Enterprise Resource Planning Integration and Performance of Safaricom Public Limited Company Kenya

In the wake of the 21st Century, there has been a great need for firms to restructure operations to adapt to the changing industry guidelines and emerging trends. Several organizations use an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for business operationsworldwide to enhance their organizational performance. The ERP system has distinct modules to aid different business processes. Various scholars have researched ERP system implementation and success. However, little research has been done on ERP integration and non-financial performance. This research focused on ERP system integration and non-financial organizational performance of Safaricom Public Limited Company (PLC) in Kenya. The study objectives were to establish the impact of integrating the financial module, procurement module, human resource module, and customer service module on the performance of Safaricom PLC. The study employed a cross-sectional survey research design.Additionally, the target respondents of the survey were the staff (4,839) at the head office across various departments, where a study sample of 357 was obtained by use of stratified sampling technique. The researcher used a semi-structured questionnaire to collect first-hand data that was analyzed using SPSS software. The researcher conducteda descriptive and inferential analysisto describe and determine the degree of relationship and influence between the independent and dependent variables. From the analysis findings, the four independent variables (human resource, procurement, financial, and customer service module) seemed to have a strong positive relationship, significant p-value, and positive impact with the dependent variable (organizational performance). However, the study recommended reviewing performance, staffing requirements, compensation, and staff training by Safaricom PLC HR function. It would also be prudent for the HR department to align itself with the objectives/goals of other departments, as this would greatly help them measure more accurately their business performance. The study recommended that Safaricom PLC needs to increase support towards the general effectiveness and efficiency of its financial module integration (timeliness, relevance, and reliability) for greater organizational performance for the financial department. Another recommendation was to incorporatea corporate support model and the basic disciplines of a learning organization and sensitization of customers and staff to achieve all the milestones of financial module integration. Research into the integration of the procurement module revealed that the management of Safaricom PLC should make sure that the procurement departmentsets clear procurement guidelines and complies with the set standards. In addition, services management should address procurement issues according to the set standards to benefit the entire organization through a bottom-up approach. The Safaricom PLC procurement department could also adopt a cross-culture to continuously improve, collaborate, and actively make strategic procurement informed decisions. Lastly, the study recommends that Safaricom PLC's customer service team collect customer feedback via a customer relations management feature in-built into the ERP system to build long-term customer relationships and hence, improve the organization's performance. The study also recommends that the ERP customer service interface be regularly upgraded and updated to generate reports that can be used to make informed decisions by the management.