Selection of ERP System Using QFD Approach: A Pilot Study From Turkey

Abstract

Today companies face the challenge of increasing competition, expanding markets and rising competition. Many organizations seek to improve their competitiveness by utilizing advanced information technology, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. Selection of appropriate ERP system is a vital decision for any enterprise in this intense competitive environment. The selection process is complicated since complexity of ERP systems and too many alternatives. Requirements analysis of a software system like ERP is often considered to be one of the most important steps in the software selection process. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a methodology to translate customer requirements into the final product or service characteristics. In spite of successful applications of QFD in familiar fields such as product planning, education quality and service quality, the usability of QFD in the selection of software systems have been seen in only few studies. The purpose of the study is to determinethe most important technical attributes of the ERP systems from the end - users' perspective using QFD methodology. The developed framework integrates ERP characteristics obtained from vendors in the market and the list of customer requirements by taking into account the company profile and strategic selection criteria. The solution proposed in this study will support decision makers to manage the early stages of ERP selection according the company's needs.