Towards a framework of critical success factors for implementing supply chain information systems

Supply chain information systems (SCISs) have emerged as the core of successful management in supply chains. However, the difficulties of SCIS implementations have been widely cited in the literature. Research on the critical success factors (CSFs) for SCIS implementation is rather scarce and fragmented. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to compile a framework of CSFs for implementing SCISs. Based on 10 key articles focusing on ERP implementations, we have built a list of critical success factors as a starting point for the SCIS literature search. Thereafter, based on 21 SCIS articles, CSFs for supply chain information system implementation have been defined. The analysis showed that some CSFs have been ignored and important supply chain characteristics have been overlooked. Moreover, it is not always easy for project managers to know how to implement and apply CSFs in practice.     

Vicious and virtuous cycles in ERP implementation: a case study of interrelations between critical success factors

ERP implementations are complex undertakings. Recent research has provided us with plausible critical success factors (CSFs) for such implementations. This article describes how one list of CSFs (Somers & Nelson, 2001) was used to analyse and explain project performance in one ERP implementation in the aviation industry. In this particular case, poor project performance led to a serious project crisis but this situation was turned around into a success. The list of CSFs employed was found to be helpful and appropriate in explaining both the initial failure and the eventual success of the implementation. CSFs in this case appeared to be highly correlated, ie changes in any one of them would influence most of the others as well. The reversal in performance after the project crisis was caused by substantial changes in attitudes with most of the stakeholders involved, such as top management, project management, project champion and software vendor.     

Critical success factors for ERP implementation in SMEs

ERP implementation is regarded as complex, cumbersome and costly, and, very often, it exceeds the initial estimated resources. The process involves a thorough examination of the business processes in the organisation; selection of the best available software solution that matches the requirements of the enterprise; configuration of the selected systems;, training of staff; and customisation of the selected software solutions including development of required interfaces. Finally, the existing MIS of the organisation is replaced totally or partially by the new system. All the implementation processes should be carried out without affecting the daily operations across the whole enterprise. This can only be achieved by having an understanding of the key elements forming the infrastructure of the organisation, an effective plan for the implementation and an effective procedure to measure and evaluate the project throughout the implementation process. This paper presents the results of a study to identify and analyse the interrelationships of the critical issues involved in the implementation of ERP in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Three basic research questions were addressed. First, what are the main critical success factors? Second, how do these factors interact throughout the implementation process? Third, which factors have their highest impact and in what stages? In order to answer these questions, over 50 relevant papers were critically reviewed to identify the main critical success factors (CSFs) for ERP implementation in large organisations. Then, the applicability of the identified CSFs to SMEs was investigated. Next, an industrial survey was also undertaken to identify which CSF has highest impact in what stages. The findings on relationships of the critical success factors have been utilised to develop a tool to monitor, and eventually improve, ERP implementations for SMEs. In the development of the tool, eight people from industry and academia with experience of ERP implementations were interviewed with the aim of validating the model being developed. The overall results provide useful pointers to the interplay of organisational and operational factors for the successful implementation of ERP.     

Dominant actors, political agendas, and strategic shifts over time: a critical ethnography of an enterprise systems implementation

Much of the literature on enterprise systems implementation suggests that ERP systems should support the strategic objectives of the organization. In fact some ERP vendors tend to assume that implementing their products is a straightforward translation from strategy to IT-enabled business processes. But the strategic management literature reveals that corporate strategy is often contested terrain. Conflict over strategy has the potential to delay or derail ERP implementation efforts, leading to cost overruns, failures, and lack of expected benefits.This paper seeks to understand and explain how conflicts over strategy can affect the success of ERP implementations. We studied one firm's attempt to pursue information technology-enabled enterprise integration using critical ethnography. The firm is a small-to-medium sized enterprise within a large conglomerate in the Asia-Pacific region. Our findings show that, as the dominant actors and political agendas changed, so too did the company's enterprise integration strategy. The ERP system was designed to support a future corporate world and work environment that never arrived.     

