ERP is the acronym of Enterprise Resource Planning. Multi-module ERP software integrates business activities across various functional departments, from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, to order tracking. ERP has transformed the way multi-billion dollar corporations conduct their businesses. Successful implementation of ERP systems could save tens of millions of dollars and increase employee satisfactions, customer satisfactions and sustain competitive advantages in every-changing marketplace. Corporate executives are often perplexed by the stories that how reputable corporations (Hershey Foods, etc.) have failed miserably and lost ten of millions of dollars in their ERP endures.
The failures of ERP projects are preventable if we can identify the common causes of the failures regardless the companies and industries that implement them.
An ERP system is the combination of ERP software, the business processes that the ERP transforms, the users of the ERP system, and the computer systems that run the ERP applications. The failures of a ERP project is often the result of the failures in one or more of those four components. The failures in computer systems (hardware and operating systems) are much easier to identify and to fix, so we'll examine the failures in software implementation, business process and user acceptance.
Failure of ERP Software Implementation
Module-based ERP software is the core of ERP systems. Most ERP projects involve significant amount of customizations. Packaged ERP software modules have built-in functionality that work in a standard and simplified enterprise environment. However, every organization is unique in data requirements and business processes. It is the customizations that transform packaged ERP software into ERP software that meets organizations' individual business processes and operations. Long and expensive customization efforts often result the pass of release deadline and budget overrun. Customizations may make the software more fragile and harder to maintain when it finally goes to production. Major changes may be required in the later stage of the implementation as a result of incomplete requirements and power struggles within organizations
The integration of ERP systems(http://www.sysoptima.com/erp/erp_integration.php) with the IT infrastructures also challenges ERP project teams. The use of appropriate implementation methodologies can often make or break a ERP project. (http://www.sysoptima.com/erp/implementation_methodologies.php)
Failure of Accommodating Evolution of Business Processes
According to Anthony, R. A, business processes fall into three levels - strategic planning, management control and operational control. Organizations continuously realign their business processes of all levels in response to the ever-changing market environment. Many ERP systems aren't flexible enough to accommodate evolution of business processes. many ERP system need a major overhaul in every a couple of years.
Failure of User Acceptance
The users of ERP systems are employees of the organizations at all levels. ERP projects usually modify the company's business processes which create extra workload for employees who use them initially. They may not think that the workflow embedded in the software are better than the ones they currently use. Ongoing end-user involvement and training may ease the difficult in organization's adaptation of new systems and new business processes.
Bruce Zhang has over 10 years experiences in developing and implementing ecommerce and ebusiness systems in various industries. He operates a website http://www.sysoptima.com that automatically aggregates the news and new articles in e-business (ERP, CRM, Supply Chain Management and Knowledge Management) from over 50 sources daily ( http://www.sysoptima.com ) to help corporate executives, professionals and consultants to keep up with the latest development in enterprise software market. The website offers a knowledge base for understanding business software from a systems perspective.
tidy up service Glenview ..Sometimes your PC will start acting strange for no apparent... Read More
If you feel intimidated when someone tries to teach you... Read More
While Adobe is the most known maker of PDF tools,... Read More
In part III of this ISDN primer, we learned that... Read More
This is intermediate level SQL scripting article for DB Administrator,... Read More
Internet worms. Is your PC infected?If your computer has become... Read More
I provide, here clear explanations and a count of function... Read More
This article is the fourth of a series of articles... Read More
While I was preparing some personal background information for a... Read More
A few months back I really got sick of my... Read More
Case study: A secretary using Corel WordPerfect 7 is often... Read More
Customer Relationship Management, abbreviated "CRM," is the term for a... Read More
Whether you are an experienced web programmer or a complete... Read More
In this small article we will show you the possible... Read More
What is Colossus?Colossus is software licensed to about twenty-five insurance... Read More
This tutorial covers OLAP solutions used by Data warehouses and... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM become more and more... Read More
We all already got used to computer monitoring both at... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains serves majority of US based horizontal and... Read More
Before September 1995, Microsoft Windows was an MS-DOS program. DOS... Read More
People often ask me: What image file formats will Photoshop... Read More
TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More
IntroductionPHP can be used for a lot of different things,... Read More
We live in a post-industrial age where information is the... Read More
Microsoft CRM is CRM answer from Microsoft and attempt to... Read More
maid service near Winnetka ..In part III of this ISDN primer, we learned that... Read More
In the new era of internet marketing the problem of... Read More
Just when you thought you were Web savvy, one more... Read More
Lotus Notes Domino is very efficient in electronic document workflow... Read More
User interfaces and accessibility are some of the most important... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains - Microsoft Business Solutions accounting and ERP... Read More
If you copy something from a Web site or elsewhere...... Read More
One of the main reasons business owners and entrepreneurs use... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains is marketed for mid-size companies... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains may be recommended for international freight forwarding... Read More
If you have been using the Internet for any amount... Read More
Not every software testing project can or should be automated.... Read More
Which Type of Shop Can Rely On A Home Built... Read More
If you have Microsoft Great Plains and support it... Read More
In today's business world it's all but impossible to escape... Read More
Since Version 8.0 Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains & Great... Read More
.Net Framework is a platform or development environment to seamlessly... Read More
The research in the field of Natural Language Processing usually... Read More
Using professional icons in your application or website can bring... Read More
MSN messenger is a pretty cool invention. I mean I'm... Read More
The Windows Indexing Service provides you with the ability to... Read More
Microsoft Business Solutions ? Navision is an integrated solution for... Read More
When it comes to screenplay software each screenwriter needs to... Read More
One day, you suddenly realize that your computer started to... Read More
The first thing that you will notice about Linux Red... Read More
Software |