SAP Implementation: Are you getting it right?

[former_member598191]

We are in the midst of an exciting change, where it is imperative to modernize applications and get it right at the first place. In this context, I would like to share my experience and thoughts I had while meeting one of my former peers. His name is John and he believes that one ERP suite would mean selecting the top 3 vendors and everything will fall in place automatically. Strange enough!

But, now John has some different story to talk about. Let’s find out.

“We are now embarking on a digital transformation and considering a new ERP suite, as the one we had did not meet our expectations and it did not evolve along the lines the XYZ vendor promised. Now we can’t operate the way we are used to and even worse, we can’t retrieve our old data reports to work with.

“Analytics are fine, but it is not that intensive as we want it to be. Yes, the ERP does work, although my finance and other functions complain about now and then as they aren’t able to keep up with the initial planning, budgeting and scope.”

The list goes on…

That’s when I intervene “Besides those hurdles, what are the realistic expectations and objectives behind bringing in ERP suite?  

And John replied: “We needed an enterprise-ready suite that allows us to maintain cost effective production, track stock movements, and generate timely and accurate reports. And a suite that will provide all that support that our legacy solution wasn’t providing such as managing the entire sales process, automating accounting tasks and helping us gain an overview of what matters most to our business.”

After learning his expectations, I was eager to share with him my immediate thoughts:

Invest some time and build an ERP strategy –

It will help you map what you really want from your ERP application and help you prioritize things that matter to you the most.

Don’t believe the hype –

There’s probably not a single suite that can solve all your problems in a matter of time. But, bringing in an ERP suite such as SAP Business One can solve almost all business hurdles that you and your business might be confronting.

SAP Integration demands a holistic approach –

Integration is not easy and may turn nightmare if not performed by experts. SAP integration may involve a series of steps where you need to integrate ERP suite with several different enterprise systems, spreadsheets and your existing system.

Agility and flexibility has to be worked upon

You need to accept complexity and sell the idea to the C-executives as agility and flexibility will not fall in place from   day one.

Ask for help

Building an ERP strategy couldn’t be an easy task considering the plethora of things to deal with. Begin right by partnering with SAP Gold Partner and the one you can rely on completely. Be prepared to do some ground research on finding a partner and seeking continual SAP support whenever required.  

After putting my points, my friend John and I shook hands. He smiled and I gave him a card and said we should meet soon. I believe digital transformation initiative requires perfect synchronization of various strings to deliver the right symphony. So, for your upcoming ERP upgrade or migration or implementation phase, try to consider each of these factors and partner with one of the best SAP Gold partners for “Happily ever after moment” for ERP implementation. What you think?