Thinking of implementing ERP in domestic enterprises

Erp
Thinking of implementing ERP in domestic enterprises

Three years, a paragraph is not long, said a short time. I have been in the field of ERP for three years, in a product for three years. Although the distance to become an expert in this field is still far away, but three years, I continue to summarize, and constantly reflect on the project's success and failure. Here, I would like to discuss with you some key points in the development and implementation of ERP (this article is located in some global key, do not want too much detail of the place, I will be in another article to explore some of the important details of ERP). Of course, I am a person's strength is meager, can not touch and ERP this whole forest, but I still want to put down some of the trees I met. I hope you can help me to this article constantly improve to the future of ERP development and implementation of the personnel to help. You can add your comments or suggestions, or even directly point out my article what is not good or wrong, I hope a lot of people participate in the discussion of this article.

Let's talk about our project, perhaps this model is the epitome of tens of thousands of ERP in China at present.

ERP implementation of the enterprise scale is small, thousands of headquarters, currently in the country has 3-5 branches. This enterprise was basically in the manual operation State, the work does not have the computer auxiliary (finance because uses Ufida, is an exception). Enterprises have a history of more than more than 10 years, many processes are special and some deep-rooted. So you can't find a ready-made system that you can use directly (and not consider two development).           So what we have to do is to tailor a set of ERP system to this enterprise from the beginning. The following will make me feel the most, feeling the deepest things written down.



Key 1: The preparation of thought

Because in such a kind of enterprise to carry out ERP is a new cause, so the enterprise to lead, down to the general staff, the lack of understanding of ERP.

Leaders may be determined to implement ERP in the enterprise for the following reasons: It is believed that computer assistance will be beneficial to the development of enterprises and even the development of enterprises, competitors have begun to implement ERP and so on. However, once asked if they know their enterprise which modules to implement ERP, which to implement first, which after implementation, which is the focus, early preparation, the implementation of the process may encounter problems have been some thinking, they are silly. In other words, often enterprise leaders just feel to implement ERP, and do not know how to implement ERP, how to implement the software development. After deciding to develop, oneself is a supporting role, most assist software development to do a good job; but never thought, oneself is the real protagonist, enterprise implementation of the blueprint of ERP to make their own, to be confident.

And the general staff often because the computer will not use; After the implementation of the ERP work has changed, and even for others do not belong to their own work; the implementation of the initial manual can not be lost, resulting in a doubling of the workload; even fear of the computer instead of their own jobs and other reasons, the implementation of the ERP has a resistance.

People's behavior is often thought as the guide, their own thinking is not prepared, or even inconsistent, then such ERP must be implemented poorly.

In the process of mental preparation, business leaders will find many problems in the enterprise, do not be afraid, drastic transformation. ERP implementation process is an opportunity to improve the enterprise.



Key 2: The ability of the development team

Responsible for the development of the team to have a strong team development capabilities, and have to develop the ERP system experience.

Team Development ability refers to the requirements of ERP development, detailed design, coding, testing, user training can be very good grasp. Management of projects by a very responsible person with a wealth of project management experience.

Have developed ERP system experience is required at least in the field of ERP more familiar with, know where may appear some problems. It's best to be familiar with the area you want to do. Because the domain is also interlacing as Foster, unfamiliar with this field, there may be some very basic problems can not be expected, resulting in a bad design. These very basic design if there is a problem, may lead to future projects to use, will be like the water dragged straw-more and more heavy, if all again, and impossible: the formation of a tiger in the situation.

Good development teams are hard to measure, but some are necessary. A good team can communicate well with the enterprise, a good team can quickly understand the business process, a good team can write a complete document, a good team can carry out effective testing, and so on.



Key 3: The project leader of the Enterprise

The enterprise implements the ERP, must have one person to be responsible for. This person is not only to communicate with the development team, but also to coordinate the internal enterprise. Perhaps the general manager of the company will take up the job, or designate a person to act as a role. If it is the general manager, then the trouble, often he has a lot of things, when you want to find him, you can not find. If you are assigning a person, then this person is both familiar with the business process and if he can speak at the factory. Of course, this person's enthusiasm is also essential.

The project leader of the enterprise is the key figure of the project success or failure. From the beginning of the project, to the end of the project can be implemented, the role of this person is very large. If this person in the enterprise is very senior, then, is this ERP system of blessing, on the contrary, such a system will inevitably fail, at least it is time to drag and drop, the final implementation of the speed is not enough to keep pace with the changes in the process. In the demand analysis stage, he is responsible to invite all departments more familiar with the people to help complete the needs. In the implementation phase of the project, he is responsible for coordinating with departmental managers in various departments, or assigning jobs directly to everyone in the enterprise.



Key 4: Requirements analysis

Before the project begins: there is a requirement analysis process. This process, I think, is the most important part of the whole project. The general ERP system said to others to listen to, can say including which department, each department also but completes those things, feels very easy, very simple. But why are there so many systems that are not satisfying, and the time to complete the system is delayed? In fact, the process to complete the general process is relatively simple. But the enterprise for a long time, because of habit, or helpless, in the process there are too many reasonable, or unreasonable special circumstances exist. So an experienced team is the one who can ask these special places. The project leaders of the enterprise also have to help the development team as much as possible to make them understand these special places. Often these special places are most influenced by the design behind.



