Enterprise Resource Planning Customization Research Articles

Understanding algorithm bias in artificial intelligence-enabled ERP software customization

Purpose Algorithm bias refers to repetitive computer program errors that give some users more weight than others. The aim of this article is to provide a deeper insight of algorithm bias in AI-enabled ERP software customization. Although algorithmic bias in machine learning models has uneven, unfair and unjust impacts, research on it is mostly anecdotal and scattered. Design/methodology/approach As guided by the previous research (Akter et al., 2022), this study presents the possible design bias (model, data and method) one may experience with enterprise resource planning (ERP) software customization algorithm. This study then presents the artificial intelligence (AI) version of ERP customization algorithm using k-nearest neighbours algorithm. Findings This study illustrates the possible bias when the prioritized requirements customization estimation (PRCE) algorithm available in the ERP literature is executed without any AI. Then, the authors present their newly developed AI version of the PRCE algorithm that uses ML techniques. The authors then discuss its adjoining algorithmic bias with an illustration. Further, the authors also draw a roadmap for managing algorithmic bias during ERP customization in practice. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior research has attempted to understand the algorithmic bias that occurs during the execution of the ERP customization algorithm (with or without AI).

Investigating ERP System Customization: A Focus on Cloud-ERP

This paper surveys the research on enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems’ customization, focusing on Cloud-ERP. ERP system customization refers to the actual alterations of the system on a macro level to meet a specific business organizational requirement or business process. Currently, customization of ERP systems is considered by several researchers and practitioners as a double-edged sword. Hence, ERP systems’ customization is often perceived negatively in the ERP literature or as a challenging issue that might affect the system's future updates and upgrades during its life cycle. While the ERP literature is rich, the number of studies focusing on ERP customization is relatively low, and literature within the cloud context is scarce. Thus, this article intends to bridge the research gap and highlight the area around cloud-ERP customization. Based on a systematic review of literature, our main findings show that, while customizations are viewed negatively in general, they are inevitable for some organizations and may provide a competitive advantage when representing a non-standard competitive business process. In addition, most of the current literature argues that the major Cloud-ERP providers do not provide system customization possibilities to most of their clients. And finally, the findings of this research are presented and organized via the five ERP business benefits dimensions introduced by Shang & Seddon.

Exploring the Relationship between Conflict Management and Transformational Leadership Behaviors for the Success of ERP Customization

ABSTRACT Many companies customize commercial enterprise resource planning (ERP) packages to meet their specific needs by collaborating with the ERP vendors. Nevertheless, research into the relationships among conflict management (CM), transformational leadership, and the performance of ERP customization projects are limited. This study addressed this issue through an in-depth case study. The results indicate the importance of mapping between CM approaches and transformational leadership behaviors in terms of enhancing project performance. Research implication are discussed subsequently.

The impact of ISP, BPR, and customization on ERP performance in manufacturing SMEs of Korea

Purpose This paper aims to assess how enterprise resource planning (ERP) performance of Korean small and medium enterprises in manufacturing differs according to different levels of business process reengineering (BPR), information strategic planning (ISP) and ERP customization. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was carried out in this research. Responses from 96 small and medium manufacturing companies that have adopted ERP systems were analyzed. Findings The results of this study suggest that ISP and BPR implementation are positively correlated to ERP performance. Originality/value While consulting and customization costs have positive impacts on ERP performance, the level of customization does not influence performance. As one of the pioneering studies that investigate the impact of BPR, ISP and ERP customization on small and medium manufacturing companies, this research contributes to both theory and practice.

Impact of customization over software quality in ERP projects: an empirical study

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are recognized as management information systems that streamline business processes of an enterprise. Delivering ERP software to meet functional needs of an organization with acceptable level of quality is a challenge due to the very nature of development and deployment of this packaged software. Drawing on ISO/IEC 9126's characterization of software quality and Luo and Strong's ERP customization framework, this paper analyzes the impact of the ERP system customization on software quality of ERP. A software quality framework for ERP customization has been developed, and three sets of hypotheses have been formulated. A detailed survey was conducted for data collection. The statistical data analysis reveals that module customization does not impact ERP quality, while database and source code customizations have significant influence over ERP quality. Our findings have implications for the implementation of customized ERP in organizations.

ERP and Organizational Misfits: An ERP Customization Journey

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects are complex and resource demanding. Some ERP projects fail due to what is called ‘misfit’ between the adopting organization's business requirements and the ERP's functionalities. Existing literature has studied how ERP systems match to different organizations and have argued that there always exists a gap between the business rules embedded in the system, and the practices and processes that exist in organizations. Thus, tailoring might be an important procedure during ERP implementations, in which the ERP customization takes place in order to ensure the compliance with the organizations’ critical business processes and requirements.Via an in-depth case study, this research investigates how the different ERP tailoring types defined in literature correspond to different types of misfits identified in an ERP implementation project at a large public organization. The study results suggest that there is a correlation between tailoring types and categories of misfits. In other words, different categories of misfits can be decisive for the type of customization being used. These categories can be organized into four main influences that affect tailoring; strategy, project, system and institution. Moreover, internal institutional factors that are linked to system acceptance, such as culture and resistance could affect tailoring.

