Determining of Priorities in ERP Project Management with AHP Approach

Abstract

Many manufacturing and service sectors worldwide are adopting highly integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can offer their products to market faster and increase efficiency by using resources effectively. The ERP application ensures that the current culture within the company is resistant to digital transformation and change, agile, open to development and innovation and strengthened. ERP application is provided to make the existing culture within the company more powerful, resistant to digital transformation and change, open to development and innovation. ERP is a commercial software package that promises seamless integration information flowing across company, including financial, accounting, human resources, supply chain, production planning, quality management, customer service. It is known that, ERP system setup in companies is quite expensive and time-consuming. However, the investment return rate of (roi) the ERP system varies between 8 and 23 months on average. The ERP transformation project touches and affects all business units of the enterprise. For this reason, it is important to choose the right software packages and the solution partner software company that meets the company’s requirements and objectives and choose experienced project teams from different business units. The wrong choice will result in high costs, labor and time loss. Senior executive support is required to make these election decisions, to provide budget support, to manage business process change and employee resistance. For this purpose, a project sponsor is usually assigned from within the organization, which is expected to be innovative, collaborative and leader-spirited. The ERP Executive Council consisting of senior executives, including the sponsor, are participatory and decision-making mentors who monitor project development changes and risks, and coach the project manager in the project to go live at the specified time, in accordance with the specified budget, delivery schedule. In this study, expert opinions of the decision makers (project team) consisting of company managers and employees in the Aerospace, Ready-to-Wear (textile and shoemaking) sector and IT Software Company consultants who have provided consultancy services to these companies have been utilized. Project management process by the ERP Project team; three sub-criteria under the main criteria of Planning (Business Plan and Solution-Partner Software Company Selection and Installation, Project team and sponsor determination), two sub-criteria under the main criteria of Implementation (Process design As Is-To Be, Configuration), three sub-criteria under the main criteria of Control and Prevention (Verification-UAT, Cut Over-Swich off, Training) and three sub-criteria under the main criteria of Go Live (Go Live, Support, Delivery/Project Closure) are discussed in four stages. ERP project management stages were analyzed using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) using the opinions of the project team who have signed many successful ERP projects. The 9-scale developed by Saaty used to compare ERP project management stage criteria with the AHP analysis hierarchy according to the degree of importance in binary. Thus, the criteria were compared in pairs to reveal the relative importance levels. With this study, the importance of ERP project management stages are determined and it is aimed to contribute to the following measures:

1. Allocating the required number of human resources,
2. Project budget forecasting at sufficient cost,
3. Planning the delivery Schedule of project