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156 Chapter 5 • Implementation Strategies

Benefits and Drawbacks
A single-system instance is easier to maintain and support in today’s worldwide market. System
modifications are not one-time changes. If a system is modified, each modification will need to
be analyzed in light of the upgrade to see if it needs to be incorporated in the upgrade or
removed. The modifications will need to be looked at, validated, and possibly added back into
each upgrade, which is paying for a modification several times over.
Vendors sometimes supply a tool to identify conflicts between a modification and the
current release. Those areas identified need either to be rewritten or removed from the system and
tested by IT and the business analysts to ensure proper functionality. If an ERP is highly modified,
an upgrade can sometimes turn into a reimplementation, which requires more resources and time
to implement the upgrade. Customizations can take up to one-third of the total upgrade time.
When there are problems or bugs with an upgraded ERP system, it is often the modified
code that is the issue.
As with most implementations organizational change is difficult. Assessing organizational
change along with modifying the system to meet the needs of the business will help to minimize
risk. In any case the decision to modify or not to modify is critical and should be discussed at the
very beginning of the implementation. It will have an effect on change management, training,
and system sustainability.

ERP IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLES

There are many examples of ERP implementations in business today. Many are implemented to
replace aging legacy systems, whereas others are to make use of new technology. All are meant
to improve services, provide better data for decision making, or increase profit margins. Some
are successful, and some fail. A few examples of types of implementations follow.
Piggly Wiggly (CIO Decisions, June 2005): Grocery stores these days operate on slim prof-
it margins. It is a highly competitive marketplace with businesses working to distinguish them-
selves from their competitors. Piggly Wiggly franchises 600 stores in 16 states, mostly in the
southern United States. They compete with such chains as Food Lion and Wal-Mart. Piggly
Wiggly is constantly working to improve profit margins and gain customer loyalty. Over the last
few years the company implemented a payment system using biometrics. The use of biometrics
allows customers the ability to check out using their telephone number and a finger scanner (Pay
By Touch) as a method for identifying and paying for items from the grocery store. This imple-
mentation has improved the speed of customer checkout and increased market share in a business
with thin profit margins. The belief at Piggly Wiggly is that stores of this type have just scratched
the surface of using technology.
Celanese (CIO Magazine, January 15, 2003): Celanese, a worldwide chemical product
maker, is a holding company for five business units. One such product is a sweetener for Pepsi
One. The dilemma Celanese faced was the use of multiple SAP systems. A business case was
made to integrate several SAP systems into one over a four-year period. They called it “OneSAP.”
The project was considered technically feasible, with the culture change being the most risky
aspect. The culture change was to fit the business into one SAP system and to standardize all
business processes. The change in business process was complex and very time consuming. If the
project succeeded, it meant the decommissioning of more than a dozen systems and a savings for
the company of 30–50 percent in operational costs. The implementation approach was to mini-
mize the tailoring of SAP and to require the business to conform to the software.