An investigation into the use of ERP systems in the service sector

Recently, service organizations have invested considerable resources in the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, even using solutions initially targeted for manufacturing companies. The aim of this paper is to get an insight into how services approach ERP implementation. A review of ERP projects, especially in services, completed by six case studies has been undertaken. We identify and discuss some characteristics of services, which are discriminatory regarding manufacturing. Main characteristics identified deal with complete or partial integration, product or customer orientation, importance of labour, human factor. In conclusion, trends to standardization and integration seen in the industrial sector are also growing in services, but in different ways.