Key 5: Standardization of enterprise processes

When the development team has a very detailed understanding of all the processes in the enterprise, many teams begin the process of design. In fact, there are two important links, here first, that is authentication (the next section will say another link). The rationality of the enterprise process certification. In fact, because the enterprise has long been artificial treatment, there are a lot of complex work did not do, also too late to do. This leads to a leak in the process, which is not enough, and may be a big problem. For a good management enterprise, this should be done, each link has a monitoring mechanism to avoid problems. And each step should be reasonable and efficient. A careful analysis of the workflow of the enterprise will find that there are many unreasonable, inefficient, or lack of supervision in the previous work, and these places may be exposed to problems after the computer system is used in the future. Therefore, once these problems are identified, it is necessary to consult with the leaders of the enterprise and some key staff, and reach a consensus to establish a normative, reasonable and efficient process. Some work to be adjusted immediately, some of the work is now inconvenient, but also to be fully considered in order to be completed in the computer after the assistance. ERP is not a simple copy of the computer manual, but a reasonable, efficient and supervised operation system. As can be seen, this process is the so-called BPR (Enterprise process reorganization) process, BPR does not necessarily mean that the overthrow completely overthrow the old dynasty, the establishment of a new dynasty. Any local improvement is part of the BPR.

Of course, this step of the work should be led by the enterprise before the decision to implement ERP completed. But the general enterprise leaders are often unfamiliar with computers, and have the reluctance to change the existing process of inertia, so this step requires the project development team to spend more strength to help the enterprise leader to complete.



Key 6: Phased implementation of the project

After the process of the enterprise certification, the development team's thinking on a step forward, not only know the company's work now, but also analyzed the unreasonable place, that is, an improved version of the existing system. This improved process also works well with the computer.

The next step is not a specific design. Have to think about which modules to implement. Not all enterprises have to implement ERP, but also, the development of the project will be phased, all of a sudden, there are many things can not be ready, will not be successful (a mouthful of fat). Process generally has a successively, first those in front, in the core position, will not easily change the module implementation, and other modules for the stable use of a period of time, and has been ready for the next stage of the module, before starting the implementation of the next phase of the project.

In the development of the implementation of the blueprint, the task of each phase, the implementation of the time envisaged, and to determine the phased assessment of the program. Focus on the task at this stage, so you can go to the next stage: design.



Key 7: Good design

Finally to the design stage. This stage is a step towards developing team design capabilities, with a lot of experience (the focus of this article is not on these details, so here's the skip). After the design, to find in the enterprise in many people to verify.

To have the overall concept, each stage of the design is a part of the overall design, to achieve the stage and the overall good integration. No overall view, no timetable, no periodic evaluation will often lead to the final failure of ERP.



Key 8: Preparation of the concrete implementation of the former enterprise

Once the development target system is identified, the development team will enter the coding phase. This time, the other side of the enterprise has a very important thing to do, that is, the initial data preparation, development team and business leaders to discuss the next implementation phase of what data to prepare beforehand. Because the project always starts at a specific time. Some initial values are always required for implementation. Warehouse has the initial value of the warehouse, sales have the initial value of sales, financial accounting has the initial value. You can book the start of the first phase of the project (in each subsequent phase), then until that day, all the previous data was entered as an initial value simultaneously (a unified initial value entry time will reduce the number of future trouble, of course, sometimes the initial value may be used at the same time is not good, At this time can only be specific analysis of the case).

Enterprise data often because of the long-term manual reasons, a lot of data is necessary to implement ERP, but suddenly can not get out. Sometimes it's amazing, it's not the manual, but they might tell you that it's too much trouble to do it in a formal way, so how do they simplify it? Simplification is possible, but some of the results should be simplified. Therefore, to the enterprise staff to do enough time to prepare the data, otherwise, such systems developed, must not immediately put into use.



Key 9: Management of Changes

Change is a pass, the general rule long. There is no unchanging enterprise.

Some enterprises, closed the door to open a meeting, discuss to change a lot of basic processes. Such meetings are not for development teams, because leaders think the development team is not part of the company. When the development team has programmed the program, tested it, and let the user try it, the company's staff tells you that 2 weeks ago, the meeting had been discussed to change the practice. How can you react, out of anger?

Good practice is to start with the company's leadership, this change in the decision before, must be coordinated with the development team. In fact, the development team in a relatively long time with the enterprise contact, in the enterprise implementation of ERP, they will be very business situation, or even far more than the general staff. To view the development team as an important department of the enterprise, any process change of the enterprise must be approved by the development team.



Key 10: Periodic evaluations

The project was carried out in a phased way, in order to have an assessment at the end of a phase. The task of the above stage is not complete, what place is handled well, what place effect is not good. How to continue the previous success of the place, improve the bad place.

Periodic evaluation is not a dispensable process, not a quickie. This process is a sublimation of the development process. During a period of implementation, it is difficult to have a systematic, theoretical analysis of the work done. To truly evaluate something at this stage, don't make it a celebratory feast.

The good should be inherited, the bad should be the emergency brake.



Summarize:

In order to implement ERP successfully, we must deal with all the above key points. If there are some key areas of attention not enough, then your ERP may be faced with the risk of failure.

From the above analysis can also be seen: ERP success or failure of the key is not technology, but management. Is the management of the enterprise itself, is the management of the development team itself, is the implementation of management (that is, the management of cooperation between the two sides). Enterprises should have the idea of reform, the courage to make changes, adjust, do not be conservative, that ERP in with their own. The development team also has to show an efficient, high-quality group through a timeline, task scheduling, etc. Both sides should cooperate in good faith, the implementation of ERP is a long-term, tortuous, hard work, only mutual support, mutual understanding, can win this battle.

When human beings think, ERP laughs. The implementation of ERP, especially in China, still has a long way to go. We should continue to think, and summarize the implementation of ERP, especially in China to implement ERP experience and lessons. Chinese enterprises implement ERP is the general trend, we all hope that the road less twists and turns!