Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
2.8
2.3
Journals
Systems
Special Issues
Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
share announcement

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

A special issue of Systems (ISSN 2079-8954).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2015) | Viewed by 78615

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Donald Kerr

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Information Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs Campus, Sippy Downs, Queensland 4558, Australia
Interests: health informatics; enterprise planning systems; ICT workarounds and decision support systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERPs) have been around for a long time and varying levels of success have been reported. This Special Issue is looking at how well the ERP is actually working at an operational level within an organization. There is evidence suggesting that ERPs are not being used as effectively as their original design would indicate and employees are finding ways to work around the ERP in order to get their work done more easily and in some cases more quickly. There is also evidence to suggest that this has been facilitated by our increasingly networked world with standalone applications and cloud computing functions allowing employees to bypass critical ERP functions. Many of these functions are important components of the original design with respect to the stated aim of integrating an organization’s ICT in order to provide a “single point of truth” for management. In this issue, we are calling for papers that address this concern as well as looking at future trends in this area that may further enhance or diminish the functionality of an ERP.

Dr. Donald Kerr
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Systems is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.


Keywords

  • ICT workarounds
  • shadow systems
  • feral information systems

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

2652 KiB  
Article
Challenges and Success Factors of ERP Systems in Australian SMEs
by Sitalakshmi Venkatraman and Kiran Fahd
Systems 2016, 4(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems4020020 - 5 May 2016
Cited by 51 | Viewed by 27330
Abstract
Today, great potential is envisaged for ERP systems in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and software vendors have been repackaging their ERP systems for SMEs with a recent focus on cloud-based systems. While cloud ERP offers the best solution for SMEs without the [...] Read more.
Today, great potential is envisaged for ERP systems in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and software vendors have been repackaging their ERP systems for SMEs with a recent focus on cloud-based systems. While cloud ERP offers the best solution for SMEs without the overheads of the huge investment and management costs that are associated with traditional ERP systems, the SME sector faces many challenges in their adoption. Traditional ERP studies have predominantly focused on large organizations, and gaps in the literature indicate that both vendor and consumer perspectives require more understanding with new technology offerings for SMEs. This paper describes some of the common challenges, such as cost effectiveness, alignment between software and business processes, customized governance and training, which form the major SME constraints for ERP system adoption. Due to the dynamic nature of SME businesses, best practice guidelines for an SME’s ERP implementation could be arrived at through closer investigation of its business requirements in order to avoid misfits. This forms the main objective of the study. We identify key success factors of ERP implementation in an Australian SME as a case study. These target success factors are then compared to the actual outcomes achieved. Factors such as business process alignment with the ERP system, meeting customer and stakeholder needs and reducing recurring and maintenance costs were key to the success of ERP implementation for the Australian SME. In particular, the IT and business strategy alignment with a customer focus and flexible reporting features of ERP systems has resulted in business agility. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

1000 KiB  
Communication
Towards a Multidisciplinary Approach on Creating Value: Sustainability through the Supply Chain and ERP Systems
by Wouter De Soete
Systems 2016, 4(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems4010016 - 11 Mar 2016
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 10643
Abstract
Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) is a widely used approach through manufacturing environments in a variety of sectors. With a tendency to go to specialized, smaller lot sizes in several industries (e.g., the pharmaceutical sector), companies are dealing with capacity bottlenecks if the planning [...] Read more.
Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) is a widely used approach through manufacturing environments in a variety of sectors. With a tendency to go to specialized, smaller lot sizes in several industries (e.g., the pharmaceutical sector), companies are dealing with capacity bottlenecks if the planning rhythm wheel is not well calibrated or when production lines are not flexible enough in terms of changeover (C/O) and set-up times (S/U) (OEE is too small). A well-established communication system including other enterprise resources or production factors (e.g., Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP) is favorable to any extent. More and more questions arise from stakeholder communities and end-users on whether or not supply chains and manufacturing environments are sustainable and safe. Departments such as Environmental Health, Safety & Sustainability (EHS & S) and Product Stewardship are too often at the “blind” side of the ICT interface. When it comes to product and organizational sustainability, data seems to be lacking in order to conduct sustainability assessments proficiently. Years of intensive research and experience proved that primary data to perform sustainability assessments often are measured through equipment control sensors (e.g., flow rates, temperatures, etc.) and sent to PLCs and many other systems. Nevertheless, these data measurements are in many cases simply not penetrating through the Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) because these bottom-up engineering data seems to be of little value to planning, procurement, etc. This communication paper deals with how sustainability assessments can be embedded in business operational management systems. After all, who does not want a “live Carbon Footprint” for process improvements and external sustainability reporting instead of a series of expensive resource consuming studies of 4 to 6 months digging into data logs in traditional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)? This communication paper has taken one step further in coupling business ERP systems with environmental sustainability of products, services and enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

