Best Practices for ERP Implementation. Are you thinking about implementing ERP systems in your business? Then make sure that you follow the best practices to achieve success in ERP implementation.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software systems have gained popularity among businesses as it help transform a company digitally. An ERP system aims to optimize operational efficiency and streamline business processes.
According to Yahoo Finance, the ERP Software market size will reach roughly $123.42 billion by 2030, up from $53.77 billion in 2022. And if your business has decided to implement an ERP system, then you need to know the best practices for it.
But first, let’s give you a quick overview of ERP software.
What are Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system refers to the software application organizations use to manage, automate, and streamline business operations and processes for better performance.
Some business processes that ERP systems help manage are supply chain, accounting, procurement, risk and compliance management, project management, manufacturing, budgeting, planning, human resources, etc.
Read: ERP Application Development
ERP systems are integrated platforms built on-premise or in the cloud providing transparency into different aspects of business processes. It also acts as a single source of truth for end-to-end data and workflow, allowing multiple departments to access it.
Read: Introduction to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Signs that You Need an ERP System
Some of the signs that suggest that your business needs an enterprise resource planning system are:
- If you notice that the disparate systems that once worked in your favor aren’t working well together, and you are tired of wasting resources, time, and energy trying to sew a solution together.
- If you are using some basic tools to manage your business processes, but now they are putting limits to your ability to grow and expand in the market globally, it might be a sign you need an ERP solution.
- Lastly, if you have a remote team and customers but your existing tool or system isn’t accommodating them or helping in meeting customer’s needs. You need to invest in the solution that helps you gain a competitive advantage and meet your customers' expectations.
Read: What is Cloud ERP Software System
Best Practices for ERP Implementation
Some of the reasons why ERP implementation fails are unwillingness to change, unclear ERP requirements, lack of communication, rushing the project, lack of ongoing support and training, underestimating data migration, inadequate system testing, flawed validations, etc.
Read: Top 10 Common ERP Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
However, to overcome these challenges, we have enlisted best practices that you should follow and make your ERP solution a success, including:
Project Team for Discovery and Approval
If you are thinking about implementing an ERP solution, you need to start with the research and planning by designating a discovery team with members across the organization's departments. These members can include IT professionals, accountants, and management.
Read: Benefits of Cloud Computing
They will guide you in determining the features and preferences you should have in the ERP system. At the time of ERP implementation, the project team should be able to resolve conflicts between different organizational groups, adjust priorities, make decisions about strategy changes, etc.
Define Key Requirements & KPIs
You should have a clear vision of what you want from an ERP solution. To define key requirements, you need to analyze present workflows and determine what you want to achieve or how every process can be optimized.
The analysis will help create a list of ERP implementation key requirements. Those requirements might deliver real-time reports or automate the payroll and accounting system connection.
Read: Enterprise Application Development
Also, understanding the key requirements make it easier to define the key performance indicators (KPIs) of the ERP system. These KPIs can assist in measuring the success of ERP implementation.
Minimize Implementation Risks
Implementing ERP comes with a risk of failure. However, to mitigate these risks, you can get rid of outdated systems, tools, and technologies, collect all the data in a centralized database, and have the capability for cloud integration.
Outsource Right ERP Development Partner
Before implementing an ERP solution, it is vital to outsource a strong development team, including back-end developers, UI/UX designers, quality assurance executives, and project managers.
While hiring a potential development partner, ask them the methodology they will use throughout the process, how they will overcome roadblocks, their time commitment, internal responsibilities, transparency, etc. You can also look at their previous projects that can prove their experience solidifying that they can address your concerns.
Prepare for Data Migration
Migrating existing data to the ERP system is a crucial process in the implementation. It also requires careful planning and preparation to avoid the risk of data corruption or data loss, especially if you are extracting data from different applications.
Collaborate
To ensure the ERP implementation is accurate, everyone in your company needs to understand what the need for this system is, what it will do, how it will benefit, and what to expect in the future.
To attain that, you need to encourage active collaboration and communication within your organization and foster trust. There should also be clear communication with business partners throughout the implementation that explains how it may affect them.
Gather End-User Feedback
Gathering feedback from the end-users will help you gain deeper insights into whether the ERP implementation is running smoothly. The feedback will also help in understanding the obstacles faced by the employees allowing you to come up with a solution that can solve them before going live. Collecting feedback is a necessary step if you want to meet user requirements.
