ENTERPRISE SYSTEM POST-IMPLEMENTATION USE OF SALES PROCESSES BY GREEK SMES

摘要

This study explores which sales best practice business processes are used and carried out with packaged enterprise systems (ESs) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The practices of two samples of Greek SMEs, which use two different ESs (ERP, CRM, B2B e-commerce, and business intelligence applications), are qualitatively analyzed from the implementers' perspective. In several cases, the examined detailed sales subprocesses are not used and/or are not carried out with the ES, even after many years of ES operation. Such deficiencies are observed in sales order and quotation subprocesses, such as customer credit control, product costing, stock availability check, and order confirmation, as well as in sales forecasting and budgeting, CRM, B2B e-commerce, business intelligence, and sales order workflow implementation. The most frequent principal causes of non-use of ES-implemented processes are the lack of knowledge and appropriate structure of the companies, a particular business culture, which prevents best practice process use, and the lack of systematic business rules. An implication of the study is that the examination of the use of detailed processes, in connection with the corresponding ES implementation, should make part of a process and ES use maturity assessment in SMEs.