Establish a Concrete ERP Foundation

Getting your ERP project off the ground starts with a stakeholder-aligned blueprint.

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Contributors

Boris Znebel, VP of Sales, Second Foundation
Tom Walker, VP, Information Technology, StarTech.com
Lance Foust, I.S. Manager, Plymouth Tube Company
Scott Clark, Innovation Credit Union

Your Challenge

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are complex. It is not an easy task for IT to address differing business unit requirements’ and effectively manage stakeholder expectations.
ERP projects impact the entire organization. The disruption is felt before, during, and after implementation, as everyone struggles to maximize the benefits of the investment.
Organizations often do not know where to start with an ERP project. They embark tactically on planning the start of the project, but ignore the strategic foundation that sets the ERP up for success.
The outcome of the ERP project is completely dependent on the foundation established at the outset. Missteps early on can cost you time, financial resources, and careers.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

At some point in the ERP project, you will be asked why you are doing it. Make sure you have a compelling case that is built on the strategic business objectives.
If you fail to receive top management support, don’t proceed with an ERP project.
An ERP should be a business-led initiative, yet IT is often given the ownership of the project without being armed with the resources and capabilities to execute on the project.

Impact and Result

Build a clear operating model/business model to guide the strategy and decision-making process.
Gain an overview of the organizational capacity to embark and execute on the ERP project – change impact, stakeholders, and level of involvement required.
Have clear and measurable success metrics established at the outset of the project structuring.
List critical success factors and relevant success metrics.
Understand ERP stakeholders – where the stakeholders fit in the project and their involvement in the project.
Identify risks and determine initial mitigation plans.
Set clear organizational expectations from the ERP project – agree on guiding principles and table stakes, and prioritize process/functional areas.

Start here – read the Executive Brief

Read our concise Executive Brief to find out why you should establish a concrete ERP foundation, review Info-Tech’s methodology, and understand the four ways we can support you in completing this project.

Establish a Concrete ERP Foundation – Executive Brief

Establish a Concrete ERP Foundation – Phases 1-3

1. Create a vision for ERP

Assess the value of creating a solid ERP foundation and structure the project.

Establish a Concrete ERP Foundation – Phase 1: Create a Vision for ERP

Establish an ERP Foundation Project Charter

2. Model future state

Gather requirements to complete the ERP Business Model and ERP Operating Model.

Establish a Concrete ERP Foundation – Phase 2: Model Future State

Process Owner Assignment Guide

3. Implement and finalize deliverable

Develop a high-level implementation plan to communicate short- and long-term initiatives. Present the ERP foundation to stakeholders.

Establish a Concrete ERP Foundation – Phase 3: Implement and Finalize Deliverable

ERP Communication Planning Template

ERP Readiness Assessment Checklist

ERP Foundation Stakeholder Presentation

Guided Implementations

This guided implementation is a seven call advisory process.

Guided Implementation #1 - Create a vision for ERP

Call #1 - Understand the importance of an ERP foundation.

Call #2 - Structure the project. Choose the project team, identify risks, and finalize the project charter.

Guided Implementation #2 - Model future state

Call #1 - Create an ERP business model by identifying goals, objectives, risks, and drivers.

Call #2 - Identify mega-processes and complete the ERP operating model.

Call #3 - Identify process KPIs and guiding principles.

Guided Implementation #3 - Implement and finalize deliverable

Call #1 - Create a high-level implementation plan and discuss key project components (risk and change management).

Call #2 - Tips and tricks for presenting the final deliverable to stakeholders.

Book Your Workshop

Onsite workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost onsite delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.

Module 1: Create a Vision for ERP

The Purpose

Understand the importance of establishing an ERP foundation before proceeding with ERP selection and implementation.
Learn why a large percentage of ERP projects fail and how to avoid common mistakes.
Set expectations for the ERP foundation and understand Info-Tech’s ERP methodology.
Complete a project charter to gain buy-in, build a project team, and track project success.

Key Benefits Achieved

A go/no-go decision on the project appropriateness.
Project stakeholders identified.
Project team created with defined roles and responsibilities.
Finalized project charter to gain buy-in.

Activities

Outputs

1.1

Define roles and responsibilities.

Defined roles and responsibilities.

1.2

Create a RACI chart.

Assigned responsibilities throughout the life of the project.

1.3

Set boundaries and scope the project.

Clearly defined scope and expectations.

Module 2: Model Future State

The Purpose

Identify ERP drivers and objectives.
Understand ERP challenges and pain points.
Discover the ERP benefits and opportunities.
Align the ERP strategy with the corporate strategy.
Map the current state of applications and the processes they support.
Understand the processes the future ERP solution will support.
Group core operational processes into larger mega-processes.

