Enterprise resource planning system implementation success in South Africa and the role of a managed implementation methodology.

Abstract

Abstract Over time Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have evolved to become the primary business management systems within Corporate Information Management. These modern systems support the organisational value chain by providing real-time information in an integrated cross business function environment. The objective being quality information provided in a seamless communication platform to the organisation at large, with the key benefit being a single source of information that repeatedly provides consistent business answers. However, not all ERP implementations have been deemed successful or at least been viewed as successful by all or some organisational stakeholders. This perception of failure is complicated by the dynamics of different levels of Stakeholders within the project influence. ERP implementations affect the entire organizations in terms of process, people, technology and even culture and implementers of these systems need to appreciate the complexities of the variable dynamics that extend the reach of the technology implemented. These complexities have evolved beyond the value perception of the software, into an integrated matrix of people, data, and processes that interact and connect on a technology platform. The research focus on utilising quantitative research on a selected population of modern ERP implementations within restricted geographical areas in South Africa. The perception of project success of stakeholders and project team members within these organisations are then analysed to identify any correlation of project implementation activities, with the goal to further improve project efficiencies. The results confirm that subjective research in terms of the measure and the definition of project success could be utilised in the improvement of implementation methodologies, but should be assessed in terms of project quantitative measures such as the project return on investment and qualitatively in terms of supporting corporate strategy in conjunction with individual responses.