Differences between ERP implementation consultants and project managers

When I came to Qingdao for a business trip, I once again saw the beauty of Qingdao. Especially in this autumn season, the weather is pleasant. It seems to be a good time to take a vacation and recuperate. It's a pity that I came here to work. Otherwise, I could stay here for a while. reading a book by the sea and sunning would be a good day. When I came to the Qingdao company's upstairs, I found that there was an invincible sea view and 270-degree sea view. It was connected to the famous eight major scenic spots in Qingdao. I could watch a group of villas appear in the shade of the mountains.

Since Qingdao is a job, let's take a look at work. During work communication with the Implementation colleagues, some new colleagues found that the positioning of the implementation consultant and the project manager was not very clear. Therefore, it is necessary to explain that during the implementation of the ERP project, what is the difference between the implementation consultant and the Project Manager.

During the implementation of the ERP project, the project becomes more and more complex, so the implementation of the ERP project must be carried out in collaboration with the project implementation team. At this time, there must be an internal division of labor. Generally, A project implementation team has several different roles: Project Manager and implementation consultant. These two roles are normal. There is another role that is not very common, such as Project Director, Business expert, and technical expert, which is not within the scope of our discussion.

Back to the complexity of the ERP project, a simple MIS system, or a single module system implementation, such as the implementation of the financial general ledger module, generally, as long as an implementation consultant follows up on the implementation process, the implementation consultant actually assumes the responsibilities of the project manager, which is also the initial stage of the ERP implementation consultant, I feel like everything, but I am not very proficient in everything. Business, technical, and project management skills. At this stage, many of our implementation consultants may be satisfied and think they are "Comprehensive ", you should be able to stand alone.

However, if we put such a person in the implementation of a complicated ERP project, we will find some problems. The implementation of complicated ERP projects, if such implementation consultants are put up, the business will feel familiar, but it is still not in-depth; the technology will also know, but it will not solve some difficult problems; project management has some knowledge, but it is not systematic, and there is no way to push forward the project to do it. Such a consultant put it up and found that the project can only be mixed up, it is difficult to do some specific work. From this perspective, the job division of the implementation consultant is very important, so that everyone can focus on a specific field to do professional things. Only in this way can we do more deeply, the strength of team collaboration brings greater value to customers.

What is the difference between the project manager and the implementation consultant?

In terms of position: the project manager focuses on project management, while the implementation consultant focuses on Customer business understanding and implementation.

In terms of relationship: the project manager is responsible for the success or failure of project implementation, while the implementation consultant is responsible for a specific work item in the project implementation process. The Project Manager also assumes certain team management responsibilities, the implementation Consultant shall be responsible to the Project Manager during project implementation.

From the perspective of capability requirements: the core requirements of the project manager are project promotion capability, customer stakeholder control capability, project risk pre-judgment capability, and dispute handling and negotiation capability; the core requirement of the implementation consultant is the customer's business understanding ability, business research ability, and Business Solution compilation and explanation ability.

From the perspective of career development: the future development direction of the project manager can be a management position, but the development direction of the Implementation consultant can be an expert position.

From the perspective of personnel quality: the Project Manager requires a good sense of interpersonal skills, but the implementation consultant requires a strong learning and summarizing analysis ability in the Business Study spirit.

From the perspective of the existing personnel distribution in the market: more people stay at the point where the project manager and the implementation consultant are not separated. They always think that this will happen, no clear division is made for the future, which also affects the further development and improvement of personnel.