Análise da utilização do Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) como ferramenta de integração dos processos e gerenciamento organizacional em companhias estaduais de saneamento básico

Abstract

Brazilian basic sanitation has undergone profound structural changes over the past years, requiring basic sanitation state agencies (CESB) to revise their working procedures. Thus, law #11.107/05 introduced new practical possibilities, such as the participation of private enterprises in the management of sanitation services by way of public bidding, thereby increasing competition in the sector, while law #11.445/07, commonly referred to as the “basic sanitation regulatory framework”, calls for the universalization of public services, economic efficiency and sustainability and administrative transparency, based on information systems and institutionalized decision-making processes. In response, CESBs have adopted a range of management practices and IT tools in order to improve their results. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems designed to maximize results are increasingly popular among companies around the world, and have been in use by private enterprises in Brazil since the mid-nineties and even by CESBs since the beginning of the current decade. ERP is associated not only with numerous advantages, but also with a number of problems compromising expected results. The main objective of the present study is to analyze the use of ERP systems by CESBs. Based on a review of the literature and a survey in combination with a case study of one of the 27 CESBs operating in Brazil, the study is exploratory and descriptive with regard to the objective, and quantitative-qualitative in its approach. The results show that ERP systems are not used at all hierarchical levels of the CESBs and do not cover the main processes and some of the support processes. ERP systems are most often used to support organizational operations and processes and executive tactical and operational decision-making processes. The main support processes include financial administration, accounting, logistics and staff management. Existing functionalities were found to ad here to these processes and, even in the presence of such restrictions, the assessment of the improvement to the management of CESB transactional processes was positive, revealing a congruence with the present reality of the basic sanitation state agencies.