GUIDE : How to approach an ERP project ? [3 phases]

 

 

ERP Guide

Step 1

Framing and planning an ERP project

Whether it's an ERP migration or implementation project, the scoping phase is a crucial step. As with any project, preparation remains key: "the beginning is half of everything".

      A) Define your goals

Before any ERP project, you shouldprecisely define the objectivesyou wish to achieve with this tool. This phase is one of the most important and therefore must be taken particularly seriously.

An ERP project has a strategic dimension for your company. In addition, it is a long-term investment, since companies keep their ERP for an average of ten years.

As you will see, ERP impacts many areas for service and consulting companies. 

  • Human resources management 

Human capital is one of the pillars of service and consulting companies. A high-performance ERP is a valuable aid for planning, skills monitoring as well as time and activity management .

  • Customer relationship management 

Interaction monitoringandinternal projectmanagementmust be implemented strategically in order to maximize team productivity and customer satisfaction.

Thus, a well-chosen ERP combined with a powerful CRM will allow you to manage contracts and opportunities in the most optimal way possible.

  • Financial management 

ERP allowsprecise resource tracking of costs and revenues. This greatly facilitates the management ofinvoicingand project accounting

     1. Choose SMART goals

Define your objectives based on the SMART methodology, i.e.

Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Time Bound. 

These must be quantified precisely, using very specific KPIs.

Not sure which KPIs to choose? Here are 12 financial indicators to monitor for project management.

    2. Measure ROI

At the end of the project, you will needto establish a reportallowing you tomeasure the ROIof the ERP project plan. The defined objectives must therefore remain consistent with youroverall business strategy.

You can define a number of questions that allow you to evaluate the ROI of your ERP project: 

  • What advantages has ERP achieved from an operational point of view? For example: process automation, error reduction, etc. 
  • What savings are the result? 
  • How has ERP improved the accuracy and reliability of data? 
  • How does this impact decision-making?
  • What competitive advantages has ERP brought? For example: better customer satisfaction, reduced response times, reduced project assignment time, etc.

B) Clarifying the existing situation 

Starting an ERP migration or implementation project involves auditing your existing system.

This step will first allow you to take stock of the current situation of your company.

Map thoroughly: 

  • Your communication flows
  • Processes
  • The types of data that circulate
  • The software used 

Once the inventory of fixtures has been carried out, you will be better able to identify the elements you want to keep later. 

     1. Identify the data in circulation and to be kept

Think of this step as a big spring cleaning. You will see more clearly what data circulates within your company as well as what will have to be kept.  

     2. Ensure growth

While this audit step can be long and tedious, it is extremely important for the success of your ERP project and for the growth of your company. Imagine growing a services and consulting business without a good management of its customer base and its resource planning would be illusory.

     3. Involve the teams

Our advice: involve your teams at this stage of the project. You will be able to initiate change management and you will have a solid base of information thanks to a precise field vision.

 

      C) Determine your budget 

Keep in mind that an ERP project represents a heavy investment, both human and financial.

  • Cost of the tool 

First of all, theprice of the softwareis significant. In addition, it may requirethe installation of infrastructure, especially if you choose an on-premises version (vs cloud).

With each solution, maintenance costs are to be expected. 

  • Team mobilization

The teams mobilized throughout the duration of the project will also generate heavy expenses. If you do not have the human resources available in-house, working with a specialist service provider is highly recommended. Even in this case, however, teams must be defined in order to guarantee project management that will ensure consistency between the implementation and the defined objectives.

Therefore, accurately assessing thebudget you are willing to invest is an important part of the scoping phase.

Indeed, this decision will have a direct impact on the choice of tool, the service provider but also the level of support received. Other decisions can result from this estimate, such as migrating your data yourself or assigning your service provider depending on the size of the task. 

 

Framing and planning an ERP 1 project

     

 

D) Identify potential risks

As with any project, there are risks to consider. The more you anticipate, the more effective you can be in solving problems.

     1. List the potential risks

Indeed, several events and hazards can impact the project: 

  • Business Needs Assessment
  • Budget change
  • Bankruptcy of the selected software
  • Changes in legislation
  • Availability of teams
  • External events 

     2. Anticipate solutions

Without being paranoid, astudy of the potential riskswill be constructive.

We recommend that you make a list of elements that could compromise the implementation or migration of your ERP tool. Once these elements have been identified, analyze the potential consequences and anticipate solutions. Defining an action plan beforehand will save you from cold sweats, delays and additional costs. 

 

      E) Designate a team 

The choice of team is an essential factor for the success of a project of this magnitude. 

