The RFP’s have gone out, the demos have been made, and the negotiations finished. Your company is excited about the ERP software selection that’s finally been made. The ink is not yet dry on the contract you’ve just signed with your new ERP provider when the buzz about the system hits your shop floor. Everyone’s wondering if the new system will function better than the old one, is easier to operate, and, most importantly, will it last.

Then, the software consultants show up and installation begins—so far, so good. Software is deployed, data converted, and all seems well as the process starts. Along the way, though, implementation hits a couple of bumps, things slow a bit. “No problem,” explain the consultants, “There are always a couple of things at the beginning of every implementation.” This is true, but in your instance the problems seem to exponentially increase, not decrease. To make matters worse, no one knows who the company leader is, who is the champion of this implementation process.

You are now witnessing the twilight zone of a bad implementation. (more…)

Maybe you’ve heard the stories about implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solutions. Maybe some of the stories were encouraging tomes of great success, where implementation was a walk in the park, smooth as silk, a veritable joy ride. Or, perhaps, what you’ve heard has been one constant horror story after another, tales of tragedy and frustration strewn with the debris of battle royal.

Of course, these are the extremes, and they’re the sorts of things for some that make news and anecdotes worth the telling. Depending upon the ERP system you choose, and the preparations you make for it’s implementation, the chances are pretty good—that your efforts will probably fall somewhere in the middle, where disaster is avoided, but there is the occasional hiccup along the way.

The question is: How do you reduce the hiccups? (more…)