3 keys to a successful ERP rollout
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is at the heart of your business. Transversal, it brings together all the information you need to run your business. Your various departments share it as a working tool. Properly implemented, it can save you time and energy. But you're afraid of unleashing a gas factory. How do you go about it? Discover all our advice, tips and best practices on ERP.
1st key: steps to follow
Designate referents
As part of an ERP deployment project, you have a dedicated contact at the solution publisher. His profile is that of integrator. Their role is to ensure the successful implementation of the new tool within your organization. Deploying an ERP solution involves the whole company. To meet the needs and expectations of each department, the project manager and his team must adopt a cross-functional vision. The ideal solution is to appoint a business referent for each department. Each department formulates its expectations and needs. Based on this feedback, the ERP is co-constructed.
Defining the project
Preparation at the start of the project is essential. It determines the quality of the final solution. It involves carrying out a rigorous and exhaustive diagnosis of the various functionalities that the ERP will need to deliver. The team in charge of the project mobilizes to gather and reconcile information from the various departments. A critical eye is invaluable at this stage, as this reconciliation can highlight certain duplications or inefficiencies. Those who know how to identify and question them bring real added value to the project.
Opting for the right technical solution - secure, simple and fast
SaaS or on-premise? SaaS (Software As A Service) is a cloud solution. Whereas on premise means installing the software locally on the company's servers. For a long time, people were wary of the Cloud in terms of data security and confidentiality. This is now obsolete. 100% web-based software has nothing to envy from local versions. Their access control and certificate systems offer every guarantee. Above all, the SaaS version greatly simplifies installation. Faster, it's far less laborious to deploy than an on-premise version.
Parameterization and final testing of the solution
Before deploying the ERP solution throughout the company, it's time to test all its features. These tests will save you a lot of time. It's an opportunity to defuse any malfunctions, and provide a global overview of the entire business via the tool. It's the integrator 's role to check all the stumbling blocks for you, and deliver a turnkey solution that works straight away.
2nd key: integrate the human factor
Resistance to change: a variable to be taken into account
Now that you've gone through the various stages in the right order, your ERP is complete and operational. All your departments have to do is adopt it. Except that it means completely changing the way they work. Because you're replacing their day-to-day tool with another. This touches on a sensitive subject: the acceptance of change. You may have deployed the greatest technical intelligence in terms of Information Systems (IS) to build your ERP, but if the human factor gets in the way, it will be a failure.
Involve people upstream to encourage collective adoption
Aware of this decisive aspect, some software publishers integrate the human variable into the project from the outset. This is the case with the IOvision software solution, which creates support for the ERP from the outset. From the outset, the pool of people who will use the software are its stakeholders. The software publisher also supports the company in communicating intern ally about the project. This is followed by training sessions, which, if properly carried out, will ensure that all teams adopt the tool.
3rd key: tool adaptability
SaaS: an asset for keeping your ERP up to date and evolving
Once installed, your ERP becomes your best ally. At the heart of everything you do, it evolves with you... or not. If it's fixed, and requires time-consuming updates or specific interventions at the slightest opportunity, it'll put the brakes on your development. Go for a solution with this fluid adaptability. SaaS solutions have a huge advantage here. As the tool can be managed remotely, the service provider can update it without having to travel. IOcean, the publisher of the IOvision solution, offers this service free of charge. So you can be sure of having an up-to-date tool, with the associated support when you need it.
SSII players: complementary expertise at your service
When choosing one vendor over another, it's worth looking at their respective expertise. All ERP vendors provide ERP. But not all are equally relevant from an analytical point of view. The analytical skills of the integrator in charge of your project will play an important role in the upstream phase. By choosing an IT services company, you can be sure of benefiting from its experience in building information systems. Such is the case with IOvision, whose personal touch is recognizable in every ERP implementation.
Deploying an ERP is not rocket science. The key is to :
- do things in the right order,
- remember that the tool's future users are the first to be concerned,
- opt for scalable solutions offered by competent software publishers.
So, reassured?!
Article translated from French