Research Proposal on "Challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning ERP Implementation"

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Background of the Problem

ERP systems traditionally have been designed to automate core accounting and finance functions throughout organizations, with Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable being at the center, integrated to manufacturing and supply chain systems. Over the last two decades, ERP systems have been extended throughout enterprises, encompassing Customer Relationship Management (CRM), pricing, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Service Lifecycle Management SLM) and many other ancillary areas of the organization. As the proliferation of these modules has made many ERP systems extend beyond their primary role in organizations, the ability of these systems to manage the increasingly complex and often conflicting data, information and intelligence needs of users has not scaled The lack of data, information and intelligence scalability is hindering the process of many organizations to their longer-range strategic objectives and also slowing down their ability to react to immediate market opportunities and threats.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to quantify the contribution of role-based ERP systems to mid-tier companies in attaining their customer acquisition, lean manufacturing, cost reductions and customer service objectives. By concentrating on these four specific areas, the influence of an ERP systems' contribution on the value chain of a company can be assessed.

The first hypothesis of this study is that role-based data, information and intelligence increases the potential for an organization to react more quickly to market conditions and also nurtures trust as members of teams within companies have greater accuracy of information. The greater the accuracy of the information and its relevancy to specific roles, the greater the potential for collaboration and information sharing over time which leads to higher levels of trust being attained (Lee, Lee, Olson, Chung, 2010). Studies of the Toyota Production System (TPS) one of the most complex supply chain and ERP systems globally in use today, illustrates a critical fact about role-based data, information and intelligence. Studies of the TPS and its impact on supplier collaboration and performance indicate that over time, knowledge, not necessarily pricing or product competitive advantage, becomes the primary competitive advantage (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000). Role-based information systems within the TPS are used to nurture cross-supplier collaboration and increase the level of trust throughout the supplier and manufacturing networks (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000). Role-based ERP systems therefore have the potential to create significantly higher levels of collaboration and trust throughout a manufacturing network over time.

Research Questions

The following are the key research questions that form the foundation of this dissertation. First, the contributions of role-based data, information and intelligence in mid-tier manufacturing and service companies will be quantified by looking at customer acquisition, lean manufacturing, cost reductions and customer service processes. Each of these process areas will be benchmarked in organizations that have traditional ERP systems installed that do not provide for role-based distribution of data and information. A second population of mid-tier companies will be queried as to their process performance of these four areas based on their use of role-based ERP systems.… READ MORE