The Case
Traditionally, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are adopted by the manufacturing organisations; however, ERP vendors developed several modules to support organisations in different industries. As a result almost all the bigger organisations around the world implemented ERP systems to achieve cost savings and improve profits through business process automation.
SMEs have the reputation for being innovative, but operate with low budgets, limited number of staff and resources. Majority of these businesses are family-owned, where tasks are carried out manually with minimal rules and task procedures. Recently, major ERP vendors came up with several ERP systems to support SMEs. Undoubtedly, adoption of ERP systems require budget, careful planning and execution, however, it isn't clear whether SMEs can afford to purchase, implement and maintain these systems to take advantage of the benefits offered by ERP systems.
Your Task
The purpose of this assignment is to conduct a feasibility study and report whether it would be wiser to implement ERP systems in SMEs. You need to think about what are the critical success factors, has any one conducted feasibility studies for adoption of ERP systems or any other Information systems, what was noticed in their study, are there any issues/challenges (budgets, infrastructure, skills, etc.) identified during the implementation process. Then, with the help of academic literature you may need to examine what is already known about implementation of ERP systems in order to identify any issues or risks pertinent to the SMEs context.
You are required to use academic literature to support and illustrate your report. It is important that you look at how issues and potential problems inter-relate and explain the linkages in order to present the risks. It is up to you to explain and justify why the risks you identify may be a problem in the new implementation. It is also important to situate them in terms of the literature on causes of Enterprise Systems failure. Use this literature to develop your recommendations for strategies or actions that can avoid or mitigate the risks. Be aware that it may not be possible to avoid or mitigate all risks.
Your audience are non-technical, however you can assume your readers are intelligent people who understand business arguments. Remember that there is no single right answer that will address all risks and recommendations. It is your choice to nominate which of the risks you believe are the most critical and up to you to select the most appropriate mitigation strategies for your recommendations. You will be assessed on your ability to persuade the reader, so it is essential you develop factual and logical arguments in your risk and recommendation justifications.