Visibility by Design has worked with many clients in Post Implementation efforts. In addition, our consultants each have been involved with hundreds of implementations. This article reviews six factors we found were key to consider when implementing any ERP software.

1. “Your Goal is Our Goal: Developing
business solutions to increase productivity,
profits, and Visibility by Design”.
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The implementation of an ERP system is a complex undertaking with many associated risks. The statistics
say that 50-75% of implementations fail at some level.
There are numerous reasons an implementation can get off track including unrealistic expectations, poor
methodology and planning, lack of communication, change management, inadequate knowledge transfer,
insufficient resources and data conversion issues. Proactively addressing these areas ensures that your
implementation runs smoothly, and most importantly, ends with a success story.
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS OF AN ERP IMPLEMENTATION
Executive Support
Executive support and involvement is
vital. Executives are responsible for creating a
vision for success, motivating the project team,
procuring necessary resources and making
high-level decisions based on team recommen-
dations. Without visible executive support, it is
common to experience more resistance to the
new systems and processes from end-users.
Define Success
Defining what a successful implementa-
tion means to your company sounds simple, but
actually requires some work. If you don’t have a
firm grasp of where you are going, you are likely
to wind up nowhere in particular. Begin with the
end in mind.
Set Priorities
ERP applications are granular in their con-
struction. This means that you can implement
core features immediately to meet your most
pressing needs. Once the foundation is in place,
you can expand the application’s footprint to ad-
dress additional needs in priority order. Even the
most diligent and intelligent teams when faced
with learning new processes and systems of an
ERP system can suffer from “information over-
load”. This phased approach provides time for
knowledge transfer to fully master the operation
of the application.
Establish A Budget
While it is important to establish a budget
for hard costs like licensing, implementation and
maintenance fees; it is just as important to budget
the personnel to ensure implementation success.
People are often the most critical and constrained
resource in any implementation process.
Design The Team
Your ERP implementation, adoption, and
ultimate success hinges on involvement of peo-
ple from each department and functional disci-
pline affected by the project.
• Deep understanding of your company, its pro-
cesses and the industry.
• Respected by others within the organization.
• Authority to make decisions as it relates to their
project role.
• Willingness to devote the time and attention
necessary to the project.
Prepare For Change
Even when change is good, it can be
stressful. It is vital that you prepare your organi-
zation for change. When the team understands
the overall picture and how they fit in it de-
creases potential insecurities and anxiety. Give
them the information that they need gradually
through increased communication so they are
able to absorb all of the details and do not get
overwhelmed.
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