The aim of this paper is to explore existing issues and challenges related to the implementation of ERP systems in Turkey in the way to Industry 4.0 from the point of view of ERP experts.

1. ERP-Related Issues and Challenges in Turkey
An Overview from ERP Experts
October 24-26, 2018/Ankara, Turkey
Gülay EKREN
Sinop University
gekren@sinop.edu.tr
Alptekin ERKOLLAR
Sakarya University
erkollar@sakarya.edu.tr
Birgit OBERER
Sakarya University
oberer@sakarya.edu.tr

2. Alptekin ERKOLLAR, Phd
Sakarya University, TURKEY
Faculty of Management, Department of Management Information Systems
erkollar@sakarya.edu.tr
Birgit OBERER, Phd
Sakarya University, TURKEY
Faculty of Management, Department of Management Information Systems
oberer@sakarya.edu.tr
Gülay EKREN, Phd Student
Sakarya University, TURKEY
Business Institute, Department of Management Information Systems
gulay.ekren@ogr.sakarya.edu.tr
Our Research Group

3. Introduction
● ERP systems
○ Selecting and implementing an ERP system; ERP implementation  should be well-
planned, as budget, duration; Requirements and business processes must be clearly
identified
○ Issues/Challenges 70% of the enterprises have successful implementation, 74% of them
over budget, %59 of them over schedule, spending on average 3.6% of their annual
revenue on ERP projects; Benefits  %78 of respondents realized benefits of ERP systems
like increased integration, availability of information, improved productivity and data
reliability, and better decision making (342 respondents; Panorama Consulting Solutions,
2017)
● The key factors for adopting ERP systems
○ outmoded legacy systems, globalization of businesses, primarily focus on process
standardization, national and international regulatory environments, trends towards
collaboration on software vendors

4. ERP Implementation: Issues and Challenges
● ERP implementation is a comprehensive and rigorous process
● Difficulties of ERP implementation (Helo et al., 2008; Lin, 2010; Dezdar & Ainin, 2011; Rajan & Baral, 2015;
Babaei et al., 2015 )
Technological issues Organizational issues Human-related issues
-Technological complexity,
-Compatibility,
-Standardization,
-Computers and network
connections.
-Organizational culture,
-Incompatible business
processes,
-The maturity of current
processes,
-Top management
commitment.
-Resistance to change,
-Training and user support,
-Communication with users,
-Project mismanagement.

5. Aim of the study
● The aim of this paper is to explore existing issues and challenges related
to the implementation of ERP systems in Turkey in the way to Industry
4.0 from the point of view of ERP experts.
● Research questions:
(1) Which ERP systems are generally preferred to use by the companies in Turkey?
(2) Which ERP implementation strategies are used by the companies in Turkey?
(3) What are the factors influencing the companies' ERP implementation success in Turkey?
(4) Are the ERP systems used by enterprises in Turkey strong enough to cover the needs of
businesses in the way to Industry 4.0?

6. Methodology
● 31 Turkish companies that have implemented ERP systems
● a small-scale web based survey (consists of a questionnaire, a few open-
ended questions)
● 64 experts were selected randomly and uniformly , 31 of them as titled
ERP experts were interested to contribute (48.4% response rate)
● The experts were selected via Linkedin network according to their
proficiency using the following three criteria:
(1) A staff engaging on a number of ERP implementation projects within five years,
(2) Key user of his/her company’s ERP system,
(3) Senior ERP Expert or ERP Specialist who is active worker for a company.

7. Some Statistics
Respondents’ Position f Type of Industry f
Director of Information
Technologies/CIO 6
Production/Manufacturin
g 7
ERP Project Manager 5 Construction 4
ERP Deputy Director/ERP
Manager 5
Retail
4
Senior ERP Specialist/ERP
Specialist 4 IT/Software/Electronic 4
Manager/Project
Manager/Software Manager 3
Fast Consuming
2
Process Development Manager 2 Textile 2
Finance Director/ERP Financial
Affairs 2
Machine/Chemical
2
Business Owner 1 Business services 1
General Manager 1 Automotive 1
Senior Project Specialist 1 Cooling services 1
Software Support Specialist 1 Cargo Handling 1
Total 31 Aviation 1
Energy 1
Total 31
Number of
employees f Annual revenue (TL) f
Less than 100 6 Less than 10 million 4
100-250 6 10 million-50 million 6
251-500 7 51 million-100 million 3
501-1000 4 101 million-1 billion 3
1001-5000 6 More than 1 billion 3
More than 5000 2 Total 19
Total 31
Employees included
ERP implementation f
Total cost of ERP
implementation (TL) f
Less than 25 11 Less than 500 thousand 6
26-50 8 500 thousand to below 1
million 6
51-100 4
1 million to below 3
million 4
101-200 5 3 million and above 3
More than 200 3 Total 19
Total 31

