- Thank you for all attending this audio event.
- Especially for Sam Graham and Peter Robinson for validating this session as relevant and the issue is global.
- This particular series is all about why there are very mixed experiences on most of the ERP projects?
- I have said that the ERP projects are like badly maintained Public toilets. People outside are desperate to get in. And the people inside are desperate to get out..
- I know this is not an apple-to-apple comparison. Because using a public toilet due to nature’s call is not in anyone’s control, but an ERP project can always be well-planned.. Unfortunately, it is never ever done that way due to a lack of knowledge and approach.
- Even if it is your own swimming pool and car, there is something called learning swimming and driving before getting into it.
- Before I go further on this topic I wish to share that I have handled about 150 ERP implementations in the past 27 years, so I feel I have reasonable expertise on this topic..
- My expertise is in Manufacturing Industries and India region. So my examples will be around this…
- Well…in the next 30 minutes I will be covering 4 steps of the ERP project.
- Shopping list
- Vendor validation
- Detailed Demo 2 to 6 hours
- 14 days of trial
- Shopping list for ERP.
- This means getting all the requirements documented first.
- Do we know what we want? The answer is NO you don’t know what you want.
- In my last 27 years, only one German customer has specified their crystal clear requirement.
- Every customer starts saying we are a small company and our requirements are very simple.. This is almost like a dating dialog. I am a very simple and transparent person… this is big bull shit…
- Every person has their own ignorance, knowledge, and Ego, the same way every industry has its strengths, weaknesses, and gray areas within its system.
- When you go without a shopping list what happens… Invariably, you end up forgetting what you want and returning home with mostly unwanted things.
- Yeah, people prepare a shopping list but it is not good enough.
- Look at the movies Rocky 1,2 &3 / Karate Kid / 36th Chamber of shaolin. It has to be deep and really very deep.
- The list has to be really exhaustive covering all the details of both business process needs and statutory requirements.
- All department users, HODs and senior management have to sign off approving this list. This is it. Nothing more and nothing less.
- It has to be exhaustive, so when an ERP vendor covers all the points of your needs, you must be in a position to implement the system and give them the sign-off.
- You may not implement all of these in one go. But for evaluation purposes, this list is important.
- Because, before marrying an ERP vendor you should know they have all that you need. At a granular level.
- Vendor validation
- Have they done an implementation similar to your business vertical?
- How much was the customisation?
- How long did they take to go live?
- Filter unsuitable Vendors at this stage itself. You will save your time.
- Take a budgetary cost! Ensure that fits your pocket!
- Demo 3 – 6 hours
- Once you have done the 1 & 2 , you are qualified to do the ERP shopping now.
- Now you set up a demo for 3-6 hours to validate your above list process by process.
- If required, split the demo for 2 or 3 days of 2 hours each.
- Cover each of the business functions in detail as per the above list.
- Tell the ERP vendor not to show anything else apart from this list first.
- Once you complete the full list now prepare a document of gaps.
- If the solution is NOT suitable for the business process 93% and above and 100% for statutory needs don’t waste time any further. If the system is NOT 100% ready from a statutory standpoint, believe me, the vendor does not care about your region and you will take a minimum of 14 months of struggle without which you people will reject the system. PEOPLE WILL SHOOT THE SYSTEM DOWN.
- Now you can ask the ERP vendors to show what more they have.
- Don’t fall pray for bells and whistles. Like Dashboard, alerts, security, look and feel, single-sign off, …all of these will be mere bull shit if your list is not covered.
- In some of the LinkedIn posts, I have seen ERP consultants saying that ERP with 60 to 70% itself is a good suitability. They are right. It is suitable 100% for the sellers, not for the buyers.
- What will you buy in your life which is 70%. Car, Refrigerator, TV, Washing machine.. Pl give me a break….
- I have seen some foolish decisions of people buying a CRM system with a plan to customize it to make it an ERP system. Guaranteed bad public toilet experience…
- 14 days of Paid trial
- This is very crucial.
- Pay for this trial so that there is a commitment to the process from either side.
- Trial is not just taking a username and password and playing around with the system.
- This is a mock implementation.
- All the processes with all variations are tried out fully.
- Every business function and user has to confirm
- Documents, Reports, and especially all statutory points have to be covered.
- By the end of this exercise, the consensus has to be that just by giving master data and opening balances you can take the system live.
- If these 4 steps go well the chances are 50-60% that you will go live.
- If not, the chances are less than 3%. So, a Bad public toilet experience is guaranteed.
Conclusion:
Conclusion: Any careless action has a consequence. The public toilet experience is not by design but by the choice of the people when they make the ERP selection carelessly.
Note:
- We have the manufacturing industry ready-made ERP shopping list. We have arrived by working with many industries. This will cost Rs. 2400/- ( US$ 28).
- Next session we will discuss Implementation aspects like:
- Choose the scope that fits your team and pocket
- Scale step-by-step
- Configuration
- Master Data collection
- Training and UAT
- Cutoff and opening balance
- Go-Live
- Q&A