The roles of social identity and dynamic salient group formations for ERP program management success in a postmerger context

Large enterprise resource planning (ERP) programs and their critical success factors (CSFs) have been subject to intensive research in recent years. One of the key challenges is their complexity in terms of their duration, context, and social dynamics. The aim of this study is to investigate these matters with the help of an interpretative case study using the coding techniques of the grounded theory method. We extend extant ERP research by introducing a new theoretical perspective that helps to clarify how stakeholder perceptions and CSFs are interrelated, and evolve throughout the life cycle of a large ERP implementation conceptualized as a program in a postmerger context. Using Social Identity Theory as a metatheory for interpretation, we find that different perceptions of opposing salient groups are particularly important. Our result offers a dialectic process view of ERP program implementation success, which (1) considers the different perceptions of salient groups (2) at different points in time (phases) and (3) proposes that a low perceptual fit in relation to a specific CSF contributes to program failure as opposed to (4) a high perceptual fit in relation to the respective CSF, which contributes to program success. We offer a new theoretical lens and propositions for future work highlighting the importance of salient groups and their CSF perceptions for ERP program success. Practitioners can use our findings as a guide towards increasing the probability of success throughout the course of their ERP program life cycles.     

Challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning implementation in Iran large organizations

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a fully integrated business management system covering functional areas of an enterprise like Logistics, Production, Finance, Accounting and Human Resources. The implementation of this system is a difficult and high cost proposition that places tremendous demands on corporate time and resources. Most of the ERP implementations have been classified as failures because they did not achieve predetermined corporate goals. The main goal of this research is determining the most important challenges of ERP implementation in Iran large organizations and our case study was the Isfahan Telecommunication. The population of this study consists of the 1500 employees of this organization from which 40 experts and employees were selected randomly and uniformly as a sample. We used questionnaire and interviews to collect data and analyzed them by SPSS using one sample t-test. The result of the study shows that the most important challenges of ERP implementation are organizational barriers, especially lack of human resources with the weighted average of 267.33. The next important issues of ERP implementation are technological factors such as unbalanced combination in team projects and then individual factors like lack of senior executives׳ involvement with the weighted average of 48.8 are the least important challenges in ERP implementation.     

Agent在ERPⅡ中的应用研究

随着信息技术的日益发展,ERP系统在我国迅速推广和普及,企业之间逐渐结成联盟共同应对万变的市场,企业的ERP系统正面临着向ERPⅡ转型,更加重视联盟体内的资源整合、共享、协同。将Agent引入到ERPⅡ系统,由于Agent本身具有智能性、移动性、合作性、主动性、反应性等特点,能满足ERPⅡ系统协同的需求。文章分别从ERPII系统企业内部协同和企业外部协同两个角度提出了基于Agent的ERPⅡ系统框架,并以客户接单业务流程为切入点,分析了企业内部销售、采购、生产、财务、质检等Agent系统的工作流程,以及供应商、客户、物流商、企业之间Agent系统的应用。     

Community Collaboration for ERP Implementation

The paper discusses the enterprise resource planning (ERP).ERP implementation solves business problems by customizing and integrating off-the-shelf enterprise software packages. A successful ERP implementation involves extensive collaboration and communication among the customer, implementation consultancy, and software vendor. Collaboration allows implementation personnel from different organizations to utilize each other's experiences. An example of this is the Web 2.0. A Web 2.0 knowledge repository system can reduce costs, improve quality, and lower the risks of ERP implementations.Through the case study, the key desired features for Web 2.0 knowledge repository system to support ERP implementations were defined. Epics was designed to fulfill these requirements and developed a prototype. Epics can be used by software vendors, ERP consulting firms, and ERP users. Human aspects play a critical role in ERP implementation. ERP implementation quality depends largely on how the implementation personnel's knowledge and past experiences are reused and communicated. Although knowledge reuse, collaboration, and communication are important for all software projects, they're particularly critical in ERP implementation owing to its unique challenges.     

Justifications,Strategies, and Critical Success Factors in Successful ITIL Implementations in U.S. and Australian Companies: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

A growing number of organizations are implementing the ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) “best practice” framework in an attempt to improve their IT service management processes. However, not all ITIL implementations are successful and some companies have been disappointed with the outcomes. This exploratory research reports on four case studies of “successful” implementations of IT service management using the process-based ITIL V2 framework. Two companies are located in the U.S. and two in Australia. The cases demonstrate a mix of implementation justifications and strategies. Critical success factors (CSFs) suggested in the literature are compared against those attributed to these successful ITIL implementations. Some CSFs, including executive management support, interdepartmental communication and collaboration, use of consultants, training and careful software selection are confirmed. Three new CSFs are identified: creating an ITIL-friendly culture, process as a priority, and customer-focused metrics. Practitioner guidelines, to assist IT managers, who are contemplating adopting ITIL for process improvement and organisational transformation, are also provided together with some challenges encountered and their associated resolutions.     