     1. Select the most motivated profiles

Choose only people who are genuinely engaged and motivated. The migration or implementation of an ERP project is difficult to carry as this tool is strategic for the company and its growth.

     2. Diversify profiles

Start by choosing a project manager with strong shoulders and a team made up of mixed profiles. Each speciality will contribute to the building, whether it is a technical, strategic, operational or commercial profile. Make sure they are available over the next 6 to 12 months, as this is the average length of time for an ERP implementation or migration project.

 

      F) Edit a specification 

     1. Contextualize the project 

The technical and functional specifications are a precise document that will serve as a reference throughout the project. It provides context:

  • About the company
  • Its challenges 
  • The economic context in which it operates 
  • Competitors 
  • His needs
  • His ambitions

When expressing your needs, you can formulate your expectations in terms of features and the level of customization required. However, be careful not to fall into the trap of over-personalization: this often more expensive solution can be difficult to manage later on, especially to find expert service providers or to set up training.

     2. Understand the benefits of the specifications

This document is essential to clarify your needs and communicate them as accurately as possible to the service provider.

Drawing up specifications offers several advantages: 

  • Accurately break down the different phases of the project 
  • Confirm the parties involved 
  • Define a precise agenda 
  • Clarify the project end date 

 

      G) Choosing an ERP

The choice of tool must be strategic : you will use it for years and will be required to collaborate regularly with its teams.

     1. Define the selection criteria

Start by listing the criteria that are important to you. Like what: 

  • Quality of customer support 
  • List of must-have features
  • Industry Specialization
  • Budget
  • Additional services 

     2. Compare different ERPs

Once your expectations have been clearly established, you can make an initial selection and proceed with the comparison phase. At this stage, it is necessary to collect feedback from current customers, discuss with the sales teams or try to obtain a trial version. These are all elements that will help you choose the right ERP tool for your needs and your company's ambitions. 

Tip: An integrated ERP solution allows you to bring all your data together on the same platform, for example. Here are 10 benefits of choosing an integrated solution to run your business.

     3. Go for the feeling 

Can't decide? Base yourself on your feeling and on the ease of communication you may have had during your exchanges with the teams. You will be required to exchange several times a week... for months. At similar prices and features, a benevolent and constructive communication can help you decide between them.

To help you, here is the guide to choosing an ERP as a service company.

Framing and planning an ERP 2 project 

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Step 2

Deployment and implementation

By this phase, you have already: 

  • Established your needs
  • Define a team
  • Decided on a timetable
  • Drafted functional and technical specifications
  • Choose a tool or even a service provider 

In the deployment phase, you'll make sure that everything that was defined upstream applies. At this level, project monitoring must really be regular and rigorous.       

 

      A) Set your expectations 

How do you know if your ERP project can be called a success? 

To do this, you need to draw up a list of your expectations. The agenda defined in the scoping phase gives you a first direction. Answer the question: who needs what and when? 

This will help you set the key moments of the project on a specific timeline so that you can measure its success at the end.

Here are 3 keys to making your ERP project a success: 

  • Mastery of time
  • Cost control 
  • Transparent communication 

 

      B) Migrate your data

The project seems to be coming to an end? However, the data migration stage remains crucial. Indeed, data is one of the greatest assets of the company and its migration must therefore be the subject of meticulous work. Take the time to establish a precise data migration strategy: to maintain its added value, this data must be aggregated, cleansed and reliable above all.

A data migration project includes: 

  1. Planning : defining the key steps, the agenda, the teams involved
  2. Analysis : identifying the data to be migrated. What data should be kept? What level of history is needed?  
  3. Backup  
  4. Mapping : Mapping from one system to another
  5. Data validation
  6. Data cleansing
  7. Exception management
  8. Documentation : detailing the steps, challenges, mistakes, solutions

 

      C) Testing and testing

An ERP project remains incomplete without a careful testing and acceptance phase. This should not be neglected under any circumstances. 

     1. Write a recipe book

Writing a recipe book will allow two things:

  • Ensure that the needs discussed in the scoping phase are well covered
  • Review each point to check that everything is functional

If errors persist, they can then be corrected at this stage, before going into production.

The recipe book consists of a series of tests, organized by scenarios according to each type of user.

Like what: 

Need: "As a salesperson, I want to fill in all the information about my customer in a file dedicated to him"

Test: Use the feature to create a customer card

Result: If "OK" successful, if "KO" fails, possibly adding details on non-functional elements. 

     2. Involve teams

The acceptance involves all your employees, including the business teams who will become the end users of the solution.

As a result, it is important to validate their needs and expectations with regard to this tool and to ensure that the chosen ERP meets them correctly.

