Recently I saw the movie Mission Mangalyan. The movie was so captivating. Simple team of dedicated scientists, learning from their mistakes, deeper sense of advancements with their day-to-day lives. I felt many similarities between this movie and the ERP project implementation.
- Clear Mission Objective
- Mangalyaan: The goal was simple yet ambitious — reach Mars on a fraction of the cost of other space missions.
- ERP Project: The goal is to unify all departments (Finance, Production, Design, Planning, Sales, Inventory, QC, Plant Maintancne and HR) under one system with maximum efficiency at minimum cost.
👉 Both require a well-defined mission statement that everyone rallies behind. A project Director holding the team together matters the most.
Image credit to EG, Engineers Garage
- Meticulous Planning & Phased Execution
- Mangalyaan: ISRO scientists broke down the mission into precise phases — launch, earth orbit, trans-Martian injection, and finally, Mars orbit.
- ERP: An ERP project also unfolds in phases — requirement gathering, configuration, testing, master data migration, training, migration of opening balance and open entries, and go-live.
👉 Just like space missions, skipping a phase can cause failure. I also observed the satilite which made a rotation around the earth for 5 times before it was put on to the Mars’s trajectory. Though it came back to the same orbit of the earth, it has made progress on every rotation. Similarly, the ERP proejct too the team migh move back to their traditional or legacy system. But we have to keenly observe the reson for their come back and help them move again. This process has to be repeated till they gain the momentum of “escape velocity”.
- Limited Resources, Maximum Innovation
- Mangalyaan: Achieved at only $74 million, one of the cheapest Mars missions in history, by innovating with frugality.
- ERP: Companies (especially SMEs in India) must implement ERP within tight budgets, using creative solutions, plug-and-play features, and minimal customization.
👉 Success comes from smart resource management, not unlimited budgets. Time and cost are more crucial for success.
- Team Coordination Across Disciplines
- Mangalyaan: Success required scientists from propulsion, navigation, communication, and data analytics to work together.
- ERP: Finance, Production, Sales, Purchase, QC, Inventory, Planning, Design, Costing and IT must collaborate and shed silos.
👉 Both demand cross-functional harmony to stay on course. Transforming from Individual holding Data to sharing it for the organisational benefit is the key. Drifts among the top management teams are also quite common. We have to find ways to move beyond that.
- Precision & Zero Margin of Error
- Mangalyaan: A single miscalculation could mean missing Mars by millions of kilometers.
- ERP: Wrong data migration Master Data, Opening balances and the open entries as on the cut-off date, incorrect process mapping, or missing UAT can derail the project completely.
👉 Both depend on accuracy and attention to detail. “Devil is in Detail”. Paying close attention to each of the above steps matters the most.
- Journey Doesn’t End at Launch
- Mangalyaan: Reaching Mars was only the beginning. The orbiter had to sustain, send data, and continue operations for years.
- ERP: Go-live is not the finish line. Continuous monitoring, auditing, upgrades, training, and support ensure long-term success.
👉 Sustainability after launch is the true measure of success. Landing is more important than the launch. Coordination of Top management, Auditors (Internal and External), ERP system, End-Users and the IT team.
- National Pride vs. Organizational Pride
- Mangalyaan: It put India on the global space map.
- ERP: A successful ERP transforms a company’s efficiency, boosting employee pride and customer trust.
👉 Both are milestones of pride and identity.
Conclusion:
Just as Mission Mangalyaan showcased how vision, teamwork, and precision can achieve the extraordinary with limited resources, an ERP project is your organization’s own space mission. It’s not merely about deploying software, but about unifying people, processes, and technology to orbit towards efficiency and growth. Success lies not in the size of the budget, but in clarity of purpose, disciplined execution, and sustained commitment. With the right approach, your ERP journey can be your Mangalyaan — a symbol of pride, innovation, and lasting impact.
