ERP and Information Systems

2ERP: Contribution and Trends

This chapter illustrates the role and trends for enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation within the framework of the information systems. It also shows the main trends related to the evolution of ERPs toward a new generation (2nd G).

2.1. ERP as an indicator of integration for information systems

This indicator aims to illustrate the contribution of ERP systems to the integration of information systems. Many studies that have been conducted on the evolution of information system (IS) principally show its transformation toward integration. Scientists consider system integration as one of the most problematic areas of ERP implementation [THE 01, RAT 12]. Firms should use ERP as an integrative mechanism to create a new style of management [HAM 99]. An ERP system is an IS that manages, through integration, all aspects of a business [ESC 99].

Many companies started to replace their legacy system with ERP packages in order to solve integration problems during the 1990s [HYV 03]. The integration of applications is one of the main reasons for the ERP system adoption [SPA 04]. Any ERP system pushes a company toward full process integration and solves the fragmentation of information [PAR 05]. ERP systems can be viewed as tools for control and integration [HAN 06]. ERP systems aim to integrate business processes into a synchronized suite of procedures, applications and metrics that exceeds firms’ boundaries [WIE 07].

Firms implement ERP systems ...