be contested that these are following a trend rather than making sound business decisions (Caldas & Wood, 1999) Primary implementation motivators are often cited as a desire to integrate all parts of a busi-ness, achieve business change, replace outdated, unsupported software, to take into account new tax restrictions, and overall, to improve company stability and increase competitive advantage and SUR¿W'DYHQSRUW.XPDU +LOOHJHUVEHUJ 2000; Markus & Tanis, 2000)

Reasons Why ERP Implementations Fail

Implementing a new ERP system does not always guarantee successful results There is, according

to Bermudez (1998), a number of reasons why ERP systems failed to improve manufacturing planning:

• The level of detail in ERP systems is too rough for adequate decision making Also, the existing technology which is used for ERP systems does not allow greater detail for real time analysis and simulation, which enables adequate decision-making

• The tools used within ERP systems are used infrequently and are sometimes incompre-hensible for senior management

• There is no consideration given to the interdependency of material and capacity availability (Bermudez, 1998)

Other reasons why ERP systems failed ac-cording to Kapp et al (2001) can be:

• Inadequate training: As companies try to

cut back on the budget for implementing an

(53V\VWHPWKH¿UVWLWHPRQWKHFKRSSLQJ

block is often training This will seriously

hamper long-term chances of success

• Employees’ resist: The real reason ERP

implementations fail is because employees

resist the new ERP software rather than

embrace it (Kapp et al., 2001)

Companies fail to reconcile the technological

imperatives of the ERP with the business

require-ments of the enterprise itself (Davenport, 1998)

If a company rushes to install an ERP without

¿UVWKDYLQJDFOHDUXQGHUVWDQGLQJRIWKHEXVLQHVV

implications within an Internet economy, the

dream of integration can quickly turn dreadful

7KHORJLFRIWKH(53PD\FRQÀLFWZLWKWKHORJLF

of the e-business Thus, the main reasons for ERP

implementation failures are due to business and

management problems (Davenport, 1998;

Al-Mashari, Al-Mudimigh, & Zairi, 2003)

ERP and E-Business

The Internet continues to grow as a medium

for commerce, allowing a company to conduct

business everywhere, all the time E-commerce

and the Internet eliminate the constraints of time

and distance in operating a business and enable

a multitude of connections between customers,

suppliers, and trading partners (Fingar, Kumar, &

Sharma, 2000) E-business, according to Ahmed,

=DLULDQG$OZDEHOFDQEHGH¿QHGDVD

shorthand term that embraces a complex

mix-ture of technologies, infrastrucmix-tures, processes,

and products brings together whole industries

and narrow applications, producers and users,

information exchange, and economic activity

LQWRDJOREDOPDUNHWSODFHFDOOHG³WKH,QWHUQHW´

Similarly, Kalakota and Robinson (1999) maintain

WKDW³HEXVLQHVVLVDERXWUHGH¿QLQJROGEXVLQHVV

models, with the aid of technology, to maximise

customer value.”

The characteristics of the new economy have increased the level of competition in all the in-dustries, and the Internet presents an important RSSRUWXQLW\IRUHYHQVPDOO¿UPVWRODXQFKQHZ products or services because of the speed and low cost of doing business (Alwabel, Ahmed, Gouda,

& Zairi, 2004) E-commerce also reduces

inef-¿FLHQFLHVFDXVHGE\EX\HUVHDUFKFRVWVWRREWDLQ information about the price and product offerings

as well as the cost of sellers to communicate information about their prices and product of-ferings (Lynch & Ariely, 2000) By assembling

a network of partners that specialise and excel

in the links of the value chain, it is possible for organisations to achieve new levels of quality, ÀH[LELOLW\DQGFRVWVDYLQJV(53DQGHEXVLQHVV are not competitive systems Their greatest ben-H¿WVFDQRQO\EHDFKLHYHGZKHQWKH\DUHXVHGLQ agreement, completing each other Thus, without

a successful ERP system, the e-business systems would have only little to present; as in today’s new business environment, power has shifted toward consumers who demand intelligent products that deliver new dimensions of value time and content

in addition to the current one’s price and quality (Aldrich & Douglas, 1999)

