The document discusses a case study of ERP implementation at Omantel, the main telecommunications company in Oman. It examines factors like stakeholder consultation, vendor selection, project management, and training that impacted the success of the ERP implementation project. The ERP system introduced significant changes and transformed how Omantel operates. While some employees struggled with using the new system, most felt it improved their jobs. The case study found that stakeholder involvement and transparency throughout all stages of the project were important for the successful implementation of the new ERP system at Omantel.

1. CAT3 PPT
TOPIC:- ERP implementation in Omantel: a case study
NAME:- Jai Shankar Rai
ADMN NO:- 19SCSE1010297
NAME:- Jatin Dutt Gaur
ADMN NO:- 19SCSE1010229
NAME:- Karan Kumar
ADMN:- 19SCSE1010885
NAME:- Lav Patel
ADMN NO:- 19SCSE1010732
SUBJECT:- Enterprise Resource Planning (BTCS9607)
SECTION:- ELECTIVE SECTION-6

2. ABSTRACT
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems if successfully implemented bring about
competitive advantages. On the other hand, project failure could, in an extreme case, cause an
organisation to go out of business. Mapped against existing literature on ERP critical success
factors, this paper examines environmental factors that impacted on the adoption of ERP by
The Oman Telecommunication Company (Omantel). A case study methodology is used to
study perceptions of the ERP system implementation project in Omantel. —Many studies in
literature have shown the importance of ERP system in companies’ effectiveness, and this is
because ERP system have become one of the main prerequisites, a price of entry, and a strong
and integrated IT infrastructure for many companies enabling them to compete in the local and
global marketplace, and ensuring them to gain a competitive advantage in the global economy
particularly with the current e-business era. This study will investigate the critical success
factors (CSFs) that can play a role during the implementation process in Omani organizations
and will identify the critical success factors that affecting ERP system implementation success
during the three implementation stages which are pre-implementation stage, implementation
stage and post implementation stage. It is very important that experiences of ERP projects are
shared across countries and sectors.

3. INTRODUCTION
There are a wide variety of tools and systems that have been developed to enable organisations to become more
competitive, one of these tools is enterprise resource planning (ERP). ERP systems are all about ensuring that
operational systems being used by an organisation are fully integrated. The purpose of using ERP is to improve and
simplify the internal business processes, which typically requires re-engineering of current business processes (Huang
et al., 2004). The idea is to combine various systems into a single database (Payne, 2000). This approach will enable
the organisation to have a single view of its business by ensuring that systems that support different functionalities
within the organisation are combined (Kumar and van Hillegersberg, 2000). There are quite a few advantages of
adopting ERP as part of as an organisational strategy. For one, ERP systems support an organisation’s desire for
systems integration which means that organisations will not have to manage separate systems independently. In this
case, the organisation optimises its processes which then improves the entire supply chain process, and integrates
functionalities leading to increased transparency across the organisation. In most cases to continue to support this
optimisation, the organisation also develops sets of expert common capabilities. The result is that the organisation is
most likely to save on operational costs due to rationalisation and systems integration. It is expected that such savings
on operational costs will be transferred to lower costs for the customer. At the same time, the integration of systems
should lead to the provision of a more memorable experience for the customer as service provision becomes more
seamless. ERP systems can also empower employees by providing them with real-time data (Davenport, 1998). It is
also connected with greater job flexibility by providing a platform that enables the expansion of individual awareness,
creativity, and innovation. Overall, existing statistics suggest that 63 per cent of large ERP customers are of the
opinion that they do realise some major business benefits from their ERP implementations (Gould, 2004). ERP
systems are however key strategic resources for the majority of organisations. Their importance is demonstrated by
statistics which show that they usually comprise the largest segment of an organisation’s applications budget (Aloini
et al., 2007).

