6 Keys to ERP Implementation Success

Everyone wants to make a success of their ERP implementation project. However, with constant change, technologies and their associated best practices are rapidly evolving. A successful deployment is not a given, but rather requires planning, expertise, and perseverance.

On the other hand, there are aspects of the implementation process that stay the same. These factors are often outside the realm of technology and instead come from within your organization, driving – or preventing – project success.

In the end, it’s not simply a question of purchase and deployment – it comes down to how the project affects people. The overall success of the implementation project depends on the people who manage it, the consultants who will help you to customize it to your needs, and perhaps the most important ones – the end users. Without the full support of all parties involved, success will be difficult to achieve.

We want your ERP implementation project to succeed. We’re going to share 6 important areas to which you need to give serious consideration in order to reap the benefits of your ERP investment.

1) Support from Management

The owners or managing directors of your organization have a heavy influence on the project’s success. If they view an ERP implementation simply as a decision to be made, money to be invested, and a task to delegate to others, the project is doomed from the start. They must understand and be part of the high-level decision-making process, agreeing on the requirements and objectives that will influence the choice of system and its customization. When management gives priority to the project – relieving project members of other duties so they can focus on the task at hand and allocating the necessary resources – it has a much greater chance of producing the desired results.

2) Support from Employees

Your internal project team should be composed of your company’s “rock stars”, that is to say, ones who are dedicated, knowledgeable, and willing to do what it takes to see it through to completion. Such ones will take ownership of the project, keeping it on time and on budget. The team should be intimately familiar with your business processes, be team players that stick to the project objectives, and likewise competent and authorized to make key decisions.

You have another important resource to support the project – your end users. Be sure their input is given due attention. Invite their input and make it easy for them to share their thoughts. Be sure they receive training throughout the process. Doing these things will give you valuable insights and reveal hidden pitfalls that you can correct before going live.

3) Clearly Define the Scope of the Project

Without defining the scope first, the project will wander aimlessly. It’s an important step that includes thorough research and documentation before proceeding with a systems search. It will assist you greatly in narrowing down your options and keeping the project to a reasonable budget of time and money. Changing the scope midstream could cause your momentum to flounder as decisions are second-guessed and you struggle to redirect the mission. Keeping the scope tight and focused allows you to get up and running with your new software, reduce the initial cost, and see a return on investment in less time. Know that you will expand the scope to include more processes in the future, once your team and end users have gained experience and you can see more clearly the needs going forward.

4) Use the Occasion to Optimize Your Processes

A new ERP solution is a major change that can affect every department in your company. Although the change can cause some additional stress and workload on some, it’s also a golden opportunity to make improvements to your core business processes, yielding new efficiencies and competitive advantages as a result. Building those improvements into your implementation plan helps ensure that positive change is felt company-wide, and leads to performance and revenue increases.

5) Train From the Beginning

User adoption is a key metric in measuring the success of your ERP implementation project. Why? Because if the users don’t use the system correctly, perhaps taking shortcuts with workflows and not entering important data, you’ll lose many of the benefits you were hoping to get from a new system.

There is an effective way to encourage end users to make full use of the system: Training. Once a person truly understands how the system operates, and the purpose of the data they enter into it, they’ll be more inclined to give their support. Their feedback – whether positive or negative – can also reveal unexpected pitfalls that might not have turned up in the discovery process, giving you the opportunity to make your processes even more efficient.

6) A Solid Partner You Can Trust

While your team members are experts on your company and its processes, outside consultants are experts on the software, its configuration, and its customizations. ERP implementation requires strong knowledge of the system being deployed, different methods of doing so along with their pros and cons, any add-on products that can provide missing functionality, and how all of that is best put to use for your industry. You’ll want a partner for more than just the deployment; a good partner will provide maintenance, further customizations, and training services to ensure you get the most from your new system.

Next Steps

An ERP implementation is no small undertaking, but it can bring enormous benefits for years to come when it is well-planned and deployed correctly. It may seem daunting, but organizations around the world just like yours have succeeded and are glad they made the effort. With the right partner, you will too.

Contact us today at CogentNext and we can help you determine the right path for your organization’s digital transformation.

By Chandra Subramanian, CogentNext Technologies