Implementation Strategies for SAP R/3 in a Multinational Organization: Lessons from a Real-World Case Study

It is important for those in charge of implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to identify and understand the issues they face. Implementation Strategies for SAP R/3 in a Multinational Organization: Lessons from a Real-World Case Study provides readers with an instructive insight in the very complex process of ERP implementation in a global company. This book describes the issues, problems, and challenges of ERP execution as well as the strategies companies use to react to and resolve them successfully. The reader can focus on different types of issues – organizational as well as technical. It is a goldmine for instructors who can use the cases in different course settings and with different student audiences. Researchers and practioners will also find value in the detailed descriptions of challenges faced by companies such as Robert Bosch GmbH.

Dr. Chetan S. Sankar is the Thomas Walter Professor of Management at Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA. His research on improving engineering and business education by using research methodologies has been well recognized by the award of six National Science Foundation grants totaling $1.5 million. He brings first-hand knowledge of the real-world from outreach activities to enhance research and education experiences of students. He directs the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education Center for Business and his work has had significant impact on improving the higher-level cognitive skills of more than 10,000 engineering and 7,000 business students. He has published more than 60 articles in referred journals including the MIS Quarterly, Management Science, European Journal of Engineering Education, Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, Journal of STEM Education: Innovations and Research, IEEE Transactions on Education, Information Technology and Management, Journal of AMCIS, Journal of Engineering Education, Journal Creatividad Education Y Desarrollo, Project Management Journal, Decision Support Systems, The Academy of Management Executive, Engineering Management Journal, and the Journal of Global Information Technology Management. He was the third-place winner of the Society for Information Management 1990 Paper Award, first-place winner of the 1995 Decision Sciences Instructional Innovation Education Awards Program, the 1997 American Society for Engineering Education Instructional Unit Award, and 1999 American Society of Mechanical Engineering Curriculum Innovation Award. He has extensive experience in developing and publishing award-winning case studies based on issues faced by real-world businesses.

Dr. Karl-Heinz Rau is a full Professor at the Business School of the Pforzheim University, Germany, since 1992. He teaches MIS, Object oriented System-Analysis (OOA/OOD/Java), and Application Systems in Management Accounting. During 1988 to 1992 he was a professor of Business Information Systems at the University of Cooperative Education, Stuttgart. He was a consultant to IBM Germany during 1984 to 1988. He obtained his Dr. degree from the Tuebingen University during 1980 to 1984. He was a Member of Planning Staff at IBM Germany from 1976 to 1980. His University is one of the first ones to be associated with SAP University Alliance Program in Germany starting in 1992. Dr. Rau published a book in Business Planning and one in Office Automation, furthermore he wrote more than twenty research articles in journals and books in the area of information systems and management accounting. He is a coeditor of the ‘Gabler Wirtschaftsinformatik-Lexikon’ (‘Encyclopaedia of Business Information Systems’), and a coeditor of the book series ‘Praxis der Wirtschaftsinformatik’. Dr. Rau is a member of the ‘Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V.’ (Association of Computer Science).