The migration process is always not an easy task. Especially when it involves ERP. In this case, migration requires special skills and preparations. There are many reasons why companies want to migrate from their ERP system. Some of the most common ones are dissatisfaction with the existing process, the ability to apply new technologies or the work of their legacy system. In this article, we’d like to share five tips on how to migrate safely from one ERP to another and what is important to keep in mind.
1# What is an ERP’s migration and when do you need it?
ERP Data migration is the process of reorganizing, copying, and moving the data from your previous ERP systems to the new ones. This process is becoming popular among business leaders who want to run their company in the most efficient way. They are starting to migrate their data from the previous ERP system and often find this process to be unexpectedly difficult.
Each company has its own goals for migrations, but there are three most common prerequisites:
- The previous system is outdated and does not meet the needs of the company.
- The possibilities of developing the functionality of the old solution are already exhausted.
- It is important for the company to consolidate the data, and the current solution is not able to provide this.
- The end of the support and completion of ERP-system
2# How to prepare a business for an ERP migration?
It is essential to align the software with business processes and requirements. When developing or analyzing the implementation of ERP migration plans, organizations should complete three steps:
- Project initiation: full definition of team structure, planning, risk management, and control.
- Implementation: data migration, learning strategy, business modeling, gap analysis, and technology testing.
- Closure: transition strategy, verification, transition planning, commissioning.
3# How to choose a development team for migration? Integrator team or third-party team?
Finding the right team of professionals to work on ERP migration is an essential part of success. There are three main rules to remember when choosing the team of the developers for this uneasy task:
- Rule 1: Select candidates based on their skills, not on their position. The team needs to be motivated and interested in the company’s goals and understand migration purposes.
- Rule 2: The team should be able to make decisions and express their own vision on the migration process.
- Rule 3: Manage communication between the team members and ensure it runs smoothly. Conduct daily meetings, especially after the completion of important stages, before moving to the next ones. Discuss all possible obstacles and difficulties.
There are more reasons for the team leader of the migration process to be from your in-house team. But it’s possible to choose an external consultant with profound experience. Whatever team you choose, only one thing matters – the team has to meet key requirements and manage any change requests during the ERP migration process.
4# Migration process. What is important to control?
The implementation process of migration usually includes such stages and steps:
- Carefully investigate the current ERP system and consider its ability to fulfill the needs of your company. In this way, you can understand which functions to implement in the new ERP system.
- Find the corresponding ERP software package to ensure the smooth transition of the functional system. The result should be progressive, not a case of recovery failure.
- Thoroughly scrutinize the company’s goals and plan all possible needs of ERP migration. Define a clear migration strategy for the team.
- Start with less critical and small components and data, constantly moving to the more complex ones. Such a strategy will make it possible to constantly control and check the changes after each stage.
- Ensure the executive support of professionals and stakeholders who can contribute with their reasonable advice and opinions. It’s important to discuss all possible reasons for migrations to know what you need to get in the result.
5# How to transfer the company’s work to the new ERP?
Not all employees usually feel pleased about ERP migration. Most of the company’s operations and tasks are changing. That’s why it’s essential to tell the whole team about benefits and hold necessary training before the system is changed to the new one.
Here we collected the checklist that is recommended to follow while moving to the new ERP:
- Gather a strong team for an ERP migration project.
- Prepare documentation of existing business processes and problems to fix
- Establish the exact instructions and functionality needed.
- Define clear goals and objectives of migration.
- Mark key performance indicators.
- Review the migration process implementation.
- Establish training for the employees.
- Take feedback from the users and make corresponding changes.
Keep in mind, that an ERP system migration is a major time of transformation for any business, and the most important thing for deployment to become successful is the right preparation.
