Making Your ERP Implementation Project a Success by Defining Clear Objectives
Careful planning of your new enterprise resource planning (ERP) software implementation project is crucial. Successful implementation projects that provide accurate, real-time information about daily operations help companies reduce operational costs by 23% and administrative costs by 22% (Aberdeen).
That’s why it’s so important to define your vision of your ERP system’s end result. The more precisely you define the areas in which you expect to see improvements, the better equipped you’ll be to assess solutions. This will avoid unnecessary cost increases from needing to adjust and customize the solution’s design.
Defining Your Company’s Overall Objective
What are the business objectives you intend to achieve with a new ERP solution? If you can’t answer this question clearly and quickly, you’re not yet ready to start the project. Or at least, it wouldn’t be a good idea. Your objective must be specific to your business and measurable. Here’s an example: If you want to ship your orders faster, what does that look like? How many days do you want each order to take to reach a customer? How will you know when you’ve met your objectives?
Understanding Each Department’s Contribution
Getting a measure of your project’s success goes beyond the overall objective of the larger company. You also need to understand how the implementation of your ERP system will contribute to the goals of each team within your organization. Think of it as a tiered approach. Of course, there’s an objective you want to achieve as a company. To this end, each team or department will establish objectives specific to their function that will contribute to the overall corporate objective. Similarly, each person will have individual goals that will also contribute to their team’s objective, and therefore to the company’s objective.
Assessing Current Processes
Now that you have a clear idea of your objectives, it’s time to take a closer look at your actual functional requirements. You need to have a clear understanding of what your employees’ daily processes look like. What do they need to perform their tasks properly and effectively? The functionality and data processing capabilities you need in an ERP system are as important as the way employees interact with the system—its usability.
Think about the different departments and users in your organization. Do you have a good grasp of the current processes in all departments of the company? How well do you know your employees’ daily activities? What do they need to function effectively as users?
Allowing Time to Adapt
It’s important to plan for a learning and familiarization curve. Adapting to a new ERP system can feel overwhelming, so it’s essential to work with a team that can provide analytical, technical and emotional support during each phase of a system’s redesign. The company you choose as your ERP partner must be trustworthy and dedicated to the success of your business, supporting you for as long as necessary after the new system is in place.
The success of an ERP implementation depends on the experience of the employees, an aspect that’s too often neglected. If you are a business owner, you’re aware of the very important link between your employees’ experience and the success of your project. Remember that employees are at the heart of this important transition, so give them the time they need to figure everything out.
Avoiding Frequent Errors
Choosing the right ERP and implementation partner can save a lot of trouble, but each ERP project is unique and therefore requires a detailed and well-planned approach. A thoughtful, step-by-step process will ensure that your time and resources are fully invested in a successful ERP implementation. To make your journey easier, be sure to avoid these five mistakes:
- Poor change management.
- A final product that fails to provide the expected benefits.
- Too many changes in objectives during the project.
- Project management that lacks rigour.
- Delays caused by suppliers.
Experts to guide you
Grounded in hands-on experience and deep industry understanding, Forgestik brings together a team of experts to provide comprehensive ERP solutions for every SMB. Contact us to find out more.