1088 KiB  
Article
Using Optimization Models for Scheduling in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
by Frank Herrmann
Systems 2016, 4(1), 15; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems4010015 - 1 Mar 2016
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 6269
Abstract
Companies often use specially-designed production systems and change them from time to time. They produce small batches in order to satisfy specific demands with the least tardiness. This imposes high demands on high-performance scheduling algorithms which can be rapidly adapted to changes in [...] Read more.
Companies often use specially-designed production systems and change them from time to time. They produce small batches in order to satisfy specific demands with the least tardiness. This imposes high demands on high-performance scheduling algorithms which can be rapidly adapted to changes in the production system. As a solution, this paper proposes a generic approach: solutions were obtained using a widely-used commercially-available tool for solving linear optimization models, which is available in an Enterprise Resource Planning System (in the SAP system for example) or can be connected to it. In a real-world application of a flow shop with special restrictions this approach is successfully used on a standard personal computer. Thus, the main implication is that optimal scheduling with a commercially-available tool, incorporated in an Enterprise Resource Planning System, may be the best approach. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

704 KiB  
Article
The Relation of Shadow Systems and ERP Systems—Insights from a Multiple-Case Study
by Melanie Huber, Stephan Zimmermann, Christopher Rentrop and Carsten Felden
Systems 2016, 4(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems4010011 - 29 Jan 2016
Cited by 23 | Viewed by 9406
Abstract
ERP systems integrate a major part of all business processes and organizations include them in their IT service management. Besides these formal systems, there are additional systems that are rather stand-alone and not included in the IT management tasks. These so-called ‘shadow systems’ [...] Read more.
ERP systems integrate a major part of all business processes and organizations include them in their IT service management. Besides these formal systems, there are additional systems that are rather stand-alone and not included in the IT management tasks. These so-called ‘shadow systems’ also support business processes but hinder a high enterprise integration. Shadow systems appear during their explicit detection or during software maintenance projects such as enhancements or release changes of enterprise systems. Organizations then have to decide if and to what extent they integrate the identified shadow systems into their ERP systems. For this decision, organizations have to compare the capabilities of each identified shadow system with their ERP systems. Based on multiple-case studies, we provide a dependency approach to enable their comparison. We derive categories for different stages of the dependency and base insights into integration possibilities on these stages. Our results show that 64% of the shadow systems in our case studies are related to ERP systems. This means that they share parts or all of their data and/or functionality with the ERP system. Our research contributes to the field of integration as well as to the discussion about shadow systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

2989 KiB  
Article
Challenges while Updating Planning Parameters of an ERP System and How a Simulation-Based Support System Can Support Material Planners
by Ulrike Stumvoll and Thorsten Claus
Systems 2016, 4(1), 10; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems4010010 - 26 Jan 2016
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 6939
Abstract
In an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, production planning is influenced by a variety of parameters. Previous investigations show that setting parameter values is highly relevant to a company’s target system. Parameter settings should be checked and adjusted, e.g., after a change in [...] Read more.
In an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, production planning is influenced by a variety of parameters. Previous investigations show that setting parameter values is highly relevant to a company’s target system. Parameter settings should be checked and adjusted, e.g., after a change in environmental factors, by material planners. In practice, updating the parameters is difficult due to several reasons. This paper presents a simulation-based decision support system, which helps material planners in all stages of decision-making processes. It will present the system prototype’s user interface and the results of applying the system to a case study. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

488 KiB  
Article
Feral Information Systems Creation as Sensemaking
by Luke Houghton and Don Kerr
Systems 2015, 3(4), 330-347; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems3040330 - 26 Nov 2015
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 5505
Abstract
This paper discussed the role of actors in creating their own sensemaking devices as Feral Information Systems. In particular, we explore how Feral Information Systems (FIS) are actually a creative way to work around complex information systems and need to be acknowledged as [...] Read more.
This paper discussed the role of actors in creating their own sensemaking devices as Feral Information Systems. In particular, we explore how Feral Information Systems (FIS) are actually a creative way to work around complex information systems and need to be acknowledged as such. We use the sensemaking framework to explore how new FIS are developed as a sensemaking device in order assist in daily important tasks. We conclude with suggestions for future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)

Review

Jump to: Research

1060 KiB  
Review
Increasing the Value of Research: A Comparison of the Literature on Critical Success Factors for Projects, IT Projects and Enterprise Resource Planning Projects
by Annie Maddison Warren
Systems 2016, 4(4), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/systems4040033 - 7 Nov 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 11257
Abstract
Since the beginning of modern project management in the 1960s, academic researchers have sought to identify a definitive list of Critical Success Factors (CSFs), the key things that project managers must get right in order to deliver a successful product. With the advent [...] Read more.
Since the beginning of modern project management in the 1960s, academic researchers have sought to identify a definitive list of Critical Success Factors (CSFs), the key things that project managers must get right in order to deliver a successful product. With the advent of Information Technology (IT) projects and, more recently, projects to deliver Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, attention has turned to identifying definitive lists of CSFs for these more specific project types. The purpose of this paper is to take stock of this research effort by examining how thinking about each type of project has evolved over time, before producing a consolidated list of CSFs for each as a basis for comparison. This process reveals a high degree of similarity, leading to the conclusion that the goal of identifying a generic list of CSFs for project management has been achieved. Therefore, rather than continuing to describe lists of CSFs, researchers could increase the value of their contribution by taking a step forward and focusing on why, despite this apparent knowledge of how to ensure their success, ERP projects continue to fail. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enterprise Resource Planning Systems)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-7
Back to TopTop