The implementation of the ERP in an organization is a massive step towards achieving the organizational objectives with a systematic and careful approach. It is a major change that ensures better success rate by involving various components of business and integrating them with the help of software.
2. The implementation of the ERP in an organization is a massive step towards achieving
the organizational objectives with a systematic and careful approach. It is a major
change that ensures better success rate by involving various components of business
and integrating them with the help of software.
These business components include human resource management, sales, and
marketing management, production management, logistics, payroll, accounting,
management control and many more.
Enterprise Resource planning helps all the organization across the globe
of their size and line of business. It creates a global foundation and provides excellent
outputs with increased productivity and reduced expenses.
If you want to implement Oracle ERP cloud in your business, then you need to
consider about the several factors to ascertain that ERP implementation in your
organization is successful and your business is benefited from it immensely.
3. 1. Setting of Objectives
Before you start, it is imperative to identify your problem areas. Ask yourself questions to find
the real goal of ERP implementation. It needs to be done keeping future endeavours also in
mind rather than thinking about current projects only.
Now the important question is why ERP implementation in your organization? How good is it
for your business and its operations? And what strategies need to be built for the successful
implementation of ERP.
ERP implementation is crucial for any organization that wants to grow. ERP implementation
offers better visibility and communication between different business processes and
It also ensures that the information is centralized for any respective department of the
to access. Various modules and their operations are managed over a unique database
However, it is also crucial to think about the software tools that are already in place and that
migration to ERP might need strategizing and budgeting. In fact, time management and
effectiveness is the key to the success of implementation if every critical phase is handled by
subsequent and well-planned steps.
So, before you plan to implement ERP in your system, do a self-assessment and come up
correct answers to ensure that this is the right decision for your business.
4. 2. Anticipating Risks
There are innumerable risks involved in the implementation of ERP. Whether overhead costs
delivery delays, failure in infrastructure or vendor issues, it is critical to be prepared for these
risks in advance. The management should be able to anticipate the major risks involved in the
process. That is the reason it is important to define the objectives of the ERP implementation.
It is equally important to train the staff for the upcoming changes as ERP implementation is
extremely influential and everyone should contribute towards achieving the favorable results.
5. 3. Selecting the Suitable ERP System
The need for ERP varies from one industry to another in terms of performance. It is essential
look for an ERP package that is built as per your industry standards. For example, if you go
Oracle ERP Cloud, it offers an extensive array of applications that enable the management to
get improved performance with better decision making and in reduced expenses.
Similarly, many ERP providers including Sage, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, etc. render their
with segmented ERP solutions. Some of them even design ERP specific to business sectors
position them accordingly.
The ERP is packaged to minimize the cost of ERP development and deployment. And the
features provided in every package fulfill the requirements of all the SMEs.
The standard features of every package offered by the ERP providers make sure that the
commercial aspect of your business is managed well. It also controls your logistics, handles
administrative and financial part, monitors the production, manages accounts, etc.
6. 4. Finding the Suitable ERP Providers
You need a vendor that understands your business needs and processes and offers you a
comprehensive solution for your system. It is best to establish specification so that you are
about what kind of planning and provisioning is required.
Ascertain that your provider has an excellent reputation in the market and is known for timely
deliveries. Ensure that the business suite offered by your provider consists of a portfolio of
industry-focused solutions, integrated business processes, and rapid value solutions
7. 5. Defining the Scope of ERP
All the businesses offer some unique products and services and run on specific rules.
every business faces problems while growing. With the boost in the growth of any company,
the various metrics such as sales, procurement, etc. become difficult to manage. Hence, ERP
implementation comes into account and help in maintaining data enterprise-wide, reducing
manual efforts.
Similarly, irrespective of the size of business, its workflow plays a vital role. ERP improves the
workflow of any business. It mainly covers all the aspects of your business and fulfills every
business demand.
ERP also ensures that the higher levels of security are implemented in your system, and all the
business operations run smoothly. It makes the data centralized, and only authorized
employees can access this data.
Therefore, keeping in mind the core business requirements and financial investments, the
of ERP is defined for the smooth and obstacle-free ERP implementation.
8. 6. Evaluating the Current System to come up with Ideal Project Plan
It is one of the most crucial steps to ensure the successful implementation of ERP in your
system. As per some reports, numerous firms customize their ERP software to lower degrees
the considered utilization.
The management of the organization is required to invest time and energy in evaluating the
options available for optimal utilization of ERP. Because, otherwise the complexities may
increase, if the evaluation is not done properly beforehand, leading to the failure of ERP
implementation.
Evaluating your system is a stepping stone to understand the present needs and future
projections. It is crucial to differentiate the customization and ERP configuration before the
implementation starts. ERP needs to be flexible to accommodate the requirements going to
arise in future.
