It integrates all departments and functions across a company in a single computer system that is able to serve all those different department’s particular needs. An ERP system also automates business processes by placing them into a useful format that is standardized and common for the whole organization. An ERP setup can lead you to success if you take the right steps, but what if it’s your first time? If it’s your first, then it might be hard and troubling for you, and a cause for your frustration.
So in a few short steps, you can check out how to prevent future pains and use the paved path taken by those before you:
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Get to know your own system:
Basically, you should know your departments, the process each one takes, their relations to one another, who has to approve what, and a step by step workflow of your business.
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List out your current problems and future goals:
By knowing your current problems, you can get focused on your goals. Also this will help you narrow out what solution you want, how many users will need to use the system, how detailed you want your system to be, and so on.
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Budget:
When you want to start this project, first plan out your budget. You will need to consider a budget for the implementation, hosting, future maintenance, training and so on. Also, since this will be a reflection of your real life business, you should consider an ongoing budget for future changes, until your solution reaches a stable point.
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POC in charge:
As an ERP setup is a minimum 2-3 month project, you should always consider a POC to take over and take all issues in hand. This golden guy should be completely aware of your business workflow, processes, departments, and should have the authority to make decisions to form your future management system application.
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Staff Training:
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Data Migration:
Data Migration is a necessary step in ERP implementation but in order to save time and energy, you should first analyze how much of the current data is required and mandatory to move into the new system. For example maybe it’s best to leave out the previous year’s finance transactions and sales orders, and include your new info. Or changing your coding systems of your customers or products, get this stable and setup at the beginning, or even your categorization. So, bottom line is, think about the data you have and how much you want to preserve and what to change from the very beginning.
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Go Live:
The timing to go live is also very important. You should start going live with minimum preparations and continue to build the info and data as you move along. Just get your basic data transferred, then start the system. Also remember to count the first few months of the ERP system as your testing the system time, since the best testers of your system are your current users. You should have checkpoints on when to go live after your data is setup.
In conclusion, setting up an ERP is essential for your business strategy, but as said here, in brief, you should plan out accordingly and consider every step of the way to reach success.
