An ontology-based multi-agent virtual enterprise system (OMAVE): part 1: domain modelling and rule management

Over the past years, Thai small and medium enterprises (SME) had to deal with changing economic situations and had to adapt to new technological evolutions, representing new challenges as well as new opportunities for doing business. With the forthcoming ASEAN Economic Community 2015, Thai SMEs will face an increase in competition and, as a possible solution, may have to adopt new information systems to remain competitive. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify the factors facilitating or hindering the adoption of cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems by Thai SMEs and to (2) provide an analysis of the adoption and the implementation strategies. The research is based on a qualitative exploratory approach, relying on semistructured interviews with IT experts, IT managers and business owners to collect data, and on the template analysis method to analyze the data. Respondents have identified trust, cost control and the security of financial data as the most important factors for the adoption and selection of on-premise and cloud-based ERP systems. The adoption rate of cloud-based solutions appears to be low and local ERP providers face the challenge to discover the reasons why business owners do not adopt their solutions. First generation business owners prepare the transition to the next generation and want to better organize and structure how their businesses operates, but their own confidence in the technology still limit the adoption pace and the decision process. SMEs' strategies usually consist in a step-by-step implementation, consolidating the changes and readjusting the goals in case of setbacks, minimizing the consequences. ERP providers' strategies focus on new offerings with enhanced features and slowly integrate change management and extended support. Keywords: ERP, Cloud Computing, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME), Mobile App, Open Source, Organizational Innovation Adoption model.

The implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems has become a priority for many organizations, including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the industrial sector. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Apache Ofbiz ERP implementation on performance of Renyah.an MSMEs. This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach to gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of ERP implementation on Renyah.an MSMEs Primary data was collected through interviews with Renyah.an's MSME owners and staff involved in ERP implementation. In addition, secondary data is also used to support the analysis. In this research, several indicators of organizational performance are used, including operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and business growth. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of Apache Ofbiz ERP has a significant positive impact on the organizational performance of Renyah.an MSMEs. In terms of operational efficiency, ERP systems can increase productivity, reduce operational costs, and improve data accuracy. In addition, ERP implementation also has an impact on customer satisfaction by improving customer experience and increasing response time to customer requests. In terms of business growth, ERP implementation facilitates business expansion, better inventory monitoring, and more accurate data analysis for decision making.

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in industrial districts havehistorically provided an important alternative to the advantages achieved through alarger production scale in the context of the Italian industrial system. However, in recentdecades uniform growth in SME networks has come to an end. The industrial districtmodel has often proved to be rather a ‘stage’ in one of the possible different paths ofindustrialisation. In fact, small firms are evolving towards a scenario characterised byincreasing competition and massive introduction of ICT. These changes have acceleratedthe search for new organisational forms that allow SMEs facing the growing complexityof the business environment. Furthermore, it is of paramount importance to sustain local SME networks especially during period of economic crisis. One possible way may be tosupport the virtualisation potential of SME networks and encourage their rapid evolutiontoward the Virtual Enterprise (VE) model order to seize new development opportunities.Despite increasing academic interest toward the VE, there are a number of key issues notaddressed by the current literature such as the possible form VEs may assume and the lackof empirical investigations. This paper tries to fill these voids. Two are the main objectivesof this paper. Firstly, to analyse the possible models that VE may assume when participatedby SMEs and, secondly, to fill the existing empirical research gap in this field. In order toachieve the above objectives a comprehensive literature review on the subject has been firstcarried out. Subsequently, an exploratory questionnaire survey has been implemented ina SME network located in the eastern area of Naples city. The literature review allows theidentification of two extreme VE forms: the Hierarchical and the Holarchical models. Theresult of the questionnaire survey suggests that the network analysed may be a potentialpool of VEs in which temporary relationships oriented to specific projects are continuouslyformed and reformed. Finally, the comparison between literature review and surveyfindings allows establishing that VEs created in that network may assume a hybrid formbetween the two extreme models identified.

The adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) could offer significant benefits in terms of managing the resources and support business function. However, the traditional ERP systems are quite expensive and have complex procedures for the adoption especially for SMEs. With the introduction of cloud-based ERP systems that have similar functionalities with traditional ERP, SMEs are now able to adopt this system. However, the adoption of cloud ERP remains low and question arise on how to encourage SMEs to adopt this system. Drawing from management and Information Systems literature, this study proposes and conceptual framework for cloud ERP adoption among SMEs. Using archival analysis approach and technology-push and demand-pull as the theoretical background, this research has come out with six main themes namely: firm qualities, internal pressure, external pressure, technology features, organizational readiness and external support. This paper will give significant benefits to ERP vendors to understand their potential buyer’s behaviour towards the adoption of cloud ERP.

Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are vary in many aspects such as size and operation. The adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system must be regarded as it occurs in a different environment within which the SMEs operates and should not be equated to a larger organization's business routine. An ERP system holds promising future if it is well implemented regardless the size of the organization. This research focused on the view point of the Malaysian SMEs towards the adoption of ERP system. Grounded from the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, the findings are categorized qualitatively as a benchmark for technology adoption studies. Unstructured interview in six SMEs with a case study in two selected SMEs were done in two types of SMEs industry. A thematic analysis technique was used to analyze the data. This paper reports on the analysis result and reveals some isolated issues of factors affecting ERP adoption among SMEs in Malaysia. The results also provides an indication on what should be the strategy for determining the right specification in adopting an ERP system successfully especially in Malaysian SMEs.

Selecting “The Best” ERP system for SMEs using a combination of ANP and PROMETHEE methods

Implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems often aims to improve the companies’ processes in order to gain competitive advantage on the market. Especially, small companies need to integrate systems with suppliers and customers; hence, ERP systems often become a requirement. ERP system implementation processes in small enterprises contain several risk factors. Research has concluded that ERP implementation projects fail to a relatively high degree. Small companies are found to be constrained by limited resources, limited IS (information systems) knowledge and lack of IT expertise in ERP implementation. There are relatively few empirical research studies on implementing ERP systems in small enterprises and there is a large gap in research that could guide managers of small companies. This paper is based on a case study of three small enterprises that are planning to implement ERP systems that support their business processes. The aim of the paper is to identify the risk factors that can arise when implementing ERP systems in small enterprises. The analysis shows that an ERP system is a good solution to avoid using many different, separate systems in parallel. However, the study shows that it is challenging to integrate all systems used by suppliers and customers. An ERP system can include all information in one system and all information can also easily be accessed within that system. However, the implementation could be a demanding process as it requires engagement from all involved people, especially the managers of the companies.

Commercial ERP Systems and User Productivity: A Study Across European SMEs

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption involves initiating the appropriate business process changes and information technology upgrades to enhance enterprise performance, quality, costs, flexibility and responsiveness. While the number of articles in ERP implementation is substantial, limited attention has been given to the ERP adoption by Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Motivated by the organisation fit of the ERP concept, we propose a structured methodology for ERP system evaluation and selection which can be easily used by SMEs, as it provides the necessary information for their decision-making process. This article describes the ERP evaluation and selection methodology followed by an industrial Greek company. The proposed methodology consists of a framework built upon six imperatives, which generate a number of ERP objectives materialised through a set of levers. The analysis results in the identification of tailor-made ERP objectives, which, in turn, are used in a multiple criteria model as part of the decision-making process to select, from a list of alternatives, a suitable ERP vendor.

Based on the large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the United States, their increasing interest in enterprise-wide software systems and their impact on the US economy, it is important to understand the determinants that can facilitate the successful implementation and assimilation of such technology into these firms' daily operations. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the top management team in SMEs that have adopted and implemented commercial open-source enterprise systems and to investigate the impact assimilation has on firm performance. Our results represent a significant contribution to understanding the use of open-source enterprise resource planning (ERP) software for SMEs, as these data are not publicly available. Findings suggest that (1) the information technology (IT) experience and knowledge of the team and the absorptive capacity of the SME play a significant role in the ability of the firm to assimilate open-source ERP systems, (2) assimilation mediates the role between customisation and operational performance and (3) the more aligned the open-source ERP system to the SME's business processes, the greater the opportunity to assimilate the technology and achieve higher levels of performance.

Most enterprise systems (ES) solutions have evolved with the technological factors of flexibility, modularity and integration embedded to fit both business and information technology (IT) requirements for many organizations. Recently, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and business-to-business electronic business (e-business) have received much attention within both the practitioner and academic communities, especially concerning the technological factors. The purpose of this study is to develop a framework that could be used to investigate a possible relationship between ERP and other ES systems with the factors of flexibility, integration and modularity for e-business. In the 1990's, ERP systems were introduced to fulfill some of the technological requirements across functional areas within a corporate boundary. Moreover, with the exponential growth of Internet technology and the emergence of e-business, the focus of ERP systems has changed from an integrated functional focus within an organization to one reaching outside the organization throughout the value chain system. It is expected that an ERP system can facilitate an e-business effort of an organization. In order to serve as a platform for e-business, an ERP system must also be able to be extended to support a range of external constituents for a firm. The process must involve an investigation of ERP technological factors along with any other emerging ES solution of the firm. This study investigates ERP and other ES systems for e-business with a focus on the technological factors of flexibility, integration, and modularity.

