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FUTURE OF ERP IN PAKISTAN

 Problems and issues of ERP Project Management Faced by Pakistani Organization and their Remedies  
Pakistan has a well-developed communications infrastructure, and a high degree of computer literacy, coupled with innovations in software development. Its improved service delivery mechanisms, and a growing appreciation of international quality standards, serve to emphasize Pakistan's suitability as a destination of choice for global companies seeking to offshore their business activities.  
ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It is a software package, which enables a business to computerize all its business functions such as: Inventories, Invoicing, Accounting, Receivables, Payables, Manufacturing, etc. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have fundamentally changed the work of IT organizations. The total size and complexity of ERP implementations makes managing these projects difficult.  
The two basic sides of ERP management are
    � People
    � Technology
The mismanaged ERP implementation can leave Pakistani organizations with nasty surprises. The major headaches or troubles faced by Pakistani organizations which are clients of ERP software are as given in the following table.
Table 1
Top 8 ERP Project Management Headaches Faced by Pakistani Organizations PM headache
1 Ambiguity of needs
2 Lack of communication to employees
3 Uncertainty among employees
4 Resistance To Change
5 Funding
6 Organizational Politics
7 Unexpected Gaps
8 Unreasonable Deadlines

All these points show that to utilize the potentials of ERP in Pakistani organization is a complex. So it is essential to keep in view from the decision point to the final implementation point each and every aspect of organization and not only jest the technical aspects of that software. 
REMEDIES
Organization in which ERP is decided to be implemented must characterized by the project manger, project stakeholders, top management or whatever the name given by that particular organization. Here the word management is used for indication of those entities involved in bringing initiation of this mega benefited software.
The management must understand both the business and the technology aspect of ERP. To avoid customization, businesses frequently change their business processes to fit the new software. The management must understand the impact of the ERP implementation on the business, and work with business managers to
Ensure a smooth transition from the "as is" to the "to be" business operating environment.  

    1. Remedy for Ambiguous Needs:

The first step in an ERP implementation plan is to decide exactly what the company needs. Some companies decide to focus only on one area, or to use two or three of their departments initially and add in other departments at a later date. This can lead to a variety of problems for the company at a later date as they discover that some software programs are not compatible with others. To determine their needs is pain killer for headache of ambiguous needs.  

    2. Remedy For Lack of communication to employees

A successful ERP implementation is one that involves all aspects of the company, and all of the company’s employees. The problem that many companies face is that they neglect to tell their employees of the coming changes until the process has finished. They then find themselves with dozens, or hundreds of employees that do not understand the software, and are unsure of how to use it. These employees may also feel bitter, or unhappy at the changes.  

    3. Remedy for Uncertainty among employees

The uncertainly among employees is because of lack of communication problem. They are uncertain about their future position in current organization. This can creates a fear of loosing the job and is going to put hazardous effects on productivity. To create a successful ERP implementation, it is vitally important that the company decide on the employees who will work with the software. These employees will also need to be adequately trained on the software. If there is any question that the employees are unsure of the programming, than further training needs to be completed. Even one employee who cannot handle the software will lead to a less than successful ERP implementation.

    4. Remedy for Overcoming the Resistance to Change

When employees are unaware or uncertain about their future nature of job obviously they are afraid of the new change regardless of benefits. Consequently they resist and bring new risks for organization. In order to overcome this management must convey all its purpose clearly to employees. Management clearly envisions the project end game, and then holds the entire organization to the road that leads to that successful end. This means bringing other members back on track when deviations occur or distractions arise.

    5. Remedy for Unreasonable Deadlines

A successful case of ERP implementation also utilizes a schedule. However it is important to remember that this require flexibility in their planning. Some companies that have not experienced a successful ERP implementation have done so because they did not provide any flexibility in their scheduling. There are always small issues, and some larger issues that can wreak havoc on a schedule. The consultant may suddenly find him self ill, or an employee might lose someone in their family. All of these problems can halt a successful ERP implementation. So establishing the deadlines requires flexibility. This is one of the best practices of ERP implementation because it keeps everyone on the same schedule, but gives everyone some flexibility for unforeseen events. Those companies that provide flexibility for these unforeseen events are typically those who have found the best practices for ERP implementation.  

