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ERP Implementations: 20 Steps to Success

Publish Date: February 29, 2008

Many enterprises are overwhelmed by the prospect of implementing an ERP solution. Info-Techs project plan outlines the 20 steps of a typical implementation. Use the plan as a starting point for aligning internal resources and, if needed, getting outside assistance.

1998-2008 Info-Tech Research Group

Executive Summary
Over 20% of enterprises will either implement a new ERP system or perform a major system upgrade in the next two years. The first step for an ERP implementation is to draft an implementation plan. It helps to align resources and determine project scope. Info-Techs implementation plan provides: Descriptions of the 20 steps of a typical ERP implementation. Guidelines on the required deliverables for each step.

ERP implementations are intimidating. Start with Info-Techs project plan.

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Implementation Point
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) continues to be a popular technology. Info-Tech data indicates that over 20% of enterprises will either implement a new ERP system or perform a major system upgrade in the next two years. The first step for such a project is to draft an implementation plan.

Key Considerations
Info-Techs ERP implementation plan lays out 20 different steps in an ERP project and appropriate deliverables related to each step. Some of these steps are sequential while otherssuch as testing and trainingare inherently iterative processes. Different enterprises will use this plan in different ways. It can provide the basis for detailed work plans. There are 20 steps to the typical ERP project: 1. Establish project trigger. The first step in an ERP project is identifying the need. There must be some trigger for the process. Common triggers include: Lack of scalability of existing technology systems. Need to move off legacy systems such as mainframes. Limited planning visibility of existing systems. Excessive cost for maintaining existing systems. Emerging compliance concerns. Strong executive support for a particular initiative. Existing ERP package is no longer supported by vendor.

Deliverable: A statement of direction and initiative. 2. Form the project team. A crucial early step in the ERP project is establishing a project team. It should include the executive sponsor for the team and have representation from the business units that will be affected by the project. The project team will have an important role in both scoping the project and ultimately in product selection. The size of the team will change as the project progresses. During the early stages of the project it will consist of a Steering Committee to guide decisions and distribute responsibility. As the scope of the project increases, so will the size of the project team. Deliverable: Create a team list and append it to the extant project documentation.

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3. Perform high level scoping. The third step of an ERP project is to come up with a rough set of requirements. These are not detailed requirements but should identify functional goals for the project. The preliminary requirements draw from the identified trigger and perhaps expand it. Common requirements for ERP systems relate to strategic goals around system scalability, analysis and planning capabilities, or data visibility. These requirements may be fulfilled by a packaged solution or may require custom development. Deliverable: An initial project scoping document that identifies preliminary goals. The document shall be limited to 5 to 10 key project goals. Where possible, the goals shall also include numeric objectives (e.g., Reduce time required for financial consolidation to less than 1 business day.) 4. Assurance that a packaged application/tool can meet preliminary requirements. The fourth step is a process gate. IT managers must ensure that tools are available that will meet the preliminary requirements. Case studies and client testimonials from vendors are valuable for establishing the feasibility of meeting the preliminary requirements. Packaged applications may not be available to enterprises in narrow industries with niche requirements. Deliverable: Amend the scoping document to include verification that packaged applications can meet the preliminary requirements. Include examples of customer testimonials as appendix material. Exception: If packaged applications are not available to meet preliminary requirements, either revisit requirements or initiate a custom development initiative. 5. Assess organizational readiness. Even if packaged solutions are available, they may not be appropriate for a particular enterprise. Solutions may involve a great deal of technical and process complexity. Enterprises must ensure that they either have the appropriate resources in place or are willing to acquire or build those resources. Common aspects of appropriate assessments include: Staffing and training. Does the enterprise have the right technical staff or can it develop that staff? Capability of infrastructure. Will the existing infrastructure support the initiative or will it have to be expanded? Maturity of processes. Does the enterprise have the appropriate processes in place to support the technology initiative? ERP projects, for example, require some process sophistication to account for changes in business processes and security concerns.

Deliverable: Include an appropriateness assessment with the project scoping document. If available, use assessment tools provided by consultants. Exception: If the enterprise is not sufficiently sophisticated for the technology, either revisit requirements or initiate a plan to redress those aspects of the enterprise that are lacking.

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6. Determine approximate cost of project. A second process gate involves checking the approximate cost of the project. If the preliminary requirements can be met by a set of products but those products are excessively expensive, then the enterprise must reconsider either requirements or approach. A manufacturer with $10 million in annual revenue, for example, will not likely be able to afford a solution requiring a capital budget of $5 million. Deliverable: Perform a rough cut cost assessment and include the estimate in the project scoping document. Cost estimates can be established through conversations with enterprises of similar size and industry or via various research tools. Exception: If the approximate cost is prohibitively high, reconsider either the preliminary requirements or the project justification. 7. Develop a business plan for the project. After establishing that packaged solutions are available that will meet the preliminary requirements, and that the enterprise can afford those solutions, it is time to begin project planning. An important part of the project is to prepare a business plan that explores the potential benefits of a particular solution and how they will affect different parts of the organization. It should explore market dynamics and include both an opportunity assessment and recommendations. The business plan is a valuable tool for negotiating among the various stake holders within an organization. Deliverable: Complete a business plan that articulates potential benefits. The business plan must be approved by enterprises senior leadership. 8. Prepare preliminary requirements. Moving from project objectives to a tactical plan requires the creation of functional requirements. They must identify what the system should do and, ideally, how it should be done. These requirements will ultimately change as the project progresses but team members need to baseline required functionality before assessing vendor offerings. The degree of detail for preliminary requirements will vary depending on the company. Some enterprises prepare detailed requirements in an effort to actually capture existing business processes and gain some insight on how to change those processes. Too much detail, however, can actually hinder both vendor selection and implementation as the project team evaluates solutions against requirements that are unnecessarily onerous. Deliverable: Create a set of requirements and append them to the project documentation. 9. Identify potential vendors. The next step is to identify potential suppliers of packaged solutions. This long list should include considerations such as solution architecture, functional requirements, and vendor reputation. The list should be compiled in consultation with the project team. Deliverable: Append the project planning document with the list of vendors.

