This article will cover the following topics: Position Your ERP Software Solution
• Present Your ERP Software Solution
• Present the Implementation
• Present Data Migration
• Present the Organization’s Readiness
You must completely understand how the ERP software solution will address the business issues and the concept of this implementation approach. You must discuss not only the solution with your management, but also the benefits and implications that the predefined solution will bring about with this implementation approach. In this step, you will learn about everything related to the implementation of the predefined solution.
Your company needs to understand and accept:
• The scope of the predefined solution
• The benefits of the predetermined solution for the organization
• The services offered and the respective pricing
• The preconfigured business processes
• The Focus implementation approach
• The data migration activities
• The approach to the organization’s readiness
• The pros and cons of fixed-price projects
Present Your ERP Software Solution
The purpose of this activity is to review the value of your proposal with your management and to demonstrate that the solution is an overall fit for your company. You can present the solution scope by using the documentation and presentations available or if you are brave, by demonstrating the software. There is now the ability to rent some time on an SAP system or you can now invite SAP sales representatives into your process.
Ensure that the following documents have been assembled:
• Solution scope
• ERP Software Implementation Project Plan
• Assumptions document
• Presentation of additional services
Give your management some time to go over the documents and the solution map to become familiar with the solution. The solution map gives a good overall picture of the solution and its structure. Schedule and run blueprint review sessions to provide a detailed explanation of the solution scope. Although your project manager can often run these sessions, you might require the skills of specialized consultants.
• Identify any potential scope deltas.
• Use the ERP Software Solution Composer tool to present the adapted solution map. Make further adaptations to solution map according to customer’s comments, if necessary.
• Document any missing information in the assumptions document (number of users, transactions, and so on).
• Gather additional information needed to qualify the customer for inclusion in the proposal. Ensure that you have a good understanding of the organizational structure and document the organizational structure in the organizational structure document.
• Explain the relevance of SAP organizational structures.
• Identify equivalent entities in the legacy environment that support the preliminary target organizational structure.
Document any findings and discussion notes related to important functional gaps in the delta requirement master list and in your solution map. This documentation will be used in the delta requirements phase. The results will be that management has a solid understanding of and feels comfortable with the scope covered in the predefined solution and you have captured of an initial list of important functional gaps.
Present the ERP Sofware Implementation
The purpose of this activity is to review and discuss the ASAP Focus implementation approach in detail with your management and highlight how it differs from a traditional approach. Misunderstanding the nature of a predefined scope implementation is a major risk for the project. Accordingly, you must understand all the implications that this approach means for the company and its business operations.
The ASAP Focus implementation approach for the SAP Business solution aims to ensure a fast return on investment for your company. That means that you will take the solution scope as predefined and implement it within the business. It is important to position this approach at this time and to discuss positioning any delta requirements as part of a follow-on project implementation.
Use the ASAP Focus Road Map presentation and select slides about the implementation approach; give the presentation and discuss it with your management. You can also use the project plan and portions of the project kickoff presentation. Unfortunately, the ASAP Focus Road Map is not publically available. The detail may be obtained from SAP or an SAP Partner.
ASAP Focus – ERP Software Implementation Road Map
1) Project Preparation
a) General Project Management
b) Project Standards and Procedures
c) Conduct Kick-off Meeting
d) Development Infrastructure Setup
e) Quality Assurance Infrastructure Setup
f) Review Project Prep Phase
2) Realization
a) General ERP Implementation Project Management
b) Validate Organizational Configuration & General Settings
c) Delta Realization
d) Validate Solution
e) Organizational Change Management
f) Integration & Acceptance Tests
g) Prepare Cutover & Production Support
h) Review Realization Phase
3) Project Preparation
a) General ERP Project Management
b) Project Standards and Procedures
c) Conduct Kick-off Meeting
d) Development Infrastructure Setup
e) Quality Assurance Infrastructure Setup
f) Review Project Prep Phase
4) Realization
a) General ERP Project Management
b) Validate Organizational Configuration & General Settings
c) Delta Realization
d) Validate Solution
e) Organizational Change Management
f) Integration & Acceptance Tests
g) Prepare Cutover & Production Support
h) Review Realization Phase
5) Final Preparation
a) General Project Management
b) End User Training
c) Check Organizational Change Readiness
d) Create & Staff Help Desk
e) Check System Readiness
f) Cutover To Production
g) Go-Live Readiness Check
h) Milestone: Start of Production
6) ERP Software Go Live & Support
a) General Project Management
b) Production Support
c) Project Closing
• Highlight differences from the traditional implementation approach (if relevant).
• Introduce the pre-project activities, why they are important, and why they will save time and money for the company.
• Discuss the various advantages and disadvantages associated with fixed-price projects.
• Introduce the scope change request process.
The result should be that management has a solid understanding of the implementation approach, understands the responsibilities, and agrees to the procedures.
Present Data Migration
The purpose of this activity is to present to the customer:
• The scope of the data migration
• The technique of the data migration
• The roles and responsibilities (extraction of legacy data, for example)
You will be responsible for the quality of all data to be converted to the SAP system. Before the project begins the customer will cleanse legacy data and map their data into SAP formatted data sheets. You also have the responsible for extracting data from legacy system, and for mapping that data into the conversion spreadsheets provided by SAP.
Examples of Legacy Master Data:
• Materials
• Customers
• Vendors
• Material Sales Prices
• Inventory Balances
• General Ledger Balances
• Open Sales Orders
• Accounts Receivable Open Items
• Open Purchase Orders
• Accounts Payable Open Items
• Open Purchase Orders
You must have an understanding of the scope of and approach to data migration.
Present the Organization’s Readiness
Getting people ready is one of the three dimensions of success for an enterprise project. The purposes of this activity are:
• To explain to the importance of getting the organization ready to use the software
• To convince the need to invest in getting people ready
• To present what project managers must do to ease the change process
• To describe the implementation team and end-user training approach
Normally, the implementation team is responsible for end-user training. If your organization offers additional services and end-user training is not available, now is the time to position this service. Use the presentation provided to:
1. Explain why organizational change management matters. Enumerate the needs, rationale, and benefits of change management.
2. Present the consequences of not managing change.
3. Give management an overview of what getting people ready means for the project and the approach.
Focus on our limitation of the scope of change management into three components that will fit in user training:
• Communication
• Impact mapping
• Transition planning
4. Present the training approach to and offer alternatives if available. Now management should be aware of the importance of change management activities in the organization and agreement with the training approach.
Position Your ERP Software Solution … (Thinking about buying SAP? - Part 3 of 4)
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