Implementation

ERP Implementation Strategy Survey

  • Reading time:1 min read

Software Advice Houston Neal of Software Advice is running a survey about the ERP implementation strategies, with the goal of identifying the best one. The survey is very short, it will take only a couple of minutes and is aimed at helping future customers choosing the best strategy.

Even though I don’t think that anyone should follow the results of any survey when choosing their implementation strategy, the introductory article of this survey does a nice job explaining the three common approaches of implementing ERP. If you are an existing ERP customer, or a consultant, please take a half a minute and answer the questions there, and if you are a potential ERP customer, check the article to learn more about possible approaches your organization can adopt. If you missed the link at the beginning of the post, just click here.

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Discreet and process manufacturing difference

  • Reading time:2 mins read

When implementing NAV in manufacturing companies, I’ve sometimes heard complaints that the type of manufacturing supported in NAV doesn’t fit the customer needs.

And sometimes that’s completely true. NAV supports discreet manufacturing, and it handles it pretty well. But the things do get bumpy when you venture into process manufacturing world.

Sometimes customers or even consultants don’t really understand why this happens. It’s simple: there is a big difference between process and discreet manufacturing, and to successfully implement NAV in these two fundamentally different environments you need to understand and appreciate these differences.

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Panorama ERP diagnostic and Assessment

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image Panorama Consulting Group, the authors of the ERP report, have just made available two interesting tools: ERP Quick Diagnostic, and ERP Readiness Assessment.

According to their website, if you are “in the early stages of selecting a new ERP software or if you’ve already completed your project, our ERP Quick Diagnostic will help you benchmark with other ERP projects across the globe”.

On the other hand, if you are thinking about starting an ERP project, you can take advantage of the ERP Readiness Assessment which can “determine how ready you really are for ERP”.

All in all, two simple online tools which can help you understand how well your ERP project is going or completed, or what can you expect if you decide to venture into one. Click here to check this out.

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Is an ERP implementation project just a project?

  • Reading time:5 mins read

image “Software projects are no different from other projects”.

This statement is being repeated over and over at project management courses and seminars, even endorsed in books.

It’s true that software (and ERP implementation, as a subset of software) projects have many traits in common with projects in other disciplines. But ignoring their specifics is almost as wrong as saying that software projects are completely different than other projects.

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5th rule of agile ERP: interface where possible

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imageOne of the biggest absurdities about ERP systems springs from the very word we use so often when describing ERP: integrated.

ERP is an integrated system: it integrates all data and processes into a single application. Different modules look over different aspects of data and processes, but a change in one module automatically reflects in all others.

A fantastic concept. When it was invented, it streamlined processes, boosted productivity and eliminated overhead and error.

So, whenever a new functionality is needed by a company, it should be integrated into the ERP, to benefit from the integrated system. Right?

Wrong.

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4th rule of agile ERP: avoid heavy customizations

  • Reading time:4 mins read

You can’t avoid customizations. Vanilla ERP is a great first step, and a valuable tool for establishing common language between the customer and the consultant. But in the long run? Probably not. Pristine uncustomized ERP won’t be sufficient, because of the gaps between your way and ERP’s way. Sooner or later, gaps will have to go.

Two most common ways of closing functionality gaps are customizing the software, and changing the processes. You can almost always touch general processes, optimize them, twist them, bend them, make them more efficient or even eliminate them. But when it is about industry specifics that add true value or contribute to company’s competitive edge, customization is the answer.

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3rd rule of agile ERP: focus on value

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image – “We need a report which groups our sales by product components.”

– “And we need it broken down by cost centers.”

– “And it must show comparison with last month, quarter and year, and with budget and forecast, with indexes and trends. In linear regression.”

– “And it must let you choose if it is by posting date or by document date. Or by shipment date. Maybe some other date as well.”

– “And it must exclude returns, and include only those re-shipments that were linked to original returns in the shown period.”

And it must be a disaster if you agree to half of these.

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2nd rule of agile ERP: deploy gradually

  • Reading time:4 mins read

Eat an elephantHow do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Swallowing it all at once might be tempting as it has all the potential you need to get into the next edition of Guinness World Records. Likewise, trying it with an ERP implementation has all the potential you need to get into to the next edition of Chaos Report. One way or the other.

ERP software is huge. It contains thousands of features potentially touching every single tiniest aspect of your business. Implementing ERP is about introducing change into your company, and change can be evolutionary, or revolutionary. Your pick.

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1st rule of agile ERP: deploy vanilla ERP

  • Reading time:4 mins read

image“Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.” That’s the very first principle of the Agile Manifesto.

The problem with ERP is that the first deliveries are all but early: they typically occur only after about twenty months.

Twenty months is a heck of a long time. And value achieved after a twenty-month implementation is often far below expectations.

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