Key Benefits Achieved

A firm understanding of the current ERP environment.
Strategic alignment between IT and the business.
Identify future state and ERP expectations for supporting processes.
Knowledge on current mega-processes and how to move forward with monitoring and improving processes.

Activities

Outputs

2.1

Identify ERP drivers, objectives, challenges, benefits, and opportunities.

Completed ERP business model.

2.2

Map current state of applications and processes.

Current state map.

2.3

Map future state.

Future state of ERP.

2.4

Define mega-processes in the scope of ERP.

2.5

Assign process owners to mega-processes.

2.6

Determine guiding principles for each mega-process.

2.7

Identify key success factors for each mega-process.

2.8

Create a stakeholder map for each mega-process.

Finalized ERP operating model and next steps for monitoring processes, tracking success, and communicating progress.

Module 3: Implement and Finalize Deliverable

The Purpose

Brainstorm and prioritize short- and long-term ERP tasks.

Key Benefits Achieved

Understand next steps for the ERP project.

Activities

Outputs

3.1

Create a high-level implementation plan.

Completed implementation plan.

3.2

Create a communication plan to convey information.

Completed communication plan.

3.3

Establish ERP metrics.

Established ERP metrics.

3.4

Build final deliverable.

3.5

Conduct a stakeholder presentation for the final deliverable.

Stakeholder presentation of ERP foundation.

After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this Blueprint, and what our clients have to say.

Client

Experience

Impact

$ Saved

Days Saved

Testimonial

City of Saskatoon, SK

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Pearl River Resort

Workshop

10/10

N/A

Coorstek, Inc.

Workshop

8/10

$13,236

Carlos and Gleb were very knowledgeable and helped us level set the ERP selection team. Some of the exercises were too basic for our team.

DAI Global, LLC

Workshop

9/10

N/A

Best: Expert knowledge of the topic Worst: Took a lot of time

City of Leduc

Workshop

10/10

N/A

County of Tulare

Workshop

10/10

$132K

100

No bad, best is having the expertise of two professionals to discuss with staff the facts of ERP

University of Ottawa

Guided Implementation

9/10

N/A

First meeting learning about your service. Very impressed. Analyst clearly knowledgeable. Looking forward to working together.

British Columbia Securities Commission

Guided Implementation

10/10

N/A

Great measures and I am not sure how to answer. But, I can say that without this service, I would have needed six weeks of research, which was replaced by six hours of productive reading.

Novexco

Workshop

8/10

$10,000

Although it is hard to put an amount and time that the workshop will save us, the initiative was certainly very positive overall. It definitely jumped start the ERP selection process.

Sumitomo Corporation of America

Guided Implementation

8/10

$2,647

County Of Wright

Workshop

8/10

N/A

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission

Workshop

9/10

N/A

Seward County Community College

Guided Implementation

10/10

$13,236

Best: The feedback from the RFP, and helping align my communication strategy.

San Manuel IT

Workshop

10/10

$661K

The knowledge base of the InfoTech is priceless. The ability to ask the right questions at the right place to get this analysis would have taken months of gathering and results would not have been nearly as complete if we had done this ourselves.

The Doe Run Company

Guided Implementation

6/10

$2,647

N/A

Contact was very knowledgeable on the topic and was able to provide good advice both on the technical and managerial side of the project

Bay State Milling Company

Guided Implementation

6/10

N/A

Effectus Ltd

Guided Implementation

6/10

$6,618

I appreciated the focus on practical execution

Far North District Council

Guided Implementation

6/10

$1,323

N/A

the call is very positive. I was able to explain my current state of the project and get very good advice.

Canadian Tolling Company International Inc.

Guided Implementation

6/10

$10,000

N/A

Analyst reviewed the entire document and provided insightful comments to make the document more clear and the entire process more successful. Also feedback was provided very quickly, not slowing us down on our timelines waiting for reviews.

DeNovo Energy Limited

Workshop

9/10

N/A

Moog Inc

Guided Implementation

8/10

$33,091

N/A

I found Suanne's experience very relevant to my situation. Her approach to recognizing benefit from a ERP replacement/migration project is realistic and workable ... which isn't a comment I would give to other consultants' input.

American Trailer Works

Workshop

10/10

N/A

Fantastic facilitator. Suanne did an excellent job gathering everyone's thoughts and compiled the results into deliverables we can use moving forward in our project. Highly recommended for anyone starting an ERP evaluation.

Wheatland Tube, LLC

Guided Implementation

6/10

N/A

This exercise was not meant to hit a final conclusion but to develop a strategy to evaluate the project. I don't believe the concepts were unique and the approach is what I expected but the dialogue was very useful to help confirm direction and strategy.

Confederated Tribes Of The Umatilla Indian Reservation

Guided Implementation

6/10

N/A

EthosEnergy Group

Guided Implementation

6/10

N/A