There’s nothing small about your business anymore. More customers. More employees. More orders to fill. More processes. More competition. Your needs have changed and will continue to do so. You need greater visibility in order to make better business decisions. You need more flexibility to perform work anytime, from anywhere. And you need better software for continued success. So, when you hear the word “ERP implementation,” there’s no reason to run.
When You Can’t Keep Up, Upgrade
We’ve already discussed the pains associated with working your way up to ERP implementation realization, but there’s still the pain associated with missteps during implementation, and we want you to avoid them at all costs. Let’s see what you stand to lose if your ERP implementation fails:
All of these losses, however, are easily avoided by focusing on the one thing that separates successful ERP implementations from failed ones: an all-hands-on-deck approach.
6 Tips To Involve The Team In Reaching The Dream
01. Choose the right partner (with the right software). Pick a partner – one that’s not solely a software vendor – that is a good fit for your industry and business model. Vet them as you would a potential job candidate. Check their experience. Have they worked with similar businesses in your industry? Do they seem to grasp an understanding of your internal processes? Have they heard your pain points before? Then check their references. Who have they worked with, and what was the experience like? Would the reference agree to hire them again for future software enhancements? 02.Make sure leadership is committed. Are all of the needs of the executive team addressed in the chosen software solution? That’s the first step toward gaining support. Everything extends from there to your company’s departmental heads, key players and subject experts. When everyone sees key employees aligned around a technology implementation initiative that benefits the company mission, they, too, are going to believe. Once everyone is on board, you are free to focus on other aspects of the launch. 03. Get the right people on the implementation team from the very beginning. Key players and subject experts are important for successful implementations because these people are ambitious, but not company-centric. They see the bigger picture. They pitch in wherever and as needed. They believe teams are stronger aligned than divided. They understand the business processes as they were intended to be, and they know how – or at least why – they need to change. Best of all, they assimilate multiple points of view into a single solution. 04.Make ERP training a priority. Preparedness is the theme of ERP implementation. Train your employees. Turn them into power users. This grows your problem-solving team by the time you go live. Spot the curious and those committed to finding answers to problems through their own means. Company-wide training expands the number of users knowledgeable about the software and how it affects day-to-day processes. As anxiety over the impending launch surmounts, increase training. Make sure everyone remains focused. The right ERP consultant is going to help with this. 05.Do testing. Testing and training often go hand in hand. A problem or glitch identified at any stage of the implementation process should be controlled and monitored. Testing is not about the quantity of manpower allocated to a problem. It’s about the quality of the testing. How? Pick a client for beta testing. Start small and branch out. Every test leads to another test. This is where planning and problem solving synergize. Picking the right team of users to commit to testing outside of their normal, day-to-day routine is important, too. 06.Budget, budget, budget. By now, everyone knows that change management is closely tied to project management. That’s the first budget tip: Account for training services, materials and a well-defined plan with specific objectives. The second is to divide user requests between “want” and “need.” The third is to be comfortable saying no to the people around you without saying no your working relationships.
No Pain, No Organizational Growth
Of course, you always have the option of choosing not to pursue new technology. But you risk leaking valuable cash flow to account for inadequate processes and software systems, which leads to missed opportunities and a lack of accurate data for making informed business decisions. The benefit behind ERP software is the ability to integrate business management functions into a single system for streamlined processes as well as a big-picture view of sales, inventory, receivables and more. In essence, when you refuse to upgrade to technology that’s better suited for your current and future business needs, you reduce your agility – and agility plays a large part in the sustained growth of successful companies.
To learn more contact one of our consultants today
