ERP in agriculture: Lessons learned from the Dutch horticulture

Farming nowadays is a complex managerial task that imposes stringent requirements on farm management information systems. In other sectors, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are widely implemented to meet such requirements. This paper assesses the applicability of ERP systems in the agri-food domain by investigating the experiences of agri-food companies that already have implemented an ERP system. More specifically, the research has analyzed the drivers and barriers for adoption of ERP in the Dutch horticultural sector. The results show that the alignment of ERP with the specific characteristics and requirements of a company is a crucial challenge in order to capitalize the benefits of ERP. The study also shows that it is possible to deal with this challenge. The majority of the respondents (62%) is positive about of the match of the specific ERP solution with the company’s business processes during implementation. Most of these respondents have implemented a system that includes a sector-specific layer around a standard ERP solution. Moreover, it is concluded that a proper management of the orientation, selection and implementation processes is of crucial importance for a successful adoption.