AIT’s Professional Services Group is responsible for managing the implementation of an ERP deployment, making sure the project is properly resourced and executed. Our role with clients really starts during the sales process where we gather information about the company, its requirements, and the unique problems it is trying to solve. We get an idea of the personality and culture of the company. That gives us a great head start to hit the ground running after a contract is signed. AIT has developed a list of the top 10 keys to successful ERP deployment.
Top 10 Key Elements to a Successful ERP System Deployment
Get executive team commitment
Identify and define the scope; map requirements to objectives
Get executive team commitment
A strong executive presence and active leadership are critical to the success of your ERP project.Your ERP project will touch every facet of an organization and must be a top-down initiative guided by the project goals and objectives. Defined critical success factors, a well-defined scope, and a hierarchy of escalation to help control the projects hazards and issues. It is imperative that the company’s executive team display an active communication role, so users understand the goals and objectives of the project and know that the leadership is the driver (e.g., streamline processes, cut costs, inventory, get rid of disparate systems, increase profitability) and how the goals relate to corporate strategy.
We recommend our clients form a steering committee of executive team staff who sign up for the following roles and commitments:
Ensure the project objectives are reasonable to meet the overall goals
Ensure the project is staffed, funded, and has appropriate leadership
Provide overall strategic direction aligning to organizational goals
Resolve any escalated issues and monitor external impacts to the project
Approve scope changes and additional funding requests
Sign off on key milestones
In a future post, we’ll describe the roles and commitments of key project team members. The executive team and project team must together be the champions of change and continually reinforce the value that the project will bring to the organization.