An EFQM Based Model to Assess an Enterprise Readiness for ERP Implementation

In today's competitive market, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is widely being used by industries. However, the results of the research efforts carried out in this field reveal that the rate of successful implementations for ERP projects is low and in most cases the planned goals are not achieved. Therefore it is necessary to assess maturity of an enterprise in terms of factors affecting a successful implementation of an ERP system. This paper proposes an EFQM based model to assess the readiness of an enterprise for effective and successful ERP implementation. First, the main factors affecting the implementation of an ERP system, called Critical Success Factors (CSF) are identified. Then relations between the factors defined in EFQM model and ERP CSFs are investigated by means of questionnaires by experts working in this field. The results identify those EFQM factors which are related to ERP CSFs. In addition, those ERP specific factors which are not considered in the EFQM model are identified. Consequently a model based on EFQM including ERP specific CSFs is developed. The proposed model is applied to assess the readiness of a company intending to implement an ERP system. Finally the results of the assessment are discussed and concluding remarks are presented.