The Challenge of Enterprise Systems : Harmonization of ERP Systems with Business Processes

An effective business strategy centers on a forceful and efficient use of information technology; for this reason the ERP systems have emerged as the core of successful information management and the backbone of the enterprise information system. A valuable ERP system modernizes business processes and improves overall effectiveness, while offering means to externally enhance competitive performance, increase openness to customers, and support strategic initiatives.Sadly, not all organizations which have invested in ERP systems have succeeded in this initiative. There have been many instances of unsuccessful implementations and in some cases total failure. The ERP implementation is a socio-technical challenge that necessitates a basically different perspective from IT innovations, profoundly depending on a balanced perspective of the whole organization. Prominent among the critical success factors (CSF) discussed in literature is the harmonization of business processes and ERP built-in processes, under the influence of organizational culture.After reviewing the critical success factors, we will analyze reengineering and matching business processes with the selected ERP system, justify its importance and illustrate it for the higher education sector, based on the participation in ERP implementation at the West University of Timisoara