ERP / Business System Implementation

Introduction

Implementing a business system may seem mechanical but it is far from it. A business system or a modelling tool is an opportunity to automate many of the business activities that were done manually. Manual activities are prone to errors; increases labour costs; hurts customer service and operational efficiency. Regardless of the system installed, there is the opportunity to mimic past practices or automate more activities.

Process

System implementation requires that someone or a small group of people become as knowledgeable as possible about the concepts, the system capabilities, how to use it and how the business can best use the technology. The exercise is to translate the business strategy into settings and algorithms that are available. There are many choices that need to be made to have a successful implementation. See a subset of steps below:

1. Define Supply Chain Policies
   - Customer Service
   - Inventory
   - Order Entry
   - Performance Metrics
   
2. Form Implementation Team
   - Project Manager
   - Subject Matter Experts
   - Stakeholders
   - Sponsors
   
3. Setup Test System
   - Users
   - Security
   - Company Level
   - Coding
   - Materials / Vendors / Customers / Markets
   - Forecasts
   - Supply Chain Parameters
   - Planning Parameters
   - Transactions
   - Management Reports
   
4. Training
   - Executives
   - Users
   
5. Create Production System
   - Conduct Testing
   - Go Live