An ERP Implementation Plan’s 6 Crucial Stages

After choosing an ERP(Enterprise Resource Planning) software solution, your organization must execute it. ERP adoption must be effectively and efficiently deployed by a team that comprises a project manager and department managers for a firm to benefit.

This process might be complicated and overwhelming depending on your organization’s needs. After successful software implementation, businesses should experience productivity and cost reductions from an ERP system. Switching to an Enterprise Resource Planning system can streamline business needs and benefit both users and the company.

Enterprise Resource Planning implementation steps

ERP implementation steps are below. IBM will start with what firms should do before adopting an ERP system, then discuss deployment best practices.

1. Find ERP and plan implementation

Before implementing ERP, a company must evaluate its systems. This must be done before choosing an ERP software to integrate enterprise resource planning.

This implementation technique begins with a study of the present system and procedures to determine how the business is performing and where there are potential issues. A decision-making ERP installation project team should be formed in this step. Financial, manufacturing, inventory, sales, and more can be assessed. To identify gaps and concerns like process inefficiencies and ERP system needs, this stage is crucial.

After reviewing the organization’s present system, workflow, and daily functions, choose anEnterprise Resource Planning system that fulfills budget forecasting and pricing needs. If requirements are clear, ERP software can be purchased in this step. These needs depend on whether a firm employs on-premises or cloud ERP.

A detailed ERP deployment strategy and project plan can make switching to a new ERP system easy. Clear and honest communication with employees ensures organizational buy-in.

Questions to ask while defining your company’s needs:

• ERP software automates what business functions?
• What data does the ERP system need and is it compatible?
• Which KPIs must be monitored?
• Can the program scale and adapt to the company’s needs?
• What is the deployment and implementation timeline?

2. Design and prepare implementation

You’ve picked your business’s ERP system. The design phase follows. This step configures the ERP software to meet your company’s demands.

Change management is needed to improve workflows and create new business processes that fit the soon-to-be-implemented ERP system. This design process and plan need a specialized team within the organization.

ERP system configuration steps:

• Define your business’s chart of accounts, cost centers, and business units to create an organizational structure.
• Install CRM, HR, and supply chain management modules and customize your ERP software to match your workflows.
• Set user roles and permissions to control system access and implement data controls.
• If applicable, integrate ERP software with accounting, inventory, and e-commerce platforms.

3. Develop and migrate

Once design criteria are set, development can begin. This requires software customization for redesign. Development is crucial and might be frightening, but if done right, it can help your ERP system work for years.

After a redesign, clean and format the current system’s data to make it compatible. This process requires an organization to evaluate and format all existing data for your new ERP software. Your first ERP test can be run after loading and formatting the new system. This step involves monitoring and recording your business’s critical indicators, including disruptions.

Plan and prepare data for migration:

• Audit all legacy systems and apps before data migration to get a clear picture.
• Search and clean the data to discover redundancy and categorize the data you need to move.
• Select a data transfer mechanism and test it to ensure proper migration.
• Make a backup and recovery plan for errors and data loss.
• Establish data governance policies and protocols.

4. ERP system test

All preventative measures have been done, thus system testing is needed before go-live. Normal development may continue at this stage. During simultaneous Enterprise Resource Planningmodule testing, one module may need modifications or alterations. Team members should receive user training, and stakeholders should participate in testing.

The entire system must be tested to verify appropriate operation and data accuracy. The most crucial phase ensures all system applications and procedures are running properly before the ERP software is launched.

Remember these throughout testing:

• Record user acceptance criteria.
• Check all migrated data for accuracy and system functionality.
• User accessibility can be checked by examining feedback.
• Automation, workflows, and system security must be tested before installing ERP software.
• Make sure the ERP system works with other systems and apps.
• Implement ERP software gradually and train all personnel.

5. Implement ERP successfully

Congratulations, your company is ready to deploy its new ERP system if you followed the previous procedures. After training everyone, roll out the new ERP solution.

The project team that started implementation should be ready for employee confusion or other challenges. Prepare for major malfunctions and have backup options. All Enterprise Resource Planning modules can be deployed simultaneously or in stages. Some companies prioritize specific modules and add others later, which is normal.

Every firm deploys ERP software differently, but make sure all employees can access it and activate automatic processes.

What to watch after implementation:

• Are the data correct and functional?
• Do all users have seamless real-time access?
• Are security protocols working?
• Has the workflow been established and processed?

6. ERP solution management

After implementation, you should establish an ERP system maintenance protocol. Your company should execute frequent software upgrades and maintenance. Having a team or professional manage your ERP system is crucial to its durability.

Your ERP vendor should be available for queries and updates. To guarantee the ERP solution works properly, this implementation process should comprise a well-managed team and robust communication between the firm, its employees, and key stakeholders.

New ERP system management best practices:

• Listen to customer and user input often.
• Cloud-based ERP systems update automatically, while on-premises ERP systems need software and hardware updates.
• Create SOPs to quickly resolve frequent situations

IBM ERP implementation

IBM Consulting drives business transformation. IBM provide experienced business consultancy and work openly to reach your business goals by combining multiple viewpoints, experiences, and key AI and hybrid cloud technology.

IBM provides ERP solutions, including SAP consulting on IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and AWS Cloud. Custom SAP roadmaps from their specialists reduce costs and increase performance. IBM Consulting professionals can help you transfer traditional ERP software to the cloud, restructure processes to utilize data, AI, and automation, and turn finance into a competitive advantage with these and other products.