How to Enable a Great Manufacturing ERP

ERP software projects often stand or fall on the success of the initial rollout – these tips will help your business get it right first time.
As author Chris Luyt discusses in his blog How to prevent ERP project failures, software isn’t always to blame when projects fail – the team implementing the software can fail to make the most of it. Here, we crunch the key steps you need to follow…
Get senior management on board
The success of your ERP system implementation needs support from the very highest levels of management. According to an Aberdeen Group report, senior management need to “own” the success of the project leading at every stage:
Selection of the ERP system
Implementation of the ERP system
Continuing development of the ERP system
(Changing Perceptions on ERP Strategy – Aberdeen Group)
Assemble a project team
Getting your implementation right requires a team drawn from all the departments in your company. Managers in the business and IT all need to be involved in the ERP software selection and implementation process. ERP is not just an IT issue.
“Three elements which can help reduce the resistance to change are tremendous top management support, placement of best people on implementation, and heavy involvement of people from the field.”
ERP Implementation Critical Success Factors – The Role and Impact of Business Process Management
Prepare your processes
The rollout of a new ERP solution is the perfect time to review both your internal and external business processes to identify potential efficiency savings and more:
Identify wasteful working methods and replace them – replicating them in the software will not create any new savings
Identify successful working methods and try to replicate them elsewhere in your business
Identify ways to improve your relationships with customers and suppliers.
“Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing… layout, processes, and procedures.”
Tom Peters, business management writer
Know what you want
How do you know if your ERP software project has been successful? By defining in advance the wider business benefits.
In doing so, you will:
Assist with selecting the right MRP system capabilities for your business
Fully understand the timescales involved with rollout
Be able to accurately predict the value obtainable from your solution
Be 250% more likely to record an ROI on your ERP system than competitors who do not define measurements in advance.
(ERP Selection – Aberdeen Group)
Key takeaways:
Get senior management involved
Assemble a project team
Identify process improvement opportunities in advance
Define your objectives in advance.