An ERP implementation needs to be thoroughly planned with a great deal of care. Then, once all is in place and the critical paths are identified, rapid implementation is one key to success. Through our experience we've identified 5 Key Steps of ERP Implementations that should be in the forefront of your implementation project.
Step 1
The Implementation site needs to have a full time Project Manager. ERP implementations are important enough to warrant at a minimum, one full time person to manage the project.
Step 2
Internal and External resources must be assigned and have adequate time to successfully complete their assigned project tasks. Implementing an ERP system takes a good amount of time and effort from the people within the company. This project is additional work on top of the tasks that people currently are responsible for performing on a day-to-day basis. If the implementation is constantly put aside to do “important” day-to-day work, the schedule will slip and the project risks failure. The question on priorities should not be an “either/or” question. Work and task planning must take into account the increased time demands of the project for all participants.
Step 3
Document the implementation procedure. It is imperative for companies to document their current processes "as is" and reflect the re-engineering effort in a documented "to be" process. This approach will maximize the input from company resources and bring the need to revamp legacy practices to the forefront.
Step 4
Provide training. Companies often overlook the importance of training in enabling the success of enterprise implementation. Training should be delivered in stages.
At first, company team leaders should be trained during different stages of the implementation. The training should be delivered by a product and process expert. It should follow a methodical approach which maps the company's way of doing business, performed on company data.
The second tier of training should be rolled out and populated to the rest of the company staff prior to the enterprise application "going live."
It is not sufficient to provide a quick training class and submerge employees in a new system environment. This results in severe anxiety for your users, poor adoption of the new system and can result in a failed implementation. For this reason, your training approach should focus on developing user comfort with the applications they will be using. When you go live, we want your users to know their part of the system and feel comfortable with it.
We divide training into two types:
(A) Project Team Training: The assigned project lead(s) and project team members will be provided top-level training on the entire system to provide an overview of the modules and how they are set up. This training will occur early in the implementation so your people and Exact can approach the implementation as a team. This is the best way to leverage your expert knowledge of your business, our expert knowledge of the software and our general implementation knowledge. This training is usually done on-site or off-site in a training center that can let the team members focus on the training without the interruptions of day-to-day business.
The following are some examples of key areas that will be addressed during training:
- Coverage on the use of all modules included in your system configuration.
- Factors that restrict or enable end-user visibility and access to data.
- How to customize the setup of modules to fit your business.
- How to setup key records, such as items using the Item Class.
- Discussions on critical issues that affect your company's use of the new system.
(B) End-User Classroom Training: This is the formal part of the training. We recommend setting up a small training room at your facility where training can be provided on computers. It is important that users perform exercises as part of the training. This increases information retention.
The following are some examples of key areas that will be addressed during training:
- How to enter transactions, and the different ways they can be entered and posted.
- How to maintain the data that is accumulating in your system.
- How to use inquiries and reports to obtain the information you wish to access.
- How to complete period and year-end procedures in each module.
Step 5
From experience, companies embarking on massive re-engineering in their core processes subject the company enterprise implementation to higher risk with greater probability of failure. It is our recommendation that companies should implement less re-engineering effort and more process enhancement. This will expedite the implementation and will have less disruption on a company's culture.
We recommend an approach where there is an upfront analysis of such business issues as company competitiveness, the long-term business objectives, a detailing of the functional business processes, a listing of the business issues at an operational level, and a listing of the company initiatives.
ERP systems can return great rewards, but because they are so high profile and cut access the entire organization, they need to be approached carefully to avoid pitfalls.
