Star Date .... October 26 - ERP Implementation

The fifth component of the ERP Life cycle is the Transition phase, which mainly deals with the implementation of ERP.

For a successful implementation of ERP, the major back bones are PEOPLE,PROCESS, TECHNOLOGY. All the three need to be aligned for a successful implementation. The component People involves upper management, employees, consultants and the project team. All these people need to work in sync for a successful implementation... The process component, basically entials that all the processes should be well defined, easy to understand and the ERP implemetation should be aligned with these BP .The TECHNOLOGY component entails understanding clearly the technology plan which includes Database, Internet and OS.

The four ways of implementing ERP
1. Incremental : Narrow Scope , less Functions
2. Process Phasing : Broad Scope, Less Functions
3. Geographical/Business Unit Phasing : Narrow Scope , More Functions
4. Big Bang : Broad Scope, More Functions

In the incremental approach, one Module at one Business Unit is implemented at a time. It is very time consuming as it requires detailed understanding of every process.

The Phase approach is applicable when limited resouces are available for implementation, and it also has reduced risk as it is implemented in phases and gives the possibility to fall back on the legacy system, if implementation fails.

The Big bang Approch, is implemeting the ERP suite across the board as quickly as possible. This leads to Lower Cost and does not require interfacing with the legacy system, as phased approach does. However there is a lot of risk involved in this method as there are cases of companies getting liquidated due to this approach. It also requires the upper management support for successful implementation and a lot of resources.

Inspite of all this there is a 60% -80% chance of failure and therefore it is important to keep track of all warning signs and ensure they are controlled and corrected immediately.


The final stage is STABILIZATION, which involves correcting the implemented procedures once ERP goes Live...Most of the issues are related to people and process rather than on technology. One way to overcome this is continious training in order to help the employees to get used to the new system.