Steps for ERP Implementation

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a process by which a company manages and integrates the important parts of its business. An ERP management information system integrates different departments of the company such as planning, purchasing, inventory, sales, marketing, finance and human resources. To improve operations and provide faster customer response companies are implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solutions.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

 Assign a project team: Assign a project team with employees from sales, customer service, accounting, purchasing, operations and senior management. Each team member should be committed to the success of the project and accountable for specific tasks, i.e. developing a timeline, finalizing objectives, formulating a training plan.

 Examine current business processes and information flow: Have the team perform an analysis on which business processes should be improved. Gather copies of key documents such as invoices, batch tickets and bill of lading for the analysis. The team members should also conduct interviews with key personnel to uncover additional areas of improvement needed.

Set objectives: The objectives should be clearly defined prior to implementing the ERP solution. Need to define the scope of implementation.

Develop a project plan: The team should develop a project plan which includes previously defined goals and objectives, timelines, training procedures, as well as individual team responsibilities.

PROCEDURE REVIEW

 Review software capabilities: Dedicate 3-5 days of intensive review of the software capabilities for the project team.

Identify manual processes: Evaluate which processes that are manual and should be automated with the ERP system.

 Develop standard operating procedures(SOPs)for every aspect of your business.

DATA COLLECTION & CLEAN-UP

 Convert data: Determine which information should be converted through an analysis of current data.

 Collect new data: Define the new data that needs to be collected. Identify the source documents of the data.

 Review all data input: Data drives the business, so it is very important that the data is accurate.

 Clean-up data: Review and weed out unneeded information such as customers who haven’t purchased in a while or are no longer in business.

 TRAINING AND TESTING

Pre-test the database: The project team should practice in the test database to confirm that all information is accurate and working correctly.

 Verify testing: Make sure the actual test mirrors the Standard Operating Procedures and determine whether modifications need to made.

 Train the Trainer: Assign project team members to run the in-house training. Set up user workstations for at least 2 days of training by functional area.

 Perform final testing: The project team needs to perform a final test on the data and processes once training is complete and make any needed adjustments.

GO LIVE AND EVALUATION

Develop a final Go-Live Checklist

Evaluate the solution: Develop a structured evaluation plan which ties back to the goals and objectives that were set in the planning stage.

Datamate Infosolutions is a software development and services company specialised in the development of software products to Health care and Hospitality industries.