Adnan Al Bar, Victor Basili, Wajdi Al Jedaibi and Abdul Jawad Chaudhry, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems integrate information across an entire organization that automate core activities such as finance/accounting, human resources, manufacturing, production and supply chain management... etc. to facilitate an integrated centralized system and rapid decision making– resulting in cost reduction, greater planning, and increased control. Many organizations are updating their current management information systems with ERP systems. This is not a trivial task. They have to identify the organization’s objectives and satisfy a myriad of stakeholders. They have to understand what business processes they have, how they can be improved, and what particular systems would best suit their needs. They have to understand how an ERP system is built; it involves the modification of an existing system with its own set of business rules. Deciding what to ask for and how to select the best option is a very complex operation and there is limited experience with this type of contracting in organizations. In this paper we discuss a particular experience with contracting out an ERP system, provide some lessons learned, and offer suggestions in how the RFP and bid selection processes could have been improved.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Request for Proposal for ERP (ERP RFP), ERP Contracting, Business Process, ERP Implementation, ERP Proposal