Assessing Organizational Readiness for Implementing ERP System Using Fuzzy Expert System Approach

Efficient use of enterprise resource planning systems is the only way to achieve competitive advantage in many industries. However, many reports indicate high failure rate of ERP implementation projects and the lack of access to benefits and advantages that enterprises have expected from ERP deployment. Managers are concerned about being ready to deploy such a system. Despite its enormous cost, implementing enterprise resource planning systems fail in practice. Accordingly, this study aims at providing a model for assessing the readiness of organizations for the implementation of ERP by using fuzzy expert systems. The model is composed of six fuzzy expert systems which are designed at two levels. The first five levels are the factors affecting the readiness of a system to produce the scores for an output. These outputs have been used as input to the final system for assessing the organization’s readiness to implement the ERP system. In the design of each fuzzy expert system, fuzzy triangular membership functions were applied that had been selected for increasing the efficiency and ease of use. The Results of the model and its use in Shahid Ghazi Pharmaceutical Company show the status of readiness of the proposed model for ERP implementation. Moreover, the model shows the status of the organizations with regard to each of the factors affecting the implementation of the ERP system. KEywORdS Enterprise Resource Planning, Fuzzy Expert System, Implementation of an ERP System, Readiness of the Organization