Critical success factors of implementing an ERP system for group of companies in Sri Lanka:

Abstract

Enterprise Resource Planning is an integrated IT solution system which supports an organisation in the incorporation of information from all internal departments vertically & also connects the suppliers and the customers. ERP implementation deals with many stakeholders and various teams and it requires a coordinated effort of all stakeholders and the teams within the organisation. Although ERP is a supportive system which helps an organisation improve its processes, it takes a long period of time to implement and is involved with a substantial risk as well as a major investment. The purpose of the study is to identify the critical factors that contribute to the successful implementation of the ERP system. This study has been focused on a qualitative basis and the qualitative data were gathered from interviews, which were conducted in a group of companies in Sri Lanka. For this study, ten respondents were selected as the sampling frame and the data collections were conducted by the researcher through individual company basis. In this study seven variables have been identified as the independent variables and one variable has been identified as the dependent variable. Based on the relationship between independent variables and the dependent variable, seven hypotheses were developed. The collected qualitative research data has been analysed using the thematic analysis which is supported by the ground theory. Based on this analysis it was concluded that there is a relationship between all the independent variables and the dependent variable of the study. All the hypotheses which were developed at the beginning of the study were supported and several recommendations have been made according to the findings of the study. Getting all the team members involved in the decision making process, getting the contribution of the top management and to continue with a two-way communication system are some of the recommendations of this study.