Adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems is considered to be one of the most important technological and
organizational innovation in modem enterprises and SMEs, that promote knowledge diffusion, and sound business decision
making processes. Notwithstanding the importance of information and knowledge management, especially during periods of
crisis, most small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) still underestimate the application and the dynamics of Business
Intelligence in their decision-making processes when adopting and implementing ERP systems and their marketing oriented
subsystems such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM). In this paper ERP systems adoption and implementation by
SMEs in the region of Western Macedonia is examined. Special attention is given to the critical factors affecting adoption of
ERPs by SMEs and the business intelligence potential of implementing and using ERP during a period of crisis. The factors
identified are related with the economic and organizational characteristics of the SMEs surveyed. Our results indicate that
although SMEs recognize the advantages and benefits gained by the application of these systems, especially in managing and
summarizing heterogenous data, still the business intelligence capabilities of ERP systems are underutilized, as managers do not
take advantage of the knowledge and experience gained from using them. The paper concludes with proposals for further
research on the implementation of ERP systems and the expansion of business intelligence usage by SMEs