Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software brings the promise of being the central core of a company’s business operations, integrating processes across departments and providing real-time insights to areas including finance, HR, supply chain and sales. But these complex implementations span all areas of the business and involve internal teams, vendors and implementation partners. Even with careful planning, many ERP projects go off track and result in delays, budget overruns and, sometimes, total failure.
When signs of failure appear, it’s vitally important to act quickly to set a recovery plan in place. One of the key factors in ERP recovery is getting buy-in from people across the organization. This post will walk through a few ways to assess why your ERP project may be in trouble, how to engage key stakeholders to participate in the ERP recovery, and practical steps for a successful ERP rescue.
The Basics of ERP Rescue
Download the eBook to discover the reasons for ERP implementation failure and practical steps to get your ERP project back on track.
3 Steps to ERP Recovery
1. Assessing the Root Causes of the Trouble
For troubled ERP projects to get back on the path to successful implementation, it’s first necessary to pinpoint the cause of the failure. There are many reasons why a technology project might fail. It’s important to evaluate the current state of the project to understand where the problems lay.
- Lack of Clear Objectives: Without well-defined goals, it’s tough for any project to stay focused. In many cases, ERP systems are selected without a clear understanding of the specific business processes they aim to address.
- Inadequate Stakeholder Involvement: It’s critical to encourage engagement from key stakeholders across the organization, especially from those who will actually use the system. Without their buy-in the project can become misaligned with the company’s needs.
- Poor Project Management: Without a well thought out roadmap, resource allocation and prompt decision-making, projects can lack organization and miss key milestones.
- Customization and Integration Challenges: ERP systems often require customization to meet specific business needs. If the system is not adequately customized or if there are challenges with integrating it into existing infrastructure, the implementation can stall.
- Training and Change Management Issues: Even the best software systems can fail if employees aren’t properly trained in their use. A lack of a comprehensive change management plan and ongoing support can lead to resistance and under-utilization of the system.
- Vendor or Technical Issues: Sometimes, the software vendor or the system’s technical architecture can be the cause of failure. Incompatible software or inadequate vendor support can lead to project delays and contribute to failure.
Once you’ve identified the cause, or causes, of your project’s failure, you can start developing your recovery plan. Getting buy-in from key personnel across your organization can help guide the recovery.
2. Engaging Stakeholders in the Recovery Process
Engagement has a significant impact on the success or failure of an ERP implementation. Beyond just top executives, managers, IT staff and others within your organization all play a key role in moving the project forward.
Here are some suggestions for engaging the various groups as part of your ERP recovery.
A. Executive Leadership
ERP implementation is not just an IT project. Executive buy-in is crucial for securing resources and driving the vision for the new software. Their involvement must ensure clear communication with the whole company. They need to clearly explain how the project aligns with the company’s overall business strategy and establish the need for urgency around the recovery process.
B. Middle Management
As the bridge between the C-suite and front line employees, middle managers play an essential part in executing the ERP strategy and fostering a sense of ownership and adoption among their teams.
C. End Users
A lack of training is a common reason ERP projects fail. Without full adoption, the system won’t deliver the expected return on investment. Ensure that the system interface and customizations meet your team’s needs, address pain points and help facilitate their real-world tasks. Providing training through hands-on sessions and user manuals is critical to ensuring that users are comfortable with the new system and can use it effectively.
D. IT and Technical Teams
Your IT department must take an active role in the technical and strategic planning of the ERP project. From addressing technical challenges to addressing integration with other business systems and ensuring accurate data migration, their input is essential to the project’s success.
E. External Vendors and Consultants
To address the overall project management, many organizations choose to engage outside consultants to head their project recovery. Their role includes aligning all parties—your internal team, the software vendor, and an implementation partner—as well as offering insights into the project’s issues and how to fix them. If issues stem from the vendor, they will need to be held accountable to meet expectations, contract specifics and timelines to ensure they’re adhering to their obligations.
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3. Implementing the ERP Recovery Plan
Once the various stakeholders are engaged and the failure points identified, it’s time to get your project back on track. Here are some key steps to follow:
Set Clear, Achievable Goals
Take this opportunity to reassess your goals and objectives for the project. They should be measurable and tied to business outcomes. Examples include reducing manual processes, improving reporting, or increasing efficiency.
Reassess Project Scope
Consider redefining the scope of the implementation. This might involve employing a phased approach, focusing on core functionalities first, or postponing some customizations.
Redefine Timelines and Budgets
Revisit the timeline and budget for the recovery process. Ensure that milestones are achievable and the budget is allocated to reflect the necessary scope of the recovery plan.
Focus on Change Management
Develop a comprehensive change management plan to overcome any resistance to the new system. Include clear plans for communication, training and ongoing support.
Monitor Progress and Adjust
Monitor your progress through each step of the recovery process, making adjustments when necessary. Maintain momentum through regular updates to the team.
Get Back on Track with Ultra
ERP implementations are complex and it’s important to act quickly if your project starts to fail. Engaging key parties at each level of the organization, identifying the root causes of the failure and using a structured recovery plan are key to turning it around.
With decades of experience, the Ultra Consultants team can help guide your company through an ERP implementation recovery with our proven methodology. If your project is experiencing technical failures, facing user adoption challenges or isn’t aligned with your business processes, we can help. Our ERP implementation rescue services are designed to get your ERP project back on track, address critical issues, and ensure long-term success with your ERP software. Reach out today for your free discovery call to get started.
