Eight suggestions for successful ERP implementation in Enterprise Informatization Construction

Recommendation 1: Establish Business Cases to quantify ERP benefits

One of the main contents of commercial cases is investment and income analysis. Through income analysis, enterprises can demonstrate the necessity of implementing ERP projects from the strategic level, so as to gain consensus on project implementation at the senior management level. Global experience shows that the competitiveness of enterprises is proportional to the degree of intensive operation, while clarifying the investment purpose and quantifying the benefits brought by project investment income are essential strategies for intensive operation of enterprises. It generally takes 6 to 6 steps to establish and analyze business cases ~ 8 weeks.

Intensive modern enterprises can establish business cases as a mechanism for continuous improvement of enterprises. For each project investment, the enterprise should measure the basic data of operation before the project starts, and then compare the improved data value measured after the project starts with the basic data to obtain the precise benefits of project implementation. By evaluating the return on investment of each business case, the accuracy of investment decision-making can be improved and the efficiency of enterprises can be improved.

Recommendation 2: Ensure that external support is in place

External support includes consultation on the integration of business and technical services of the consulting company in all phases of the ERP project, as well as necessary support from the ERP software company. Experienced consulting firms in the industry can use their professional experience and methods to ensure close integration of ERP projects with Enterprises' Strategies and select the optimal implementation path, pre-assess the changes required by the enterprise in terms of organization and personnel, and make early planning and arrangement to adapt the enterprise's operations to the new system. In addition, the consulting company will comprehensively consider the construction of the new system and the integration with the original system in the project planning.

Suggestion 3: Make sure that internal enterprise support is in place

The support provided by senior enterprise leaders for ERP projects can closely integrate the project objectives with the enterprise strategy, and make the highest commitment to the success of the project at the strategic level of the enterprise. The support provided by the business department for the project can mobilize the enthusiasm of the employees of the enterprise to a wide extent, and may effectively resolve the conflicts of interests arising from the project and change on the basis of fairness. The support of the IT department is a commitment to the success of the project's technical aspects. The implementation of the project's technical factors is directly related to the results of the integration of the new and old systems. The above three aspects of support can ensure that enterprises participate in the project, all personnel use the new system, and establish a continuous optimization mechanism to deepen the benefits of the ERP project.

When an ERP project is initiated by a business department, it must be fully communicated, discussed, and coordinated to obtain the same level of support from other departments and the top leadership, to establish the overall project goal within the enterprise and determine the project owner. When the ERP project is led by the IT department, the project objectives and necessity need to be recognized by the business department and senior leadership. Whether it is an ERP project initiated by the business department or IT department, to obtain the same level of support from senior managers, it is necessary to effectively prove the association between the project and the enterprise strategy and reserve a certain amount of time for decision-making. Ensuring internal support is an effective way to overcome these risks.

Recommendation 4: Evaluate the complexity of New and Old Process System Integration

By considering and maintaining the consistency between the new and old systems and processes, enterprises can effectively protect existing investments and help precisely plan the scope and cycle of projects for reasonable resource allocation. The detailed evaluation can promote the establishment of feasible ERP project objectives, optimize the project investment decision-making, eliminate blind spots in project implementation, and effectively reduce the risk of new and old system integration, improve project success.

Many enterprises and project teams attach great importance to the construction of new systems in the planning and implementation of ERP projects, but do not fully consider the integration with the original systems and processes, some enterprises and project teams sometimes estimate the complexity and workload they need even if they take integration into consideration. For projects that involve a large scope, complex systems and procedures, this evaluation must be completed in particular through effective system methods. The detailed evaluation of the complexity of the integration of the new and old Process Systems helps enterprises to fully consider, clarify the scope of the project, and establish a good connection between each part.

Suggestion 5: establish an efficient and authoritative Project Management Team

The full authority of the project management team is from the full authorization of senior leaders, excellent project management records from the project management team and its members, and professional experience in ERP implementation in the industry. The efficient and authorized project management team can effectively manage project management and risk control, and ensure that the ERP project successfully meets the enterprise's predetermined objectives. Authority enables it to achieve fair coordination, consensus, and conflict resolution in the context of potential conflicts of interests among various departments of the project.

Some domestic enterprises and consulting companies may pay more attention to ERP implementation activities rather than project management. Therefore, there is still some distance between the ability test and full authorization of the project management team and the best practices in the industry. Sometimes, the project management team is less authoritative due to lack of support from senior leaders and limited authorization levels.

Recommendation 6: Improve change management

The objects of change management include organization, business process, personnel skills, job roles, PR media, planning and communication, and employee behavior. Incomplete or inefficient change management can reduce the enterprise's benefits in ERP projects. The ERP project is like a big change project. The key to a good start is to evaluate the impact of the change on the Enterprise in advance, and actively and forward-looking change management. That is, design countermeasures based on the impact of changes to actively resolve conflicts between new systems and processes.

A large amount of research at home and abroad shows that resistance to changes is one of the human nature. The changes in interests or conflicts brought about by changes are more likely to increase people's resistance to changes, the number of people who actively accept changes and preference changes is relatively small. In the necessary changes, if the support of senior leaders is insufficient and the promotion is ineffective, it is difficult for the project to overcome the conflict with the changes. In addition, some consulting companies that provide external support for professional change management sometimes lack a realistic and effective change management methodology.

Recommendation 7: Provide adequate end user training

The project starts with training first. The concept training before the project starts can familiarize people involved in the project with the ERP system, understand the benefits of the ERP system, effectively reduce conflicts, and even mobilize employees to master the required skills; standard and Process training in the project enables users to understand new standards, roles, and responsibilities; process scenario training allows employees to operate in the new process using a simulated and testing environment; the End User Manual provides guidance for the daily work of employees and helps to record existing problems for further improvement. Without such training, the new system and process will be difficult to be accepted by employees of the company. Even if they are accepted, they will be difficult to use. When training is inadequate or the results are not met, the benefits of the ERP system will be greatly compromised by the unavailability of personnel.

Recommendation 8: establish a continuous improvement mechanism to continuously improve ERP benefits

Continuous improvement mechanisms include establishing a new round of business cases, establishing new key business indicators (KPIs), and realizing new benefits. The establishment of a continuous improvement mechanism can allow enterprises to make full use of the existing ERP system to increase business and financial revenue, and identify the areas through which enterprises need continuous improvement, and continuously strengthen the competitiveness of enterprises. Without the continuous improvement mechanism, the benefits of ERP will be limited to the initial benefits of project launch, and the system itself may become a new historical heritage.