After partnering with dozens of clients to help them select the “right” system that best fits their business requirements and partnering with many more to design the “right” processes in conjunction with their systems and people to achieve their objectives, it is clear that ERP success has little to do with systems!
Throw best practices out the window! Many systems tout that their system has “best practice processes” and so everyone should conform to it. Not if you want to stand out from the crowd.
You wouldn't want to start building a house by picking out curtains when you didn't have the proper foundations in place. Identify your critical success factors.
I've always focused part of my business on ERP selection projects as these leverage the unique combination of my strengths — understanding the cross-functional and cross-organizational view in combination with the strategic priorities to identify the critical success factors. We then align these factors with the optimal business process [...]
No sales executive wants to log on his/her computer from the road instead of accessing information at his/her fingertips on a hand held device.
Since I've been working on several ERP selection and design projects lately, it has reminded me of how challenging these projects can be. It is no wonder 80% of them fail!
It seems like a great time to share what is important as we head into a new year, new quarter or even new day. There is always opportunity to take that critical step towards success.
To have a smooth transition implementing your ERP system, be sure to follow the supplier’s go-live process but don’t forget the fundamentals.
Take extra care to design your ERP system to make certain it works with every functional area of your business and to involve key people in the developmental decisions to ensure success.