4. LITERATURE REVIEW
Many companies around the world commence implementing ERP systems in 1990s; the main reason behind the
implementation of ERP systems is to re-engineer business processes through a uniform information system
(Rajagopal, 2002.). During the mid of 1990s to 2000, around 30,000 companies worldwide, as a minimum, have
implemented ERP systems (Mabert et al., 2003). Companies worldwide have been spending $10 billion dollar per
year on ERP system (Yusuf et al., 2004). Since 1996 until 2003 there was a tremendous upward growth of ERP
systems, but in the last few years ERP systems seems to be forgotten and that lead to a significant drop in ERP
market. There are many success records of ERP systems implementation in many companies such as Cisco systems,
Eastman Kodak, Autodesk, IBM, Fujitsu Microelectronics, Panasonic, ChevronTexaco, and Tektronix. These
companies have achieved the expected benefits of ERP systems. For example, Autodesk Software Company used to
take two weeks to deliver an order to a customer but after ERP implementation it takes only 4 hours to deliver the
same order. Another example, ERP systems enabled Cisco to save large costs and improved their revenue which
makes the company able to reap a tremendous millions of dollars every year. ChevronTexaco improved its supply
chain management through ERP system and achieved a profit of $100 million every year. IBM’s R/3 implementation
was one of the largest success implementation in the world (Chen, 2001; Davenport, 1998; Turban et al., 2008;
Sheikh, 2003). On the other hand, there are also other companies experience failures in ERP systems, for instance Dell
Computer, FoxMeyer Drug, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Hershey Foods, and Mobil Europe, encountered large loss due to
ERP systems failure. For example, Dell computer anticipated that ERP systems fail to cope with their sales volume.
Therefore, Dell cancelled the ERP project and lost $115 million dollars. Another example, FoxMeyer Drug suffered a
loss of $100 million dollars and was bankrupt after ERP implantation (Chen, 2001; Davenport, 1998).

5. ERP system implementation in Oman:-
ERP system is growing progressively in Oman and the implementation of ERP system increasing rapidly
among many Omani sectors particularly in manufacturing sector. Many systems have been introduced and
implemented in Omani companies; however the ERP system is one of the popular systems among Omani firms.
Omani companies need to be prepared before initiating any ERP project in order to achieve optimum use of the
system and thus gain better business performance and successful ERP system project (OIT Report, 2013; Al
Hinai, Edwards, & LHumphries, 2013). In fact, the increasing number of manufacturing companies and the
competitive environment among many firms in Oman provides a large opportunity for ERP vendors to
penetrate Omani market. The information system market in Oman is constantly growing and it is a promising
marketplace, particularly with the continuous implementation of ERP systems in large companies as well as in
small and medium enterprises. Yet, it requires more attention from researchers and professionals (OIT Report,
2013). In fact, there are quite reasonable number of Omani companies implemented and used ERP systems
such as Bank Muscat, Khimji Ramdas, Oman LNG, Omantel, OTE Group, Oman Cement Company, Petroleum
Development Oman, Ahlibank, Suhail Bahwan group, Sohar Aluminum, Vale Oman, Oman Methanol
Company, Powertech Engineering, and many others. But on the other hand there are also many other
companies are reluctant to adopt ERP systems, and this is could be because of the failure records of ERP
systems in many international and local companies (SAP Forum, 2013). A case study has been conducted on
Omantel which examined seven critical success factors of ERP system implementation i.e. stakeholder
consultation, vendor selection, project management, stakeholder management and communication, training,
risk management, and system reengineering and software customization. The findings of the study show a
positive impact of ERP system on Omantel, which made a significant change in the way of doing business in
the company (Maguire et al., 2010). More than 30 large enterprises in Oman that are currently using ERP
system were all of them requested to complete the study survey.

6. The case study:-
The success or failure of a research exercise has been demonstrated to be directly related to the research
methodology adopted (Easterby-Smith et al., 1993; Yin, 1989). This particular study focused on how an
organisation behaved during a major exercise of systems interactions. For this reason, it became
imperative that this study was conducted using a research approach that emphasised both subjective and
contextual interpretation of events (van Strien, 1997). For this reason, we adopted a single case study
approach as the primary mode of research. It is imperative to highlight that the use of single source-case
studies is well represented in research (Eisenhardt, 1989). In this particular case, based on earlier work
by Yin (1989), the use of Omantel as a single case study is valid as it can be argued that within the
Omani context, due to the size of its operations, it is representative of the telecommunication industry.
Our main reason for choosing this approach was because our investigation was primarily directed at
studying current phenomena in a real world context (Yin, 1989). This approach has been used even
though it is not generally popular in project management. In particular, we mention the work of Jaafari
(2003), who suggests that creative-reflective models are most appropriate when studying complex
projects. Of particular relevance is the fact that this approach is heavily reliant on the competencies of
project management professionals. Omantel is the sole licensed operator in the Sultanate of Oman for
fixed line telephony. The company presently operates as a monopoly in the Public Switched Telephone
Network and Internet Service Provider markets. The company has a mobile subsidiary (Omanmobile)
which offers mobile services and operates as a duopoly with Nawras which is owned by Qatar
Telecommunication Company.

