Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Implementation Process: Project Management Perspective

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is an advanced manufacturing system that enables the integration of transactions-oriented data and business functions throughout an enterprise. ERP system holds the potential of greatly enhancing organizational performance and establishing competitive advantage. ERP project team can reduce their implementation costs by having a well thought out ERP implementation process. This research examines the ERP implementation process from the project management based perspective. The theoretical framework is developed to specify the ERP implementation process, which is categorized into five phases in project life cycle: initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing. The research adopts the iterative triangulation as a methodology to establish this study, and one large company in Iran has been chosen by researchers to examine the proposed framework.