Few companies are making full use of their enterprise
resource planning (ERP) systems, despite the high cost of the
software and the length of time an implementation can take,
according to research.
In an in-depth survey of 100 global or pan-European companies by
PMP Research, just 5% of those polled said they were using their
existing ERP software to its full extent.
A third of the sample said that large portions of their
enterprise software were not used at all, while 41% said that only
a small portion of the software’s functionality was left
unexplored.
Cliff Mills, senior analyst at PMP Research, said, “It is both
surprising and alarming that so many companies think that their ERP
system is not being used at all. This can be down to the sheer
timescale that it takes to implement ERP systems – it can take a
number of years to implement if you’re a large company, and a lot
of companies underestimate this. We’re talking about multi-site,
pan-European or global roll-outs.”
The findings of the survey echo criticisms that have dogged ERP
systems for many years, causing suppliers to work on modularising
their platforms and shortening implementation cycles.
“The likes of SAP are helping to reduce the implementation cycle
by pre-packaging applications, and working with channel partners to
make implementation easier," said Mills. "Easier to implement
Sage-type applications are coming up-market to address the
mid-sized companies.”
Companies also indicated having difficulty getting ERP systems
to perform as required. The majority customise the software, with
only 12% installing ERP packages straight out of the box. Over half
the respondents said it was hard to make changes to installed ERP
software in order to meet any changes in business processes or
requirements.
The survey also found out that over half the companies surveyed
did not measure their return on investment from business
applications, despite 18% recently having had to trim their IT
budgets and 12% having seen a reallocation of IT budget between
projects.