7. The government of Oman is the major shareholder of the parent company Omantel. Omantel has been
providing communication services for nearly four decades and currently, the number of people who are
employed in Omantel and its subsidiary Oman Mobile is about 2,600. The group achieved a profit of 80
Omani Rial (£108 million) by the end of 2006 (Omantel Financial Statements, 2006). Omantel
commissioned the ERP project for two major reasons. In the first place, the company sought to ensure
that it was strategically placed and ready for the anticipated liberalisation of the Omani
telecommunications industry. To achieve this, it has sought to upgrade its capabilities in terms of
network technologies that will support best practice controllable work flows (Al Wohaibi, 2006). The
second driver was a need by the organisation to position itself to be able to meet national development
requirements as identified by the United Nations (ESCWA, 2003). In February 2005, an agreement
between Omantel and Oracle, one of the leading global ERP providers (Huang et al., 2004) with about
14.5 per cent of market share (Jakovljevic, 2001) was signed, with the project being initiated
immediately. The project was planned to be completed in exactly 12 months after initiation. However,
the implementation process overran by about six months, with completion of all ERP package transfers
from the test environment completed in June 2006. The overrun was primarily driven by a limited
number of IT/IS staff within Omantel possessing necessary Oracle integration expertise. This caused
major communication problems between Omantel staff and the technical team from Oracle (for example
in explaining systems architecture of existing legacy systems). There was also limited in-house expertise
within Omantel on Oracle products. This meant that Oracle’s initial contract to focus solely on
implementation was soon expanded into a consultancy role.

8.  The findings obtained from the case study are discussed and analysed in this section, and combined into themes. These
findings (not determined directly from this case study) are mapped against earlier discussed critical success factors that
impact on ERP systems implementations (Finney and Corbett, 2007; Nah et al., 2003):
 . stakeholder consultation;
 . vendor selection;
 . project management;
 . stakeholder management and communication;
 . training;
 . risk management;
 . system re-engineering and software customisation.
 The introduction of the new ERP system is the most significant change within Omantel since the drive to liberalise the
Omani telecommunications industry commenced. These new systems have the potential to deliver significant benefits to
the organisation. They are also expected to fundamentally transform the way Omantel delivers services to all of its
customers. Ultimately, it is the first major step the organisation has taken in readiness for the full liberalisation of the
telecommunications industry in Oman. Unlike the more chaotic strategic alignment approach adopted by NITEL (Ojiako
and Maguire, 2006) which led to poor customer perception (Onwumechili and Okereke-Arungwa, 2003), the findings
indicate that the impact of the ERP system on Omantel is considered in a more positive light. For example, a majority of
the company’s employees were of the opinion that the newly introduced systems had made a considerable difference to
their jobs. It is however important to highlight that overall evaluation of the performance of the system still raises
concern. We show that just over half of employees sampled felt that the new system was easy to use. This point reinforces
the need to address employee training as a matter of urgency. At the same time, it reiterates that the effects of earlier
failure of management to engage with employees during system design is still lingering.

9. CONCLUSION
ERP is no longer a western European or North American issue. By its very nature its implementation is complex and far-
reaching. There are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong. Its multinational nature means that further research should
be undertaken in a range of countries to identify the political, cultural, and behavioural repercussions of implementation. The
scope and complexity of ERP means that any opportunity to gain insights from this system development process should be
grasped with both hands. We do not have all the answers with regard to this process and so any way the process can be
facilitated should be made available to a wider audience. This research has examined the key environmental factors that have
impacted on the adoption of ERP by a large organisation in Oman. It highlighted the implementation of strategic systems that
would transform the capabilities of the company at a time of major change within the sector. There has been a dearth of
research with regard to ERP implementation with Oman. There has been some research in the Middle East in the area of ERP
but the fact that an internal member of staff undertook the interviews meant that fur [...] study? Their insight into internal
strategies and documentation was made available and this added to the richness of the research. This research has also shown
how important it is to view ERP implementation as a strategic operation for the organisation at every stage. Adopting a
stakeholder involvement philosophy at an early stage of development paid dividends for Omantel. This openness seems to
have facilitated an effective system development process that, in turn, led to a successful implementation. This particular
investigation has highlighted the benefits that can accrue from a commitment to full consultation and transparency
throughout the various stages of ERP implementation. During any large system development there is a temptation for the
various stakeholder groups to be secretive about the scope of the project and their roles within it. However, this can often
have serious consequences in relation to areas such as system testing. This crucial area can only be wholly addressed if
rigorous testing takes place – and this will only occur if there is a united effort to provide the requisite test data for the
various processes and elements of the system. Many organisations underestimate the organisational impact of ERP
implementations. Even the timing of the implementation can have adverse effects on various parts of the organisation or
strategic partners, i.e. customers and clients. Viewing the consultation process as important also allowed Omantel to collect
strategic intelligence that would help with the risk management that should always underpin any ERP implementation. The
critical aspect of vendor selection was based on Oracle’s commitment to make great efforts to understand Omantel’s core
business. However, probably more important in the longer term was Oracle’s ability to demonstrate that it had the
infrastructure, experience and reputation to align with Omantel’s vision and business objectives.