ERP Implementation

Best Practices When Implementing an ERP Upgrade or Enhancement

Have you implemented the very best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for your business, but the ERP vendor recently upgraded or enhanced your version?  Or, perhaps you implemented an ERP system that doesn’t provide certain functionality that is now being offered by the ERP vendor in an upgrade or enhancement.  Maybe you implemented an ERP system eons ago and have finally decided it’s time to upgrade.  Whatever you situation, you might want to consider implementing the upgrade or enhancement if it affects your business in a positive way.  Before you do so, establish best practices to guide you through the upgrade or enhancement process.

One best practice you should consider is to contain your upgrade or enhancement costs and maximize your return on investment (ROI).  You don’t want to spend major amounts of dinero upgrading or enhancing your system with functionality you don’t need.  However, if you do need the functionality and it makes sense for your business processes, then by all means get to it.  Do your homework and determine how the upgrade or enhancement will maximize your ROI.

Another best practice is to fully assess the benefits of the upgrade or enhancement.  Determine how the new functionality will affect your business processes.  Determine the amount of training your employees will need, if any, to use the new functionality.  Get buy-in from all technical and functional groups the upgrade will affect.  Get buy-in from upper management and other executives.  Prepare everyone for what’s to come, especially the folks that will be affected by the upgrade or enhancement.

Before you begin your upgrade or enhancement, staff the project with functional and technical folks.  Consider staffing the project with functional folks whom will be affected by the upgrade or enhancement.  You also might want to consider hiring some outside help as well.   ERP vendors usually offer consulting services.  ERP consulting firms are another option. Plan and scope in order to execute the best upgrade project plan, reduce errors, and minimize downtime.  Be realistic and plan for upgrade issues or problems.  If you don’t encounter issues or problems, bravo to you!   However, in the real world we all know that things happen and you want to make sure you have the budget for unexpected problems.

Once the upgrade or enhancement is implemented, it is a best practice to keep track of benefits gained.  Getting an ROI thanks to the upgrade or enhancement is the icing on the cake!

Written by :

kristine H