By Katie Foley
It’s late August which means back to school time here in the Northeast. Whether your kid’s school is going remote, in person, or some combination, preparation is the key to a successful school year. Preparation for a student might something like this: backpack, school supplies, first day of school outfit, and summer reading completed. Just like students must prepare for a new school year, ERP team leaders must prepare before starting an ERP search in order to find the best possible solution.
What kind of prep work goes into getting ready to select an ERP system?
What is the motivation behind the ERP search? Maybe your business is brand new to ERP and looking for a way to increase productivity. Maybe your business has outgrown an old ERP system. Whatever the reason, it’s important to identify it and factor it into the ERP search process.
How does your organization run right now? You might want to make changes as you move forward with a new ERP system, but it’s important to map out your starting place. What processes are working? And what processes aren’t? This will help you come up with a list of must have and would be nice to have functionality in a new ERP system.
Make your list of must have functionality as well as your list of “would be nice to have” functionality. Keep your list simple and focused and don’t forget future functionality as your business grows.
Decide if you want to use a consultant or not. We have some of the pros and cons listed here. If you decide to go in house appoint a strong team leader. We have a whole blog post on this topic here, but the team leader should have experience with ERP projects and have excellent communication skills. The consultant or team leader should then put together a dedicated ERP search committee. This group should have every department represented as they will be responsible for training people in their department.
Be sure that c-level executives are onboard with the upcoming ERP project. ERP projects are time consuming and expensive so the c suite must understand the motivation behind the project.
These are just a few of the big things you should consider when starting an ERP search - there are countless more. After you put in the prep work it’s time to get started on selecting an ERP system including creating an RFP, checking customer references, and negotiating an ERP contract.