The Life Cycle Challenge of ERP System Integration
Abstract To serve its purpose as a backbone for business integration, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems need to be integrated with other information systems inside and outside the boundaries of an enterprise. An inductive case study was made to examine a long-term ERP system of a large manufacturing enterprise to better understand the nature and importance of ERP system integration. Our results can be summarized as four findings about the current life cycle models: 1) integration should be a major consideration when choosing ERPs, 2) deployments are continuous, 3) external integration is not just an extension phase after the project and 4) integration remains as a continuous challenge which is never fully achieved due to the constantly changing business requirements and organizational landscape. The results can help managers when making decisions on integration issues, yet effective approaches for integration governance are needed in order to avoid the increased costs and complexity.
First volume in a three-part series. Book written by Sandra Lach Arlinghaus. Material underwent extensive classroom testing (pre and post publication in handbook form) in course created and taught by W. D. Drake and S. L. Arlinghaus: Population-Environment Dynamics--Transition Theory, NRE 545, School of Natural Resources and Environment, The University of Michigan (1991-1997). Links to published documents containing student work from this course appear elsewhere in Deep Blue.