The Good and the Bad Implementation

The implementation phase is the most important stage of an ERP project, and it is typically here that the difference between a good and a less successful solution arises. Thus, the second-best system, when implemented correctly, can often be a better solution than the best system implemented poorly. All companies that have gone through an ERP project know that many things can go wrong along the way, and that there are numerous pitfalls that must be considered.

ERP projects are not just IT projects. ERP projects typically involve the entire company and often include a significant scope of change. Often – the larger the system/company, the larger the scope of change. ERP projects are therefore at least as much organizational and business development projects and often encompass large parts of the organization. Our view is that they should therefore primarily be driven from the business side, with the business owners acting as sponsors.

The implementation phase is the most important phase of an ERP project, and it is typically here that the difference between a good and a less successful solution arises!

In some cases, vendors are capable of and attentive to supporting such a change process, precisely to ensure that the company realizes the process improvements it has been promised. But unfortunately, this is often not the case. Our experience is that ERP vendors’ consultants can typically identify the improvement opportunities that are based on the system’s standard functionality, but not necessarily the improvement opportunities related to the customer’s industry and business. There is therefore an increasing need for strong internal management of ERP projects if the company is to gain as many benefits as possible during or immediately after the ERP implementation.

However, the IT department’s role is not diminished when it comes to ERP. It is simply critical that both business and IT each understand their role and responsibility in the development of ERP systems. The business must describe and realize the business benefits associated with further development of the ERP platform. This includes new features, simplified workflows, and reduced manual routines, while the IT department’s task is to establish the system’s functions and integrations in the most technologically appropriate way.