5 Tips to Minimize ERP Implementation Disruption

ERP implementation and disruption go hand in hand.

It’s unavoidable.

An ERP touches every part of your business.

Most executives understand the risks. They’ve heard the stories that up to 70% of ERP implementations fail to deliver on their promises, or the widely publicized disastrous rollouts.

However, you can reduce the disruption with better planning and change management to minimize frustration and reap the rewards.

To ensure a smooth ERP transition, we recommend focusing on five key areas:

• Change management
• Training
• Security
• Testing
• Documentation

1. Change Management

Minimizing disruption should begin at the intersection of technology and the people who use it. ERP implementation often involves significant changes to existing processes and workflows. Resistance to these changes can cause delays and disruptions.

Start by thoroughly assessing existing workflows to determine where and how the ERP will force change. As part of this process, you must engage key stakeholders early and often to gain their buy-in and insight. Departmental leaders must initiate and support positive communications around the “what’s in it for me” of ERP implementation. Another tip is to define super-user change agents within departments who serve as part evangelists for the rollout and part training support staff.

Finally, change management shouldn’t stop at go-live. Ensure your change management efforts include ERP maintenance support to tweak customizations and provide ongoing support and training to staff, particularly as system upgrades create feature improvements.

2. Training

One of the most significant challenges in ERP implementation is ensuring that all users are adequately trained to use the new system. A lack of training can lead to errors, delays, and frustration among employees, which can, in turn, disrupt business operations.

Comprehensive ERP training should accommodate a variety of learning styles. Your training plan should include elbow-to-elbow support, a help desk, online tutorials, and more.

Getting lost in a feature-rich ERP such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 is easy. Companies focus on departmental workflows and tasks. It’s an opportunity to emphasize efficiency over manual tasks.

Finally, don’t assume your current team will pass the knowledge onto hires; build a training plan to support newer team members.

3. Robust Security Measures

Security is a critical concern at any time, but particularly during an ERP implementation. As the system centralizes sensitive data and processes, it becomes a prime target for cyber threats. Any breach or data loss during implementation can lead to severe operational disruptions and damage the company’s reputation.

Conducting due diligence around your selected ERP vendor is just as important as conducting regular operational assessments around IT security. Equally meaningful are the security access policies and procedures you establish to govern human behavior.

An annual IT audit should be a critical part of your cybersecurity standard operating procedures. You should also perform one before an ERP implementation. Finally, cybersecurity is an ongoing concern, so regular training coupled with vulnerability testing will protect organizations like yours from human error and architecture gaps that leave you vulnerable.

4. Rigorous Testing

Testing is a crucial phase in ERP implementation that ensures the system functions correctly before it goes live. Insufficient testing can lead to system failures, data inaccuracies, and process inefficiencies.

This process should go beyond custom feature testing to encompass business processes. Create test cases that guide end-users through the platform’s functionality. Your deployment team should write user test cases from their perspective and make sure they encompass job functions. Importantly, a representative sample of end-users should be involved in all aspects of testing the platform.

If they cannot validate the use cases or run into unexpected functionality or workflow issues, you should delay the go-live.

5. Thorough Documentation

Proper documentation is essential for a successful ERP implementation. It provides:

• A reference for troubleshooting issues.
• Training for new employees.
• Maintenance of the system over time.

Business process documentation is often skipped during ERP deployment, but it protects your organization should a departmental super-user leave.

Documenting each step in using the ERP—including configurations, workflows and integrations—creates a foundation for training new employees. However, you should make this a living document, particularly as processes evolve or features change. Ultimately, although cumbersome, documentation mitigates the risk of disruption before, during, and after your ERP implementation.

Minimize Disruption with Sikich

A strategic partnership with Sikich will ensure a smoother transition and position the company for long-term success with its new ERP system.

Sikich brings deep expertise, proven methodologies, and industry-specific insights to manufacturers, distributors, and construction companies during an ERP rollout. Our experienced consultants understand your unique challenges. We guide the entire process, from planning and customization to training and post-implementation support, ensuring the transition is seamless.

By anticipating pitfalls and proactively addressing them, Sikich reduces downtime and avoids costly mistakes, ensuring that the new ERP system delivers maximum value with minimal disruption to daily operations. Contact us to find out how we can help your business succeed.