Johannesburg, 22 Sep 2008
So you've made the decision to invest in an enterprise resource planning solution. You know you're getting some software that drives proven, best practice business processes, and you've gone through the perhaps painful process of having the software implemented, configured and fine-tuned. Happy days are here, right? Not necessarily. You need to be sure you don't suffer from user regression as well as the possibility of your shiny, integrated new ERP system becoming little more than a glorified accounting system.
Probably one of the biggest challenges with any ERP deployment is that of user acceptance. While training must surely have been an integral part of the project, it is important to remember it should not end with the conclusion of the project. When the consultants have packed up and left the building and the ERP system is humming nicely in the background, a new danger lurks, which might adversely affect the value you get from your ERP solution.
That danger is the risk of your employees going back to the old way of doing things.
Change management should arguably constitute one of the major features of any ERP deployment, and especially a 'new' deployment into a company that has not previously used such a system. People tend to be creatures of habit and also tend to view change with suspicion or resentment. The introduction of an ERP system will mean they have to do their jobs differently. There is bound to be some resistance to this change, which must be managed through a combination of encouragement, gentle coercion and reward. Change management will typically take place in user training before and during the implementation phase.
Then there is the challenge of your business simply not taking advantage of the features that are built into the system. This can happen particularly with phased projects, and most projects of this nature are indeed phased.
The root of the problem can lie in the sales process. Salespeople will tend to paint a rosy picture of the wonders of ERP - which is fair enough. ERP can do many wonderful things, especially when one considers some of the more advanced features such as business intelligence, supply chain integration and customer relationship management. However, what is perhaps not always made clear is that the system itself does not simply do these things. Manpower is and always will be a part of the successful ERP project. You need people to drive the system.
For a sense of scale, even an 'entry level' system is big and can have perhaps 4000 screens. It is not possible to get the full functionality, which the designers put into the system with just 10 users; typically, a new deployment will see perhaps only 30% of the features used in the first year.
That's OK, though, following the principle that if you want to eat an elephant, you do it one bite at a time. What is not OK is that for some companies, the use of the ERP system goes no further than that, despite the fact that the decision to buy and implement the system was based on an understanding that it is going to support these wonderful activities. The system then becomes, in effect, a glorified accounting package. The advanced features, which are arguably where the real value lies, languish as shelf ware and 'phase two' never gets under way.
The answer to this potentially wasted investment lies in two things. The customer should not lose sight of the excitement and vision, which preceded the investment in ERP. Just as important, there is a responsibility on the part of the vendor and (where applicable) the implementation partner. Good account management, coupled with continuous training to reinforce appropriate use of the system by users, while slowly but surely introducing them - and by extension, the company - to the higher levels of ERP functionality, which deliver the real value of such systems.
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