8. Sector Business Size Position
The ERP
System
#P1
Cooling
services
Large
Enterprise
Senior ERP
Specialist
IAS Canias
ERP
#P2
Business
services
SME Business Owner Nebim ERP
#P3 Textile
Large
Enterprise
Senior ERP
Specialist
Uyumsoft
WebERP
#P4 IT SME General Manager Oracle ERP
#P5 Manufacturing SME ERP Manager
Uyumsoft
WebERP
#P6 Production
Large
Enterprise
Process
Development
Manager
SAP ERP
#P7 Production SME CIO CPM ERP
#P8
Cargo
Handling
Large
Enterprise
ERP Manager Oracle ERP
#P9 Production SME
Director of
Information
Technologies
IAS Canias
ERP
#P10 Software
Large
Enterprise
Senior Project
Specialist
Logo ERP
#P11 Retail
Large
Enterprise
ERP Manager SAP ERP
#P12 Construction
Large
Enterprise
Director of
Information
Technologies
IFS ERP
Sector Business Size Position
The ERP
System
#P13 Manufacturing SME ERP Manager Login ERP
#P14 Construction SME
ERP Project
Manager
SAP ERP
#P15
Chemical
Industry
SME
Director of
Information
Technologies
Workcube
ERP
#P16 Electronic
Large
Enterprise
ERP Manager
Uyumsoft
WebERP
#P17 Production
Large
Enterprise
ERP Project
Manager
IFS ERP
#P18 Machine SME
ERP Project
Manager
IFA ERP
#P19
Fast
consuming
Large
Enterprise
Manager SAP ERP
#P20 Textile
Large
Enterprise
Project Manager
IAS Canias
ERP
#P21
Fast
consuming
Large
Enterprise
Software
Manager
Uyumsoft
WebERP
#P22 Aviation
Large
Enterprise
ERP Specialist SAP ERP
#P23 Construction
Large
Enterprise
ERP Project
Manager
Freedom
ERP
#P24 Retail SME ERP Specialist Logo ERP
#P25 Electronic SME
Production
Manager
CPM ERP
the participants that responded open-ended questions

9. Results
● Type of ERP system Which ERP systems are generally preferred to use by the companies in
Turkey? (RQ1)
○ 55% of respondents implementing Global ERP systems (SAP ERP, IAS Canias ERP, IFS ERP,
Oracle ERP, Microsoft Dynamics AX, IFA ERP). On the other hand, 45% of respondents
implementing Native ERP systems (Logo ERP, Uyumsoft WebERP, Freedom ERP, CPM ERP,
Login ERP, Nebim ERP, Workcube ERP).
● Their ERP implementation strategy Which ERP implementation strategies are used by the
companies in Turkey? (RQ2)
○ 55% of participants reported that they ended up working with their legacy system and
started working with the new system (an ERP system). The others (45%) reported that they
continued to work with the legacy system while the new system was being built.

10. Results
● The reasons to use
their ERP system
(multiple options can be marked)
● The reasons
to use an ERP system
(multiple options can be marked)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
The legacy system that we use becomes unable to
meet our requirements
Our company's general policy/ the decision of top
management
Businesses using ERP are in-good state on the
market
We are in competition with other businesses and they
are using it
Intensive requests from our customers
Others (e.g. Make easier the follow-up of our
business processes)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Functionally, it is the most suitable system for us
Since it is the most used system in our sector
Others (e.g. since it is native software, because it is
cheaper, formerly taken before)
I took my friends' advice who used and enjoyed
My competitors use this system

11. Results
● Are they satisfied with their ERP system?
○ 55% of the respondents are pleased to use their company’s ERP system, 29% of them
are very pleased, 13% of them are undecided, and 3% of them are not satisfied.
● Are they recommendation their ERP system to other businesses?
○ 42% of respondents would recommend their company’s ERP system to other
businesses in the same sector, 39% of them definitely recommend, 16% of them are
undecided, and 3% of them do not recommend.

12. Results
● The factors influencing company’s ERP implementation success
○ Key considerations from respondents using global ERP systems
Factors affecting ERP implementation success (GLOBAL) Participants
1 User resistance on old habits, dependency on Excel (or legacy system) P1, P4, P6, P9, P14
2 Difficult to make an ERP culture P8, P14
3
Sharing common sense, difficult to create awareness and discipline among all
employees P8, P9
4 The experienced consultancy P11
5
Reengineering the processes for the new system, changing the way of doing
business P11, P14, P19
6 Cultural problems P12
7 Management of user trainings, lack of user trainings P14, P20
8 Setting up the team and key users P17
9 Need for qualified and experienced staff P22
10 Competing with many error screens P22
11 ERP vendor support P8

13. Results
● The factors influencing company’s ERP implementation success
○ Key considerations from respondents using native ERP systems
Factors affecting ERP implementation success (NATIVE) Participants
1 Well-planned project duration, lack of well-planned implementation steps P2, P10, P24, P25
2 End-user training with real-life data, key user training P2, P10
3 Lack of team work P3
4 Lack of senior management support, top management support P3, P5
5 Inadaptability, familiarity with ERP product P7, P10, P13, P21
6 User resistance P10, P15, P18, P21, P23
7 Having enough qualified staff P16
8 ERP support staff P24
9 Lack of common language with ERP vendor P25
10 Difficulties on the way we do business, difficulties in the execution of the two different systems P15, P25

