Organizational change in conjunction to the implementation of an ERP system : -A case study of a logistics company

Abstract: Background: Today also smaller companies (SME) are implementing enterprise resource planning systems. One difference is that the SME have smaller resources regarding people and finance which can cause some problems if they are not aware of this. The company we have studied have undergone an organizational change and simultaneously implemented an ERP. Two parts of the implementation of the ERP worked just as intended and the third and last part experienced some major difficulties. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine the situation in which a small company undertake two major changes almost simultaneously, one of which is the implementation of an ERP. This matter when an SME is implementing an ERP is not well researched since it is only in the more recent years that this type of organization feel the need for it and therefore have ventured into this. The aim of this thesis is to add to the theoretical field of small organizations introducing enterprise information systems. Method: This is a qualitative study conducted in the form of a case study. The main data sources have been semi structured interviews, combined with observations and a document study. The data have been analyzed inductively. Conclusion: The implementation of this ERP has gone bad in one area due to several cooperating mistakes. SME’s have some circumstances that does not apply to the larger organizations. In a SME every person carries greater importance in the success or failure of the implementation. Preparation is equally important in an SME as in larger organizations. Suggestions for further research: The field of ERP in SME's have not been very thoroughly studied since it is a comparatively new field. Further research in this matter would be of some value.