Every year, businesses around the world are plagued by difficult ERP implementations and learn hard ERP lessons they won’t soon forget. And, unfortunately, many of those obstacles could have been avoided. Those who successfully go live are often thankful for the guidance they received from an experienced ERP consultant who ensured the company applied best practices to their ERP implementation, so they didn’t have to repeat others’ mistakes.
5 Key Best Practices From Successful ERP Implementations
Every year, businesses around the world are plagued by difficult ERP implementations and learn hard ERP lessons they won’t soon forget. And, unfortunately, many of those obstacles could have been avoided. Those who successfully go live are often thankful for the guidance they received from an experienced ERP consultant who ensured the company applied best practices to their ERP implementation, so they didn’t have to repeat others’ mistakes.
5 Common Challenges Faced During ERP Implementation
The sheer workload of implementing an ERP solutioncan be daunting as various obstacles arise over the course of the project. Ultimately, these obstacles increase the pressure on project sponsors, especially those who are ill-prepared. Success begins with understanding the process and creating a battle plan around common experiences.
1. Change Management
The workload required to execute an ERP implementation heavily disrupts “business as usual.” Key project leaders trying to balance both their “day jobs” and implementation roles are stretched thin and may not have the capacity or make time for key change management tasks such as training and adequate communication. In some case, this can be worsened by poor expectation management of your employees. Not managing team expectations often results in employees feeling blindsided by the level of change an ERP transformation brings.
2. User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
User Acceptance Testing is vital in ensuring users are using the system as intended. And, unfortunately, many ERP implementations fail during this step due to a lack of user participation. The software vendor or implementing partner may provide a basic list of tests to be executed, but ultimately the onus is on the client to identify all the relevant use cases for more exhaustive testing to ensure there are no surprises during or after cutover.
Documenting use cases to guide later training and developing a dynamic training plan can reduce the risk. UAT is an ongoing commitment over the course of the project, and leaders can be proactive by monitoring use case early in the discovery phase, developing training documentation based on user needs, and ensuring training actually gets done. Ultimately, businesses only achieve value if the system is being used, so be careful not to ignore this step!
3. Integrations
Businesses often rely on integrations to connect existing or new best-of-breed or third-party software solutions to the core ERP. Assigning responsibility is at the core of this issue. Typically, multiple parties are involved in the integration process and responsibility falls on the client’s shoulders. Furthermore, these integrations must be tested and require a resource to interface with the technical integrators developing the connections between systems.
4. Project Management
One of the most time-intensive roles in ERP implementations is internal project management. Project management encompasses a wide range of tasks and responsibilities ultimately resulting in the success (or failure) of an ERP implementation. A dedicated project manager is needed to ensure timelines are met, the right stakeholders are involved when and where they need to be, and crucial tasks on the client side are being completed. This person also bridges the gap between internal resource and the external implementation partner to maintain accountability for the entire project. Without this oversight, projects often fail due to dropped tasks and a lack of alignment.
5. System Configuration & Best Practices
Finally, one of the biggest ERP implementation roadblocks is system configuration and determining when to apply best practices versus customizing the software to fit your unique processes. In many cases, multiple software solutions on the market will be able to handle your requirements out-of-the-box, while others may need to be enhanced through customization. If you do not apply best practices when needed, your implementation can become expensive quickly, especially as future updates break customizations and require more oversight to reconfigure the system.
5 Key Best Practices for a Successful ERP Implementation
While there will always be obstacles in the way of a successful ERP implementation, applying best practices can mitigate the risks and help you avoid a stalled project.
1. Focus on People and Change Management
Above all, your people must be at the forefront of your implementation process. Without proper support and coordination of your users, the project will not succeed. Empower and educate your employees throughout the process, placing a heavy emphasis on UAT and Change Management tasks. A major part of that is setting expectations early and reiterating those expectations at each milestone. If you expect a user to be an integral part of documenting use cases and guiding their team through training, make sure they are prepared! Doing so will increase buy-in on the project and allow the project to progress efficiently.
2. Prioritize Your Data
Data migration is a commonly neglected step in ERP implementations, leading to delays. Without strong data, your brand-new software solution will be useless to your team. And it is not necessarily that businesses ignore data all together, but that they underestimate the workload. The earlier you start the data migration process, the better. With effective planning and testing in the different stages of your implementation, you can avoid data being a reason for a major project delay (or even failure).
3. Plan Out Integrations
Integrations can make or break the effectiveness of your technology stack within the new system. Create a detailed integration plan before the implementation begins and start communicating with any necessary third-party integrators as soon as possible. Additionally, allowing for adequate time to test new integrations will help prevent failures as you get closer to go-live.
4. Select the Right Vendor and Partner
Before reaching the implementation phase, it is crucial to assign dedicated resources to your software selection process. Selecting the right solution sets the foundation for your entire ERP implementation, and if you select a solution that cannot meet your requirements, your project will fail. And, sometimes, these shortcomings are not apparent until it’s too late. It is crucial to dedicate the time to properly evaluate your options and ensure your selected vendor can truly meet your needs. It is just as important to evaluate implementation partners early on, not just the software vendors. You may be able to find a solution that meets your needs out-of-the-box, but without a partner who can configure the system to match your vision, you won’t be able to achieve your goals at go-live and beyond.
5. Hire an Advisor or Expert
Engage an ERP advisor to avoid falling into common implementation pitfalls. Just as it is your team’s job to be experts in your field, ERP advisors are experts in ERP projects and understand what it takes to successfully reach go-live. Utilizing an advisor will provide your project with necessary best practices and act as an “ERP Sherpa” to guide you through the entirety of the process.
Post-Go-Live Reflection
Once you are over the finish line and have successfully gone-live, take a moment to celebrate! But after you acknowledge the accomplishment, reflect on the successes and shortcomings of the project. Maintaining your ERP is an ongoing commitment that does not end at go-live. Document successful actions and evaluate where things went wrong to develop an approach to future efforts. Utilize the lessons learned from this project during future optimizations, new tool implementations, or other intensive projects.
Conclusion
ERP Implementations will always be challenging, no matter how prepared you are. However, by educating yourself and your team on the common roadblocks that occur during implementation, you can utilize best practices to navigate and avoid those obstacles. If you are considering implementing a new ERP, and have any questions or concerns regarding the process, we can help! Schedule your free consultation with our team to get started!