9. 7. Transferring the Knowledge
Once you decide to go for ERP implementation, it is essential to designate some employees
that will provide assistance during the implementation process. These people should have
knowledge of company’s history and culture as these are the representatives of their
departments and introduce the ERP service provider with various systems along with internal
users.
Usually, business owner, chief financial officer, chief technical officers and other decision
are included in stake-holders along with several other representatives. Additionally, your
provider also renders your team with required assistance and pieces of training needed for
implementation process.
10. 8. Selecting Implementation Phases
ERP implementation is different for every organization. Choosing the modules that your
business requires is a difficult task. This is when mapping of your business processes comes
play. It is a crucial step to know that what are the processes in place and what is their
importance.
For a successful ERP implementation, it is essential to have the workflow ready and make
changes or customize according to these business workflows.
It is suggested that the implementation project should be divided into independent phases.
can either select complete service approach or guided approach, depending upon your
organization's size and business requirement.
11. 9. Creating Achievable Schedules for Timely Delivery
If the delivery of the ERP implementation is not timely, even with one year delay, it will not be
called a success irrespective of the quality of the project and cost savings. Most of ERP
implementations take longer than the expected time of delivery.
Hence, it becomes necessary to schedule the primary processes deliveries to be achieved on
timely basis. Make these flexible to accommodate final adjustments. This can happen when
define the project in independent phases and give them the estimated time limit to finish.
12. 10. Migrating to ERP
Once you have established which ERP solution you need, then the major and the most critical
step is data migration. It should be a trouble-free transition for the future utilization of ERP.
ERP implementation can be a tremendous change for the company that has not used this
software before. It is crucial to determine that which data to be migrated as the complete
shifting of data may be a burdensome process.
Hence, it is recommended that only critical data should be transferred to the software and
precautions should be taken to ascertain that the data is retrieved and can be accessed
whenever required.
13. 11. Customizing
ERP is developed as per the requirement of your business and its respective industry. The
significant amount of thought and research goes into this process. Since ERP implementation
includes an enormous investment of capital, large pool of resources, lot of time and efforts,
company should be able to manage the scheduled maintenance of the ERP software.
At the time of pilot testing also, the management should evaluate the understanding of the
utility of the system rather than the desired utility of the organization. It is critical to keep an
eye on the system to be adopted by the management from the onset.
So if you want the successful implementation of ERP with necessary customizations, it is
to follow the best practices. If ERP is fitted the way it was bought, this will do no good to your
business. You must un-follow the old methods of ERP implementation and get the
customization done as per your business processes and operations in the company.
That is why it is very important to understand your system, your business requirement, the
software and the modifications that need to be made, prior to the customization.
14. 12. Changing the Management
While employees of any organization are habitual of specific routine they follow for
their activities through already defined processes, any changes in the system are not
easily. However, with the implementation of ERP, change management becomes necessary.
ERP implementation has a significant impact on the working environment of any company. It
responsible for all the modification in working styles and affects all the processes and ongoing
operations in the organization.
It is the responsibility of the management to prepare their staff for the changes by giving
training and making them aware of the positive impacts and efficiency of the software.
15. 13. Transferring the Knowledge
Management should make sure that the vendor renders the in-house IT team with all the
technical know-how and detailing of the project. Proper technical training and effective
of knowledge are considered critical for the success of the project.
For operations to be smooth and simplified, the IT support staff should be well-trained. If the
software utilization is not optimal, then the output of ERP implementation will not be
16. 14. Going Live
It is only after go-live that the actual operational obstructions come in picture. If there are
between evaluation, processes and implementation and the system is not flexible enough to
handle them, it may backfire.
At this phase, the system needs to be improvised, and at the same time, the management
should ensure that the primary objective of the implementation should not be diluted.
During go-live period, accurate data migration and proper hardware synchronization are
evaluated.
17. 15. System Testing
Testing is another crucial step that ensures that product is ready. Though it is a hectic task but
confirms that all the technical and functional aspects of the system are positive.
Below are the checklist points that are evaluated during testing:
• Business reports
• Access rights for individual users
• Both static as well as dynamic data
• Auto backup procedures
• User acceptance
• Accounting reports
18. 16. Maintaining and Supporting
Once the ERP is live, it needs maintenance and support for the maximum output. If the
implementation is successful, it does not ensure the optimal future utilization.
It is crucial to update the system on timely basis along with periodical maintenance and
ongoing support. This will ensure the smooth and trouble-free functioning of the ERP solution
to give you better ROI for your business.
19. 16. Maintaining and Supporting
Once the ERP is live, it needs maintenance and support for the maximum output. If the
implementation is successful, it does not ensure the optimal future utilization.
It is crucial to update the system on timely basis along with periodical maintenance and
ongoing support. This will ensure the smooth and trouble-free functioning of the ERP solution
to give you better ROI for your business.