Challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) strategy implementation by firms in Kenya

Abstract

The emergent of ERPs brought many benefits to organisations in Kenya. Some of which include, improved quality and efficiency, decreased costs, decision support and enterprise agility amongst others. Going with the benefits are the risks and costs that are involved, the hardware and software cost and the risk of failure due to poor selection of vendors. The systems are difficult to implement that some are successful; many have failed, causing million dollar losses. The challenge of ERP solutions lies in implementation because they are complex, time consuming and expensive too. This study sought to find out the challenges that firms in Kenya experienced in implementing ERP strategy and how they handled those challenges. The study used primary data collected from the questionnaires distributed to the project managers, finance managers and system end users of the firms that had implemented ERP. The study found out that the challenges faced during implementation varied from one organization to the other but the most common were the length and complications of system integration and customization. Key towards resolving such challenges was top management involvement as they would be able to resolve issues at faster rate and also help provide the project with the right quantity and quality resources in good time that would lead to reduction of time for integration and customization hence making quicker buy in from the users