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Enterprise Systems : Achieving an appropriate fit between ERP systems and business processes

<p>Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system which first emerged in the early 90’s, have become</p><p>so popular today that almost every large business corporation uses one. Recent years</p><p>have seen increased spending on this software application package, but sadly not all organizations</p><p>which invest in ERP systems have gotten back their money’s worth. There have</p><p>been many instances of unsuccessful ERP implementation attempts and in some cases total</p><p>failure. Researchers and scholars have long since studied these systems in a bid to provide</p><p>explanations for the complexity and failure of implementation attempts. This has led to the</p><p>establishment of critical success factors (CSF), which slightly vary with different authors</p><p>but have some strong common points. Prominent among these CSF’s is alignment between</p><p>business processes and ERP built-in processes.</p><p>This project therefore focuses on alignment issues that arise between the software package</p><p>and the organization’s business processes during ERP implementation efforts. The main</p><p>purpose of the work is to establish a set of ‘best practices’ that must be considered or executed</p><p>in order to secure a good alignment between the system and software package.</p><p>In order to achieve the main goal of this work, a case study approach has been used. The</p><p>case in question is a small manufacturing firm in Vetlanda called T-Emballage, which uses</p><p>an ERP system Jeeves. Mainly using scientific research techniques which comprise a deductive</p><p>approach and a mixed mode data collection method, some valuable conclusions are</p><p>drawn from the analysed data. The critical points that are worth considering during ERP</p><p>implementation, when trying to achieve alignment, arrived at in this study include: carrying</p><p>out a proper gap analysis, top management leading and following up, choosing software according</p><p>to needs, simplicity, flexibility, communication and liability of data.</p><p>This project further investigates the advantages and disadvantages of adapting or altering</p><p>the software package to fit the organization’s business processes and vice versa. Finally, the</p><p>work also tries to assess the alignment maturity level that has been attained in the organization</p><p>by applying the Luftman’s alignment maturity model.</p>

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA/oai:DiVA.org:hj-10423
Date January 2009
CreatorsNchotindoh, Lewis, Kemoum, Armelle
PublisherJönköping University, JIBS, Business Informatics, Jönköping University, JIBS, Business Informatics
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, text

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