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216 CHAPTER 6 • PRoCEss TECHnology sTRATEgy
Note that these disadvantages of ERP are not so much concerned with the funda-
mental logic of integrating enterprise-wide information systems. Rather, they are con-
cerned with the sheer difficulty of making it happen. This leads some authorities to
argue that the disadvantages of ERP systems are not really disadvantages. The question
is really whether any individual firm has the money, time and talent to exploit the
advantages of ERP.

Lessons from ERP
When ERP is implemented successfully it has the potential to significantly improve
performance. This is partly because of the, very much enhanced, visibility that infor-
mation integration gives, but it is also a function of the discipline that ERP demands.
Yet this discipline is itself a ‘double-edged sword’. On one hand it ‘sharpens up’ the
management of every process within an organisation, allowing best practice (or at least
common practice) to be implemented uniformly through the business. No longer will
individual idiosyncratic behaviour by one part of a company’s operations cause disrup-
tion to all other processes. On the other hand, it is the rigidity of this discipline that
is both difficult to achieve and (arguably) inappropriate for all parts of the business.
Nevertheless, the generally accepted benefits of ERP are as follows:
● Greater visibility of what is happening in all parts of the business
● Forcing the business process-based changes that potentially make all parts of the
business more efficient
● Improved control of operations that encourages continuous improvement (albeit
within the confines of the common process structures)
● More sophisticated communication with customers, suppliers and other business
partners, often giving more accurate and timely information
● Integrating whole supply chains, including suppliers’ suppliers and customers’
customers
An important justification for embarking on ERP is the potential it gives to link up
with the outside world. For example, it is much easier for an operation to move into
internet-based trading if it can integrate its external internet systems into its internal
ERP systems. However, as has been pointed out by some critics of the ERP software
companies, ERP vendors were not prepared for the impact of e-commerce and had not
made sufficient allowance in their products for the need to interface with internet-
based communication channels. The result of this has been that whereas the internal
complexity of ERP systems was designed only to be intelligible to systems experts, the
internet has meant that customers and suppliers (who are non-experts) are demanding
access to the same information.

example legacy versus fintech in financial services 7
Fintech is the term that commentators in the financial service sector use to refer to innovation
in all types of financial services. As Carolyn Wilkins, Senior Deputy Governor of the Bank of
Canada, announced, ‘It is no exaggeration to say that we are in the midst of a defining moment for
innovation in financial services. Some expect that new technology will cause a complete disruption
of traditional financial institutions, giving businesses and households access to more convenient and

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