برنامه ریزی اکتساب ERP (برنامه ریزی منابع سازمانی) : ابعاد انتقادی برای یک انتخاب صحیح

Organisations that invest in new ERP software packages are making a big commitment in terms of both time and money, especially given the complexity of such systems and the risk that their implementation will bring unforeseen problems. This paper looks at the process of planning in the acquisition of ERP systems, basing its findings in an extensive study of four organisations that have gone through the planning process. Six activities are identified and examined: project team formation, requirements definition, establishment of evaluation and selection criteria, marketplace analysis, choice of acquisition strategy, and anticipated acquisition issues. By planning the acquisition systematically and thoroughly, organisations can substantially increase the likelihood that they will identify ERP software and vendors that genuinely meet their needs.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems offer great promise to businesses wanting to consolidate and integrate the many elements that comprise business practice. Essentially, they are online, interactive information systems used for enterprise integration; they support cross-functional processes using a common database that can integrate across multiple functional areas by focusing on processes, rather than individual functions.1 ERP systems consist of customisable software, which integrates the complete range of business processes and functions in order to present a holistic view of the business.2 An ERP is defined as a suite of integrated software applications that link back-office and front-office operations and their internal and external supply chains. One typical description is of a ‘packaged business software system that enables a company to manage the efficient and effective use of resources by providing a total, integrated solution for the organisation information-processing needs’.3 The architecture for ERP systems builds upon one database, one application, and a unified interface across the entire enterprise.4 As such, ERP has become the centre of the organisation application architecture - ‘the enterprise backbone

This paper has presented another perspective on planning as it pertains to the acquisition life cycle for ERP software. It identifies a blueprint of specific planning activities for ERP acquisition. An organisation could use these activities to highlight all the issues involved in making a decision to acquire an appropriate ERP solution. Six distinct activities were found: project team formation, definition of requirements, establishment of evaluation and selection criteria, marketplace analysis, choice of acquisition strategies, and anticipation of acquisition issues. All six activities of planning were conducted by the case study organisations mentioned herein. The cost of packaged ERP software, the impact of its acquisition on the organisation, and the type and sheer volume of issues that require consideration, all more than justify in-depth planning of the acquisition The need for planning is one of the major differences between buying ERP software and other types of organisational buying. It's not that no planning is done in the case of other types of buying; but the cost of packaged ERP software, the impact of its acquisition on the organisation, and the type and sheer volume of issues that require consideration, all more than justify in-depth planning of the acquisition. For these reasons, the planning process is critical to the success of the ERP acquisition process. This paper presented the activities that the acquisition teams need to plan for and complete in order to lay the foundation for the other phases of the ERP acquisition process: these include defining the requirements, establishing selection and evaluation criteria, preparing questionnaires and grids/matrices, planning strategies, identifying issues that are relevant to the acquisition, and so on. With the exception of the formation of the acquisition team, all of the deliverables that result from the planning process will be used for other stages of the ERP acquisition process.