ERP implementation pitfalls: How to control and avoid them Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • © 2016 American Society for Engineering Management. Nowadays companies are embedded in an increasingly dynamic and more challenging environment than ever before. The ability to obtain real time data from customers, consumer trends, global financials and market information, provides them with valuable inputs (that if used properly) will allow them to obtain larger market share, increase profits for the shareholders and be more efficient and responsive to changes, thus strengthening their competitive skills. From an information systems and process perspective this translates, for the organizations into have a more integrated and streamlined operation that allows them to have a better use of information than triggers the decision making process and flows throughout every step in the operation if the company. By using and implementing ERP's (Enterprise Resources Planning) they improve their key performance indicators and optimize the resources management in sync with the market. These implementations differ from company to company and I can find out pitfalls at each company that can be documented and shared so that new companies can consider and avoid for future ERP implementations. The purpose of this paper is to collect and present ERP pitfalls and success factors and how they can be avoided by applying ERP implementation best practices. The results were obtained of a large manufacturing company's ERP implementation, called Company MX. After the continuous improvement journey some lessons were learned and several best practices were defined, now these are exported to other companies of the same brand in order to have more successful ERP implementations. The survey was based on interviews with the project leaders, people involved in the project of different departments called process owners, and internal and external consultants of this ERP implementation process. In my case I was an external consultant in some parts of the full ERP implementation process at company MX working with the SME's (Subject Matter Experts). The theoretical framework is based on ERP philosophy and Supply Chain Management (SCM).

publication date

  • January 1, 2016