Fused or Unfused? The Parable of ERP II

Abstract

One of the major visions is having one system that covers all business functions and satisfies virtually all the standard processes and routine transactions within organizations. In the last decade, several academics and practitioners have predicted the rise of what is called enterprise resource planning systems II (ERP II). ERP II was sought to be a digital platform that is capable of supporting timely decision-making through covering all business functions’ processes through having preloaded modules that will minimize the need for external systems like separate customer relationship management (CRM), e-business platforms, and supply chain management (SCM) systems, among others. While ERP systems nowadays have matured, and several packages come with CRM modules and other solutions, however separate CRM systems are still widely adopted by organizations. Thus, this study investigates why organizations that currently have ERPs with CRM modules are still investing in separate CRM systems. Our results show that the current ERP systems did not reach the ERP II state as envisioned, as most organizations are inclined to adopt separate CRM systems. Thus, we have presented five main reasons for this inclination, which are: scoping during ERP implementations, costs, features and functionalities, user-friendliness and ease of use, and finally integration with e-business platforms.