Guiding Digital Transformation in SMEs

The rapid development of digital technologies have created unprecedented opportunities for the industrial world. Enterprises, especially small and medium sized companies, struggle to successfully implement these technologies, and there is scant literature to support this endeavor. The authors hypothesize that ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) implementation, being a mature field, can guide digital technology implementation, taking into considerations the similarities. A systematic literature review was conducted to determine the critical success factors (CSF) of ERP implementation in SMEs that were used to derive guidelines for digital technology implementation case study. The results of the case study is another list of CSF that more correctly mirror the digital technology implementation needs. They are: “digitalization strategic plan”; “project sponsor/leader”; “commitment to the workplace”; “involvement of top management”; “reasonable project scope”; “compatibility with existing processes/systems”; “progressing with small steps”; “use of correct competencies”; and “involving the users”.