What is ERP?
Organisations can utilise ERP software to automate and optimise processes, resulting in improved efficiency, productivity, and collaboration. Implementing an ERP system can yield a significant ROI after the initial investment.
Discover more advantages of ERP by reading our blog.
10 Stages of Delivery
When embarking on an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) journey. It's important to understand the key phases of the ERP lifecycle, to ensure a successful implementation.
In this blog, we delve into the 10 stages of ERP delivery, guiding you through each step of the journey.
Discovery & Planning: At the first phase of your ERP journey, you will need to nominate a cross-functional team to determine what your organisation’s needs are for the new system - record what you need in a statement of requirements.
Evaluation & Selection: In the second phase, you will evaluate a set of solutions. Select the one that best meets the needs of your organisation, as determined during the discovery and planning phase. There are various types of ERP systems available, such as cloud-based, on-premise, and hybrid options. You need to consider each one carefully to determine which one suits your organisation the most.
Optimised Design & Implementation: When the right solution has been procured, the project or implementation team will work out the correct configuration of the system, to support your business processes and workflows.
Development: Once your ERP software is set up, the team will create supplementary reports, inquiries, automations, and dashboards to supply necessary business information and streamline processes. They will also establish interfaces to connect with other business systems, enabling them to function cohesively and produce consistent reports.
Testing: Testing is a very important step in an ERP implementation. Its purpose is to ensure that the system works as planned and address any unexpected problems. No matter how standard the software is, it is possible to get a setting the wrong way round - testing provides the opportunity to discover this first!
Training: For a successful implementation, it is important to ensure users are adequately trained in the use and configuration of the new system. This starts with building a strategy around who needs to be trained, when they require the training, and what media should be used. It may be beneficial to deliver training during the implementation at certain milestones, to provide a more practical learning experience.
Business Change: This is a crucial step in your organisation’s ERP Implementation journey. When it comes to people, managing change can be a challenging process. Technology enables change, but people drive it. Make sure you employ the right strategies to ensure your people embrace the change and are committed to achieving the desired business outcomes.
Deployment: It’s show time! The project team start the data migration process to the new solution. The thinking starts with how you wish to cutover and then works backwards to determine what data needs to be brought in from the old system. When the new system goes live -either in stages or all at once - a phased approach can help you manage risks and issues, while spreading the workload.
Support: Early stages of support, sometimes referred to as hypercare, will involve extra assistance to ensure that the transition to the new systems and processes is as smooth as possible. This is where the project and/or consultancy team ensure that the system is working as it should and that staff are able to maximise its use.
Continuous Improvement: Adopting a continuous improvement plan is a great way to keep your systems optimised as your business changes, and as new features become available in the ERP market.
Download our free eGuide to find information on why organisations implement ERP, the core features, and the benefits. If you need help kick-starting your ERP project, get in touch with our experts.