Having identified the real causes of failed ERP projects and the High-Risk ERP Implementation Strategy, you are one step away from zero-failure ERP implementation explained below.
Follow these ERP software selection steps at the very beginning of the project to ensure the success of your ERP project:
This implementation strategy overturns outdated high-risk strategy and adopts the zero-failure strategy:
Above all, trust your own colleagues, who have been working within your enterprise for years, not those who parachute down into your organization as alien "experts". Accept the fact that your own people possess more knowledge and experiences of your own organization than any outsiders. Admit your employees understand your organization's culture and business process more deeply than all outside experts. Assign all ERP project tasks to your IT personnel and perhaps also to end user representatives. Grant the team the full control over your project. Hold your people accountable for the execution and outcome.
Being nominated as the exclusive team responsible for ERP project planning and execution, your IT personnel will feel that they are respected because they will not be dictated by outsiders to do or not to do this or that. Your genuine experts will not be treated as clerks. Their expertise, value, and past contributions are recognized. They therefore will stay and endeavor to finish this ERP project.
Zero-failure ERP implementation consists of these two major tasks:
The execution steps of above tasks follow.
The training goal is to enable the enterprise IT personnel to independently develop, on the flexible ERP framework, the information applications that perfectly meets the requirements of their business. In other words, the enterprise IT personnel tailors the information software application system that is fully in line with enterprise process.
Why enterprise hires only one consultant, not a team comprising hundreds of consultants? The answer is: One consultant is enough.
Why is the contract term short? Exactly how short is it? The answer is: One-week will be enough for most large organizations with savvy IT staffs.
During the training, your IT staffs simultaneously evaluate the top-notch ERP framework, decide whether or not to continue the ERP project, and decide whether or not to purchase the ERP framework. If IT personnel decide to abort, immediately cancel the project.
At this stage, your IT personnel add and modify the information system on the top-notch ERP framework to meets orgnizational requirements. At the same time, end-user representatives extensively, comprehensively, and thoroughly try out the information system. End-user representatives from all business units along with IT personnel thoroughly evaluate the top-notch ERP framework, decide whether or not to continue the ERP project, and decide whether or not to purchase the ERP framework. If IT personnel or end user representatives decide to abort, the project immediately ends.
After entering this stage, enterprise IT personnel has confirmed the quality of top-notch ERP framework and have decided to continue the project. The enterprise autonomously decides the amount of human resources to invest in the new application system development, and controls the speed of system development.
IT personnel complete the development of new application system at this stage, and thoroughly test the new application system with end user representatives.
After entering this stage, IT personnel and end user representatives have repeatedly tested the new system and have full confidence of it. The enterprise arranges the time to launch the new system by itself and schedules the time to decommission the old system. IT personnel prepare to migrate database from legacy system to the new one.
After bringing the new system live, the enterprise can buy this top-notch ERP framework with full confidence. The project is completed.
Enterprise IT personnel can discover the fact that the ERP software does not fit enterprise at the first or second stage of the zero-failure ERP implementation strategy, and terminate the project without purchasing the ERP software.
End users can discover the fact that the ERP software does not help or even disturb their daily works at the first or second stage of the zero-failure ERP implementation strategy and terminate the project.
Otherwise, once the project enters phase 3, end users already accept the software and decide to fully support the project. There will be no such thing as end-user boycoot at stage 3.
Such risk does not exist because enterprises need to purchase top-notch ERP frameworks only after enterprise proclaim their project succeeds.
The zero-failure ERP implementation strategy employs only one consultant for short-term training. The biggest loss for a business is confined to pocket money.
Customizing or adding applications on top-notch ERP framework requires only two skills - PostgreSQL and fundamental accounting. IT personnel are absolutely competent.
In order to shorten the development time of the new system, the enterprise can recruit any time more personnel to join the project, and has full control over the system implementation speed.
The people in the world who best know the enterprise's business are enterprise's employees themselves. It is enterprise employees who follow zero-failure ERP implementation strategy. They lead, manage, and control the ERP implementation project. They are all colleagues and have been communicating for years with each other. There is no need for enterprise employees to communicate with any outsiders.
Zero-failure ERP implementation strategy does not require enterprises to change any core operating habits. Working on top-notch ERP framework, IT personnel will do as much as they can to customize the flexible ERP system to meet their colleagues' needs. The frequent conflicts between software vendor (or consultants) and enterprise users arising from the former coercing the latter to succumb to their software's weaknesses will not happen to enterprises adopting Zero-failure ERP implementation strategy.
There is no such risk because the top-notch ERP framework consumes low energy and runs at high speed on low-end hardware and entry-level network facilities.
It is enterprise IT personnel who adopt the zero-failure ERP implementation strategy and develop the new system. They can absolutely maintain the system they themselves designed.
IT personnel know legacy system. They have the ability to develop and complete the design of the new system. They know the best time for systems switching. They therefore absolutely can smoothly swap the two systems.
IT personnel get most respect from enterprises adopting zero-failure ERP implementation strategy. No one has a chance of looking down on IT personnel who lead and complete the ERP project.
Information system development technology threshold determines the feasibility of citizen developer strategy. The top-level ERP framework has low skill requirements, and it allows end users to participate in application software development.