Toward a Model of Organizational Prerequisites for ERP

Data Warehousing was the ‘hot topic’ of the early-to-mid 1990’s but it became unfashionable through the mid-to-late 1990s with the widespread implementation of ERP systems. However, in recent times, the re-emergence of Data Warehousing, to address the limitations of ERP systems, provides researchers with a new challenge and the ability to test the validity of old notions in solving new problems. This chapter lays the foundation for a model of organizational prerequisites for ERP project implementation. The model is aimed at the ‘Intelligence’ phase of managerial decision making for ERP projects. It draws on the increasing volume of organizational ERP literature now being published and past research into Data Warehousing project implementations is introduced in an attempt to highlight the re-emerging need for the concept of organizational prerequisites. The chapter documents the early stages of a larger research study, which is currently in progress. The main objective of the chapter is to present a literature-based model, the need for which emerges from a number of ‘issues of concern’ around the implementation of ERP, which integrally covers the phases which organizations go through when purchasing ERP packages.

Understanding the Business Consequences of ERP Systems

This study examines the postimplementation period of an ERP implementation in an Australian manufacturing organization, with the aim of understanding and explaining the business consequences that occurred. The description of the case is followed by an analysis using the structurational model of technology. The radical change in the way users needed to understand the business in terms of the new system, coupled with insufficient training and support postimplementation, and user resistance to change, impacted on the benefits the organization gained from the system.

Investigating the Rationale of ERP

This case illustrates the importance of a reliable information systems infrastructure in supporting the operations and the development of modern businesses. A longitudinal analysis (1995-2001) of Topps Ireland Ltd. is presented. Topps attempted to acquire and implement a state-of-the-art Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in order to increase control over its operations and to develop management information systems to improve decision making in relation to the commercial strategy of the firm. The case shows how the evolution of Topps to an internationally successful competitive situation was enabled and facilitated by the greater control allowed by its ERP system. The case begins with a description of Topps — its line of business and its development over time — and its business strategy in 1995. The reasons that contributed to the decision to select an ERP system for Topps emerge from the case. The “teething troubles” associated with the system are addressed, and latest information from Topps management on the success of the implementation concludes the case.

The Road to ERP-Has Industry Learned or Revolved Back to the Start?

Current thinking and usage of materials management is not to view any individual materials management technique singularly as a panacea in itself, but rather to view the merits of using combinations of these techniques in an effective integrated manner: for example use MRPII at the top level MPS planning stage, JIT at the next level and Kanban (which utilises stock replenishment technique) at the operations level, while at the same time using EOQ and ABC analysis to control the cost of expensive component usage. This chapter traces the development of materials management techniques from the time of the industrial revolution to present day ERP systems. It examines the role and function of the more significant materials and inventory control techniques and explains how each has emerged and has been used as the basis for the development of successive improved techniques. This chapter also comments on the stand-alone nature of each of the techniques. The chapter however concludes with the suggestion that it is only by focusing on an enterprise as a complete system, and not as series of independent sub-systems, and to plan accordingly, that will lead organisations to the next higher level of materials management—Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP).

An Examination of an ERP Software Selection Process

In this chapter a case study of a world-class manufacturing organisation implementing SAP is purposefully used to demonstrate the influence of bias over requirements in the decision making process. Furthermore, this research highlights the difficulties in determining if the ERP package selected by an organisation is in fact the right software package, to fulfil the functional requirements of the organisation.

ERP Software Selection-Widening the Current Debate

This chapter reflects on the nature of managerial decision making in the case of ERP projects. It draws on the increasing volume of organisational ERP literature now being published, but also attempts to draw lessons from the traditional research on decision making processes carried out over the last thirty years. This chapter documents the early stages of a larger research study, which is reported in various chapters in the book. Its main objective is to present a literature-based model, which integrally covers the phases which organisations go through (or should go through) when purchasing ERP packages, from the identification of the problems facing them to the review of the outcomes of the ERP projects. This represents a departure from current ERP literature, which has often focused on the software selection phase as if it were the key to organisational success and neglects the issue of organisational fit – i.e., the extent to which the business model underlying the ERP package selected fits the way an organisation conducts its business. We conclude from our observations that organisations are not well prepared when kicking off their ERP projects and that this may explain why many instances of relative ERP failure have been reported.

