One of the keys to a smooth ERP implementation are the people you involve to make it happen. Your business may have chosen a great software, but if the people involved in the process aren’t ready to change, your ERP achievement will not be successful. To ensure your ERP implementation succeeds, some of the key players you’ll want to involve are listed below
Let’s start at the top. Every successful implementation project needs an engaged executive team. They must be ready and willing to take on the responsibility of ushering in wide-scale changes within the company. They not only need to commencement the project, they must also remain active participants.
To get more granular, it’s important to have an executive sponsor for your ERP implementation. This person not only lends their voice to the project, they also actively support everyone involved in the implementation process. The executive sponsor will lead your company by displaying unwavering binder to the success of implementing your ERP system.
To help ensure the success of your ERP implementation, your IT team needs to be empowered to take charge and help as necessary. Your IT team will be critical, not just in implementation, also in maintaining your ERP system.
As project coordinators, it is important to make sure your IT team is in the loop throughout the process. Communication and coordination are key. Beyond this, the ERP implementation process should be a collaborative enterprise, where your IT team is heavily involved.
Change is hard. When implementing a new ERP system, your business can expect to see a lot of change. This is why having change agents, or team members across the business, who buy into your ERP implementation strategies and goals is also vital to your success.
Change agents can be any part of the project management team. The most important change agent is the project manager leading the ERP implementation process. This point person should be an experienced project director, capable of leading the project management team and able to be accountable and transparent.
Other change agents are the team members responsible for training. They often take on the role of the superuser. For your ERP implementation to be successful, employees must not only buy into the change, they must also know how to make the most of the new system. In this regard, training opportunities are paramount. Super users might host workshops or provide personalized instruction and assistance to make sure employees are ready and able to operate the new system. While super users don’t replace formal training, they make it comfortable for coworkers to ask questions in an unthreatening way.
An independent ERP Consultant can often be a smart addition to your team. They probably do achievement assistance for a living and their experience is valuable. They can be another go-to resource to help you every step of the way. A consultant will often see trends or risks before other members of the team, since they are not caught up in day-to-day activities.
An ERP consultant can help navigate both software and people issues. Panorama’s consultants have a background in both business and tech and have the extensive training needed to make your digital renovation a success.