The launch of a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is often met with both excitement and anxiety from IT and business professionals in Sri Lankan companies. ERP software solutions give an organization the tools it needs to streamline its operations as well as make them more efficient by far VS many other available point-solutions.
Here we outline eight areas of consideration when it comes to successful deployments of ERP projects.
- Defined goals on why you are implementing ERP
Creating a clear vision, defining the purpose of the project and creating quantifiable success criteria will help you to focus on what is important in your new ERP deployment. Defining aims and objectives for each user group will also help stakeholders to understand what they are hoping to achieve with implementation of these systems.
- Realistic timeframes for the ERP project
Effective ERP implementation depends on a realistic plan of action; don’t be tempted to overestimate your capabilities. Defining a step by step approach will help you to ensure that you know where you are going at all times, whilst also allowing room for flexibility and the ability to reevaluate and adapt if necessary.
- Coordination with key users, stakeholders and vendors
Coordination is a vital part of any ERP deployment. If you are planning to implement an ERP across multiple locations or in more than one sector, for example manufacturing and distribution, then a coordinated approach is vital in order to ensure that each step of your implementation is aligned with the others. Defining what you need to achieve and from whom will help cut costs and avoid duplication of effort.
- Change management across the organization
ERP projects involve changing the way you do business to becoming far more organized and predictable. Having a clear vision of where you are headed post deployment in terms how how users and management derive value from the system to make informed decisions will need to be thought out in advance to get the full value of the system. Defining the terms of reference for your change management process will help define how you plan to introduce and roll out changes into your organization.
- Managing project workload and complexity
ERP projects are not easy and can get complex. Assigning too much work to any one person or team can result in significant delay or prevent a project from being completed on time. Even if you obtain any ERP consulting services in Sri Lanka it is still important to note that most of the work will still be done by your internal stakeholders not an outsider. Defining roles and responsibilities, and clearly defining how work is allocated will allow teams to deploy their resources effectively. Defining reporting relationships between stakeholders and management will ensure that work loads are balanced with clearly communicated outcomes ensuring problems are resolved as soon as possible.
- Setting accurate and realistic budgets
ERP projects are expensive parts of your IT efforts to deploy and to manage over time. Defining the cost and time required allows budget holders to ensure that money is appropriately allocated allowing any changes to be progressed as efficiently as possible. Defining what is included in your total cost (hardware, licenses, implementation services) and what is out of scope also ensures that end users know what they need without overloading features which you may not use.
- Accurate report structuring for management
Structuring your reports for the long term may not be on top of your list when you start to deploy but good or bad, it will always end up defining the ERP systems value to management. Defining who uses what reports and why at an early stage ensures that they are prioritized and available when required and in a format which is relevant. It is critical to assess what reports would be needed VS overwhelming reporting. This flexibility to do ad-hoc reporting should be examined carefully as should the cost of generating a new report with a consultants help.
- Leadership involvement throughout
Leadership can make or break a project. With the business owners understanding how implementation will benefit them and their organization, they have an opportunity to express this focus throughout the organization’s staff and towards system vendors. Organization leadership support on all levels of management for an ERP implementation is critical for alignment and ultimate success of projects. Additional ERP services may be required where leadership feel there is a knowledge gap in their organization to adequately support the project.
Download our 10 Tips guide for a more concise look at more tips including the above in guiding your ERP project success and increasing project awareness internally! Call us at 0770415387 or drop us a note at info@erpservices.lk for your ERP project consulting needs.