Bridging the gap between organisational needs and ERP functionality

We argue that Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) installations are difficult to align to specific requirements of the enterprise because of the low level at which ERP functionality is described. We raise this level from a functional description to a goal-oriented one. We use SAP R/3 to illustrate this. A SAP goal expresses the task that a SAP function carries out and abstracts away from the performance of this task. Since a SAP goal can be achieved in many ways, we introduce the notion of SAP strategies. We organise goals and strategies as a directed graph called a map. We illustrate the map with the Materials Management Module of SAP. In order to evaluate and compare the use of the map with the functional approach, we develop an evaluation framework. The evaluation and comparison are presented. The materials management map is then used to align the SAP module to the stores and purchase department of an academic institute. © 2000 Springer-Verlag London Limited.