Finally, the acceptance will also make it possible to anticipate the training phase by precisely identifying concrete use cases expected by your employees.

 

      D) Train your employees

Changing your habits is never easy, which is why the training phase is essential to facilitate the adoption of this new tool by your teams.

  • Benefits of Investing in Training 

Training is crucial to allow for smooth adaptation to change , and will prove beneficial in several ways:

  1. Better handling of the ERP
  2. Time saving
  3. Gain in efficiency and productivity
  4. Better employee satisfaction
  5. Improved profitability

By refusing to invest time and energy in the training aspect, you risk being confronted with reluctance, slowed down processes and a certain frustration from your employees. Finally, misuse of the ERP carries risks, such as a lack of data reliability or autonomy, leading to a dependency of your teams.

  • Key points to address when training your teams in an ERP

We therefore strongly recommend that you organize a precise training schedule to facilitate the adoption of your ERP project internally. Make sure that all the teams involved receive this training and don't hesitate toevolve it according to what you observe as you go along.

Address the important points: 

    • The key stages of integration and its agenda
    • How the tool works
    • The benefits brought in: more precision, more reliability, more autonomy in terms of data access, time saving, better efficiency
    • Presentation of the new processes  

  • Expert support

As the training stage is crucial, you could decide to be accompanied by a service provider: either by an agency or by a freelancer. In addition, it is not uncommon for the chosen ERP to also offer consultants dedicated to training or put you in touch with partners. Their expertise and experience give them a high level of mastery as well as a good understanding of the issues involved.

Deployment and Implementation 1

Step 3

Post-deployment monitoring and optimization

      A) Evaluate the success of the project 

The assessment will make it possible to evaluate the success of the ERP project and to measure its ROI.

     1. Analyze KPIs

Start by carefully reviewing the KPIs determined in the scoping phase. 

You will be able to base your analysis on concrete elements. Then, compare and analyze these elements from one period to the next: before/after the project or from one year to the next.

     2. Engage with end-users

While encrypted data is essential at this stage, the experience of your end users is also crucial. The well-being and retention of your employees is at stake, and ultimately your profitability as a company. Take the time to gather their views and consider any suggestions they may have.

Answering the following questions will help you measure the impact of the project:

  • Are the objectives achieved?
  • Do the features meet the teams' expectations? 
  • Does the ERP deployed make it possible to meet all the needs expressed in the scoping phase? 
  • Do employees know how to get the most out of the new tool?  
  • Was the data transferred correctly from one system to another? 
  • Has the agenda been respected? The budget? 

 

      B) Maintain

Keeping your ERP up to date is a necessity for several reasons. 

     1. Ensuring the highest level of security

Your company's ERP is required to receive personal data : on your employees, your customers, your service providers, etc. First of all, make sure that this collection complies with the GDPR regulations. 

Then, you need to put in place as many measures as possible to prevent security breaches in your system.

It is your responsibility as a data collector to ensure that your data does not fall into the wrong hands. This requires careful maintenance of your tools, and therefore of your ERP.

     2. Limit the number of interruptions 

Engaging in preventive maintenance measures will help avoid bugs and slowdowns. However, these types of interruptions could seriously affect the productivity of your teams.

Be careful if you opt for an On-Premise solution: this infrastructure generally requires more maintenance than a Cloud version. In addition, it requires strong technical resources. However, it can be relevant if you have high customization needs. 

 

      C) Evolving the tool

You thought you were done? In reality, an ERP project is never really finished! 

  • Objectives aligned with strategy

Indeed, the needs of your company are bound to evolve, especially in a growth phase. As such, you need to ensure that the tool remains aligned with the overall business strategy and continues to meet your needs.  

  • Necessary compliance

Finally, an upgrade of your ERP may be necessary to remain compliant from a legislative perspective. Some regulatory changes may impact your industry or your operation, it is your responsibility to bring your company and your tools into compliance.

Post-deployment monitoring and optimization 1

Conclusion

The key to a successful ERP project? Meticulous preparation ! The scoping phase is fundamental and allows you to take stock not only of your objectives but also of your existing situation.

An ERP project is particularly strategic for a company, especially if it is a consulting or service company, for which the handling of customer and team data remains particularly cumbersome.

Let's keep in mind that this is a project that requires a lot of human and financial resources, and this over several months. An ERP project must therefore be anticipated and perfectly executed because it concerns the company as a whole. Its benefits can be quickly visible, both for your customers and your employees. However, a poorly implemented ERP project can also haveconsequences that affect the satisfaction and profitability of your company.

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