    6. Remedy for Funding

The best practices of ERP implementation involve planning a budget. Pakistani organization especially small medium enterprises are always subjected to pressure of inadequate funds. It is necessary to ensure all the essential funding before ERP implementation because it severely hinders the progress of project. The help can be taken number government’s business schemes

    7. Remedy for Organizational Politics

Organizational politics especially have major role in every type of Pakistani organization. Here people are fond of involving themselves in political activities especially at local level. There are often several groups involved in the process, from the consultant to those employees used by the company. These two sides may find themselves constantly struggling for control, or to simply gain control. In cases such as these, the key to a successful ERP implementation is compromise and flexibility. This guarantees that both sides are happy with the end result.  

    8. Unexpected Gaps

Pakistani environment is characterized by sudden and unexpected events. Pakistani organizations always badly effected by all types of uncertain situations occur in the country. Whether it is matter of assassination of political leader, any political instability or stock market ups and downs Pakistani organizations consider it a responsibility to halt all of its operations. The can also abate ERP project. The best remedy is to keep the organizations and its operations aside from all those environmental uncertain events which are not directly related to that particular organization. 

What the future holds for ERP in Pakistan?

Before speaking about the future of ERP it is important to remember the history of ERP in order to keep a track on the developments that happened gradually. ERP evolved from manufacturing resource planning (which originated from material resource planning).The functioning of ERP has gained much prominence and utility with the intervention of web enabled and open source technologies. ERP II the latest advancement in ERP software deserves special mention. In this context it becomes important to analyze the direction in which ERP is geared to progress or will ERP diminish future etc…

Some of the points requiring attention are as follows:

Current level
ERP has undoubtedly become an important business application to all industries. It has almost become a must for all organizations irrespective of the type of business manufacturing or service .If companies feel that coordination and enterprise communication are their only problems they don't have any other alternative but to go for ERP, provided they want to make profits and remove the existing setbacks.

Needles to say ERP has helped companies in monetary and nonmonetary aspects if they are keen in utilizing it to the core and take the necessary steps to overcome the setbacks. However ERP needs lot of improvement (this statement included the latest versions also).ERP is an effective application. It will be great if one can bring an ERP system that id devoid of the drawbacks from the existing ones. The latest intrusions namely open source and web enabled technologies has increased the effectiveness of the application. However they are not enough (technically speaking).ERP applications should be designed to make the maximum use of internet so that the user can access data from any part of the world just by a click of the mouse. This has further deepened the future of ERP. ERP's future is yet to reach saturation.

Market forecasting

Formerly ERP was purely restricted to fortune 500 companies, in the sense only they could afford to invest on them. This put the small and Medium Industries at a large disadvantage. They were not able to make use of the application to gain the necessary benefits. ERP's future seemed to be dooming on them.

However this drawback has been removed after the intervention of open source facilities. The concept of outsourcing has helped in removing the difficulties faced by small and medium enterprises. Hence a large potential for ERP still exists in the S.M.E. market.

The ERP vendors can target this market effectively. However both the vendor and the companies in this segment have to remember that there are lot of competition in this sector and one is not likely to succeed unless he serves the best product.

The international Scenario, employment and Education

ERP has thrown open opportunities for many companies to trade with foreign counter parts in the name of outsourcing, implementation and deployment of the existing ones. It has contributed lot to the economy .Academics also boast its own share of ERP relations.

It has promoted lot of employment and educational opportunities. India happens to be a key beneficiary in this aspect.

Conclusion

The future of ERP holds an undisputed demand not only in the national level but also at the global level. If the technology can be improvised to the desire extent.

Comments

  1. Nice

    Regards,
    Abdul Hameed
    99 Consulting
    www.99-consulting.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It is a software package,ERP gives your company full control with flexible scheduling and sophisticated shop floor functionality. Thanks for sharing.
    Architecture of ERP

    ReplyDelete
  3. Excellent website. A lot of useful details here. I¡¦m offering it to some buddies and also referring to in amazing. And of course, thanks in your sweat!
    cloud ERP software

    ReplyDelete
  4. We are using Vision Plus ERP it is Oracle 12G Cloud based ERP and it have all the modules, GL, AR, AP, INV etc. The support is good and we are very satisfy with them.
    http://visionplus.com.pk/enterprise-resource-planning/

    ReplyDelete
  5. i am looking forward towards ERP issues in pakistan and there solutions through IT. i am a ph.d scholar computer science and interested in this area. kindly elaborate more technical issues related to ERP, so that dissertation can be done in this regard. thanks. waiting for your response

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice and very informative, good work sir

    ReplyDelete

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