ERP software presents challenges

Firms not managing associated process change, research claims

Companies underestimate the impact of business process change required when they install enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, research shows.

Few senior IT managers out of the 100 organisations surveyed by consultancy firm PMP on behalf of vendor Lawson Software, said they were able to install ERP packages straight out-of-the box.

Only five per cent said it was possible, while the rest describe the level of software customisation as very significant (nine per cent), significant (28 per cent), or moderately significant (21 per cent).

And 42 per cent felt implementation timescales exceeded expectations, with only 16 per cent completing systems on time.

The research also found 55 per cent of companies choose to adapt the ERP software to match their existing key business processes, leaving 40 per cent to adapt the business processes to those of the software.

Cliff Mills, research manager at PMP, says companies are continuing to invest in ERP software to standardise and rationalise the way they do business across multiple areas.

‘In order to achieve this organisations have to drive process improvement through the adoption of best practice that can demonstrate a proven return on investment and continuous performance improvement,' said Mills.