Toward a Model of Investigating Non-Decision Making ERP Communities

This chapter proposes to reframe current research on decision making process in the area of ERP selection and implementation and to study ERP communities, defined here as triadic groups composed of (1) an ERP vendor, (2) an ERP implementer and (3) an implementing organisation. In this novel perspective, the core contribution of this chapter is to introduce and apply the concept of Non-Decision Making (NDM) in its two basic forms—explicit and implicit—to the area of IS in general and more specifically to ERP research. As far as the authors are aware, this chapter is the first to examine the ERP decision making process under this light. The researchers’ objective is to structure their ideas in the shape of a model of ERP decision making, incorporating both the community dimension of ERP decision making and the ideas borrowed from the NDM literature, that can inform both the practice and investigation of ERP implementation and lead to higher success rates in ERP projects.

Implementing ERP-What Happens to Competitive Advantages?

Over the last 30 years, the enterprise-wide systems movement has been gathering momentum and has now reached a global dimension, with companies across the world and, more importantly, across very different industries jumping on the ERP/SCM/CRM bandwagon. The pace of implementations has been such that SAP alone have now implemented their software in 30,000 sites and have a user population well in excess of 10 million. However, studies carried out since the ERP epidemic broke out have revealed that the rationale pursued by managers in acquiring ERP packages has sometimes been weak and not well informed. Moreover, the track record of ERP implementations has not been good with many examples of implementation failures. It is our contention that the problems reported in ERP projects are due to a failure to link the business model underlying ERP packages and the unique assets of organisations. In this research study, we carried out two in-depth case studies of organisations having just implemented ERP packages and focused on the preparation stage of their projects. We also carried out a survey of organisations having implemented ERP to confirm quantitatively how well managers prepare themselves for ERP. Based on these, we uncover patterns of ERP project preparation which may explain the low success rate of ERP projects and put forward some proposals which should help managers and researchers to increase the likelihood that ERP projects are successful.

From ERP Systems to Enterprise Portals

This chapter describes the development of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems toward Enterprise Portals (EPs). Enterprise Portals aim at creating a single entry point for its users to all internal and external applications, information, and services necessary for performing their jobs. EPs can be personalized to users depending on the roles they perform. There is a growing interest in EPs, but EP-research is scarce. Using a content analysis, we evaluate one specific EP—SAP AG’s Enterprise Portal my SAP Workplace. The evaluation had an overall effectiveness approach. The evaluation suggests some of the strengths of current EPs, for example, their internal and control focuses, and some of their weaknesses, for example, lack of external focus and lack of support for top-managers.

Re-Examining the ERP Concept

In this chapter we use the concept of discourse to provide an insight into the current structure of the ERP market, from the perspective of an organisation adopting ERP. We propose that the ERP market is characterised by a subtle but pervasive conflict between two fundamental orientations: the arguments, methodologies and software products put forward by ERP vendors on the push side and the perceptions and goals of managers in the organisations implementing ERP on the pull side. We content that there is a mismatch between the rationale emphasised by the vendors and the goals pursued by managers and that the push side has been overly dominating the ERP agenda. This unbalance needs to be addressed, in part, through an analysis of the discourses that characterise the ERP Community. As far as the authors are aware, we are the first to approach the study of the ERP market from this perspective, attempting to facilitate the empowerment and enlightenment of the managers in charge of the organisations implementing these systems. This chapter reports on one element of a larger ongoing research study, the objective being to lay the foundations for a new research agenda in the area of ERP adoption.