While Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are being hyped as a panacea for every large and medium-sized company`s problems, in reality, some find the cure worse than the illness.
So what`s the problem?
"Many things can go wrong in an ERP project, but among the most common causes is lack of knowledge by the people who must run the system after the implementation team has moved on," says Wynand Kruger, an ERP training specialist with CSIPER Consulting.
Kruger`s company has a nine-year history of successful ERP implementations. Among its reference sites are Billiton, Caltex Oil Southern Africa, Conlog, Denel Aviation, Engen, Iscor, Land Rover SA, Mossgas, Robert Bosch SA and Telkom. Recently CSIPER won the largest consultancy contract ever recorded for a South African firm with a minimum $10-million (R62m) ERP implementation deal with a US-based Fortune 200 company.
"Failure to realise the full benefits of an ERP system usually stems from a company`s own staff having an insufficient understanding of how to align the functionality of the system with ongoing business requirements," says Kruger.
To combat this, CSIPER has developed a training tool, called Business Modelling Training (BMT/3), that accelerates the transfer of ERP configuration and customisation skills, as well as the ability to translate actual business requirements into a viable solution.
"BMT/3 facilitates the building of an organisation`s own highly competent team of internal ERP consultants," he says. "It is especially relevant where companies can include their own resources on projects to ensure massive knowledge transfer to build the in-house expertise to subsequently improve and evolve their systems."
Already used on a number of SAP R/3 implementations both in SA and overseas, BMT/3 combines actual business modelling with advanced training techniques, demonstrations and exercises. Delivered in a workshop environment, the course is adaptable to business requirements, based on the functionality determined during the scoping phase of the client`s own project.
"The training takes about six weeks, depending on the functionality required," says Kruger. "The key difference between this and other ERP training courses is that the client`s staff become involved in actual implementation. Because of this, BMT/3 greatly enhances user understanding and acceptance, without which the system will never deliver its full potential."
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