The basic functionality of ERP and e-business are different Yet, ERP is an integrated software packages system that handles an organisation’s internal information whereas e-business is fun-damentally a distribution medium and does not involve a lot of processing Although the informa-WLRQÀRZLQJWKURXJKHEXVLQHVVLVEHFRPLQJPRUH willing to process all of the time, it is still processed

by applications, and the best business applications are still ERP and other enterprise packages from major vendors Sixty-six percent of IT managers, according to a recent survey of e-business and ERP (Norris, Hurley, Hartly, Dunleavy, & Balls, 2000), viewed ERP as their most important and strategic platform because it provides a solid foundation and information backbone for e-business When ERP and e-business are properly implemented, they supercharge each other E-business is the

best vehicle to share business information with

partners for creating major B2B synergies

(Nor-ris et al., 2000) A fully-integrated ERP system

will capture and create accurate, consistent, and

timely relevant data, and assist in intelligent

business decision-making E-business improves

a company’s business performance by connecting

various stakeholders to a company’s value chain

and information systems as illustrated in Figure

4 When any parts of the supply chain have access

to other’s business information, organisations

can streamline their processes and automate data

processing and business activities all through the

supply chain (Norris et al., 2000)

Furthermore, ERP systems according to

Jaiswal (2002) can be organised to smoothly

in-tegrate various business functions and even can

be extended to external business partners It can

also be organised as combined business models

as shown in the Figure 5

The major role of e-business is to operate on

applications such as ERP, supply chain

ment (SCM), and customer relationship

manage-ment (CRM), an extended of the company to its

supplier and customer, as well as other partners

as shown in Figure 6

ERP Future Trends

The ERP system has had a major impact on the

manufacturing industry for a decade The ERP

system can serve the manufacturing businesses as

ZHOODVRWKHULQGXVWULHVVXFKDV¿QDQFLDOVHUYLFHV

health care, and the consumer goods sector The

future of ERP is all about improving the supply

chain and promotion greater than the

collabora-tion across multiple enterprises ERP vendors

now provide continuous product enhancements

WRWKHRUJDQLVDWLRQVWKDWDOUHDG\KDYH³JRQHOLYH´

with their ERP package Customer relationship

management (CRM) and supply chain

manage-ment (SCM) are functions that ERP vendors are

now attempting to sell to organisations that have

already bought and implemented an ERP package

(Chen, 2001)

CONCLUSION

Although ERP systems have the potential to VLJQL¿FDQWO\HQKDQFHWKHSHUIRUPDQFHRIPDQ\ organisations’ business operations, they are still expensive and intensely complex to implement Thus, the possibility of failure has always been KLJK,QRUGHUWRUHDSWKHSRWHQWLDOEHQH¿WVDQG avoid serious drawbacks, companies must really understand and deal with the planning issues This paper focuses on the evolution of ERP and its relationship with e-business This paper begins E\GH¿QLQJWKHFRQFHSWRI053DQG053,,DVD

¿UVWDQGVHFRQGSKDVHRI(53WKHQLWGLVFXVVHV the issues surrounding the concept of ERP In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of ERP are examined to explain the opportunities and threats of ERP and how organisations can XWLOLVHWKHVHEHQH¿WVDQGRYHUFRPHWKHVHEDUULHUV Furthermore, reasons why ERP implementations fail are discussed as well as the relationship be-tween ERP and e-business

ERP and e-business are not competitive sys-tems Yet, the basic functionality of ERP and the HEXVLQHVV DUH GLIIHUHQW 7KH SRWHQWLDO EHQH¿WV from ERP systems are varied with different types RIEHQH¿WVDULVLQJDWGLIIHUHQWSRLQWV(DUO\LQWKH (53H[SHULHQFHEHQH¿WVDURVHIURPERWKWKH,7 infrastructure and the re-engineered, IT supported RSHUDWLRQDO SURFHVVHV <HW EHQH¿WV PD\ DULVH from improved management decision-making, especially with regard to day-to-day operational PDWWHUV7KHVHEHQH¿WVVHHPWRUHVXOWIURPEDVLF use of the technology However, organisations VKRXOGSODQWRDFKLHYHWKHVHHDUOLHUEHQH¿WVDV TXLFNO\DVSRVVLEOHXVXDOO\ZLWKLQWKH¿UVWIHZ years of adopting the ERP systems On top of that, companies could offer training and consulting to employees as well as provide high support levels

of human key account managers to reduce the reluctance of targeted decision-makers to adopt ERP However, an ERP system in itself does not offer competitive advantage in an organisational environment Competitive advantage comes not

from the fact that companies have adopted an

ERP system in, yet that is what every other major

company all over the world has done It is how

they interface that system with their employees and

KRZPDNLQJHPSOR\HHVSHUFHLYHLWVEHQH¿WV7KH

implementation of ERP software is not a

techni-cal task The implementation of ERP systems is

a business-based endeavour, as organisations try

to match the technological imperatives of the ERP

software with the business needs of the company

Thus, if organisations used ERP systems as an

analytical and modelling tool for the redesign of

organisational processes, real improvement in the

organisation’s performance would be achieved

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