START-UP COMPANY? GET YOUR ERP SYSTEM ASAP!”

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are increasingly being implemented in organizations around the world. Scholars and practitioners consider the ERP system to be one of the most important technological products in an organization. Such systems have the potential to support organizations in their business operations and business growth, and can provide powerful solutions for integrating business processes. While there are a number of studies on ERP system implementation and use in general, little is known about the ERP experience of newly established companies. This exploratory study thus contributes to the growing literature on ERP implementation by studying a large, newly established company. The study applied a qualitative case-study approach to draw from the experiences of a Palestinian company that implemented an ERP system before starting business operation. Our findings suggest that new ventures can experience fewer challenges in realizing business benefits because they can more easily adopt business processes that match the software features. New ventures do not have entrenched business practices, historical business processes, or persistent culture, factors that have been found to impede realization of ERP benefits. This study recommends that new ventures, especially those who have adequate resources and expect to consistently grow in the market, should consider implementing ERP systems in the early stages, because such systems can help in establishing business operations and can support business growth. Further, many of the known barriers that obstruct benefits from ERP systems do not seem to occur in newly established firms.