Many executives see these expenditures as pure overhead, of course. The technology is also time-consuming to install, difficult to master, rapidly outdated, and in need of frequent upgrades. Not surprisingly, many executives decide not to buy. Among those who do buy, remorse is common. Needless to say, the strategic potential of the systems goes unrealised.
Many companies fail to understand the potential.
More than a technology project, an ERP is an integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise and should be considered a business investment, with a major role for process-reinvention. Small wonder that companies, despite multi-million dollar investments, have wound up yanking the plug on ERP projects. But, for them as well, the problems of first choosing the right ASP, then making the technology work, are often overwhelming. As a result, whether they re equipped with the latest technology or not, in-house back offices are frequently slow, ineffective, and unreliable. Some take 90 days just to issue a quarterly report, a task that a BPO provider can accomplish in two to three weeks.