It is a common saying that technology should work for human and not the other way round. In similar way a company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is like its central nervous system of the body. If it is healthy, it provides the sensory input to management so they can understand what is happening with customers, suppliers, and employees. It helps management respond, by coordinating the company’s resources to win customers, battle competitors, and reduce cost, just like muscles in a body. Implementing an ERPNext system for your organization is the best investment a company can think of.
ERP systems are the basic sales-to-cash, accounting, reporting, compliance, human resources, supply chain, customer, and sales IT systems that companies rely on every day. Yet, despite this critical role ERP systems play, most companies fail when in it comes to implementing or upgrading their ERP system.
Negative’s attracts eye balls
The horror stories of failed ERP Software projects are now the stuff of legend. According to one recent report, more than 29% of ERP implementations fail to achieve even half the planned business benefits.. There are many lessons to be learned from these failed ERP implementations.
The implementation problems these large ERP systems face are driven by the complexity, risk, and integrated nature of the business processes they automate. ERP systems today touch almost every aspect of a company, so whether it is a completely new system or just a major upgrade, there are a number of common pitfalls companies can avoid.
Top 10 reasons for ERP Implementation failures:
- Doing it in the first place.
Even before implementation, the company is the dilemma whether they really require it or not. Often large ERP implementation projects fail before they even start. Companies unhappy with their current system become convinced their reporting, integration, or efficiency problems lie in the software they are using. Convinced the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, they embark on a large, risky, and expensive job card software replacement project, when a simple tune-up of their current system, or a small add-on application, such as a better reporting system or employee portal, would address the problem at a fraction of the cost. Even a reimplementation of the same software is usually less costly than switching to another software vendor.
- No clear destination.
Have clear expectations. Once an organization makes the decision to implement a new hvac service software, the first step is to have a clear definition of success. Often there is lack of consensus on the problems being solved, the outcome desired, or the specific financial justification of the project leads to challenges later controlling the scope and maintaining executive sponsorship. Having a clear destination means defining the important business processes, financial benefits, and deadlines up front and making certain stakeholders agree how to address them. Without a strong definition of success, the end point becomes a moving target.
- A good plan or just a plan?
A detailed plan is very necessary for successful implementation. All projects of this size start with some kind of plan. However, more times than not, the plan are not realistic, detailed, or specific enough. Companies build a high-level plan with broad assumptions or underestimate the amount of business change involved. Despite how obvious this sounds, it remains the most common mistake companies make. To be a good plan, it needs to identify all the requirements and the people who are going to work on the ehs software. It needs to be at a level of detail where a knowledgeable person can visualize the work, usually in work blocks of a few days. It needs to have a logical sequence of tasks, like leaving time in the schedule to fix bugs found in test cycles. Until you have a good plan, you really do not know when the project will end or how much it will cost.
- Part-time project management.
A person experienced in project management makes a lot of difference. There is some debate whether project management is a skill all good managers should have or whether the field will eventually develop into its own professional discipline, just like there are registered engineers, nurses, and lawyers. Putting that debate aside, it is clear field service management software projects of this size need their own dedicated, experienced project managers. Asking the executive sponsor or the business owner to also manage the project as a part-time adjunct to their main role means neither job will be done well. Not just a scorekeeper, the project manager needs to be an active leader pushing for accountability, transparency, and decisiveness.
- Under-estimating resources required.
Most common blunder to happen is with resources projected. Having a solid understanding of the internal and external resources needed to complete the project is critical. For internal resources, understanding the time commitment needed from business users, typically in the Finance, Accounting, or Human Resources departments, is one of the most commonly underestimated areas. During critical phases of the project, it is often necessary to backfill the majority of transactional employees by bringing in temporary resources. This frees up the users of the CRM Software so they have time for implementation and training. For external resources, having an agreement up-front with your consultants and contractors about the specific duration, skills, and quantity of resources needed is critical.
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