Studies show that 60-70% of ERP implementations fail. What??
We have worked with a lot of customers who approached us to reduce their stress around ERP, and to help pull in the right resources to get situations back on track after trying the wrong partners.
Partners play a critical role in ensuring their customers understand the key factors and best practices that make the other 30-40% successful. ·
The #1 factor—Trust: Customers need to trust that the people on the team implementing the solution understand the business and have the ability to execute. Base decisions on the reputation of the companybut also meet the project manager and the individuals that will be doing the work. Trust works two ways the partner also has to trust the client not to misrepresent the scope, and the challenges e.g ‘dirty data’, shortages or resources, unusual critical needs and interfaces etc
· Data migration strategy: Customers always want their data migrated. It’s the partner’s job to help them determine at what level. Migrating data introduces risk and higher costs. Does your customer really need 10 years of data, or is it better to migrate master records, bring in beginning balances, and leave historical data in the legacy system? Is the effort of ocnversion and reconciliation really understood, is the need real or just a comfort blanket? What can be migrated at summary elvel, or be held in the legacy system and be accessed via a BI tool that merges data from old and new systems, this can be especially useful when upgrading e.g from Ax 2009 to Ax 2012
Customization: Excessive customization is a major cause of failed ERP implementations. Differentiate customizations you want from what you need. Maintenance and cost increase (and ROI decreases) with the level of customization. If a high level of customization is required, then customize in smaller chunks through a phased approach. Customisation is most worthwhile where it gives you a vertical competitive edge not in standarrd back office functions.
Is there a proven solution or tool already available? Report wrting is the hidden part of the customisation iceberg. You have to: define precisely, desgin and develop, create test data and transactions and run processes, then test layout, content, printing, and distribution and security. For example Lasernet for report writing can save days of consulting time and reduce risk. This is especially true when ugrading to Ax 2012 and SSRS let lasernet capture the SSRS output and thenn easily modify the report design in a favoruite tool like MS word. Often without any need for coding. Similalry, some BI tools such as BI4Dynamics provide you a core set of reports that deal with most requirements.
Complexity: Companies often implement new ssytems because they outgrew the old oine and this leads to a restructure of their organisation and charts of accounts when they change ERP systems. ensure they’re not making the redesign is not too complex. Dynamics Ax is an example of a very flexible orgnaisation framework and powerful and flexible COA for multi-company operations and consolidation that has many features to make users life eaiser. Management Rpeorter which is free for Dyamics Ax users supports multi level aggregation and powerful drilldown features that leverage the dimensional and organisational frameworks.
Dig past the pretty charts: Today’s ERP systems have a lot to offer and demos are full of shiny objects. Cut to the chase and understand which features are most important to make the needed business change. Consider how deployment options and specific features tangibly impact your specific business processes.
Work with a partner that has a formal project methodology and a track record of delivery and local support. Project management that comes free or part time is unlikely to ensure success.
If you are bogged down and all of this advice is too late for your project then let us help you to get it back on track-we have audited and turned around many projects. Let us help you be successful.
