ERPs and Strategy: First, Do No Harm

ERP and other systems projects are now commonly preceded or accompanied by reengineering efforts. Traditional reengineering projects use a ‘clean sheet’ approach, in which companies attempt to design ideal processes without being bound to existing processes and constraints. When reengineering is associated with information technology (IT) implementation, the more common approach is known as ‘tool-driven’ or ‘system-enhanced’ reengineering. Under this approach, the new processes are designed with explicit attention to the opportunities and constraints presented by the capabilities of the new information system. Although IT-related reengineering approaches have matured through time, they have not kept pace with current perspectives on corporate strategy and competitive advantage. The perspective on strategy to which they implicitly subscribe is an industrial organization or industry structure model that is not sufficient to guide reengineering efforts when strategic advantage is at stake. Drawing on current, resource-based theories of strategy, this paper describes factors the organizations should consider when they wish to take a more strategic approach to process reengineering—one explicitly oriented to the creation and maintenance of sustainable competitive advantage. ERPS AND STRATEGY: FIRST, DO NO HARM It is interesting to note that, in an era where it is expected that IS will align itself with the goals of the enterprise, the exact opposite is happening with ERPs—the enterprise must align its processes with those of its chosen ERP! (Glass, 1998)