Contact

Header image
Header filter
Header slant

ERP Implementation

Header quotes Project Risks Header quotes

Time: Why it's your
worst Enemy
in an ERP Project

When selecting and implementing new ERP software, time ⏰ is often your worst enemy. The most common reasons: poor planning, a lack of decision-making skills and sometimes a lack of commitment and courage. Or simply insufficient knowledge and too little experience with the implementation of projects. In the worst case, these reasons lead to your project failing partially or even completely. How do you prevent the time factor from limiting your project success?

The Project Plan: indispensable for reliable Project Management

In most software selection procedures, companies agree on a concrete date by which the new system must go live. For ERP systems, this is usually the start of a new financial year - often the new calendar year. However, only with a sensible ERP project plan will you be able to reliably control the implementation of the ERP system and thus ensure that you achieve this goal. Otherwise there will be delays every day - with further consequences.

The major Source of Error is a Lack of Time

If the selection process is delayed but the go-live date has already been set, you will be forced to make the implementation process more compact. However, time pressure often leads to hecticness and therefore errors.

The final phase of the project also involves training your end users and if time is tight, training may be cut back or users have to start working with the solution completely untrained - without a really good understanding of the updated and modernized processes. In such a case, is it surprising that end users keep the bad habit of storing business-critical data in their own Excel files?

Turn back Time
Have you ever wished you could turn back time in a project?

Preparation: describe all Project Steps in Detail and involve the ERP Vendors

To avoid this scenario, good planning that describes all selection steps in detail can help you determine fixed deadlines and communicate these to all your potential ERP vendors right at the start. Are you unable to set up a demonstration for a new product in the scheduled time? Or you can’t deliver an offer on time? These could already be indications that time management could also become difficult later on in the project. To find out about that, involve the potential vendors in the process at an early stage.

What else makes a good Preparation

Of course, there are other aspects that make up good project preparation. These include:

  • Clear distribution of tasks: use the “Who does what?” question as a key question. What is your task, what is the task of your ERP vendor?
  • Holistic project goals: link the clearly defined goals of the project with the strategic corporate goals.
  • Kick-off meeting: a structured kick-off event is also part of good project preparation.

The Critical Path and the MoSKaU Method - popular Tools from Project Management

One method from project management that can also be helpful regarding time management is the critical path. It describes the process chain within your project that determines its minimum duration. If you use this methodology in your ERP project, it helps you to identify the particularly critical project steps that could be responsible for delaying the entire project. It is then important to counteract time bottlenecks in good time.

The MoSKaU method is another useful tool for ERP project planning. You can use this to narrow down the scope of the individual project phases and prioritize the requirements for your ERP solution. Four of the letters in the word “Moscow” each stand for a prioritization category.

Prioritize Good and Timely Implementation

Overall, it is important that there is clarity at all stages. The better you manage this, the sooner you can expect the desired project success. Ultimately, a good and timely implementation of the second-best solution is much better than the best solution, which you have to implement with all your might against resistance - whereby you may not even be able to realize the implementation on the planned date.