Enterprise resource planning: An e-entrepreneurial challenge

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) entrepreneurial venture challenge for the innovators was to develop an ERP database using standard generic database software within existing resources and available data at lowest cost in minimum time. The generic ERP database model so developed was completed as a part time task by rwo innovative entrepreneurs over twelve months for the Australian Department of Defense. They used standard generic database software, existing data, with no additional resources or external consultants. This action research was undertaken on a longitudinal basis by the two entrepreneurs networking closely with the many internal and external stakeholders. The Australian Department of Defense is a complex, high tech Australian Federal Govemme111 Department of around 90,000 employees. In 2008-09the Australian Department of Defense will spend more than $9.6 billion acquiring and sustaining militaty equipment and services, and will employ over 7,500 people in more than 40 locations around Australia and overseas (Department of Defense, 2009). This comprises the procurement of defense capability products (goods and services) and their support and mailllenance from almost every industry sect01; on a global basis. Hundreds of small to large enterprises are dependent on the Australian Department of Defense for such orders. The anticipation of the developers of the ERP database was that this entrepreneurial venture could not only help the Australian Department of Defense become an inclusive knowledge based/earning society, but subsequently provide an inexpensive database model for other organizations, large or small.