Enterprise Systems have become the default support systems for business processes in commercial
organisations. Their promise of increased efficiency and effectiveness fits well with profit-based strategic
objectives, and can be linked directly to customer choice. The last fifteen years have seen extensive
implementation of Enterprise Systems in the University sector. While efficiency and effectiveness may be
important in this sector, they are not linked directly to customer choice – the concept of a customer is
complex, and choices may include many influences which are unaffected by administrative processes. Using
one Australian and one Danish University as examples, an analysis of the benefits from using Enterprise
Systems in Universities and in supermarkets is undertaken. There are some differences in the nature of those
benefits. More importantly, differences in links between those benefits and the effect on customer choice are
pronounced, with significant impacts for research and practical implications of Enterprise Systems.