ERP / New Technology Adoption

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Enable Improved Business Processes

Many mid-size companies are moving from current, or legacy systems, to large-scale ERP systems (Oracle, SAP, JD Edwards, etc.) to establish a better platform for planned growth.  Whether the growth comes through acquisitions, mergers, or other means, implementing new a new technology platform has a significant impact on how current business processes are performed, and on employee jobs. 

Planning for this kind of large-scale change requires a multi-faceted project plan that addresses training, communication, job impacts, process changes, and employee buy-in.  Managers at each of your sites throughout the world need to be "in the driver's seat" in order to effectively lead employees through this transition to new business processes. 

Our approach to helping manage through this change minimizes impacts to productivity:

Our consultants will help you to develop a multi-track project plan from start to finish that will help ensure a successful transition to the new ERP system.  From developing and conducting key stakeholder interviews, change readiness surveys and workshops, and working with your executive steering committee, we will help to keep the new system implementation from feeling like a "corporate driven" program du jour, and put line management in the role of owning and leading this change.  Comprehensive and strategic communication activities will foster an understanding of the business rationale for implementing this new technology, and prepare people for a smoother transition.  Employee buy-in and commitment will increase, and negative impacts to productivity and customer satisfaction will be minimized.

Achieve the ROI that led you to the decision to implement the new system

Making an investment in a new ERP system to enable future growth is one of the largest commitments of resources that executives will make during the lifetime of a company.  Ensuring a measurable return on that investment demands that the organization takes full advantage of the functionality offered by the new system.  Just as important is ensuring that the impact on people's jobs is taken into account so that changes in tasks and activities are woven into a new job that provides the employee an opportunity to play a more meaningful role in day-to-day business operations.  Opportunities to centralize, or even decentralize certain tasks need to be considered from a holistic perspective so that business operations maintain a focus on customer needs and employee morale.  What good is a highly automated system when employee turnover costs escalate to the point of outweighing the benefits of automation? 

Achieving the planned ROI for your new system requires careful thought and planning.  Through our various assessment techniques, we can help identify the actual potential for achieving ROI targets, as well as the "hidden" costs of implementation.

Assess risks to current ERP projects and identify risk-mitigation strategies

Most ERP projects undergo reviews or audits  to ensure that potential risks are identified and addressed.  But who conducts these audits?  Typically they are conducted by a QA function within the company or firm that is managing the project.  On occasion, another firm will be called in to offer more "objectivity" to the review, but there are always concerns about whether or not their findings are truly objective, particularly when they are in a position to potentially "unseat" the incumbent systems integrator. 

One of the primary risks to a successful implementation is in the area of "adoption" of the new system by the client organization.  If employees fail to adapt to changes in business processes, changes in jobs, and changes in technology, it is likely that the client organization could fail to fully realize its return on investment.

Risks come from many areas, including:

• Insufficient skill training for employees, or an insufficient training infrastructure to support required skill training
• Insufficient communication to prepare employees for the change
• Failure to anticipate and plan for process and job changes caused by the new system, particularly where there is global impact and inattention to regulatory or statutory requirements
• An organization culture that is resistant to change
• Poor teamwork or leadership on the project team itself
• Lack of acceptance of the new system on the part of key executives or managers

Our assessment process focuses on risks to ERP projects from the perspective of how well clients will adopt the new system.

Benefits: 

• Independent and objective risk assessment by an experienced senior practitioner
• No potential conflict of interest regarding an intent to take over the systems integrator role
• Written report provided to identify major areas of risk and specific risk-mitigation actions
• Opportunity for change management teams to receive counsel on how to improve strategies and actions to mitigate risks to the overall project
• Identification of opportunities to bring the client measurable improvements to current operations as enabled by the ERP system