Challenges of enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation in agriculture

Abstract

The underlying assumption of the study is that ERP systems can crucially facilitate information exchange; yet, the agricultural sector is slow in their adoption due to different reasons, including a shortage of skilled personnel as well as a lack of knowledge about ERP capabilities among top managers and key employees. The study intends to identify challenges and prospects for ERP implementation in agriculture. The applied methods include the analysis of WoS publications and questionnaire surveys of executives of 55 companies operating in the Middle Urals' agricultural sector. ERP systems can be defined as comprehensive software solutions aimed to integrate business and management processes through a holistic approach and a single information system. According to expert estimates, in today's Russia the projects related to the agro-industrial sector account for 1-2% to 10-15% of the projects from the leading ERP vendors, including 1C, Bars Group, and Navigator-Agro. ERP systems in agriculture help improve business performance, reduce and monitor costs. These systems are effective in decision-making and can serve as the basis for precision agriculture. The main barriers are poor personnel skills and competencies, shortage of funds for ERP adoption, poorly developed or absent infrastructure, difficulties of fitting and adapting of ERP systems to agricultural business. In addition, agricultural business owners show no confidence in high-tech solutions and poor knowledge of the above systems. Other problems include operation complexity and insufficient government support in ERP implementation. The results of the study can be used by government authorities in their programs for innovative development and technical upgrading of the agriculture industry.

Digitalization in the agri-food industry: the relationship between technology and sustainable development

“…Limited knowledge and skills for using ICT by farmers contribute to the challenges (Abdullah, 2015; Mulauzi and Albright, 2008) or in delayed development (Murugesan and Sudarsanam, 2020). Kulikov et al (2020) in their survey found this to be a major issue, especially with respect to the lack of knowledgeable, trained and skilled workers capable of operating digital technologies and systems. This is also supported by the study of Chandra et al (2017), who performed research about climate smart farming.…”

A systematic analysis of SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software implementation as accounting software in New Zealand organisations

“…According to Kulikov et al (2020), the ERP system evolved from Material Requirement Planning (MRP) systems and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRPII) systems. MRP systems combine manufacturing functions such as purchasing, material, planning, and operations and MRPII systems coordinate manufacturing activities with other functional areas such as marketing, finance, and engineering.…”

“…Resource Module, Supply Chain and Distribution Module, Procurement Management Module, and Manufacturing Module (Gopaul, 2016). From a technical perspective, an ERP system comprises of modules usually intended to serve various organisations through a consolidated database (Kulikov et al, 2020). According to Bukamal and Wadi (2016), an ERP system has an outstanding ability to simplify business transactions, reduce non-value-added activities, and improve customer services; therefore, the system is popular and successful.…”

“…However, SAP systems are very complicated and are difficult to implement (Mutewedzi, 2015). The critical step in implementing SAP is the alignment of ERP processes with the organisation's processes (Kulikov et al, 2020).…”

“…Top management plays an essential role in the implementation of SAP, ensuring support and commitment from top management (Jaeger et al, 2020). It is vital to have support and approval from top management and allocate resources to the implementation project (Kulikov et al, 2020). However, if some critical resources are not available, the implementation could be seriously handicapped (Arachchi et al, 2017).…”