Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system

There are two widely-used definitions of ERP system. One from a manufacturing perspective by the America Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) is an accounting-oriented information system for identifying and planning the enterprise-wide resources needed to take, make, ship, and account for customer orders’. This definition can be understood as the expansion of IT applications with higher computing power in the manufacturing context along with Material Requirement Planning (MRP-1), Manufacturing
Resource Planning (MRP-II), and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM).
Another definition from an information system perspective by the Gartner Group is a series of applications representing the next business system, designed for balancing business functions. This definition means that an ERP has a different technical composition in 1994 such as graphical user interface, relational database, client-server architecture and open system portability. This kind of state-of-the-art technical competency continues on the current extended ERP solutions such as web and/or mobile applications integration, SCM, and CRM for their survival as well as market leadership

ERP system is an integrated set of programs that provides support for core organizational activities such as manufacturing and logistics, finance and accounting, sales and marketing, and human resources. An ERP system helps the different parts of the organization share data and knowledge, reduce costs, and improve management of business processes.
In spite of their benefits, many ERP systems fail (Stratman and Roth, 1999). Many ERP systems face implementation difficulties because of workers’ resistance. Al-Mashari and Zairi (2000) assert that effective implementation of ERP requires establishing five core competencies, among which is the use of change management strategies to promote the infusion of ERP in the workplace.
Although some studies tried to address this problem by identifying change management strategies that facilitate the success of ERP implementation, many ERP systems still face resistance, and ultimately, failure.
Another stream of research that also deals with the introduction of new products (or ideas) puts forth a different story. Despite the large number of new products and services that they introduce every year, marketers can still achieve high rates of success (Bogart, 1984). Why? I believe the answer rests in the strategies and techniques employed by marketing professionals.

Four phases in the ERP life cycle based on the process theory focusing on the sequence of events leading up to implementation completion.

chartering - decisions defining the business case and solution constraints,
project - getting system and end users up and running,
shakedown - stabilizing, eliminating bugs, getting to normal operations,
onward and upward - maintaining systems, supporting users, getting results, upgrading, system extensions.