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International Journal of Applied Management (ISSN: 1742-2590) Volume 1 Issue 1
, University of Cardiff
ERP Manager and , University of Glamorgan
This paper is concerned with the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in large, complex, established organisations. The reasons underlying the development of ERP systems are described, as are the benefits of implementing ERP in integrating information flows and the costs in making the changes necessary for the system to work effectively. The impact at the operational level is then examined, through the presentation of case study material relating to the implementation of an ERP system at a large manufacturing company with a plant located in South Wales. It is shown that, although the system has produced a number of benefits, the ERP system has not been effectively implemented because necessary changes to the business have not been made, requiring modifications to the ERP system itself which have increased the costs of training and of upgrading the system. A number of lessons emerge from this study, including the need to empower the team with responsibility for implementation and setting them clear objectives, limiting the role of specialist consultants, and perhaps most importantly obtaining "buy-in" to the changes from the business as a whole.
Keywords :
Enterprise Resource Planning, Implementation
strategy, Costs, Benefits, Lessons.