Penerapan Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) untuk Sistem Informasi Pembelian, Persedian dan Penjualan Barang pada Toko EMI GROSIR dan ECERAN

On Emi Store wholesale and retail business processes of purchasing, inventory, and sales are still made in the traditional and manual. This led to some problems, among others, is often an error occurred recording of purchases and sales of goods, calculation of the transaction, as well as the latest information the availability of goods in the warehouse. Therefore, it is necessary the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for purchase information, inventory, and sales of goods aimed at overcoming these problems. ERP implementation stage began with the study of introduction. Its activities namely the introduction of the company as a whole with interviews and observation, identifying the business processes of purchasing, inventory, and sales of goods that are currently running and then make a proposal system in terkomputerisasinya, which is described by using the Business Process Model Notation (BPMN), as well as the depiction of a working model of the system to be applied using use case diagrams. The next stage is to conduct a study of the literature of a variety of books and journals to find a foundation theory and related research. Then do the selection of ERP software, configuration and customization of the ERP software modules, as well as the last application and testing. The results of this study indicate that ERP software that have been selected and applied IE applications can address in Odoo Stores Emi wholesale and retail.

Customer requirements based ERP customization using AHP technique

Purpose– Customization is a difficult task for many organizations implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new framework based on customers’ requirements to examine the ERP customization choices for the enterprise. The analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique has been applied complementarily with this framework to prioritize ERP customization choices.Design/methodology/approach– Based on empirical literature, the paper proposed an ERP customization framework anchored on the customer's requirements. A case study research method was used to evaluate the applicability of the framework in a real-life setting. In a case study with 15 practitioners working on the vendor's and the client's sides in an ERP implementation, the paper applied the framework jointly with the AHP technique to prioritize the feasible customization choices for ERP implementation.Findings– The paper demonstrates the applicability of the framework in identifying the various feasible choices for the client organization to consider when they decide to customize their selected ERP product.Research limitations/implications– Further case studies need to be carried out in various contexts to acquire knowledge about the generalizability of the observations. This will also contribute to refining the proposed ERP customization framework.Practical implications– Very few literature sources suggest methods for exploring and evaluating customization options in ERP projects from requirements engineering perspective. The proposed framework helps practitioners and consultants anchor the customization decisions on the customer's requirements and use a well-established prioritization technique, AHP, to identify the feasible customization choices for the implementing enterprise.Originality/value– No previously published research studies provide an approach to prioritize customization choices for ERP anchored on the customer's requirements.

Determining ERP customization choices using nominal group technique and analytical hierarchy process

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an information system that supports and integrates many facets of a business. A critical issue in ERP implementation is how to bridge the gap between the ERP system and an organization's business processes by customizing either the system, or the business processes of the organization, or both. Literature review shows that customization is a major hindrance in most of the ERP implementation projects. This research applies nominal group technique (NGT) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) techniques to Luo and Strong's framework to help organizations determine feasible customization choices for their ERP implementation initiatives. A case study is presented to illustrate its applicability in practice. The study has theoretical and practical implications for our understanding of ERP implementation process.

A Case on ERP Custom Add-On in Taiwan

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are complete and complex information systems that consist of firms’ business best practices. This study examines an ERP custom-made add-on/bolt-on system of a medium-sized computer memory producer with global business units around the world, and investigates implications of the customized system from the perspectives of system fit, user attitude and acceptance, and subsequent maintenance and upgrade costs. The authors adopted a rich descriptive case study method and conduct a cost and benefit analysis prediction of subsequent maintenance and upgrade costs on the system. The empirical data indicates that although developing an add-on may create integration problems and/or compatibility problems with the ERP system, in overall, the system users accept the system better as the add-on helps in improving their job performance. Also, even though having a custom development does create additional costs in this case study, this does not necessarily cost more than not having it. Instead, having an idiosyncratic system may actually transfer a lot of benefits to the company. This is the first empirical study showing why custom development is favored by SMEs. These results and implications can be valuable to IT managers and top management when making ERP customization decisions.

