Unfortunately, the authors do not use their pages well. The book meanders (even more than one might expect from a "novel"), the writing includes a definite Southeastern U.S. regional tone, and the editing is very poor (I spotted a number of grammatical errors and several instances where a sentence had been cut in editing and not repaired).

Overall, this is a sloppy piece of work. One might expect better from a major publisher, but...

I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

7 of 8 found the following review helpful:


Useful introductory tutorial disguised as a novel  Mar 01, 2000 By Alex Stewart
This book is presented as the ERP version of "The Goal", and it is true that it takes the form of a novel. However, it is not clear that the weakly developed fictional elements add or detract from the message. The case study, however, is useful, and overall this is a palatable way to get an introduction to the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning. Like most writing on ERP, it focuses on one software product, in this case, SAP R/3. However, it is not a disguised advertisement and should be useful for managers contemplating adopting any such system in their companies.

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:


Common Sense Look at ERP  May 09, 2000 By Lori Duncan
What steps an organization needs to consider and take before moving into an ERP environment is given so simply in this book. Jacobs and Whybark present the facts in such a way that anyone in an organization understands that ERP is not a magical cure for their ills. Yes, this book is written very much like "The Goal," yet one knows this from the start. Where is it written that such a book must be full of theories, processes and analogies that makes it boring and undigestable. I applaud Jacobs and Whybark for giving the business world an easy to understand and follow guideline for ERP.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:


Why ERP? well written....but boring!  Jan 30, 2002 By Jules
Overall, the book Why Erp? gave a good description on implementing SAP R/3 in a complicated manufacturing business. It provided a solid and concise understanding of the process of installing a SAP system to the average novice reader. This book emphasizes that it's not that simple to implement and integrate resources of an entire manufacturing process into one system. It involves lots of planning, patience, and asking the right questions on whether if SAP is right for your firm. Although I think this book was detailed enough to understand the outlying mechanics of ERP, I think that my ability to comprehend was delayed due to some of the technical jargon. This book would be helpful for experienced information systems administrators, but not for the average everyday Joe. It's like reading Japanese backwards!!! I would suggest to the authors of this book for it to be simplified even further to explain the details of ERP in way for the average reader to understand and absorb the basics of the system. In conclusion, if you're a manufacturing/operations geek...you will love this book!!!! =)

3 of 4 found the following review helpful:


Outstanding Introduction to the Enterprise Software Concept  Sep 06, 2005 By Daniel A. Joseph "RITMISProf"
I am a Professor in the Management Information Systems area and I use this book as a quick and relatively painless introduction for students who know absolutely nothing about the software that supports Integrated Business Systems. It is an excellent read for that purpose. It focuses on why Enterprise Systems are valuable for some companies, the dangers of blind adoption, the value and power of systems integration, and some of the costs associated with implementing these systems. Just as important, it does this in an interesting way. At least more interesting to my students, who are either dual majors in business administration and information systems or straight majors in some area of business administration. While the other reviewers are correct in their blistering reviews of the book from a technologist's perspective, the book is not written for technologists. As the title suggests, it is a primer and primers are written at the most elementary level.

I have not come across a better book for someone with no knowledge of Integrated Business Systems to learn quickly in 119 pages what Enterprise Systems are about.

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