Evaluating Mid-Level ERP Software

Abstract

To meet mid-level market demand for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) packages, major ERP software vendors have streamlined their products to provide features tailored to the needs of mid-sized organizations. With numerous alternatives available, the selection of the “best” ERP software package is frequently a difficult decision. Oftentimes, mid-sized organizations lack the necessary technical expertise to make such a decision. This study uses Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to analyze and compare the performance of several leading mid-level ERP packages. The DEA model connects costs (inputs) to capabilities/services (outputs) to evaluate the relative performance of individual software packages. Unlike most approaches, DEA does not require a set of pre-assigned weights for inputs and outputs and, thus, overcomes the deficiency introduced by using arbitrary weights. The findings of this study provide information technology managers and consultants a tool for non-subjective assessments of mid-level EPR packages.