ERP Implementation Lifecycle in SMEs – A Review

Abstract

Saturation is visible in ERP implementation in large enterprises but has huge potential in SMEs. With SMEs impacting large portion of economy, the focus has shifted to globalization, building partnerships, developing value networks, and managing the huge information flow across and within SMEs nowadays. Due to rising business demands, SMEs are adopting ERP systems and the vendors now focus more on implementing ERP in SMEs for effective information management. The current study summarizes research on enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems implementation within the domain of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). The SMEs suffer from resource poverty which increases the risk of ERP adoption. SMEs are structured very distinctively compared to LEs, thus the ERP implementation model, practices, and methodologies are different from Les and should be perceived differently. The main purpose of this article is to observe the areas that lack sufficient research within the ERP in SMEs domain, appraise with current research findings that could felicitate practitioners, suppliers, and SMEs while implementing ERP in SMEs, and suggest research avenues for future. Moreover, this study signifies the current practices in SMEs, the impellingtheories, and adaptive frameworks that are discussed in existing literature on ERP implementation in SMEs.