The ERP Revolution: Surviving vs. Thriving

This paper presents preliminary findings from a research project that examined how firms are generating business value from their investments in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The research, which was done jointly with Benchmarking Partners, describes the stages of ERP implementation, the obstacles that firms encountered in generating benefits from the systems, and some critical success factors for getting business value from the implementation of an ERP system in business.     

Using a case study to test the role of three key social enablers in ERP implementation

The literature indicates that three key social enablers—strong and committed leadership, open and honest communication, and a balanced and empowered implementation team are necessary conditions/precursors for successful enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. In a longitudinal positivist case study, we find that, while all three enablers may contribute to ERP implementation success, only strong and committed leadership can be empirically established as a necessary condition. This presents a challenge to future ERP researchers for resolving apparent contradictions between the existing literature and the results of our analysis. One possible direction for future research would be to undertake an interpretive re-examination of the rationalisitic assumptions that underlie much of the existing literature on ERP systems implementation.     

我国企业实施ERP项目的外部风险分析

企业成功实施ERP项目，将会为企业带来巨大的综合效益，但在ERP实施的过程中，企业也会同样面临着巨大的失败风险。到目前为止，虽然我国许多企业都在积极尝试和已经实施ERP项目，但成功率却十分低。因此，充分认识ERP实施过程中企业所面临的各种风险，进而正确地估计和控制风险，从而降低风险，才有可能提高ERP成功实施的概率。本文较详细地剖析了企业在实施ERP过程中所草临的各种外部风险，这些分析将会为企业成功实施ERP项目提供有益的帮助。     

Building the hybrid organisation through ERP and enterprise social software

This research traces the implementation of an information system in the form of ERP modules covering tenant and contract management in a Chinese service company. Misalignments between the ERP system specification and user needs led to the adoption of informal processes within the organisation. These processes are facilitated within an informal organisational structure and are based on human interactions undertaken within the formal organisation. Rather than to attempt to suppress the emergence of the informal organisation the company decided to channel the energies of staff involved in informal processes towards organisational goals. The company achieved this by harnessing the capabilities of what we term a hybrid ERP system, combining the functionality of a traditional (formal) ERP installation with the capabilities of Enterprise Social Software (ESS). However the company recognised that the successful operation of the hybrid ERP system would require a number of changes in organisational design in areas such as reporting structures and communication channels. A narrative provided by interviews with company personnel is thematised around the formal and informal characteristics of the organisation as defined in the literature. This leads to a definition of the characteristics of the hybrid organisation and strategies for enabling a hybrid organisation, facilitated by a hybrid ERP system, which directs formal and informal behaviour towards organisational goals and provides a template for future hybrid implementations.     

Understanding the role of managerial agency in achieving business benefits from ERP systems

Previous enterprise resource planning (ERP) research has identified ‘top management support’ as an important factor in implementation success. However, most studies are short on the detail of exactly how and why ‘top management support’ contributes to ERP success. Moreover, although ‘improved management decision‐making’ is often claimed as a business benefit of ERP systems, there is little evidence in previous ERP research of it having actually occurred. This paper examines the role of managerial agency at all levels in four Australian manufacturing organizations in achieving business benefits from ERP systems during the post‐implementation period. The research contributes to current understanding of the role of managerial agency in achieving business benefits from ERP systems by providing theoretically based, detailed and interesting insights from four interpretive case studies.     

A step-by-step performance assessment and improvement method for ERP implementation: Action case studies in Chinese companies

The implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a complex process, and the failure rate remains very high. The literature has reported over 80 critical success factors for ERP implementation, but companies typically do not know to exploit them. In this article, a step-by-step assessment and improvement method for ERP implementation is proposed and applied in three companies. First, a five-stage ERP implementation model is proposed. Second, about 80 critical success factors (CSFs) from the literature are elaborated into key performance indices (KPIs), which are associated with each stage of ERP implementation by ten local ERP experts. Third, the weights of the KPIs are calculated using the Dumpster–Shafer method and the evaluation of ten experts. During the implementation process, performance is measured at each stage and remedial actions are identified if the performance is below expectation. An implementation flowchart is developed based on a five-stage model and the philosophy of continuous improvement. Three action cases in Chinese manufacturing companies are conducted to illustrate the effects of the assessment model, which is also currently being used by a consulting company specialising in ERP implementation. With further evaluation by local experts, the model has the potential to serve as a guideline for ERP implementation in other countries.     

