Enterprise Resource Planning Systems: Phases, Benefits, and Challenges

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
Your name
School-Affiliated

Introduction
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) refers to software used in business for the
management of processes to offer integrated platforms for planning and to manage all the
business activities and to organize the functions of the back office associated with the
organizational functionalities. Enterprise Resource planning implementation in any organization
takes a logical step process which has different phases between them. It is always known that the
Enterprise Resource Planning system is launched and its success is achieved; hence, the tasks
involving its launching stops (Albarakati, 2015). However, it is true that after the release and
process to make it go-live, there are a lot of things done to support the system to ensure that the
functions of the system implemented in the organization are functioning smoothly. This research
paper covers the phases affiliated with Enterprise Resource Planning journey and the importance
of every phase. This research will also include the challenges associated with the phases. Some
essential case studies are referred to help in the explanation of the concepts that are affiliated
with phases of the Enterprise Resource Planning journey (O'Leary, 2000).
Enterprise Resource Planning journey stages with its benefits
Discovery and Planning stage
This is the initial step involving the Enterprise Resource Planning initiation of the design
and the Enterprise Resource Planning system implementation in regards to the organization. The
requirements of the business in line with the objectives are first identified with the help of the
data analysis and research, along with the numerous meetings associated with the business. One
of the key activities involved in this step is the selection of project team members. It will go in

line with the identification of the member’s specific roles in the committee. This stage, as well as
the founder of the whole ERP system journey; therefore, all the main processes and
requirements, are identified and documented at this initial step. The other activities that are to be
considered in this stage would be the risks analysis that is related to the Enterprise Resource
Planning system journey, the pointing out of the potential gaps associated with the system and
the understanding of their solutions that will need to be considered. The results of this stage is a
formal project plan that will contain all the details that will be necessary to run the system to the
point of launching it (Cliffe, 1999).
There are numerous benefits from the first stage of the ERP journey. In this stage, the
ERP system foundation is identified and finished. Here the top management personnel and the
project leaders will understand the specific needs that must be met. A wholesome summary of
the particular steps to be considered in the stages coming after is identified and assessed
according to the organization’s ability to support those needs in the journey of acquiring the
system for the organization. Deloitte is a firm whose headquarters is in the United States of
America. This company is a multi-national firm that offers professional services. It suggested
that this is the most crucial stage because all the other steps find their basis in this stage. This
firm followed this stage in completing its Enterprise Resource Planning system implementation
(Finney, 2007).
Design Stage
The design stage is the second step in the Enterprise Resource Planning system journey
that comes immediately after the project plan has been established. In this stage, the master

records that the clients provide are reviewed. In this stage, the Enterprise Resource Planning
system orientation and the walkthrough are done for the top managers and the stakeholders and
of greater emphasis for the project resources. In this step, the initial configurations settings of the
ERP system are done for the Enterprise Resource Planning system journey. The prototypes
creation incline with the user definition of the roles is an important activity that is done in this
stage. The results here are in the form of the ERP system procedures documentation.
The importance of the second stage includes the design prototypes identification of the
prototypes designed in line with the user roles defined associated with the Enterprise Resource
Planning system. The team involved with the project in this stage are made to understand the
system’s design required for implementation.
Development stage
The core goal of the development stage is the environment development for the ERP
system creation in line with system launching preparation that is to come with the developed
system in line with the requirements and the specifications.
ERP system customization in line with the qualities incorporation like flexibility,
adaptability, and scalability are performed in this step. The required codes are made to enable the
system to be ready to be launched, and the unit testing is also done on the Enterprise Resource
Planning systems to establish the first set of defects and system bugs.
Live environment simulation is performed in this development stage. The benefits of the
development stage are many because it involves the development of the final ERP system
product. Therefore, the ERP systems rely on the activities done in this stage. Also, the earlier