According to Kimberling, the president and founder of Panorama Consulting, “The problem isn’t in the software; it’s in the way companies implement the software and get their organizations to adapt to it.” Having extensive ERP implementation planning helps organizations achieve significant business benefits.
8 best practices to have a successful ERP implementation
In fact, not many businesses do well in preparation, causing problems in the implementation process. Moreover, after deploying the system, businesses also face undesirable problems, making work performance significantly reduced. Let’s dive into the following 8 practices to set up a successful ERP system
Manage Your Schedule and Budget
According to an ERP report of McKinsey ”three-fourths of ERP, transformation projects fail to stay on schedule or within budget, and two-thirds have a negative return on investment”.
Many businesses have deployment time almost many times longer than the time estimated in the original plan. The case of Leaseplan is a typical example, in 2019 the company had to write off $100 for a failed ERP implementation after abandoning their data migration to SAP-based ERP.
Hence, before embarking on implementing a business system, it is crucial to make a detailed plan. Planning to implement ERP helps administrators understand and follow up every step of implementation, make sure that the implementation procedures and rules take place in sequence, assure the deploying quality, and calculate the adequate initial cost.
Define Clear Requirements and KPIs
The very first step involves a detailed assessment and documenting the business challenges, workloads, and needs, and KPIs that need to be addressed across the company. This important step will help you clearly define your goals, the scope of the project, as well as everything the organization needs about the ERP solution.
The ERP system will be customized to your business demand, the system of a random company is not suitable for yours. That demonstrates why defining overall requirements is vital. ERP implementation is challenging, but it can provide a huge return on investment if you are well prepared. Many businesses can benefit from using software for their processes. Even fitness software for gyms have a similar set of features for the fitness industry.
Assign a Core Project Team
Another factor that leads to ERP implementation failure is the lack of experience in managing large-scale technology projects. Organizations may not have skilled developers or IT consultants to gain a radical knowledge of an ERP program. Thus, it is prone to the misunderstanding of the input’s level needed for each particular business model.
As a result, building a core team that has specialties in technology and ERP major to monitor this project must be taken into account. It will assist the firm’s managers to have a clear overview of the stages and progress of the implementation.
Invest in Training Resources
56% of the causes of operational interruptions after ERP implementation are training problems. Therefore, this process is extremely important. User training requires a lot of time and effort on the part of businesses and employees. Some vendors also offer support and user training courses through face-to-face or online classes. This training fee may already be included with the purchase of the software, or it may be an additional fee later on.
Therefore, hosting further training on how to run the ERP system for employees until they are becoming prowess users. Furthermore, if there are employees in the enterprise who have computer skills and know-how of the software works, the administrator can also assign those employees to people who still do not understand to reduce training costs. Employee training does not only empowers human resources but also helps to make the most of the value of ERP software.
Build Mutual Understanding
The process of discussing and exchanging knowledge before and after the installation of the ERP system between the stakeholders in the company is extremely necessary. This process will help all levels from leaders to middle managers, employees can better understand the software; so that they know how to operate and their role in the implementation process.
The exchange can not only unify the top-down spirit of the staff but also help the business deploy more effectively thanks to practical suggestions from those with expertise in each segment, who have been operating the business apparatus for many years.
Plan Data Migration and Data Integration Carefully
Data Migration
The next step of ERP implementation is to migrate data to the new system. Many organizations store records of their customers, suppliers, and physical assets in a variety of formats and software. Therefore, before starting the migration, it is necessary to review and unify all data and remove redundant and unnecessary information. Once the data has been updated and verified, the software provider migrates the data to the new system so that businesses can use it on a single platform.
Data Integration
For a complete system, you should consider using an integrated solution. It will solve the problem of information and data flow on many separate systems in the long term. Whether you are currently using an enterprise system other than ERP or plan to install another system in the future, there is no need to worry.
Thanks to the integration method, it can synchronize information from many different systems and help you control all activities on the same system without having to switch back and forth between many.
You won’t be alone in your integration journey, and it won’t be as complicated as installing an ERP system. Because what you need is to contact Beehexa – a professional integrated solutions provider globally. Beehexa has implemented many outstanding scenarios thanks to its dedication and top-notch service.
For example, the Acumatica integration ERP system with many other platforms and software such as eCommerce, POS, CRM, BI,… has been successfully implemented by Beehexa. As long as you give your needs, Beehexa will take over and do everything according to your wishes.
Testing
After the provider checks and ensures the quality of the system, they give the business some time to test. At this point, users will coordinate to confirm that business processes are happening correctly between departments, and then report back to the software provider for them to review the product. It is important that the system be thoroughly tested before the official deployment date to avoid unnecessary errors, causing disruptions to the operation of the business.
Continuously improving the ERP system
An ERP system is only effective in the long run as the business continues to invest and improve it. Therefore, test the software at least once a year. This will help businesses determine which functions should be changed or added to get the maximum benefit from this system.
Final Words
Failure to implement ERP will greatly affect businesses in many different ways. Therefore, to minimize risks, businesses need to plan meticulously and research thoroughly before deploying this system. Hopefully, the article will provide a lot of concise and useful information to help your business implement a successful ERP system.