Using Fuzzy Analytic Network Process to assess the risks in enterprise resource planning system implementation

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the risk level for both intra-organizational cultures and for different industries in implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This study adopts the Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP) method to assess ERP implementation risks, which were categorized into four dimensions: management and execution, software system, users, and technology planning. An empirical survey was conducted that utilized the collected survey data of 20 ERP experts in Taiwan to assess, rank, and improve the critical risks of ERP implementation via the FANP method. Based on the results of the FANP method, a follow-up survey of ERP end-users in different departments of three industries was conducted to assess how intra-organizational cultures and cross-industries affect users’ perceived risks a real world scenario. Our research results demonstrated that “lack of management support and assistance” is vital risk for a successful ERP implementation. Top management support and involvement are crucial and essential factors to the success of a firm's ERP implementation. “Ineffective communication with users” was found to be the second highest risk factor. The benefits of using the FANP method for evaluating the risk factors come from the clear priority weights between alternatives. Finally, this study provides suggestions to help enterprises decrease ERP risks, and enhance the chances of success of ERP implementations among intra-organizational cultures and across-industries.     

Empirical evidence of an integrative knowledge competence framework for ERP systems implementation in UK industries

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can greatly improve business productivity and better serve customers by creating values through integrating business processes and sharing current information. Knowledge Management (KM) is crucial for ERP systems implementation, but is particularly demanding task. This paper discusses ERP systems implementation in UK manufacturing and service sector organisations, focusing on empirical evidence of an innovative KM approach for improving knowledge competence for ERP success. Qualitative research was conducted, using semi-structured interviews with ERP experts. Data analysis used a combination of thematic and comparative analysis. The findings suggest that the integrative knowledge competence framework can provide ERP practitioners with useful guidance on what the key knowledge determinants are and how the relationships between knowledge components should be best managed to achieve ERP systems implementation success in real life business situations.     

A requirements engineering framework for cross-organizational ERP systems

The development of cross-organizational enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions is becoming increasingly critical to the business strategy of many networked companies. The major function of cross-organizational ERP solutions is to coordinate work in two or more organizations. However, how to align ERP application components and business requirements for coordination and cooperation is hardly known. This paper reports on the outcomes of applying a coordination theory perspective to an analysis of the ERP misalignment problem. We present a conceptual framework for analyzing coordination and cooperation requirements in inter-organizational ERP projects. The framework makes explicit the undocumented built-in assumptions for coordination and cooperation that may have significant implications for the ERP adopters and incorporates a library of existing coordination mechanisms supported by modern ERP systems. We use it to develop a proposal for how to achieve a better alignment between ERP implementations and supported business coordination processes in inter-organizational settings. We report on some early assessments of the implications of our framework for practicing requirements engineers. Both our framework and library rest on a literature survey and the first author’s experience with ERP implementation. In future empirical research, we will further validate and refine our framework.     

A survey of critical success factors in e-Banking: an organisational perspective

We investigate organisational factors critical to the success of e-Banking (EB). Scholars report that a variety of factors are vital to EB success. A shortcoming in the extant EB literature is that much of the research focuses on a small subset of success factors and an overall ranking of factors is still missing. Our aim, therefore, is to synthesise and test the critical success factors (CSFs) identified in the existing literature, thus, substantiating or not the factors purported to be critical. To achieve our aim, we created a survey instrument from a synthesis of CSFs identified from existing EB and e-commerce literature. We draw upon the e-commerce body of knowledge to take in the widest set of CSFs that can affect EB. Data were collected from U.K.-based financial sector organisations that offer EB services. We found the most critical factors for success in EB are: quick responsive products/services, organisational flexibility, services expansion, systems integration and enhanced customer service. Our research shows that organisations need to manage their EB initiative at a strategic level and treat it as business critical rather than simply a technical or operational issue. They need to pay attention to internal integration, which includes channels, technology and business process integration, and improving the overall services to their customers.     

ERP—Enterprise Resource Planning: A cost‐based business case and implementation assessment

This article provides the key factors that are critical to the successful implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP). It reports the results of a study carried out to assess a number of different ERP implementations in different organizations. A case study method of investigation was used, and the experiences of five manufacturing companies were documented. Also, this study explores and proposes an ERP system selection process and a cost‐based business case approach. The critical factors in the adoption of ERP are identified as learning from the experiences of others, appointing a process innovator, establishing committees and project teams, training and providing technical support for the users, and implementing appropriate changes to the organizational structure and managerial responsibilities. For more effective ERP implementations, we advise building a supportive culture and environment with a strong emphasis on human and organizational aspects. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 14: 239–256, 2004.