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"13 Common ERP Mistakes and How to Avoid Making Them
Implementing an ERP system is among the most expensive, time-consuming and complicated tasks an IT department can take on. The potential for delays and unexpected expenses lurk around every corner. To help you avoid costly mistakes, CIO.com asked IT executives, ERP vendors and technology consultants to provide advice on how to avoid becoming an ERP horror story.
By Jennifer Lonoff Schiff
Tue, March 27, 2012
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ERP Mistake #3: Not understanding or using key features. "In our annual ERP survey, only 46 percent of respondents reported having a good understanding of which features they were using in their ERP system," says John Hoebler, managing director, MorganFranklin Corp., a business consulting and technology solutions company. "This is shocking, considering the millions companies invest in [their ERP systems]. Without knowing features, companies miss opportunities to automate business processes, complete functions faster, and meet business objectives," he says. In addition, "upgrades, enhancements, and maintenance are more costly, and less likely to succeed."

To solve this problem, Hoebler suggests creating a master list with all features, tracking usage, and periodically reviewing the list to determine which features are being used and which are the most helpful. "This knowledge catalog can [then] be used to train new employees, write test scripts, and assist with audit, compliance, and reporting requirements," he says.

ERP Mistake #4: Underestimating the time and resources required. "All companies grossly underestimate the time and resources required to implement a new ERP system," argues James Mallory, marketing director,e2b teknologies. How can you calculate the necessary time involved? "The time involved can be estimated by dividing the cost of the software by 100," he explains. "For example, $20,000 for software will take approximately 200 man-hours or five weeks to implement using a certified consultant. Double that number if you plan to self-implement with minimal professional assistance." In addition, Mallory stresses the importance of assigning a dedicated project manager.
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ERP Mistake #5: Not having the right people on the team from the start . "Often times, organizations do not bring the right people together from the very start of an ERP implementation," says Beasley. "ERP implementation is one of the biggest projects an organization can undertake, and consequently, mistakes can be made and plans might get derailed if the right stakeholders are not involved in every aspect of the decision-making process," he points out. For example, many organizations focus on getting executive approval, instead of gathering key participants from across the organization, from finance, operations, manufacturing, purchasing, and the warehouse, in addition to IT. The benefit: employees who are actively engaged with the ERP implementation, who have an investment in getting it right, right from the start.

ERP Mistake #6: Not setting priorities . "When implementing an ERP system, the single most important thing one can do to minimize delays and accelerate time to completion is to reduce multitasking," says Yoav Ziv, vice president, Realization , a project management specialist. "People work much slower when they are juggling multiple tasks and constantly switching gears," he argues. Therefore, creating a priority system should be a top priority for IT managers. "The priority system should not only indicate when to do which tasks, but should also provide managers with the issues they need to resolve, per priority," he says. In addition, "ERP implementation managers need to implement a rigorous issue resolution process to act upon those signals and remove issues immediately in order to avoid delays." "

"John Zappe"

"Check for driver's licenses. To avoid deployment traffic jams and accidents, administrative certifications really matter (even more than developer certifications in most cases).

Have your "