Identifying reasons for ERP system customization in SMEs: a multiple case study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate possible reasons for enterprise resource planning (ERP) system customization in small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on distinguishing influential factors of the SME context.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory qualitative research approach was employed, to identify new insights within the SME context. A multiple case study of four SMEs was conducted. Data were collected through 34 qualitative interviews with multiple informants across the four cases.FindingsThe paper reports findings from four SMEs where ERP customization has been applied to match organizational needs. First, the level and type of ERP system customization applied by the case organizations were investigated. Then, the reasons for ERP system customization were explored. The analysis identified seven possible reasons leading to ERP system customization, classified according to two phases of the ERP life‐cycle (prior to “going‐live” and after “going‐live”). Reasons specific to the SME context include unique business processes, ownership type, and organizational stage of growth.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is based on four cases only. Further research is needed to investigate the applicability of the findings in different contexts.Practical implicationsThe study findings are believed to be valuable for organizations about to implement an ERP system, as well as for ERP vendors. By identifying the reasons leading to ERP system customization and investigating the effect of the SME context, the study contributes to a better understanding of ERP system implementation in SMEs.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the scarce literature on reasons for ERP system customization in SMEs. By classifying the reasons into two phases of the ERP life‐cycle, the study also contributes by exploring ERP system customization practice in different phases of the ERP life‐cycle.

ERP Customization as Software Engineering: Knowledge Sharing and Cooperation

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors provide multiple configuration possibilities ranging from module selection to master data provision to steer access rights for different users. These configuration possibilities cover anticipated variability. If the customer requires adaptation beyond what's anticipated, the source code of the product must be adapted. Customizations in this article's context are source code based adaptations of software products. The size and complexity of customizations range from simple report generation to developing independent add-ons that support specific businesses, for example, solutions for flight carriers. The size and lead time of such projects can compare to a full-size software development project. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems must be configured and customized to fit a specific company. The authors discuss cooperation with regard to ERP systems customization.

ERP customization failure

PurposeThe paper aims to examine a detailed case study of enterprise resource planning (ERP) customization failure in an Egyptian state‐owned company (AML) by drawing on new institutional sociology (NIS) and its extensions. It explains how ERP customization failure is shaped by the interplay between institutionalised accounting practices, conflicting institutions, power relations and market forces.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology is based on using an intensive case study informed by NIS, especially the interplay between conflicting institutions, power relations and market forces. Data were collected from multiple sources, including interviews, observations, discussions and documentary analysis.FindingsThe findings revealed that the inability of the ERP system to meet the core accounting requirements of the control authorities (the central agency for accountability) was the explicit reason cited for the ERP failure. The externally imposed requirements of the uniform accounting system and planning budgets were used to resist both other institutional pressures (from the holding company for engineering industries) and market and competitive pressures.Research limitations/implicationsThere are some limitations associated with the use of the case study method, including the inability to generalize from the findings of a single case study, some selectivity in the individuals interviewed, and the subjective interpretation by the researchers of the empirical data.Practical implicationsThe paper identifies that the interplay between institutional pressures, institutionalised accounting practices, intra‐organizational power relations, and market forces contributed to the failure to embed ERP in a major company. Understanding such relationships can help other organisations to become more aware of the factors affecting successful implementation of new ERP systems and provide a better basis for planning the introduction of new technologies.Originality/valueThis paper draws on recent research and thinking in sociology, especially the development and application of NIS. In addition, the paper is concerned with ERP implementation and use and management accounting in a transitional economy, Egypt, and hence contributes to debate about exporting Western accounting practices and other technologies to countries with different cultures and different stages of economic and political development.

Selection of an ERP system for a construction firm in Taiwan: A case study

The primary functions of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) are to integrate the inter-departmental operation procedures and Management Information System (MIS) modules, and to reallocate the resources of a company. How to successfully implement an ERP system in an organization is always a hot research topic for researchers as well as a pending problem for an organization that wants to implement it. This research is a case study on the selection of system suppliers and contract negotiation during the ERP implementation of a local construction company in Taiwan. After reviewing the common key success factors discussed in the literature, this study discussed seven issues: coding system, working process reengineering, priority of ERP functionality implementation, customization, participant roles, consultant role and performance level of subcontractor, which also affected the implementation. Lessons learned from the case study in discussed seven issues are valuable for a construction company in deciding to implement an ERP system. This research suggests that additional case studies are necessary for the successful application of ERP systems in the construction industry.

What Happens after ERP Implementation: Understanding the Impact of Interdependence and Differentiation on Plant-Level Outcomes

We present a model of the organizational impacts of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems once the system has gone live and the shake-out phase has occurred. Organizational information processing theory states that performance is influenced by the level of fit between information processing mechanisms and organizational context. Two important elements of this context are interdependence and differentiation among subunits of the organization. Because ERP systems include data and process integration, the theory suggests that ERP will be a relatively better fit when interdependence is high and differentiation is low. Our model focuses at the subunit level of the organization (business function or location, such as a manufacturing plant) and includes intermediate benefits through which ERP's overall subunit impact occurs (in our case at the plant level). ERP customization and the amount of time since ERP implementation are also included in the model. The resulting causal model is tested using a questionnaire survey of 111 manufacturing plants. The data support the key assertions in the model.