What are the most effective ways to overcome resistance to ERP implementation?

Full and active support from the project owners/sponsors. It's important to have regular steering committee meetings to get their support in making key decisions to keep the project moving to the right direction.

Resistance to ERP implementation is a common challenge, but it can be overcome 1. Explain the benefits of ERP: Employees need to understand why the organization is implementing ERP and how it will benefit them. This communication should start early in the implementation process and continue throughout. It is important to focus on the tangible benefits of ERP, such as improved efficiency, increased accuracy, and reduced costs. Leadership should also be involved in communicating the benefits of ERP to employees and all the other stakeholders. 2. Be patient and persistent: Overcoming resistance to ERP takes time and effort. Organizations need to be patient and persistent in their communication and change management efforts.

Usually ERP implementations fall into 2 categories. 1. Greenfield or Brownfield ERP implementations 2. Moving away from Legacy or Simply Next Generation ERP upgrades/implementations Apart from a well laid out business case, I have found below techniques worked well - especially for leadership buy-in to commit their resources to the projects - Lay out something that I call 'Do nothing vision' - articulate scenarios if we do not do the ERP Project. Eg, ERP system consuming more compute affecting productivity and increasing operational costs, lack of automated reports leading to manual work etc. - Use real world cases of similar projects - successful & failed, compare & contrast your organizational situation with those to take lessons

Start with the willing and able, leave the unwilling and unable to the last. If you start with the unwilling and unable this is the major resistance that will fail you immediately.

The question is too broad. Who is the subject here? Is it the organization or the implementator, system integrator? Advice will be different, although it should be aligned and complimentary. Is the ERP pushed down or what is the trajectory of choosing for an ERP? Pure backoffice or providing a core on which innovation is built? You can only communicate on benefits if you properly understand everything that led to the decision as in there the benefits should be incapsulated.

Your users are gold! By involving them in design sessions, you not only address their needs but also boost system adaptability. Skip this step, and you risk a system that falls short. Always prioritize user input for the best outcomes!

Involving employees in process re-engineering and newer processes is a extremely useful. If you can answer the question what’s there in for me’, it solves half of the problems. For ERP implementation, forming a large core functional team, defining success criteria and putting up special monetary rewards framework should be considered.

It should always be remembered that the users of the system actually use it. Build a system that they struggle to use, for whatever reasons and the company will struggle with the system too. Training and good change management to bring your user base up to speed with the new system and you will benefit in the long term.

Yes if you involve the end users right from the new ERP process design and testing phase, they start to own the project. This sense of ownership makes sure that they fully partner in making the new ERP implementation a success.

ERP implementation is a Business' project, all users (and not only key users) need to be and specially feel involved and that they had a voice; that is the key to success, show them what changes are coming and allowing them to be heard, from the CFO that needs to know that will be able to get the necessary reports to the the forklift driver that will tell you if the scanner or tablet has the correct screens and data for the work and their needs, and specially will allow them to tell you open about their fears and reduce that way their resistance to the change.

It's crucial to talk with the users and provide substantial positive outcomes that ERP provides. Working on an ERP is putting another feather on your skill-set. The transition phase can be challenging but it surely yields rewards in the long run both for the organisation and employees.

Key ways to manage risk include managing stakeholder alignment among key executives and other influential stakeholders. By doing so, the guiding coalition can ensure that proper resources are allocated to the project. Additionally, removing barriers to change is key to reducing organizational resistance and project risk. As the barriers are removed, there will be fewer holdouts claiming that it’s just too hard to move forward with a new ERP and that the status quo should be maintained. As these barriers fall, the organization will start racking up wins that demonstrate the value of moving to a new ERP and set the stage for continued execution and value creation.

Thinking here about the "Immunity to Change" book from Lisa Lahey. If key decision-maker stakeholders are having a huge resistance to change, it might be worth to spend enough time with them to really understand what is their immunity to change and tackle it seriously.

What is the most important it to define KPIs along with the business and agree to communicate (daily for PGLS and weekly after that for 3 months) the results whatever they are. Most of the project also failed (or go live with pain) because of Data Migration topics, a lot of key actions have to be put in place to reinsure the company (deployment plan, rollback procedure, war-room for PGLS, presentation and availability of the team, on-call, etc...)

As early wins are achieved and value is created, the project team should compare results to the original business case and to the KPIs identified during that phase. Value creation should be quantified, where possible, and reported as part of the regular reporting cadence. Qualitative benefits should also be identified and reported. Potential value created includes faster cycle times, reduced error rates, fewer personnel hours invested in a process, and lower process cost.

In my experience ERP implementations are not about procuring a product and training users and then “here you go, use the system”. It’s about reviewing all processes and ensuring everything is captured at the appropriate stage, workflows are defined or redefined, appropriate controls are in place.

My direct answer for this article would be: Apply an adequate change, communication, and stakeholder management during all stages of the project implementation. My long answer, or explanation is: Apply Stakeholder Management within the different levels of the organization, Operational, tactical, and strategic level, is crucial, to identify, at each organizational level, the triggers that could generate resistance to change. if any stakeholder perceives the project as a threat, by nature they will reject it, but if they perceive it as an opportunity due to who are being adequately listened to and managed, will see the implementation as an opportunity to continue or grow within the company, that is why apply Stakeholders mgmt is the key.

Ask yourself what is the main reason of this new ERP implementation since this will drive all discussions and ton of voice during the project. Ex: - Competitive advantage - Obsolescence of previous system - Need to move on the cloud - Efficiency...

During a large change effort such as an ERP implementation, it's virtually impossible to over-communicate. During the planning phase, a detailed communication and change management plan should be established that focuses on the key messages to be communicated during the project and the channels through which the communication will be distributed. A variety of channels, including email, webinars, and in-person messaging should be used to convey key organizational changes and the expected behavioral changes of the company's employees once the new system goes live.

Start Discussing about the Opportunity Cost and not the Cost - As per my experience this has been a very effective way to manage any resistance from the end user groups. The moment we start discussing about the new things that they can spend time with ERP adaptation, the end user groups start comporting with the change management process and etc which involves with ERP Implementation. As an ERP consultant, we have to communicate the actual value of the end users to the entity and opportunity cost of they not been adopting these new technologies in there day to day work life.