Impediments to successful ERP implementation process

Abstract

Purpose – As the number of organizations that have implemented enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) systems unsuccessfully increase, it is necessary to establish the impediments in ERP implementations and the extent to which these impact the success of ERP projects. This study aims to identify the critical impediments that large organizations face in the implementation of ERP systems, and the impact of these impediments on overall success of ERP projects by a survey of Fortune 500 organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A survey was prepared based on 47 impediments identified from previous ERP implementation studies. Findings – This study finds that most of critical impediments are from functional coordination problems related to inadequate support from functional units and coordination among functional units, the project management related to business process change, and change management related to resistance of users. In this study, impediments are categorized based on project phases, and differences in the impediments the organizations faced between less successful and more successful organizations are found. Originality/value – This research provides significant implications for industry managers engaged in large-scale enterprise system implementations. Our survey results suggest that understanding new requirements for ERP implementation such as functional coordination is more critical issues than understanding technical features of ERP system.