Identify Opportunities and Have An ERP Strategy
After identifying where you are today and where you want to be, the next step is to identify where there are opportunities to improve process, timing and business systems information for greater productivity, lower costs and a more effective customer service experience. Not everything can be done all at once while your regular business continues, so it is important to highlight the ‘biggest bang for your buck’ as you move to a new ERP and related systems. There are stories of failure in implementation … sometimes due to poor planning and sometimes due to taking on too much without a team responsible to make it happen. So identify the opportunities that will yield the most as Phase I. The selection and implementation of a pre-packaged ERP system should be the end result of a well thought-out development and execution of this ERP strategy. The ERP is a component of the IT strategy, albeit often the most important part. Both the ERP strategy and IT strategy need to include an architectural view of how the ERP fits with other systems and tools. Most important of all, an ERP strategy must support the business strategy and accommodate for changing business needs and technology.
An ERP Strategy should take into account the following
- Business goals
- Business requirements
- Business processes
- Business and technical architecture
- Deployment strategy
- Importance of an ERP Strategy