How to Avoid ERP Implementation Hiccups

Here’s the scoop: a rapidly expanding world, demanding customers, siloed systems, inadequate supply chain management, and digital-savvy competition are putting immense pressure on distribution companies to simply keep up. These challenges require agile yet robust solutions. We’ve witnessed the increase of the C-suite’s interest in leveraging Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, and this is not merely a technical upgrade, but a strategic necessity to stay competitive.

For the distribution industry, ERP systems mean improved efficiency in avoiding supply chain disruptions, streamlined processes for warehouse and factory management, end-to-end visibility of each step of the distribution process and process optimization through technological advancements.

Given that ERP has gone through many iterations of development since its inception; beginning with the integration of several functional areas of a company, to eventually becoming mobile-enabled, and now incorporating artificial intelligence for business optimization, the benefits a business can reap have become numerous!

So, whether you aim to improve internal operations or reach the world through an enabling ERP, you might want to follow these key pre-implementation steps to mitigate re-strategizing or potential bottlenecks.

Before embarking on an implementation journey, it’s crucial to conduct a thorough analysis of the existing processes and pain points. Understanding these issues will help you set clear goals and align the project with the company’s strategic objectives. It will also give you the opportunity to assess the need for custom integration and smart solutions to optimize the functionality of specific business areas.

For example, your company could be facing challenges in managing international operations. This can cause inconsistencies in financial reporting, language and communication, and complications in handling international transactions. A suitable solution to this could be a multi-language and currency ERP designed for global distributors.

By identifying bottlenecks early on, you can weigh your ERP options and minimize risks that could potentially derail the project, once kickstarted.

This can be achieved by:

• Mapping out current processes by engaging all stakeholders to pinpoint specific issues and help the project team understand the nuances of each process. From procurement to order delivery, involve all stakeholders and showcase your interest in improving daily pain points. Not only will this provide you with invaluable insight, but it will also help employees embrace change – maximizing user adoption, post-implementation.
• Analyzing performance data such as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) can help you gauge performance inconsistencies, and in return, implement ways to solve problems effectively. From inventory turnover to delivery times to customer satisfaction, metrics can highlight where you need to shift your focus.
• Identifying pain points through surveys and interviews will help you uncover issues that may not be evident from data analysis alone. One-on-one, in-depth chats will help employees communicate problems and allow the project team to understand the root causes of certain problems. Discussions with frontline employees can provide on-ground information that could otherwise be overlooked.

Defining the scope of the implementation is important because it outlines what the ERP will provide and helps manage expectations. This helps an organization gain clarity and focus, aligning the project with company goals. Moreover, it helps with:

• Allocating resources effectively: be it budgeting, assigning tasks or scheduling timelines, all of which are crucial for staying on track and on budget.
• Mitigating risks: by identifying potential risks and better planning the implementation.
• Aligning stakeholders: by having a shared understanding of the project objectives, deliverables and even its limitations.

This is particularly important when operations involve several key figures and departments. From procurement to customer service, each person involved in the business must understand the change that is being implemented and how it affects their responsibilities; what matters will be resolved? And what requires their attention.

Data is the backbone of any ERP system. Accurate migration of data can ensure that business operations run as usual without disruptions. However, there are several layers to ensure the accurate and clean migration of data. You may start by:

• Identifying data sources such as inventory management systems, order processing systems, CRM or accounting software.
• Deciding which data needs to be migrated. This typically includes master data (customers, suppliers, products), transactional data (orders, invoices), and historical data for analysis.
• Conducting a data audit to spot any errors such as data duplicates, outdated data or other inaccuracies, and cleaning the data thereafter.
• Establish a mapping between the fields in the old system and new system to ensure data is transferred to the appropriate fields.
• And develop a detailed data migration cutover plan that outlines the steps for the final migration, including timing, resource allocation, and contingency plans.

Bad data migration is a common cause for failed or problematic ERP go-lives. Here’s what Fortude Infor M3 experts have to say.