Supporting the module sequencing decision in the ERP implementation process-An application of the ANP method

The paper addresses the alignment between business processes and information technology in enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation. More specifically, we concentrate on one of the key decisions at the tactical alignment level: the decision on the implementation sequence of the ERP modules. Since the module sequencing problem involves a myriad of organizational and technical issues, connected to each other in networked manner, the analytic network process (ANP) methodology is applied. As a result of the study, we present first a general level conceptual framework to sequence ERP module implementations and expand the model to a more detailed level in a case study. The priorities for the implementation sequence of the ERP modules are determined in the case study. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.