How to Succeed When Implementing ERP

The implementation of ERP can be seen in two different ways. The first one would be implementing it for the first time, and this is the one that takes more time for research and preparation for the employees of the system. The second one is the updating of the system which usually takes less time and effort than the first one. Despite this, both phases take place at different times and require different levels of difficulty. Having to face the second stage is not a sign of failure, but a chance of improving the functionality of the system.

It seems that enterprises need to incorporate ERP more every day. The main reason is that they want to grow and become more competitive to match the global market requirements. However, we have all heard about organizations that have tried to implement ERP and failed. The question is why does it happen and how can it be that some enterprises get huge benefits while others loose time and money? Lets see some reasons that can make it fail and why.

Why Can it Fail?

The first reason for the correct implementation to be in danger consists in the absence of a strongly determined organizational structure. Not every company has a defined structure for employees, and sometimes managers have the wrong idea that ERP will solve this problem, while it certainly will not. While ERP does not create a structure, it improves the previously established one.

The second reason appears when the company doesn't have clear objectives, and when it does not define which benefits they want to get through the implementation of ERP. This is usually referred to as “non defined objectives”. When the directors have not defined objectives and strategies, or even which benefits they need to obtain from the new system, they will find two difficulties during the process: as they do not know what they want to obtain, they will not be capable of defining the steps to take in order to get a beneficial functioning. On the other hand, as they have no objectives they will not be able to measure the results nor even know if the implementation has been successful. In this way the project will be in march, but they will not know which direction it has to take.

The third reason is the absence of preventive dispositions to fight the resistance to the new technologies by the employees. Changes always generate a certain level of rejection, and the key is to keep in mind these difficulties and to take preventive actions.

The last one is the need of a professional inside the organization who takes the responsibility of making the project successful, and they must guarantee that the process is being executed by taking into account the consultant's instructions. These people are frequently named as the persons responsible for implementation, and their absence can make the project fail. To make mistakes at the time of choosing the supplier or the system itself can also end in failure for obvious reasons.

Implications of Implementing ERP

There are several actions to be taken in the process of implementing ERP. The first one to mention is to define a management team who is very interested in changing the software. If the enterprise already has this team then the process will be much easier. If not the directors will try to solve many internal problems through the use of the new software, and it will probably not work. The different modules of ERP contemplate areas that must be previously defined in the organization.

Another important action is to define clear objectives before thinking of the acquisition of the new software. In regards to the system, you can have objectives such as generating quality information in real time in order to make better decisions and improve the business operation. Sometimes organizations want to solve problems through new systems and for that matter its necessary to see which aspects of ERP are able to be resolved, and which cannot.

As long as we have established clear objectives, keeping in mind the instructions provided by professionals, it will be easy to see if they have been reached by the project. Moreover we will be able to see if we are missing steps that need to be fixed at the same time.

Next Page: Negotiating Changes