Biting the bullet on ERP implementation realities?

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What really makes the difference?

By Dale Vile, Freeform Dynamics • Get more from this author

Posted in ERP, 30th March 2010 12:05 GMT

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Mini Poll In this week's ERP workshop poll, we get right into the specifics of what makes or breaks an implementation project in the real world. If you have experience or opinions on this, we'd appreciate your input.

READER POLL: BITING THE BULLET ON IMPLEMENTATION REALITIES?

1. What is your experience of ERP implementations?

Have managed one or more ERP projects
Have worked as part of an ERP implementation team
Have consulted on one or more ERP projects
I am an ERP stakeholder in the business
Other (please state)

Based on this experience and knowledge...

2. What level of importance/criticality would you assign to the following in terms of the impact they have on the success of an ERP implementation project? (1-5 scale, where 5 = Critical to success, 1 = No impact on success)

	Critical			No impact
	5	4	3	2	1
General
Having high level sponsors who can provide air cover and act as an escalation point
Aligning expectations across different stakeholders
Defining the key deliverables and objectives
Defining sensible project timelines
Communicating the plan throughout the organisation
Getting the best software fit
Gap analysis (gap between software functionality and organisation's requirements)
Gaps notwithstanding, generally keeping customisation/extension to a minimum
Other (please state)
Resourcing
Getting the right implementation partners/consultants on board
Negotiating the right commercial package eg fixed price vs time & materials
Defining roles and responsibilities
Having the right mix of internal people with respect to skills and experience
Having the right coverage in place to make the relevant personnel available when necessary
Other (please state)
Management/Control
Having a strong internal project manager
Having a strong external project manager
Risk management, spotting when things are getting out of control
Having relevant contingency plans in place for when things do go wrong
Building in adequate time and resource for system testing
Building in adequate time for end user training
Other (please state)

Turning to the specifics of your current environment...

3. How long has your core/main ERP system been in place?

Under 1 year
1 to 3 years
3 to 5 years
5 to 10 years
Over 10 years

4. Thinking about the implementation of your core ERP system, which of the following did you make use of with respect to consulting or development resources? (Please tick all that apply)

Software vendor's consulting arm
Business/management consulting firm
Systems integrator (SI)
A firm delivering both business consulting and SI services
Other (please state)

5. How would you rate the success of your core ERP implementation? (1-5 scale, where 5 = Very successful, 1 = Dire)

Very successful			Dire
5	4	3	2	1

6. How much of a challenge were the following during the implementation of your core ERP system? (1-5 scale, where 5 = Very challenging, 1 = Not at all challenging)

	Very challenging			Not at all challenging
	5	4	3	2	1	N/A
External suppliers not working well together
Internal resources not as available as required
Ambiguity/lack of clarity over who was responsible for what aspects of the implementation
Tendency to rely too much on external suppliers to make key decisions
Lack of support from senior management
Conflicting requirements between senior management
Conflicting requirements at an operational level between different departments e.g. differences in coding policies, workflows etc
Keeping control of 'scope creep'
Keeping to budget
Other (please state)

7. Do you have any must do tips and tricks to help avoid the above traps?

BEFORE YOU GO

9. Approximately how large is your organisation (worldwide) in terms of employees?

Under 10 employees
10 to 50 employees
50 to 250 employees
250 to 1,000 employees
1,000 to 5,000 employees
5,000 to 10,000 employees
Over 10,000 employees

10. Which of the following best describes your organisation?

Energy & Utilities
Financial Services
Healthcare
Hi-Tech
Manufacturing
Oil & Gas
Pharmaceuticals
Central/Local Government
Retail & wholesale
Professional services
Telecommunications
Travel & Transportation
Other (please specify)