ERP Systems - to implement or not to implement?

Ok, this is not my (nor any sane person’s) favorite topic to write about, but here it is.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems SHOULD be the backbone or nervous system of every scaled multinational organization. They SHOULD be an asset, a competitive advantage, and a go-to storehouse for organizational history and long-term memory. This is what they SHOULD be… but the question is how often ARE they these things?

Companies like Oracle, Accenture, Sage & SAP secure their business models with the sale and promotion of all encompassing ERP systems. Since the “Y2K” scare, masses of consultants and programmers have built customized ERP systems on every continent, charging licensing fees and billing hours totaling in the billions of dollars every year. And yet with all this investment it is a real challenge to find someone with a positive ERP implementation story.

So, is the solution for organizations to avoid ERP systems all together? Well clearly not, as organizations require enterprise wide systems to function more efficiently. But it is to say that in practice the dream of a fix-all system that will solve problems rooted more realistically in communication, organizational design, and corporate culture is folly. ERP systems should be relayed on no more than individual employees – they have advantages and disadvantages and they will work for your firm for only a finite amount of time.