Sasukun Cafe is one of the micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in the culinary sector with an operational scale that continues to grow. As the business grows, this café is faced with a number of managerial challenges such as inefficient management of raw material stocks, recording sales transactions that are still done manually, and inaccuracies in the bookkeeping system. This condition has the potential to reduce operational efficiency and accuracy, as well as hinder data-driven decision-making processes. To overcome these problems, this program aims to implement an Odoo-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system as an integrative solution to unify all business processes in one centralized and automated information system. The method used in this program is a case study with a qualitative descriptive approach. The implementation process includes identifying business needs, installing and configuring key Odoo modules such as Inventory, Sales, Purchasing, and Accounting, migrating initial data from legacy systems to the Odoo platform, training operational staff, and evaluating post-implementation system performance. The results of the implementation show that the use of Odoo ERP is able to significantly increase operational efficiency by up to 35%, minimize errors in stock recording and financial transactions, and speed up the process of preparing financial and managerial reports. In addition, this ERP system also provides convenience for management in conducting accurate real-time data analysis. The conclusion of this program states that the implementation of Odoo-based ERP systems has proven to be effective, flexible, and affordable in increasing the competitiveness and operational professionalism of MSMEs, especially in the food and beverage sector. This implementation also provides a strong foundation for MSMEs to develop sustainably in the digital era.

Research and commercial efforts are currently addressing challenges and providing solutions in cloud computing. Business models are emerging to address different use case scenarios of cloud computing. In this paper, we present the evaluation of a virtual enterprise (VE)-enabled cloud enterprise architecture for small medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) against EC2 pricing model to prove that our pricing model is more suitable for small medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). This model is based on the realization that it is not economically viable for SMMEs to acquire their own private cloud infrastructure or even subscribe to public cloud services as a single entity. In our VE-enabled cloud enterprise architecture for SMMEs, temporary co-operations are created to realize the value of a short term business opportunity that the partner SMMEs cannot (or can, but only to a lesser extent) capture on their own. The pricing model obtained from our proposed business model shows the benefits that are derived from using the VE cloud model over subscription to a public cloud as a single business enterprise. The pricing structure of our VE cloud model is up to 17.82 times economical compared to the equivalent Amazon EC2 instance type pricing model.

Although numerous case studies have determined the critical success factors (CSFs) for enterprise resource planning (ERP) during adoption and implementation stages, empirical investigations of CSFs for ERP in post-implementation stages (after going live) are in scarcity. As such, this study examined the influence of top management support and vendor support as CSFs on the post-implementation stage of ERP systems in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) established in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). A total of 177 end-users of ERP systems from two manufacturing organizations in KSA that had implemented on-premises ERP systems were involved in this study. Data gathered from structured questionnaires were analyzed using SmartPLS3 and SPSS software programs. The regression analysis was performed to assess the correlations among the variables. Out of seven CSFs identified from the literature, the impact of top management support was significant on user training, competency of internal Information Technology (IT) department, and effective communication between departments, but insignificant on continuous vendor support. Meanwhile, continuous vendor support had a significant influence on continuous integration of the system, but insignificant on user interfaces and custom code. The study outcomes may serve as practical guidance for effective post-implementation in ERP systems. Referring to the proposed research model, ERP post-implementation success in KSA was significantly influenced by top management support, whereas continuous vendor support displayed a substantial impact on the continuous integration of ERP systems.

This paper discusses the data security issues and concerns that are prevalent when organizations are moving their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems to the cloud. Cloud computing has reinvented how organizations conduct business and has enabled them to innovate and compete in a dynamic environment through new and innovative business models. The growing popularity and success of the cloud has led to the emergence of cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ERP systems, a new alternative approach to traditional on-premise ERP systems. Cloud-based ERP has a myriad of benefits for organizations. However, infrastructure engineers need to address data security issues before moving their enterprise applications to the cloud. Cloud-based ERP raises specific concerns about the confidentiality and integrity of the data stored in the cloud. Such concerns that affect the adoption of cloud-based ERP are based on the size of the organization. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) gain the maximum benefits from cloud-based ERP as many of the concerns around data security are not relevant to them. On the contrary, larger organizations are more cautious in moving their mission critical enterprise applications to the cloud. A hybrid solution where organizations can choose to keep their sensitive applications on-premise while leveraging the benefits of the cloud is proposed in this paper as an effective solution that is gaining momentum and popularity for large organizations.