ERP Project Toolkit: The Ultimate Checklist and Tools to Start your ERP Project [Part 3]

Transcription

1 ERP Project Toolkit: The Ultimate Checklist and Tools to Start your ERP Project [Part 3] With part three of our three part ERP Project Tool Kit series you will learn how you can make the right ERP choice for your manufacturing business the first time around. 3 ERP PROJECT TOOLKIT

2 ERP Project Toolkit: The Ultimate Checklist and Tools to Start your ERP Project [Part 3] With part three of our three part ERP Project Tool Kit series you will learn how you can make the right ERP choice for your manufacturing business the first time around. Here in part three of our ERP Project Toolkit series we will provide you with all the tools and a checklist for starting your ERP Project. In case you missed our previous guide part one, click to download: ERP Project Toolkit: Do You Need ERP? A Growing Pains Checklist [Part 1] ERP Project Toolkit: Do You Need ERP? A Growing Pains Checklist [Part 1] ERP Project Toolkit: Do You Need ERP? A Growing Pains Checklist [Part 1] A guide which shows you how to recognise when your business has outgrown its existing software systems - and gives tips to help you now quantify the scale of the problems that it is causing you. A guide which shows you how to recognise when your business has outgrown its existing software systems - and gives tips to help you now quantify the scale of the problems that it is causing you. 1 ERP PROJECT TOOLKIT Download Now! 1 ERP PROJECT TOOLKIT And part two can be found here: ERP Project Toolkit: How to Spec an ERP System, A Complete Stepby-Step Guide [Part 2] ERP Project Toolkit: How to Spec an ERP System, A Complete Step-by-Step Guide [Part 2] ERP Project Toolkit: How to Spec an ERP System, A Complete Step-by-Step Guide [Part 2] A guide for small to medium-sized manufacturers which shows how to plan, choose and implement an ERP project, helping you to avoid costly mistakes. A guide for small to medium-sized manufacturers which shows how to plan, choose and implement an ERP project, helping you to avoid costly mistakes. 2 ERP PROJECT TOOLKIT 2 ERP PROJECT TOOLKIT Download Now! 2

3 Installing the right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system into your business will be a solid foundation for future success. Improved business processes and cost saving efficiencies provide the capability for outstanding customer service. It allows you to drive business forward, with greater productivity and profitability. Choosing and installing an ERP system is not without its risks. Selecting the wrong system or installing it badly is painful, wasteful and ultimately, can seriously damage your business. To help you make the right choices, we ve put together this comprehensive checklist of the steps needed to get your ERP project off the ground and on the road to success. 1. Acknowledge that you have a problem Breakdowns, delays and errors in your manufacturing process will be visible to lots of people across your organisation, but these issues may not always be flagged. This means it can be a while before someone realises that the sum of all the problems is making a significant dent in your productivity and profits. 2. Decide to find a solution An answer to the problems you ve identified is to live with them or try to find individual solutions to each issue. But is the overall issue that your supporting systems are increasingly unfit for purpose? If that doesn t get fixed then the business risks becoming increasingly uncompetitive. So the alternative is to investigate the installation of a new ERP system, using the latest technologies to optimise the value and results in your business. 3. Identify a project sponsor The sponsor is a senior executive who champions the project across the business and ensures it continues to align with the firm s overall vision. The sponsor is not hands-on with the project, but isn t afraid to keep pushing it forward (and has the authority to do so). 3

4 4. Appoint a project leader Your leader gives day-to-day impetus to the wide range of tasks required for a successful project completion. Diary management and people management skills are essential, along with a strong understanding of the business. 5. Build a project team The project leader will need to gather a team of doers, ideally drawn from across your business. These are the people who will investigate, interview, review and recommend. They are the key connectors between the project and the rest of the business. 6. Make time available for the project Having built a team, you need to ensure they have the time and other resources needed to do their job well. They need some time out from their normal roles within the business, so be prepared for that. 7. Set a project timetable Deadlines help maintain momentum and make planning easier. But don t be slaves to the timetable as it can be changed if needed 8. Identify processes that need improving Get opinions about what doesn t work from as many people as possible. Don t assume that team leaders know everything that goes on in their area of responsibility. Where possible, put a financial value on inefficiency, indicating the cost to your business. These numbers will help justify investment in a new ERP system. 4