14. Results
Are the ERP systems used by enterprises in Turkey strong enough to cover the needs of businesses
in the way to Industry 4.0?
○ Comments for Native ERP systems
NATIVE ERP Meeting Industry 4.0 Needs
Uyumsoft ERP «Our current ERP system does not have an infrastructure in accordance with Industry 4.0 (#P3, #P21)» ,«Uyumsoft
ERP can meet all requirements in the context of industry 4.0 (#P5)»
Workcube ERP «Our ERP system incorporates all necessary technologies related to Industry 4.0 and Digital Transformation. (#P15)»
Nebim ERP «Since the ERP system we use is open source, the desired integration (data input and output) can be made. Industry
4.0 applications can be supported using the data obtained from business intelligence and data mining (#P2)»
Freedom ERP «The system can be developed to meet industry 4.0 needs; maybe 40%. However, it cannot be as good as global ERP
systems that are much better and fully integrated. (#P23)»
CPM ERP «not meets, therefore it needs adaption (#P7)»
Logo ERP «If you can do big data analysis, if you are using cloud computing, your integration types are healthy and rational, if you
have established the IoT and security steps on a firm basis, welcome to industry 4.0 ... (#P10)», «Can meet most of
them. But it needs to be improved. (#P24)»

15. Results
● Comments for Global ERP Systems
GLOBAL ERP Meeting Industry 4.0 Needs
SAP ERP «Definitely meets. The ERP system we are using is very suitable for data exchange with external systems. Therefore,
it is an appropriate ERP system for industry 4.0 (#P14)», «….But if the robots in the enterprise are not integrated
with algorithmic-related decision support systems in the existing ERP system, we cannot talk about the industry 4.0
(#P11)» «Additional improvements were made, as our company’s existing system did not meet directly (#P6)»
Oracle ERP «With all the necessary functions, it is possible to get effective results if the right steps are taken in the
implementation process. (#P4)», «Developing and improving our ERP processes has been our first target to develop
methods that will minimize the dependence on individuals. In this way, positive results such as reducing user errors,
adaptation rate of new personnel to processes, labor saving, use of saving labor force in more added value processes are
obtained. In addition, integration with various applications (other in-house applications, external customer applications,
banks, Revenue Administration, etc.) has resulted in less costly, smoother and more reliable structures. From this point
of view, we can say that the ERP system we use meets the Industry 4.0 requirements. (#P8)»
IFS ERP «The IFS ERP system we use globally introduces new versions and adapts to today's technologies. (#P17)», «yes,
meets. (#P12)»
IAS Canias ERP «It is partially compatible with Industry 4.0 processes, but the enterprise is far from industry 4.0. (#P20)», «The ERP
system meets, but our production infrastructure is not ready for this. Investment is required. (#P1)»

16. Conclusions
● According to findings of this study,
○ the factors influencing their ERP implementation success differs according to the
type of ERP system (as global or native)
○ 25 ERP experts who are implemented both global or native ERP systems in Turkish
companies reported that the most compelling factor influencing their ERP
implementation success is user resistance.
○ the other most notable factors that affect global ERP implementation success are
respectively; reengineering the processes for the new system, complicated to make an ERP
culture and sharing common sense, and user training.
○ the other most notable factors that affect native ERP implementation success are
respectively; lack of well-planned project duration and implementation steps, inadaptability,
familiarity with ERP product, end-user training, difficulties on the way doing business as well as
in the execution of the two different systems, and lack of senior management support.

17. References (is selected, not limited to)
● Babaei, M., Gholami, Z., & Altafi, S. (2015). Challenges of Enterprise Resource Planning implementation in Iran
large organizations. Information Systems, 54, 15-27.
● Helo, P., Anussornnitisarn, P., & Phusavat, K. (2008). Expectation and reality in ERP implementation: consultant
and solution provider perspective. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 108(8), 1045-1059.
● Lin, H. F. (2010). An investigation into the effects of IS quality and top management support on ERP system
usage. Total Quality Management, 21(3), 335-349.
● Rajan, C. A., & Baral, R. (2015). Adoption of ERP system: An empirical study of factors influencing the usage of
ERP and its impact on end user. IIMB Management Review, 27(2), 105-117.
● Panorama Consulting Solutions (2017). 2017 Report on ERP Systems & Enterprise Software. Retrieved
08.10.2018 from https://www.panorama-consulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/2017-ERP-Report.pdf.

19. ERP-Related Issues and Challenges in Turkey
An Overview from ERP Experts
October 24-26, 2018/Ankara, Turkey
Gülay EKREN
Sinop University
gekren@sinop.edu.tr
Alptekin ERKOLLAR
Sakarya University
erkollar@sakarya.edu.tr
Birgit OBERER
Sakarya University
oberer@sakarya.edu.tr