Foundation Principles for Successful ERP & CRM Projects

When we meet prospects for the first time, they often ask us how we will ensure their project will be successful and delivered on time and budget. Many have had poor experiences in the past and are looking to ensure they have a better outcome this time around.

Foundation Principles

CMC believes the following foundation principles underpin every successful ERP and CRM Project and will ensure your new solution is delivered effectively and efficiently.

• Executive Engagement and strong leadership to promote a genuine interest in the success of the project.
• Attention to Detail particularly with scope definition, legal and commercial documents.
• No Surprises Policy by managing expectations with milestones at short intervals to demonstrate delivery and to build confidence.
• Staged Approach to the Implementation with a “Vanilla” approach for Release 1, if possible.
• Strong Project Management with a focus on tight scope, budget and timeline control.
• Pragmatic Implementation Templates that provide a fast start to the project.
• Collaborative Planning with a focus on work streams or parallel projects to meet timelines and complete tasks by due dates.
• Business Ownership of the Outcomes with an emphasis on accountability, mentoring and skills transfer within the team.
• Experienced Project Team using the right resources and back filling, wherever practicable.
• Commitment to Change Management and reinforcement for users to adopt changed business practices.
• Proactive Risk Management by monitoring, escalating, communicating and reporting risks across all areas of the project
• Governance and QA with formal approval points and a focus on earned value throughout the project life cycle.
• Start Work Early on Master Data, data clean up and conversion planning.
• Work Towards a Common Operating Model and eliminate divergent processes, wherever possible.