Selecting and Implementing an ERP System at Alimentos Peru

The case describes the implementation process of an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system at Alimentos Peru, one of the largest foods manufacturing companies in Peru. It discusses the organization’s major concerns during the mid-1990s, including increasing competition, inefficiency of business processes, and lack of timely and accurate information. To address these concerns Alimentos Peru launched several projects, one of which involved the implementation of an ERP system. The case explains the criteria used to evaluate and select the system, as well as the main issues and problems that arose during the implementation process. More specifically, the case focuses upon a set of implementation factors, such as top management support, user participation, and project management. Finally, the case concludes with a discussion of the benefits obtained from the introduction of the system as well as the new organizational challenges.

A Framework for Assessing ERP Systems Functionality for the SMEs in Australia

Anticipating the use of the ERP systems among small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to be the future area of growth ERP vendors such as SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, JDEdwards and Bann are introducing ERP software that appeal to the market segment of the SMEs. Introduction of the ERP systems for SMEs includes compact packages, flexible pricing policies, new implementation methodologies, and more specialized functionalities. The strengths-weakness-opportunity-threats (SWOT) framework of the ERP software offered by the aforementioned vendors for the SMEs requires in-depth analysis based on real-field data. The aim of this study is to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of ERP systems offered by the five leading vendors for the SMEs in Australia. Multiple case study design approach is used here for collecting the primary data from the ERP vendors. A SWOT framework is developed to study the functionality of the ERP systems offered by these vendors. This framework may guide the managers of SMEs in selecting and implementing ERP systems for their organizations.

The ERP Marketplace

The global ERP industry blossomed in the 1990’s automating back office operations. The Australian ERP industry matched this global trend and has kept pace with the latest amalgam of front office applications including CRM, demand planning and sales-force automation being merged with the traditional ERP applications. ERP vendors are frantic in their attempts to ride the “E” wave whilst ERP customers struggle with the people, process and technology implications that ERP brings. This paper presents the preliminary results of an analysis of the Australian ERP market place. This study looks at the market movement and demographics of SAP, the dominant ERP vendor within the Australian marketplace.

Transnational ERP Systems

The development of global information systems infrastructure of enterprises offers many challenges, like the need to balance local and global systems requirements. The use of ERP systems (Enterprise Resource Planning) arises as a possible alternative for this development. This chapter aims to identify aspects involved in the use of ERP systems as transnational information systems, through the analysis of three implementation cases of ERP systems at Brazilian subsidiaries of multinational enterprises.

The Next Wave in ERP Implementation

Although the benefits of ERP are obvious, the risks and costs associated with it are very high. Some problems in implementing ERP system are documented, but the real challenge comes from the Internet and E-business. ERP is an enterprise wide system whose purpose is to achieve internal efficiency, while E-business cuts across different enterprises and extends the individual value chain into an Internet based, dynamic process aimed at maximizing external efficiency. To survive the E-business challenge, the arguably single, and also the best, solution for ERP systems is to integrate with E-business applications, which we call ERP II. By properly resolving the issues of integration via newly emerged technologies, and embracing the extended function of mobile-commerce, ERP II will continue to flourish in the next century.

The Evolution of ERP Systems

ERP Systems are now ubiquitous in large businesses and the current move by vendors is to re-package them for small to medium enterprises (SMEs). This migration has many consequences that have to be addressed through understanding the history and evolution of ERP systems and their current architectures. The advantages and disadvantages of the ERP systems will impact their penetration in this new market. The market position and general strategy of the major systems providers in preparation for this push are described. The chapter concludes that the growth and success of ERP adoption and development in the new millennium will depend on the legacy ERP system’s capability of extending to Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM) and other extended modules, and integration with the Internet-enabled applications.

e-ERP

The chapter reports on the results of research carried out over the last two years on the state of e-business developments within ERP environments worldwide. Structured interviews were used to collect data in two stages. The first group of organisations was drawn from Australia and the results from this stage used to refine the data collection instrument. The second group consisted of relatively mature ERP based organisations from a range of industries around the world. The findings were analysed according to an established research framework from Business Process Change. This showed that while facilitators in aspects of e-business change management such as cultural readiness, knowledge and learning capabilities and relationship building were recognised by organisations, the extent to which they were incorporated as part of the implementation varied greatly. This suggests a rich field for future research study regarding the success of e-ERP projects.

Big-Bang ERP Implementation at a Global Company

Dead Sea Works is an international multi-firm producer of Potash and other chemicals whose sales for 1998 were about $500 million. In 1996, the Information Systems group convinced top management to pursue a big-bang ERP implementation of SAP R/3. To reduce project risk, risk management was practiced. First, only modules that matched the functionality of the then-existing systems were targeted, avoiding as much as possible software modifications and process reengineering. Second, a steering committee was set up to handle conflict resolution and set priorities throughout the project and top users were given responsibility with implementing modules within their respective functions. R/3 went into production on July 1, 1998, six months ahead of schedule and without exceeding the $4.95 million budget.

The SAP Ecosystem

This paper derives from a parent study titled, Co-operative ERP Lifecycle Knowledge Management (Gable et al., 1998). The central goal of that study is to rationalise knowledge management activities of the three key players involved in ERP lifecycle support; namely the client, the vendor and the implementation partner or consultant. The consultant can play varied roles in a greater or lesser capacity across client ERP installations. It is posited in the parent study that the consultant’s role (and the roles of all key players) should be driven by a carefully considered ERP lifecycle-wide knowledge sourcing strategy for the client. Understanding the ERP knowledge marketplace and related dynamics is of clear value to the development of such strategy. In this paper we tentatively explore the concepts of “knowledge-sourcing” and “knowledge strategy friction.” We further describe a preliminary attempt to instantiate these concepts through an exploratory, descriptive case study of the “SAP services ecosystem.” A broader, related objective of the parent study is to test the power of a “knowledge sourcing world-view” and the integrative potential and explanatory power of such a perspective, with particular emphasis on ERP marketplace dynamics.

Enterprise Resource Planning and Knowledge Management Systems

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and knowledge management (KM) promise organizations the benefits of enhancing competitiveness and continuous revitalization. This chapter compares the characteristic differences and similarities between the two initiatives and examines how they influence organizational efficiency and flexibility when implemented within a global engineering firm. We suggest that the two initiatives are conceptually complementary but can only create a synergy when the design of organizational routines and practices fits into the metaroutines imposed by ERP and KM, and the social processes are nurtured within functions and cross-functionally.