Realizing the Potential of ERP Systems: The Strategic Implications of Implementing an ERP Strategy: The Case of Global Petroleum

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have been implemented by many organizations. Although there is a growing body of ERP literature, the gap between the potential for ERP projects and what they deliver in practice has received scant attention yet the issue has serious financial and strategic implications for organizations. This paper contributes to this important area through the analysis of an ERP project in a global conglomerate. It is shows that to realize the full benefits from the heavy investments associated with ERP implementation, organizations must consider how the system is viewed and used. The case analysis indicates ERP systems are unlikely to provide competitive advantage alone. Rather, they should be used to underpin and augment further innovative business and IT projects in areas such as e-commerce, customer relationship management and business intelligence.