A case study of Electronics Related Products Manufacturing Company.
In fact, a lot of ERP projects fail mainly due to mismanagement or lack of clarity on the objectives of the project.
Here, we are going to cover the most important elements to make your project successful. Firstly, We will explain what objectives are and also how they can help you with designing your implementation plan. This will help you a lot to make your project successful.
Project Goal
“We are using ERP project to be a catalyst for business transformation in our Company and to establish as one of the top 5 electronics manufacturing companies in the world.”
Customer Background
“Our Manufacturing Company is a leading manufacturer of electronics related products. Our success has been established in over the last 10 years with a focus on quality products and superior service and support. In the last 5 years we have seen a steady growth in our turnover and volume.”
“We have invested heavily in our state-of-the-art facilities and manpower in order to maintain the status quo and achieve the objective of our strategic plan. Our objective is to expand our brand in electronics market and become the best electronics manufacturer in region.”
“Despite all the investment, our product range, productivity and service quality are yet to reach its full potential. The high potential growth is still untapped and we need to find a way to accelerate the business growth with minimal internal resources, in particular the human resource. Our management is aware of this fact and hence is looking to invest in human resources to develop the next generation of our products and achieve the business growth. We are looking for an ERP vendor who can help us in developing our technology, quality and business strategy.”
Project Objectives
Achieving your ERP project goals is not easy. In WINNOVIA, As an ERP software vendor, you have to live with the constant pain and discomfort of change management – a long term challenge to get ERP project to success. This is because, it is not the technology project that will ensure ERP success, but it is the way in which ERP project is delivered, implemented and used to fulfill customer objectives that drives ERP success.
What you need to remember is to focus on how the ERP solution is being used to benefit your customer’s business and make the ERP system work best for business needs. The ERP solution does not have to be perfect, and you will not be able to deliver an ERP solution that has 100% functionality all the time. You need to learn to live with the pain and discomfort of change management to get the best out of your ERP project.
Before you start any ERP project, you need to have an agreed ERP plan with your stakeholders. This is a key ERP success factor. You also need to plan what changes in the ERP project need to be made for your business needs, and what changes in the ERP project you do not want to make because they are considered to be critical for customer’s business.
All your key stakeholders need to agree on what they want from the ERP project. You cannot have stakeholders who say they are not interested in getting their business goals fulfilled by the ERP project. That is unacceptable and a failure of an ERP project. For example, if your stakeholder is an engineer then you cannot have a stakeholder say ‘I am not interested in seeing a product in the market that I have developed.’ That is not fair, and what you are asking for is unacceptable. This is where your stakeholder needs to understand that ERP project is about the business and its return, not the ERP software.
To deliver an ERP project successfully, you need to understand the ERP project goal is the driver for all the changes to be made to the ERP project. The ERP project goal is what drives your stakeholders to ensure the ERP project is delivering results that will help them get what they want from the ERP project, and what they do not want from the ERP project is being avoided. For example, a stakeholder who is working on an engineering design or process may want a new part for his or her business process, and in such cases the ERP project vendor needs to make sure a new part is developed with the existing parts, and to ensure all parts, functions, documents and files in the ERP project are in sync with the engineering design and process. If you do not have an ERP project vendor who is clear and clear on this, you will not be able to deliver an ERP project successfully.
The ERP project vendor needs to understand clearly what the stakeholders’ objectives and the change management process are. This is what you need to focus on in the early stages of an ERP project. The ERP project vendor needs to understand the need to deliver a product that will benefit your stakeholders in getting their objectives fulfilled. The ERP vendor needs to have detailed and specific requirements for the ERP project, in particular the ERP project is needed to be delivered in less than 3 years, and needs to be delivered before your next planned business plan and strategic plan. The ERP vendor needs to understand clearly the value of the ERP project. To do this, you need to have an independent consultant to understand your ERP solution and your business needs, and also your ERP vendor needs to understand clearly the key stakeholders, business rules, and business logic that you will need to develop into the ERP system.
For all ERP project stakeholders you need to put all your focus and attention on the ERP project goals. This is your ERP project and you need to live with the pain and discomfort of change management. It is the return of your ERP project that will determine if you are a success or not. The more your ERP project will deliver, and the more your stakeholders will benefit from the ERP project, the more you will be rewarded with good ERP project results. If your ERP project is delivering 100% benefits to your stakeholders and you are getting the benefits of your ERP project, then your ERP project will deliver a return on your investment. All ERP vendors must understand this clearly.
How to Deliver the Project Objectives?
Now that you have understood what are the objectives and what should be delivered, it’s time to create a detailed project plan. The project plan should include both short and long-term objectives. Short-term objectives are related to the first couple of days and the project scope. Long-term objectives are related to the project’s life.
A detailed project plan can be defined with the help of the following:
Target time frame – The amount of time (in days) that the project will be completed.
Start date and end date – The date when project will start and when project will end.
Date of each milestone – The date when each milestone will be achieved.
Milestones – A milestone is an intermediate milestone in the project.
Scope of project – The scope of the project.
Goals – Each goal will be a specific objective in the project.
Conclusion
As a business owner, you need to put all your focus on finding the right ERP vendor who has the knowledge and experience to deliver the ERP project you want. An ERP vendor does not deliver ERP project by themselves. That is why you need to make sure you are working with the right ERP vendor, which is the best one that is capable and competent enough to deliver the ERP project you want. You also need to be flexible enough and be able to communicate effectively to ensure all stakeholders fully understand and are confident that you are working with the right ERP vendor, and the ERP vendor is also clear and clear with your stakeholders on what he or she will be delivering for the ERP project.
There is no magic recipe for ERP project success. An ERP project will not always work. You need to be realistic, and know that some of the key stakeholders will not fully understand and be confident that the ERP solution will work. They will always be on the lookout for an ERP vendor that will deliver a working ERP solution, and in a cost effective way. For example, there is no ERP vendor in the world that has a 100% success rate. So ERP vendors need to understand clearly what their success rate is, and what is their percentage of delivering an ERP solution.
If your ERP vendor cannot deliver what you want, and they cannot deliver the ERP project you want, what they will do is to make a big promise that they will deliver the ERP solution for you, but in reality that is all they are going to do is to tell you how great the ERP software is. The best ERP vendor will deliver the ERP project you want to deliver and will meet your stakeholder’s objectives. All you need to do is to communicate with them and negotiate on your ERP project goals.