ERP Systems

Implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions have been designed to solve many of the technological and management problems plaguing businesses today.  Enterprise Resource Planning effectively integrates all functions and facets of a company creating one central system to store data and from which every department can access data, resulting in lowered costs and increased profit. If the ERP software solution can organize, manage, and control business procedures, then it can help businesses run more efficiently, increasing both productivity and profit. Consequently, in the past decade, businesses from various industries have invested time and money in ERP as a way to gain a competitive edge.

The first step towards this edge is to select the right ERP for the company.  There are over a hundred vendors selling ERP, each software package especially designed to fill a specific industry niche, so a company must select the ERP package that provides it the most solutions.

The next step is the tangible implementation of the enterprise resource planning system. Businesses have a choice as how to accomplish this.  A company’s IT department may handle the implementation process or it is possible to include implementation as part of the package purchased from the ERP vendor. After that, the following choice is how to actually assimilate the new software into the company’s operating procedures.

Research shows that many implementations of enterprise resource planning tend to go wrong, and, often, this can be attributed to the company being unprepared for the implementation. To insure success, experts recommend three steps that a company should go through in preparing for the advent of the new system.

Training employees is one of the keys to this preparation. Businesses should spend time on sessions training department supervisors and team leads, encouraging them to participate as bystanders and supporters during the training process.  Later, this will allow the company leaders to explain the new system to their employees.

Communication to -and between- all employees is also crucial. No implementation of enterprise resource planning can be successful if the business’ staff is not briefed and up to date. Personnel should know what changes to expect within the realm of their individual responsibilities, how these responsibilities may now differ, and exactly when these changes will go into effect. This information should be readily available to all employees.

A third recommendation is to have a business ‘practice’. It is possible to have the IT department, or the vendor’s workforce, run a simulation which would ensure that every employee has adapted to the new ERP system.

Written by :

Amy Cruz