A successful ERP System implementation can transform your business and set it up for success for years to come. However, according to Gartner Research, 55% to 75% of all ERP projects fail to meet their objectives. In this blog post, we will discuss the most common ERP Implementation challenges and how you can avoid them.
Here are the 11 tips to ensure a successful ERP implementation.
Shield core team from non-ERP distractions
Ensure stable and visible leadership
Ensure transparency in progress reporting
Adequately staff the project
Manage scope. Be hyper-focused on critical needs
Avoid excessive customization
Prioritize business needs over cool features
Anticipate critical technical challenges
Plan for and manage organizational change
Ensure independent 3rd party oversight
Manage expectations
Shield core team from non-ERP distractions
One of the most frustrating ERP implementation challenges is when critical project resources are pulled away to work on other priorities. This can often happen when the ERP sponsor is also responsible for other major initiatives, such as M&A or integration activities. To avoid this, it is important to shield your core team from non-ERP distractions and ensure that they can focus solely on the ERP project.
Ensure stable and visible leadership
Ineffective leadership can result in a lack of direction and decision-making. To avoid this, it is important to ensure that your ERP implementation has strong and visible executive sponsorship, as well as a fully invested steering committee. These leaders will be able to provide the necessary guidance and support to ensure the success of your ERP project. They will help to keep the project on track and ensure that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities.
Ensure transparency in progress reporting
Lack of transparency in progress reporting can lead to unrealistic expectations and pressure on the project team. To avoid this, it is important to establish clarity on expectations and implement consequences for non-compliance. When progress is misrepresented or misreported to the Steering Committee but receives inadequate correction from leadership, it can create a sense of mistrust and frustration. Without an honest assessment of where the project stands, the project may experience repeated re-planning and pressure from stakeholders to keep to go-live dates.
Adequately staff the project
While it is not unusual for large projects to face periodic understaffing, a chronic lack of competent resources can occur either because leadership is slow to redeploy/hire employees or is reluctant to delegate to external contracting resources. Either way, this can lead to emotional conflict and a general lack of morale and enthusiasm, creating polarization and personal attacks on the skills and capabilities of individual team members. This may result in time being spent defusing unfortunate situations, rather than on solving important impending project issues.
To avoid this, it is important to adequately staff your ERP project from the start. This means ensuring that you have the necessary resources in place to complete all critical tasks. It may also mean hiring contracting resources to supplement your team. However, use caution and discretion when staffing business-critical roles to temporary contracting resources. Monitor to ensure that key business decisions are made by people who will be impacted by those decisions post-implementation.
Manage scope. Be hyper-focused on critical needs
A recurrent ERP implementation challenge is scope creep. This happens when stakeholders are not clear on the project's objectives, or when new features and functionality are constantly being added. Avoid this by being hyper-focused on the critical needs of the business and resist any temptation to add scope that is not essential. It is also important to establish clear scope change controls and ensure that all stakeholders are aware of them.
Avoid excessive customization
Excessive customization occurs when businesses try to force-fit the ERP to their existing processes, rather than adapting their processes to the ERP. It is important to use industry-standard processes wherever possible and to resist the temptation to customize unnecessarily. Excessive customization can interfere with the implementation and lead to needless complexity. It can also make it more difficult and more expensive to upgrade the ERP in the future.
If you do end up with significant customization, be sure to test thoroughly. Many organizations shortchange testing to save implementation time and money. It is vital to test the ERP thoroughly before go-live. This includes testing all features and functionality, as well as testing for performance and scalability. Thorough testing will help to ensure that the ERP (and its customized functionality) is working as expected and will help to avoid any unexpected problems after go-live.
Prioritize business needs over cool features
It's easy to get caught up in all the cool ERP features and functionality that are available. However, it's important to remember that not all those features and functionality will be relevant to your business. Identify the ERP features and functionality that are most important to your business and ensure that those are implemented first. The other features and functionality can be implemented in subsequent phases.
Anticipate critical technical challenges and have a plan to address them
ERP Implementation can often be challenging from a technical perspective and most businesses are not prepared for the technical challenges that they will face. To avoid this, it is important to anticipate the critical technical challenges and to have a plan in place to address them. This includes having adequate resources in place, as well as having a plan for how to overcome any technical obstacles that are encountered.
Plan for and manage organizational change
ERP Implementation can be very disruptive for businesses because it impacts how employees work and how they interact with each other. To avoid this, it is important to plan for and manage organizational change. This includes identifying who will be impacted by the change, what the impact will be, and how to mitigate any negative impacts. It is also important to communicate the change to all employees and to provide training on how to use the ERP.
Engage independent 3rd party oversight
ERP Implementation can often be complex and challenging. This can often lead to a situation where the business is too reliant on the ERP vendor or systems integrator. To prevent this, it is important to ensure that there is independent oversight of the ERP implementation. This includes having an independent project manager or steering committee that is responsible for overseeing the implementation. It is also important to ensure that there is adequate documentation and reporting so that the business can track the progress of the implementation objectively.
Manage expectations
ERP Implementations can generate intense excitement within the business and lead to unrealistic expectations. To avoid this, set realistic goals and timelines for the implementation and communicate these to all stakeholders. Monitor the progress of the implementation and adjust the expectations accordingly.
Prioritizing business needs, anticipating technical challenges, and managing expectations are all key to a successful ERP implementation. By following these tips, businesses can avoid the common pitfalls of ERP implementation and ensure a successful outcome.
If you're looking for help with your ERP Implementation, our team of experts can help. We offer a range of ERP Implementation services that are tailored to your business needs. Contact us today to learn more!
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