Learn from ERP implementation: How a large chemical company integrated its systems in 20 months

ERP is an enterprise resource management system that manages a company's previously separate tasks and resources, such as finance, production, sales, and purchasing, into one system. The data follows the process of introducing ERP by a large domestic chemical company and summarizes why it was needed, how it was implemented, and what changed.

Why was ERP needed?

This company makes about 3,000 types of products in the petrochemical, processed products, and information and electronic materials sectors. It was difficult to see the entire company at a glance with the existing system that was optimized separately for each division.

In particular, there was a great need to accurately and quickly calculate profits and losses for each of the 40 business units. The financial settlement was completed in 5 business days, but the management settlement used to make internal management decisions took about 15 days. It was first reviewed in 1996, and considering the e-commerce environment of our clients, we decided that 2000 would be the right time to introduce it.

How did the construction proceed?

Over a 20-month period starting in November 2000, about 250 people, including about 100 key employees of the company and personnel from external consulting and IT companies, participated. We analyzed the current status of 960 business processes, redesigned 460 processes, and resolved 810 business issues.

If people do not change, the system is useless. Approximately 15,000 people received training in 36 lecture halls at 8 business sites, and the attendance rate was 98%.

For the first time as a domestic company that introduced ERP, we also ran parallel operations, running both the old and new systems for a month. Safety devices were put in place to ensure that work does not stop even if problems arise.

서론을 쓸 때는 질문 하나를 먼저 정해 두면 방향이 훨씬 빨리 잡히더라고요. 주제와 맞는 개념 정의를 한 줄로 정리해 두면 서론이 한결 단단해지는 것 같아요.

What led to success?

Data cites the strong will of top management, the participation of all employees, the ability to solve business innovation tasks of business departments, and the responsibility of the dedicated team as success factors.

As a result, 4 business divisions and 50 business units were grouped into one system, which later expanded to 10 overseas corporations. Scientific management planning based on key performance indicators has also become possible.

What role do security and IT organizations play?

Based on ERP, document centralization has also become possible by storing documents created by employees on a central server rather than on personal PCs. Although it is a manufacturing company with many industry-leading products, technical security was very important.

The company considered a policy that would actually be effective rather than a formal search bar, and scheduled a schedule with the message of security rather than surveillance. We gained cooperation from the staff by allowing an exception folder for capacity. If ERP stops, business becomes paralyzed, so I think we need to raise awareness that the IT organization is not just a simple operator, but also has a role in protecting the core foundation. The flow of information technology changing organizations is also covered in Information Society Theory.

How will the assignment explain how? Should I organize it?

If you write it in the order of introduction background, construction process, success factors, security and organization, and performance, the flow will be natural. Since the number of cases is large, it is easier to read if the scale is organized in a table.

The technical environment at the time of introduction was different from the present, so the meaning of the case can be better explained by comparing it with the latest trends such as cloud ERP. If you compare a case of failed introduction, the success factors become more clear.

Campus Down Editorial Department Summary · Review 2026-10-22 · Base material: Management information system case material. The system and figures may change, so please check again with the latest official data.