Fuzzy-based framework for enterprise resource planning system selection

The popularity of enterprise resource planning is globally increasing for being the magical word to integrate and automate all areas of business operations. However, many organizations are still having hard times to select the proper ERP package. Selection of an ERP system is a crucial decision since implementing ERP is complex, very expensive and time-consuming. Furthermore, the problem of ERP system selection was classified as a complex multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem due to the multiplicity of conflicting criteria that need to be evaluated in making the selection decision. The study started by determining the ultimate evaluation criteria and business goals of ERP, and then defined 185 sub-criteria and attributes for evaluating ERP packages. The study proposed a comprehensive framework for the process of ERP system selection that uses fuzzy logic as a method to deal with the ambiguous and conflicting opinions of the decision makers. In addition, intelligent rule chaining was constructed to reduce the number of rules used for evaluation. At last, a real-world case study for an Egyptian garments manufacturer was conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed framework. The study found out that applying ERP systems in a manufacturing environment needed special industrial requirements that may lead to ERP failure in case of selecting the improper ERP package using the traditional selection techniques.