An investigation into the Critical Success Factors (CSF's) in implementing enterprise information systems in Kenya: a case study of chevron Kenya and Kenya pipeline company limited.

Abstract

A lot of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems implementations fail, because organizations which bought the systems thought that buying them was all they require to do. Failure cases of ERP implementation show that organizations have to do extensive work on implementation. Because of this, organizations have to create conditions in which they can implement chosen systems in expected time, scope and evaluated costs. This means that organizations should be aware of what most critical factors for success (CSFs) in ERP system implementation are. The high failure rate of ERP implementation calls for a better understanding of critical success factors (CSFs) "What are the main factors that influence the successful implementation of new enterprise information systems?" was the main research question that guided this research project. This research used a case study approach where two case studies were conducted with an aim of comparing a successful ERP implementation with a problematic one. Data was collected by conducting interviews at various levels of the subject organizations. Archived records where available were also examined. The study found that: top management support, company-wide support, organizational culture/diversity, effective project management, organizational fit of the enterprise system and users' training and involvement are critical to a successful enterprise system implementation. Also critical is the level and quality of external support which contribute to successful implementation. From the research findings, it is recommended that organizations seeking to implement enterprise systems should pay special attentions to the factors mentioned above. Of particular mention is that organizations should realize that enterprise system implementation is a collective responsibility that calls for aligning the whole organization to the new system requirements with added help from a carefully selected vendor and project consultants