Implementing an ERP System in a Multi-business Company in India:The Case of MBPEL

Pune Based Marc & Brown Principles Enterprise Limited (MBPEL) is a flagship company of the 60+-year-old Marc & Brown Group (MB group). The company had a pan-India presence and also well established in Middle East and Africa. The MB group comprised over 20,000 employees and was present in more than 20 sectors. The company had 21 regional offices in India, and, employed over 7,000 people. Different business divisions of MBPEL were using different processes resulting in issues relating to uniform policies, procedure implementation, reorientation of employees transferred from one division to another, etc. MBPEL had always used home-grown systems, where the information and processes were handled in silos. To add to this, it was imperative to handle the changes in business laws and regulatory framework required greater control and standardization of business processes across all its divisions. The purpose of this case is to understand the importance of standardizing its business process in construction industry which are typically complex in nature due to its global existence. The journey described in the case has been one of the best projects as far as ERP implementation methodologies are concerns because of its clear business objectives, and the organization strategy to work around three important dimensions, i.e., people, processes and Information Technology (IT) platform.