Elements of Perception Regarding the Implementation of ERP Systems in Swiss SMEs

ERP systems are more and more adopted in large companies. It seems that this trend is followed by small and medium companies too. We have conducted a questionnaire based survey to identify how Swiss SMEs perceive this phenomenon. The sample size is 687 of which 125 have actually implemented an ERP. Our main findings are twofold. First SMEs that have not implemented ERP invoke concerns (e.g. costs), which are typically not perceived as major problems by SMEs that went through an ERP implementation. Indeed the latter companies generally acknowledge that ultimately benefits (e.g. improved business information) significantly exceed costs and difficulties of implementation. Second, this survey brings new empirical knowledge on the implementation, utilization and benefits provided by ERP systems in Swiss SMEs. We primarily show that satisfaction provided by the use of the ERP system is not dependent on the size and sector of the SMEs.