The of implementation of enterprise resource planning in education sector in Kenya: case of KCA university

Abstract

This study concerns the implementation of ERP in education institution in Kenya. The study has three main objectives, namely, to establish the challenges of implementing ERP in education institution, the benefits that arise due to implementation of ERP and the strategy used to deploy ERP. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software has become so pervasive in large and medium sized businesses that there exists a growing need for implementing it universities. Institutions of higher learning certainly present data management and sharing challenges, similar to those the ERP system have attempted to solve in the private sector. These institutions have a need to manage data for disparate groups of people, such as managers, students and faculty. Typically, without ERP in place, this data is not shared between individual systems that are designed for each of these interested parties. Many institutions are realizing the potential advantages to implementing ERP, in the sense of cost savings, quality and quantity of information available. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have transformed the way organizations go about the process of providing information systems. They promise to provide an off-the-shelf solution to the information needs of organizations. Despite that promise, implementation project percentages. The findings of the questionnaire indicated that adequate training, consensus between senior managers, and an alignment between the software and business processes are important challenges that need to be adequately taken care of. The findings of this study should provide the management of education institutions implementing ERP systems a better understanding of the likely challenges they may face and put in place appropriate measure to help in mitigating the risk of implementation failures. The study concludes that attention to the change in technology being adopted, the change management in people affected by the technology, and the adoption of proven best business practices lead to the achievement of success in the adoption of these systems.