Thoughts on implementing Enterprise Systems

First up a disclaimer: my only experience with ERP is SAP and it presently amounts to about 6 weeks. So please SAP, don't sue me for defamation.

For me the jury's out on the value of ERP.

One of the major issues with SAP (and similar) is that can force a business process to change to match the software's built-in (ahem!) "best practices." Best practice is a marketing term that helps to sell things. A more accurate term would be "sound practice."

While there are often many things in common between businesses (especially within the same industry), there are going to be differences. Perhaps these can be because of a business's culture. Culture isn't just an overlay; rather it's at the core of a business and it affects the way a company goes about its business.

In the case of ERP systems like SAP, they are flexible to an extent in how their business processes can be configured but ultimately, the business will have to flex too.

Before starting my masters, I thought that if IT gets in the way of the business process, then the IT is wrong. I think I need to revise it, adding that the business process must contribute value to the business or the business process is wrong.

So let's revise this: If IT gets in the way of a sound business practice that contributes value to the business, then the IT is wrong. It will be interesting to see how this view changes over time. As the semester is progressing, I'm finding that this is the key problem that I keep returning to.

So what would be my advice to someone looking to implement ERP? It would be that implementing ERP won't magically turn the Titanic into the QE2. If your business is heading full speed towards an iceberg, ERP won't save you. It will however, give you a real-time picture of your ship being smashed to a pulp by that little old iceberg and will probably give the duly appointed administrator a decent head-start on salvaging the wreck. I would add that the scope of an ERP implementation is so big it's scary and that you need to evaluate carefully whether there is value in abandoning sound business practices for the practices that an ERP system will impose. The extent of the process changes will have a bearing, possibly a large bearing on the short term hit your business will take in the wake of go-live.