5 9. Be prepared for resistance Not everyone in your business will understand that change is needed. Some staff may be actively resistant. This isn t entirely negative as it balances those enthusiastic for change and provides reality checks as to where change is really necessary. 10. Understand your costs Take some time to understand all the costs in your business, not just those associated with inefficiency or IT. Introducing an integrated ERP system will involve many aspects of your business, so having a strong understanding of your current cost base is essential to the decision-making process. 11. Be clear about what you want to achieve As your project gathers momentum, it s essential to set and maintain a clear vision about what you want it to achieve. Having a vision with clear boundaries helps prevent the project continually growing in scope. It also gives clear goals you can measure progress towards. 12. Create a statement of requirements or a vision guide Your statement of requirements (SOR) is the benchmark against which to measure potential solutions and the overall success of the project. It sets out what you want and why you want it. Every project team member will have input to it and many outside the team need the opportunity to see it, or at least the sections relating to their area of operation. The SOR is not a static document. You ll update it as you learn more during the process of choosing an ERP system, so version control is really important. 5

6 It s helpful to think of the SOR document as your vision guide outlining what you see your future system doing. BONUS TOOL #1: Download a free template for your vision guide (SOR - Statement of Requirements) here. Download Now! 13. Research potential solutions You may already have an idea about which ERP system you want. It s still important to look at the alternatives, from upgrading whatever you have now, to bringing in something that will radically alter the way you work. Don t rely on assumptions. Create a list of potential suppliers. The best ways to do this are to search online, to ask comparable businesses what they use and to be generally open minded at this stage. It won t hurt to have an initial chat with one or two suppliers. 14. Get approval to proceed Now you know what you want from a new ERP system and you have some idea what you might go for, it s essential to get the necessary sign-off from the business to proceed. An ERP system is a serious investment so budgetary and timetable approval from the top is a must have. 6

7 15. Make a supplier shortlist At this stage, weeding out the suppliers who aren t really suitable should be relatively easy. For each one on your list, consider the following: How much experience do they have of your industry? What s their overall track record? Do their standard products fit well with your requirements? Do they provide a true 'one stop' service, within a long term partnership? Basic questions around their support and services should reveal any gaps. By the end of this step, you ll have whittled down the long list to a short list of between three and five potential suppliers. 16. Prepare demonstration scripts A demonstration script is an example of one of your business processes. By giving it to the supplier, along with examples of typical data you would use, it gives them a chance to show how well their system matches your requirements. 17. Prepare requirements checklists Checklists help you keep the evaluation of systems objective. Use scoring to weight the importance of different functions and how well the supplier demonstrated their fit with your requirements. Ensure the checklists are completed immediately after the demonstration. See overleaf for a scorecard template. 18. See demonstrations of the potential solutions Ideally, ERP demonstrations should occur close together, perhaps within a couple of weeks. This makes it easier to make comparisons as the demonstrations are fresh in your memory. 7

8 The best demonstrations use a live system and follow operations scripts that you provide. Ask lots of questions and try to get the feel for both the product and the company that supplies it. BONUS TOOL #2: Download this free scorecard template for scoring ERP demonstrations against your requirements. Download Now! 19. Be clear about what you will pay for As part of this demonstration process, find out as much detail as you can about what will be covered by the price of the system, both on purchase and over the next five years. Consider areas such as ongoing support, system modifications, conversion of your existing data and training as these all add to the cost of ownership. Typically, you should look for a five year lifecycle cost. 20. Assess the supplier as a potential long-term partner Buying an ERP system means committing to a long-term relationship with the supplier, so it s important that there s a good personality match. You also want confidence that they ll be around during the years ahead and that your business will remain important to them. Have you performed financial due diligence on this potential critical partner? 21. Choose preferred suppliers One round of demonstrations is generally enough to cut down the shortlist to a couple of preferred suppliers and perhaps some as a reserve. 8

9 22. Attend workshop demonstrations Workshops are demonstrations that go into much more depth. This is an opportunity to introduce other key members of your business to the system and to trial more complex activities. These workshops will flag potential gaps in the system, where it won t do quite what you want. 23. Interview reference customers These are existing users of the systems under consideration. Ideally, you want to visit them without being accompanied by the supplier, making it easier to ask, and get answers to, difficult questions. 24. Have your legal team check contracts Reviewing the contract in detail helps prevent problems in the future. For all the warm words exchanged up until now, it s the contract that sets down the specific obligations of both parties. 25. Sign the contract Once the ink is on the paper, the agreement to move ahead with your ERP project is formalised. While you ll be keen to start the installation process, it s unwise to rush too far ahead without signed contracts. 9

10 Checklist summary Here are the key points to remember when preparing for your ERP project: Set clear goals and objectives. Choose a strong project team. Get approval to proceed. Keep your assessment of suppliers objective. Installing an ERP system is a substantial investment and doing it right will make a huge difference to your business. Following this checklist will help you choose a system to improve productivity and profitability, taking your business to the next level. Next step? Contact Sanderson to discuss our specialist manufacturing ERP software: Call: info@sanderson.com Visit: 10