Common ERP Mistakes During Implementation Process
As organizations continue to return to business as normal, we are seeing many picking right back up where they were on their digital transformation plans. Moving up the list for many organizations is ERP implementations and upgrades. The pandemic quickly educated organizations on the need for them to digitize their business with modern cloud ERP systems. As this new wave of ERP projects hit, we thought now would be a good time to refresh on some of the common ERP mistakes that usually occur.
- IT driving the ERP plan: it needs to be driven by business. The IT brains drive the technology but the business executives have to drive what needs/problems the technology needs to solve.
- Skimmed over the planning stage: If you are replacing or upgrading your ERP system, you need to make sure you are first taking time to evaluate your business processes and what is working and not on the current system and how that will transition to the new. A new ERP system might end up changing your processes and you need to figure all that out in advance. You also need to consider how they changes will affect and display to your users.
- Spending too must time in the planning stage: That’s right, spending too much time planning is just as detrimental as not enough time. Fast is the pace, not perfect. Here me say that again, no matter how much you try to plan and control every detail, you will NEVER achieve a perfect ERP implementation/upgrade.
- Not having a defined data strategy: You need to understand how your storing and using your data prior and then how you will integrate your data from ERP, CRM, and other systems in order to provide a complete view of business processes in the new system. Data also plays a big role in the testing and implementation phase.
- Not having a defined cloud strategy: You need to evaluate all the applications you are running and determine which make sense to run in the cloud, which are appropriate for SaaS, and which need to remain on-premise for either security, regulatory, or some other reason. There are several cloud deployment options, you need to take the time to evaluate each model and determine what is best for your business.
- Standardization vs customization: Do you need to go through the pain of customization or is changing your process the better direction to head? There is always going to be gap fit problems in every ERP implementation problem.
- Lacking an internal communication plan: You need to make sure your entire organization is alerted to the fact you are undergoing an ERP project. It is also important to keep them in the loop of anything that are going to encounter or anything that may affect their day jobs. It would also be a good idea to share the why behind the project and point out some benefits to the project to help build excitement, thus encouraging buy-in.
- Insufficient budgeting: Almost every ERP project comes in over budget, as there is always unexpected issues that arise in a project of that magnitude. You should always include an extra line item when budgeting in case of emergency.
This list is not a comprehensive list of ERP mistakes your business may face when you decide to implement or upgrade your ERP system. However, if you can keep these top of mind during your project, it will help alleviate some unnecessary stress.
2W Tech is a technology service provider specializing in solutions for the manufacturing industry. We are a long-standing Epicor reseller and service provider. We are an Epicor Gold Partner and would love to help your business with your next ERP project, whether an upgrade, new installation or something else. Give us a call today to learn more.
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