One of the things that determine that you have stepped into the digital transformation world is when you decide to replace your old systems with the latest ones. The new technology that most of the businesses are using is – ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning. While you were selecting the best software for your business, there is likelihood that you have chosen the latest one that offers plenty of benefits and makes the work of employees’ easier. Also, you can realise that you have entered the modern age of the 21st century. Such enthusiasm can be a positive aspect, however, the next thing that comes to mind is – what should I do before implanting ERP? It is common that many businesses speed up in implementing the ERP software without even assessing it. Therefore, one needs to go through a right implementation plan, figure out the resources, and then move ahead and get ready to implement the software. As per ERP experts, choosing an ERP tool is just half of the task, while the other half is to understand how to implement the software in the right manner. In this piece of article, we shall learn about the pre-requirements or pre-conditions related to what has to be done before ERP implementation. Are you ready to learn?
Factors to consider before implementing ERP
Let us check out some of the major factors that are to be focused on before implementing Enterprise Resource Planning.
1. Multiple options
There are plenty of ERP tools available in the industry, and not one tool can fit in all approaches. As every business is unique, one has to choose software that meets the specific requirements of the organization. Defining the company’s business activities is one way to determine the kind of software that fits into the bill. You can create a list of activities your business performs, and accordingly, you can select the solution making sure that the ERP chosen will fulfil all the capabilities to run a business smoothly.
2. Quality control of data
When it comes to the data challenges, there are two concerns that come in the way of implementation. One is to replace the legacy data and another one is consolidating the solutions. The business owners need to decide the kind of data which has to be accumulated for business operations. Next, the duplicate and inaccurate data have to be separated from the business. See that you have an IT expert helping you through the process and guiding you through the new ERP system file format. Make sure that the final data is balanced before it goes through the break-it or make-it process for implementation of ERP tool.
3. Build a project plan and strategy
Implementation of ERP needs effort, planning, and focus much more than a vendor can provide. Hence, you need to make sure your ERP tool offers you these critical aspects that a business requires to achieve success. Some of the most overlooked factors include business process improvement, organization change management, and also program management. Therefore, seek guidance from the experts and develop a strategy that will suit the requirements of the company.
4. Change management
With lack of organizational change management, any project can fail. It is usual that when focusing on technology, the manual work is ignored. Hence, the ERP tools should use the resource efficiently to help the business activities. Therefore, the business owner should understand how to use change management through the ERP implementation tool. Some of the elements to focus on include:
a) Identify the champions of change management: These are go-to experts who will listen to the organization’s pulse and ground of the company. They are the right people who can communicate and let you know the vision of change. At the same time, they will explain you how to accept the change.
b) Determine your strategy: You need to identify your strategy before the ERP implementation. Also, you need to connect it with the vision of change management.
c) One of the important elements is to communicate as much as you can to spread the message of vision of change and bring on an element of freedom in the organization.
5. Project team
You must have heard A-team responsible critically for the success of ERP. Before implementation of the ERP software, you need to find a committed project leader who can handle the software in its best potential. When you can make your A-team, you can ask the following questions:
a) The team should understand all the business activities
b) The team needs to have skilled and qualified people who can lead the change of business activities
c) The team leader needs to have management skills such as prompt, good communicator, time manager, and so on.
Once you sort out the above aspects, you are good to go with ERP implementation.
6. Challenges of business transformation
Adopting the latest technique with the ERP tool with features such as visual representation and more, one has to go through certain business transformations. Providing the new users explanation for the challenges helps in getting through the ins and outs of the business activities easily. You can create a committed team and make the team members understand how their tasks can be affected after the successful implementation of ERP tool. Also, you can let them know how team members can be benefited from the change, and train them accordingly.
Now that you know what to do before implementing the ERP software, you are all set to install the tool for your business. For more details, you can reach out to IAS and get answers to all your questions.
