Implementing an ERP System In A Regulated Environment
As if successfully implementing an ERP System was difficult enough, doing so in a regulated environment is even more challenging. As an outgrowth of its current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) initiative for human and animal drugs and biologics (any virus,...ERP Implementation Benchmarks
We are in the process of gathering and analyzing the results of our ongoing ERP benchmark study. The intent of this study is to collect information about ERP implementations around the world related to time to implement, cost, match with expectations, etc. Although...Going Live!
One of our recent ERP Selection clients told us their sales had improved dramatically because a competitor had implemented a new ERP system and their competitor’s shipping lead-time had gone from 6 days to 6 weeks. I don’t know the specifics of this...Lessons Learned From An ERP Implementation
The problem with large ERP implementations at high-profile organizations is that project teams are under an extremely high level of scrutiny. As if ERP projects weren’t hard enough in their own merit, well-known organizations have the added pressure of knowing...ERP Implementation: Do It Right or Pay Later
When dealing with clients who want to short-cut their ERP implementation process, one of the Project Managers at our company likes to state that “you can pay now, or you can pay later.” This may seem self-promoting since we are consultants earning a living...Five Worst ERP Implementation Mistakes
ERP isn’t usually a laughing matter, at least not for most of us. However, the other day a colleague of mine forwarded a blog entry with a humorous take on the five worst mistakes that you can take during implementation (click here to read the blog). Although my...Closing the Gap Between New ERP Processes and the Old Way of Doing Things
For many companies we help implement enterprise systems for, the goal is to limit customization and leverage the ERP system’s “vanilla” out-of-the-box functionality as much as possible. However, even if an organization has identified a system that is...Alternative ERP Implementation Strategies: What’s the Best Approach?
Last week, we cited an industry article about alternative ways of implementing ERP systems. The article gives an example of a large ERP implementation that challenged the traditional notion of going live via a “hard” cutover at go-live. Instead, the...ERP Risk Mitigation: Planning For ERP Success
Ensuring a smooth ERP migration is complex, and every implementation entails a certain level of business and technical risk. There are a number of factors that affect an ERP implementation’s level of risk, including the number of sites that you are going live...ERP and Business Processes: As-Is Or To-Be?
One of the most contentious issues in the world of ERP and IT is how much attention to give to as-is and to-be ERP business processes. Opinions on the issue run the whole spectrum on how this should be addressed; some people feel that companies should let their ERP...ERP Post-Implementation Audits Are Important
It’s easy to forget that successful ERP implementations don’t end at go-live. If anything, it’s after the system is implemented that makes or breaks the success of the system. However, most companies fail to conduct a post-implementation audit to...First Step to Successful ERP Implementations: Get Your House in Order
I’ve posted quite a few articles on this blog about how common it is for companies to jump on the ERP bandwagon without first conducting the due diligence and planning required to make a project successful. Many companies do not get their houses in order before...Can Technology Hide a Flawed Corporate Strategy?
This may be more of a rhetorical question, but recent web-poll results on our web page begs the question: if a company is struggling with its overall corporate strategy, is technology going to help? First, a bit of background. Our company’s main page has been...Fixing a Failed ERP Implementation
Most of my entries in this blog have focused on proactive measures that can be taken to ensure ERP or IT success. However, what happens if you’re already in the middle of a failed ERP implementation? The good news is that troubled IT implementations can be...It’s Not a Small World After All: Managing Change on International ERP Projects
When implementing ERP software in multiple countries, corporate executives face the issue of managing organizational change in an international environment. For any large change initiative, organizational change management is a challenging and difficult issue to...
