Project Preparation
Who does what? Why this is
the Key Question in the
Preparation of an ERP Project
the Key Question
Preparation
Group work used to be a welcome change from normal lessons at school. At the first group meeting, everything revolved around the question “Who does what?”. Nothing was more important than dividing the tasks sensibly and fairly at the beginning - depending on who was best at what. Conflicts and misunderstandings 😒 in ERP projects often arise because this simple question between customers and ERP vendors was not sufficiently clarified. Make it better!
Costs for Services: different Expectations
There are several cost factors in an implementation project, including the categories licenses, maintenance, hardware and services. With the introduction of the cloud model, it has become easier to determine the costs for licenses and maintenance. This also applies to infrastructure and hardware, where there is already a high degree of standardization.
One crucial point here is that all parties involved are clear about their own expectations with regard to this cost factor. Customers often compare the quotes with those they know from their previous vendors. The ERP vendors, in turn, use their own familiar approach as a frame of reference when submitting their quote. This means that the two groups are systematically talking past each other!
Make or buy?
In this context, it is important that you know what you want at an early stage. Do you have the time and the capacity to carry out certain tasks yourself? Are your employees trained and ready for these tasks? Or do you prefer to concentrate on your actual tasks and outsource these activities?
So every time a new solution is implemented, there are two options:
- Activities are delegated to your vendor
- Your employees take over tasks themselves
A good example is the creation of work instructions and training of end users. Of course, your vendor can do this for you. But your well-trained key users can also take on this task perfectly!
Record the Tasks in the Project Plan
Many ERP vendors describe the task allocation in their project plan, but far too often this is only drawn up after the contract has already been signed and the budgets have been set. The challenge for both the vendors and for you is therefore to deal with the allocation of tasks before the budgets have been set and before certain expectations take shape, and this is not only in the vendors’s interest!
Why you should
be aware of what
you are not getting Three helpful Tips for your ERP Selection
be
you
Recommendation: define the Tasks in Advance
We advise you to clarify certain structures in advance, focusing on the question: “Who does what?”. And don’t accept any quotes that don’t include the essential section “Task Allocation”. What used to apply to school projects also applies to your ERP project: with this approach, you lay the foundation for a smooth process and of course for the success of your project.
