There are many different reasons why an organizational leadership team decides to upgrade or consolidate their ERP systems. You may have heard "we cannot report accurately because of our data" or "our systems are old and expensive to support". Others might look for savings when multiple businesses are working on multiple expensive ERP systems. Whether the reason is technical, financial or the ERP system no longer supports the business roadmap, there are a few important things to consider before starting your research.
1) ERP rollouts do not have to be painful
2) There are efficient ways to get into a new, lower cost solution without heavy spend
3) Yes, you can do it with your current team as long as you have the right complements
There are a few proven tactics that will work very well for you, especially in a post Covid 19 world where most of these projects need to happen digitally. Let’s start with a few scenarios that will help you get into a new ERP system, within 7 months, and certainly far less expensive than what the large consulting houses will often offer your organization.
1) Start by doing a proper assessment. Review processes, tools, roadmaps, conflicting projects, etc. Use a consultant for this.
2) Make sure you have the tools to support a digital project - Office 365 is mandatory in my opinion - but other tools can be used - we have a proven model we can walk you through.
3) Build Global Process Owner (GPO) roles for every process in the ERP roadmap.
4) Choose your GPOs wisely - we are transforming, not rebuilding the old ways of working in a new system
5) Start your blueprinting - you need 3 weeks. Even if you are doing out of the box, you have to get everyone on the same page.
6) Request digital signatures on blueprint and functional spec documentation - they have to sign it like a contract
7) Follow the process - blueprint, design, build, SIT/QA/UAT test, and cutover. Even when build or config work is done using agile, at a high level, the phases will still be mostly the same. You cannot cutover a “partial” ERP system.
8) Look for pockets of resistance - listen, evaluate, respond, decide - do not let things fester as it hurts more later
Call us, Aptimized can help.