Implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a major undertaking that can have a significant impact on your business. The success of your ERP implementation largely depends on choosing the right implementation partner to help deploy the new system.
Asking the right questions during your evaluation process can help you gain key insights into potential partners and ensure that you select one that is the best fit for your company.
This ebook provides:
- Reasons why partnering with an ERP implementation firm can give your business a
strategic advantage
- An overview of the most important questions to ask when interviewing ERP
implementation partners
Why ERP Implementation Partners Matter
- Industry Knowledge and Vertical Expertise
ERP solutions are complex systems that must align to your unique business needs. An implementation partner that thoroughly understands your industry vertical brings expertise and often years of invaluable industry experience. They understand industry best practices and how businesses in your niche can operate optimally, configuring your chosen system to support your workflows.
An experienced partner asks the right questions to gather requirements that fit your operational processes. They have worked with companies like yours and can recommend proven configurations. Furthermore, their wealth of implementation experience can expedite implementation by reducing misalignments, ensuring the system works for you from day one.
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"ERP implementation is not one-size-fits-all. Choosing a firm with deep industry knowledge ensures your unique needs are met and maximizes the value of your investment."—ERP Insights Magazine, April 20231
- Methodologies to Reduce Risk
An experienced implementation partner reduces risk by bringing structured methodologies tailored to your organization, keeping the complex project on track and on budget.
From planning to training to go-live and post-implementation support, a knowledgeable partner identifies potential issues early and course corrects. Their proven techniques get you safely to the finish line.
- Faster Implementation Times
With industry expertise comes faster ramp up and implementation. A partner experienced in your vertical anticipates needs based on best practices, minimizing disruptions to your business.
By optimizing the configurations and training for your workflows from the start, you avoid lengthy adjustments down the road. Your employees become productive on the new system more quickly.
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"On average, ERP implementations take 30% more time than estimated."
- Rajendra Roul, G22
- Effective Change Management
People are the most important part of any organizational change, and an ERP implementation partner guides your staff through the transition with training and engagement at every stage.
An experienced partner can help your managers lead their teams through changes. This expert change management ensures high user adoption and proficiency, meaning your people will understand and embrace the ERP from day one.
- Ongoing Optimization and Support
Your business doesn't stand still after implementation. As you grow and evolve, your ERP system must adapt. An implementation partner provides ongoing support to keep it optimized.
They become an extension of your team to handle changes in requirements, workflows and user needs, ensuring you maximize the value of your ERP investment over the long haul.
- Strategic Business Alignment
The right partner takes a holistic view of your business operations and goals. They provide strategic advice, not just tactical implementation, ensuring your ERP system aligns with and supports your business strategy. The partner acts as an advocate to help you get the most benefit across the entire organization.
12 Questions to Ask ERP Implementation Partners
What is your experience implementing [name of ERP] in our industry? It's important to choose a partner very familiar with the ERP system you've selected, whether SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Jonas Metals Software, Infor or another platform. Even better is a partner well-versed in deploying that ERP solution for companies in your specific industry vertical. They'll understand your workflows and bring best practices.
Make sure to ask:
- How many years has your firm
been implementing this ERP?
- How many implementation
clients have you had?
- How many clients have you had
in our specific industry vertical?
- Can you share examples of
clients similar to our company, where you have implemented this particular ERP system?
Look for a partner that has significant experience with your chosen ERP product and a track record of successful projects for businesses in your industry. They will understand your workflows, requirements and best practices, ensuring that the ERP software brings immense value. What does your implementation methodology and process look like? A robust and structured implementation methodology is essential to keeping your ERP project on track. Ask partners to walk you through a typical life cycle they use when working with clients.
Key phases may include:
- Initial analysis of your business processes and requirements
- System design based on the requirements
- Build phase for software configuration and customization
- Multiple testing cycles, such as integration, performance and user acceptance
- Data migration with validation
- Training on the new system for key users
- Deployment with go-live support
- Post-implementation support and maintenance
Look for a clearly-defined methodology based on proven project management and system development principles. Your partner should be able to explain how each phase contributes to the success of the project.
How do you ensure projects stay on time and on budget? ERP overruns on both budget and timeline are unfortunately very common. According to ERP Focus, 57% of ERP implementation projects take longer than expected, whereas 54% overrun their allocated budget.3 Your ERP implementation partner should have mature governance, controls and processes to ensure schedule and costs are maintained.
Ask:
- What is your project governance model?
- What is your change management
process?
- How do you prevent scope creep?
- What is your track record of completing
projects on time and on budget?
- How do you ensure adequate team
resources are allocated and focused?
Well-executed projects start with wellexecuted plans. Select a partner who takes their planning and project management role seriously. What resources will be assigned to our project? Understand exactly who from your ERP partner firm will be involved in the day-to-day implementation activities.
Ask questions such as:
- What are the qualifications / experience of the project management team?
- What are the credentials of the proposed solution architects?
- How experienced are the subject matter experts who will lead configuration and
customization in our functional areas?
- Will specialty technical resources be brought in for aspects such as integrations?
Partnering with experienced, credentialed people who have implemented similar ERP solutions multiple times is the ideal scenario, and they should also have familiarity working with businesses like yours.
How much of your team's time will be allocated to our project? Even a talented project team will flounder if spread too thin across multiple client engagements. During your ERP project, you want senior people focused primarily on driving your implementation forward.
