How can you know when a complex procedure, such as a business software implementation, is going as expected? How do you ensure that every possible outcome is controlled or mitigated? And how can you value your provider’s results?
All these important questions and some tips to ensure a successful implementation strategy will be addressed briefly in this blog, so keep reading.
Before you even begin the project, it is essential to set the basis and the reasons why a business software, such as an Enterprise Resource Planner (ERP), must be implemented in the first place. Ask yourself a few questions:
If you have the answers to these questions, then you can contact your solution provider with a clear mind and set the rules for what you will consider a positive implementation.
When the goals are clear, it is easier to focus and deliver a solution that will fit your company. However, do not forget that improvement opportunities can also surge in the middle of the process. It is recommended to know your goals beforehand, but as you go through the implementation, be open to innovative methods in process and procedures that you did not notice for the required optimization.
Do not marry the first big solution that comes along; assess your options. If you are looking for an ERP, sit down with your stakeholders and brainstorm which ERP applies better to your already stated challenges. If the issue is that you need an easier way to do accounting and finance, then investigate which one is stronger in that area.
It is crucial to identify an expert to assist you. A consulting practice that can offer you a diagnosis of your business may help you choose the right solution. It must be someone that knows how to identify the key points that will benefit your company after the implementation of the business software
Read all you can about the solution’s features, look for testimonial case studies, success stories, and ERP comparison reports. But always keep in mind your goal and the challenge you wish to overcome.
It is essential to understand how your solution will transform the way you manage operations, how effective the additional productivity will be, and, more importantly, if your team and employees will be able to understand the solution and use it correctly. Your solution providers should help you with this.
In our experience, a change of mindset is always the most difficult to accomplish. Our clients usually know what they need from an ERP, but we need to teach them how to trust such a solution. The ideal route is through tests.
Once the implementation has gone live, it is crucial to evaluate deliverables to ensure you received the agreed-upon functionality. There are five ways to evaluate deliverables:
After checking that there are no issues, glitches, malfunctions, or any other matter that could affect the functionality of the business software and after several tests, the implementation is finally over, we enter the Operations phase of the project. You and your company will now be transitioned to support.
The work of your implementation provider is to create multi-channel access that will communicate you with them to provide ongoing technical and functional support. It is important to set ground rules, make sure your Service Level Agreement (SLA) states what is considered urgent and what is not, cost, response time, and more to avoid issues.
If you want to know more about a data integration solution and how long it should normally take to implement, click here.