Ensure Continuous Training and Support
To get the maximum benefit from implementing ERP, it becomes critical to train and support employees in understanding new procedures and processes. It will also help in mitigating the fear of changes from the employees and resistance to the new system.
You can train in stages by selecting a few end-users for training and letting them train and monitor others by sharing their skills and experiences.
Read: Breakdown of Continuous Testing
Final Thoughts
So that was all about ERP implementation best practices, we hope that you find the article informational. Needless to say, for successful implementation, you need to choose the right development team, opt for the right technology, determine KPIs, and create a trusting environment for easy collaboration.
So, if you want to hire ERP developers who have years of expertise and experience, then all you have to do is get in touch with us and get a personalized quote now!
FAQs: Best Practices for ERP Implementation
What is an ERP system?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system refers to the software application organizations use to manage, automate, and streamline business operations and processes for better performance.
What are the benefits of ERP systems?
Compliance management, enhanced scalability, data security, centralization of data, cost savings, and increased productivity are some of the benefits of ERP systems.
What are the best practices for implementing ERP?
Some of the best practices you need to consider for ERP implementation in your existing system are:
- Project Team for Discovery and Approval
- Define Key Requirements & KPIs
- Minimize Implementation Risks
- Outsource the Right ERP Development Partner
- Prepare for Data Migration
- Collaborate
- Gather End-User Feedback
- Ensure Continuous Training and Support
Getting Ready for ERP ImplementationPreparation is the key to success!
What are the most important aspects in getting ready for an ERP implementation?
Read these step by step guidelines to ensure a successful ERP implementationhttps://www.forceintellect.com/2020/10/20/getting-ready-erp-implementation/
Idea - To showcase a thought leadership approach on the necessities of SAP implementation by companies.
The Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP) system from SAP AG is recognized as the market leader in ERP, application software, analytics, supply chain management, human capital management, master data management, data integration, and more.
With 100+ innovation and development centers, 102,400 employees, and market-leading implementation partners like Wipro and Oracle, SAP customers include 92% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies and 98% of the 100 most valued brands.
Why do businesses like National Grid, Siemens, and American Airlines opt for this ERP and consider it a strategic investment?To find the answer, let’s look at some underlying challenges faced by enterprises today-SMEs have limited resources and need to balance business value with functionality, support, and costs.Even though BI, performance management, and analytics are quickly gaining traction, businesses still struggle to go beyond basic reporting and analysis.Increased adoption of mobile, Big Data, and social networking have gaslighted the need for high-end data management.There is a growing demand for cloud adoption and/or migrating legacy applications to cloud-based options that provide flexibility in terms of usage and costs.SAP enables this adaptation journey with people-centric cloud applications that cross the traditional boundaries of enterprises.<>More than the basic ERPSAP has garnered some positive reviews and around 7.7% share of the global enterprise applications market due to its mature operation policies, faster gain on higher ROIs, enhanced productivity with controlled risks, and smooth flexibility with attenuated costs.
-Scalable data management SAP can accumulate scattered data from multiple sources in one place and organize and centralize information for future business access.Support With the best software support services in the industry, SAP, and Algorithm provide peace of mind about your organization.Customizable features Through strong partner relationships and an open ecosystem, SAP provides the choice and flexibility to find the best fit software.Cost SAP offers 23% lower implementation costs per component and 9.3% lower total software, service, and support cost per user than its competitors.Security and risk control SAP has the global certification from the British Standards Institute to ensure that consumers’ privacy rights are protected.Real-Time ERP SAP supplies real-time intelligence through the in-memory of SAP HANA (High-Performance Analytic Appliance).
<>Creating Impact Across Industries Let’s how market leaders are leveraging SAP-To simplify complex and disjointed processes and also speed up access to information, Siemens started using SAP and recently migrated to the SAP HANA.
In the year 1999, the entire world was gripped by the Y2K fear.
These two firms are also the trendsetters, with others invariably following them on what they do.
Coming back to the announcement, SAP made the world aware of its “2025 Deadline” some time back.
The Y2K bug had threatened to disrupt the global IT infrastructure with shutdowns.
As a result, many businesses had to go through massive upgrades and system replacements, thinking the world could literally come to an end on January 1, 2000.
These third-party “Big Maintenance” providers, in particular, have claimed that businesses are being compelled to give up their existing ERP system and moving on to another so that the Big ERP vendors can satisfy their selfish profit motives, and that it should be the customer’s choice whether to move to the new system or not.
