3 Re-read the ‘Operations in practice’ example, ‘The ERP for a chicken salad sandwich’.

The company on which this example is based found it difficult to implement its ERP system. ‘It was a far bigger job than we thought, according to the company’s operations director, ‘We had to change the way we organised our processes so that they would fit in with the ERP system that we bought. But that was relatively easy compared to making sure that the system integrated with our customers’, suppliers’ and distributors’ systems. Because some of these companies were also implementing new systems at the time, it was like trying to hit a moving target. Why do you think that integrating an ERP system with those of suppliers and customers is so difficult?