Recently, when I walked into my local grocery store, a huge cloud of dust and loud drilling noises greeted me. Beyond the haze, there was that familiar sign that we have all read if we've ever driven a car on a highway or visited any public place in our lifetime. There it was, that yellow sign with those dark letters in all-caps that spelled out “PARDON OUR PROGRESS.”

Nowadays, an effective ERP strategy is largely dependent on the timeliness and quality of information that you receive from suppliers, trading partners, and clients. An even bigger challenge is faced by organizations attempting to create a holistic, real-time view of all their enterprise information by combining multiple ERP systems and instances domestically and/or globally. Your ability to effectively integrate your business solutions and systems is critical to implementing business strategies.