ERP and Information Systems

1Definition of Research Terms

This chapter defines the research terms. We turn our attention to the definitions of the artifacts under consideration because the study of a discipline is principally the study of the language of the discipline [POS 88]. Agreed-upon terms lead to agreed-upon meanings [DAV 05].

1. – an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is an integrated software solution, typically offered by a vendor as a package that supports the seamless integration of all the information flowing through a company, such as financial, accounting, human resources, supply chain and customer information [DAV 98]. An ERP consists of a set of fully integrated modules that run out of a single database. It covers all functions of the company and allows users to have real-time access to data. ERP systems contribute to integration in two ways, process-wise and data-wise: “the uniqueness of the database and the adoption of workflow management systems support the integration of the information flows that connect the different parts of the firm” [BER 02]. These systems are comprehensive packaged software solutions which aim for total integration of all business processes and functions [GAR 05]. For the purpose of our research, we distinguish between two types of ERP (first or second generation):
   1. - ERP first generation (1st G): we have chosen to use “1st G” to indicate an ERP system that comprises old modules only (finance, accounting, controlling, treasury, human resources, production, ...