The 10 Commandments of ERP Implementation

1. Thou shalt have a VISION for your company.sea of effort and agreement to customize
You need a vision to follow. This is what makespeople’s habits to adapt to new
your company grow and remain competitive.implementations. ERP packages come with tools
2. Thou shalt thoroughly prepare for ERPand methodologies that may not remotely
implementation.resemble your company’s previous
Incorporating an ERP system is no easy matter,standardizations of business processes. It will be a
and how you prepare for its implementationchallenge at first, but once you grow familiar to
determines the success or failure of youryour new system, you will never want to go
company. Thorough preparation yields a worthyback to the old days of shuffling through
investment. First step—round up anpaperwork of lost orders and delays.
implementation team.9. Thou shalt emphasize training & education.
3. Thou shalt not underestimate the cost of ERP.Knowledge is power. You want to take advantage
ERP systems are expensive. In addition to theof all the features of your ERP system.
cost of the software, there are additional feesInadequate training and education can lead to
that cover training, integration and testing,disastrous problems to your entire
customization, data conversion and analysis, etc.organization—a simple inaccurate recording of
Expect to also make continuous payments ofdata can create a domino effect of
maintenance and upgrades.miscommunication.
4. Thou shalt find the best ERP match.10. Thou shalt remain patient.
Every company has specific needs and goals.An ERP implementation takes preparation, money,
Select an ERP that best mirrors yourand time. It also requires teamwork. Receive help
organization’s business processes.from your software provider and encourage
5. Thou shalt heed the voices of all employees.employees to help one another in adjusting to
Listen to the opinions of people from differentyour new ERP system. Collaboration is the key to
areas of your company. They will provide insightERP success.
on the current situations of their departments.A successful implementation of ERP depends on
6. Thou shalt verify the credibility of vendors.the competence of the development and
Do your homework, ask questions, and followconsulting resources—but the entire process
your gut.can be overwhelming. JNC Solutions offers
7. Thou shalt have realistic expectations.professional services in determining the best fit of
An ERP implementation may take 6-9 months toopen source vendor and ERP system for your
complete. Large complex organizations may takecompany. In addition, JNC undertakes all the
up to a few years.responsibilities related to vendors, ERP
implementation/maintenance, and open source
8. Thou shalt not cling to thy old ways.issues. JNC provides solutions to help businesses
Old habits are hard to change. While it is fairlyachieve their goals.
easy to upgrade software systems, it takes a