Ask:
- What percentage of your working hours will key personnel be dedicated to our project?
- How many other concurrent client projects will these key personnel be engaged on?
- If team members are split between clients, how will you ensure that adequate attention is
given to our project?
When your project gets the time and attention it deserves, delays are reduced and results improve.
What are your expectations of our internal team during implementation? A successful ERP implementation requires heavy participation from your own employees. They need to be allocated to the initiative just as you allocate partner resources.
Ask your ERP partner:
- What roles from our team do you expect to participate and at what level of time
commitment?
- What tasks and responsibilities will fall to our team vs. your team?
- How will you ensure our subject matter experts are adequately prepared for requirements
planning and testing?
Clearly defining internal team expectations upfront helps drive engagement and accountability on both sides. How do you ensure our new ERP system
aligns well to our processes? While you don't want extensive customization, some configuration will make the ERP software fit your organization better. Therefore, understand your partner's approach to requirements gathering, fit-gap analysis and deployment of necessary custom code or external integrations.
Ask your ERP partner the following questions:
- How do you gather and validate requirements to understand our processes?
- What is your methodology for identifying required process changes vs. areas for customization?
- How do you document and execute any customizations needed?
- How do you validate the ERP alignment to our processes through testing? Look for a focus on configuring the system to meet your needs while minimizing unnecessary customization and process changes. What training and knowledge transfer will you provide our employees? The productivity benefits of ERP software can't be realized unless your employees are trained on the new system. Explore the training curriculum and modalities that your ERP partner provides. Inquire about:
- How will you train our team on the new system, features and processes?
- What modalities do you use for training—such as classroom sessions, online learning, train- the-trainer programs and documentation?
- How do you accommodate different learning styles and varying technical proficiency?
- When is training conducted over the project life cycle?
- Is there reinforcement post-go-live? Ensure training plans will fully equip your employees to adopt the new ERP system.
What are your support and maintenance services after go-live? You want a partner that provides ongoing assistance after the ERP system launch to resolve issues and offer guidance as employees gain proficiency. Understand your ERP partner's support model—onsite assistance, help desk, user communities, upgrades, etc.
The key questions you should inquire about include:
- Will you have onsite staff for go-live support once the system is live? For how long?
- What is your escalation process if we encounter major issues?
- How long will your help desk be available to us after launch?
- What are options for application management and outsourced support after go-live?
- How do you handle any needed system upgrades, patches or improvements after the
implementation is complete?
A good ERP implementation partner will have your back well after the ERP system is up and running.
Can you share client references from companies in our industry? Reputable ERP implementation partners will be happy to provide referrals from existing clients, especially those in your industry and of similar scale. (Ultra regularly sends 50+ references.) Reach out to references to gain insight about the potential partner.
Contact references to gain candid insights on:
- What was it like working with the ERP partner?
- How responsive and collaborative were they?
- Did they deliver the implementation on time and on budget?
- Was the project team competent and adequate?
- How satisfied are you with the new ERP system?
- Would you recommend this implementation partner?
Strong references, especially from companies similar to yours, build confidence in potential partners and showcase that partner's integrity. How do you handle customizations and add-on tools for unique needs? Even industry-specific ERP software may not meet all your niche requirements out-ofthe-box. Ask about the ERP implementation partner's approach to identifying needs for customization during implementation and their expertise with required third-party add-ons.
- Ask partners how they handle identifying and addressing unique needs:
- How do you determine what customizations our organization will require?
- What is your approach to ensure customizations align to best practices?
- What ERP add-ons, third party tools or apps have you integrated in the past?
- How do you evaluate the need for third-party add-ons or extensions?
- What is your experience with integrating this particular ERP solution with other
enterprise systems?
These insights will prepare you for any customization or work necessary.
Why should we select your company over competitors? Give the ERP implementation partner an opportunity to summarize their distinctive strengths. Listen for what makes them stand out from other potential implementation firms you are considering, including:
- Cultural fit and work styles that align to your organization
- Differentiated experience and services versus competitors
- Their vision for what makes a successful ERP implementation project
- Examples of how they increase ROI through ERP solutions
- Outstanding client satisfaction and retention rates
Consider what sets each potential partner apart and who you will enjoy working with.
Conclusion Selecting the right ERP implementation partner can make or break the success of your ERP initiative and the subsequent realization of your expected return on investment. Look for an experienced team that allocates sufficient resources to the project, has deep knowledge of your ERP platform, your industry and your business needs and sets clear expectations of your internal participants. Your chosen partner should provide guidance on ERP best practices for your sector and scalable customizations for unique processes with robust project governance and change management methodologies.
Our ERP software consulting framework ensures all related project components are included, and our experienced consultants find and fill gaps in knowledge, skills and resources to help ensure your system and team are fully operational. Our proven methodology aligns the ERP vendor, implementation partner, and your team to ensure a successful project outcome.
Working with client and vendor resources, we drive the activities needed for a more predictable, on-time and on-budget ERP implementation, ensuring lasting success for you and your business. For more information and additional resources on how to bring our expertise right to your doorstep, visit us at ultraconsultants.com.
References
- http://www.theerpinsights.com/insight/the-key-to-reap-the-fruits-of-erp-is-successful-implementation-fid-76.html
- https://learn.g2.com/erp-statistics
- https://www.erpfocus.com/ten-erp-failure-statistics.html