An AHP-Based Analysis of the Cost of ERP Modification

The modification of ERP systems and adaptation of business processes is widely recognized as complicated and expensive during implementation and post implementation. While there is research focusing on the classification and impact of different ERP modification strategies, research addressing the cost implication of ERP modifications is still lacking. In this paper, we look at existing literature to classify ERP modification strategies, and then we focus on the issue of evaluating the relative cost of different strategies. We gather the opinion of experts in ERP implementations about the relative cost of alternative strategies using an AHP-based online questionnaire. Based on the results of the data collection, we build cost functions to compare the relative cost of alternative strategies. Our approach represents a first step in quantifying the relative cost of different ERP implementation strategies and can be exploited in decision-making problems related to ERP change and evolution.