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10. Prepare RFP. The vendors must be compared in a consistent manner. The RFP presents an opportunity to ask questions that reflect requirements to potential vendors. The completed RFPs should then be assessed with consideration of both the requirements and the business plan. Many enterprises tend to be over-specific in their RFPs, resulting in relatively poor responses. Focus the RFP on those requirements that are absolutely crucial for meeting the requirements of the project trigger. Deliverable: Compile an RFP and distribute it to potential vendors. 11. Shortlist vendors. The project team must evaluate the RFPs to determine which vendor presents the best potential fit for the enterprise. The shortlist process should primarily consider the functionality of the products. Deliverable: Append the shortlist to the project planning document. Invite vendors to conduct a product demonstration. 12. Conduct demonstrations. Shortlisted vendors should conduct a product demonstration at the enterprises site. The content of the demonstration should be scripted to a certain extent by the enterprise. Scoring of the demonstrations should happen immediately upon the conclusion of the demonstration. Deliverable: Compile a demonstration script for the vendors and create a scorecard to be used by members of the project team to evaluate the demonstrations. 13. Perform due diligence on vendors and system integrators. The demonstration process will likely result in a very short list including only a few vendors. The analysis must now shift to confirming the ability of these vendorsand their integration partnersto successfully complete the project. Due diligence can include: Assessment of financial stability. Reference checks. Site visits. Trips to vendor conferences and user events.

Deliverable: Conduct a due diligence assessment for preferred vendors. This assessment can include reports of reference checks and site visits. 14. Select vendor. A finalist must be selected from the final list of qualified vendors. This selection can be informed by the project team but must ultimately be made by the project sponsor, often the CEO. Deliverable: Send formal notification of the selection to the chosen vendor. Append project justification in terms of the business plan, requirements, and due diligence process to the project plan.

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15. Negotiate. The final purchase price and contract terms must be negotiated with the vendor. This process ultimately results in a signed contract. Deliverable: Finalize a contract. 16. Prepare deployment plan. The implementation process begins with the creation of detailed deployment plan. The preparation of the deployment plan will occur in conjunction with the vendor and the implementation partner. The plan must include consideration such as: Staffing and resourcing. Functional and technical design. Change management.

Deliverable: Create a set of detailed requirements. 17. Implement. The requirements and system modifications must be implemented through a series of staged releases. Each release involves testing and the preparation of business users. As with the preparation of the deployment plan, implementation is a significant and iterative task that involves many different parties. Deliverable: Append an implementation plan to the overall project plan. 18. Test. One component of the implementation plan is testing. It can involve a variety of different strategies including unit testing, functional testing, system testing, regression testing, and acceptance testing. It is an iterative and ongoing task. Deliverable: Develop a testing plan to supplement the implementation plan. 19. Train. An unused enterprise application will drive no return on investment. Business users are integrated into the implementation through training. It can be the responsibility of the vendor, the integration partner, the appropriate business unit, or even the IT department. Deliverable: Compile an end user preparation plan and include it with the overall project plan. 20. Post-implementation documentation and support. A number of tasks occur even after the implementation is completed. Some of these tasks will be the responsibility of the initial project team. This post-implementation work is omitted by many enterprises but it provides an opportunity for project review. These considerations include issues such as: Business case reconciliation. Project post mortem review. Ongoing support for the implementation

Deliverable: Append a plan for post-implementation support to the main project documentation.

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Implementation & Integration

1. Use the project plan as a starting point. Many enterprises are overwhelmed at the prospect of implementing a major enterprise application, particularly an ERP system. The project plan should be used as a way of marshalling resources and aligning different stakeholders within the enterprise. 2. Evaluate the importance of each step. Not all enterprises will complete each and every step as part of the project plan. Some preliminary steps such as the identification or the project plan or the preparation of preliminary requirements may have already been completed as part of other strategic initiatives. Identify which steps are within the project scope and which ones fall outside of the scope. 3. Assign resources and get help. The project plan is also a valuable tool for determining where the enterprise needs assistance in the ERP implementation process. IT leaders can use it to determine where the assistance of outside consulting help is absolutely essential and which tasks can be completed by internal resources.

Bottom Line
Many enterprises are overwhelmed by the prospect of implementing an ERP solution. Info-Techs project plan outlines the 20 steps of a typical implementation. Use the plan as a starting point for aligning internal resources and, if needed, getting outside assistance.

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