Managing Operational Enterprise Resource Planning Applications

This book explains an investigation into the ongoingbenefits management of enterprise resource planning(ERP) applications. A conceptual model that detailsthe key factors relevant to ongoing management andevaluation is identified and used to position the study.One of the key findings of the study is that thedecisions that are made early in an application'slifecycle may well impact the resultant businessbenefits for the life of theapplication. These decisions are often made byorganisational stakeholders who have insufficientknowledge of the application and who areinadequately supported by consultants concerningmacro business matters. The antecedents of poordecisions are very difficult in terms of timecomplexity and cost to recover from and they canultimately result in ERP abandonment. The majorrecommendation is that an organisation takesmanagerial ownership of the application as early aspossible. A framework that specifies the factorsthat an organisation needs to understand to properlymanage an operational ERP application are explainedand the management processes defined.