You are embarking on one of the largest and most difficult projects for your organization - upgrading or replacing your core ERP system that is used to run your business on a day-to-day basis.
You are preparing to go through the system selection process to agree on which ERP system you will be moving to, and to select the external implementation partner that will help you implement the new system.
You have a clear view of the business requirements, and the overall scope of the project.
Now you need to turn your attention to putting your own internal team in place for the system selection step as well as starting to plan and prepare for the team you will need for when the implementation step starts.
The core project team should be made up from key staff from each department. ERP projects are typically only undertaken every 5-10 years, and it is vital that the new system is set up correctly to meet the business needs. The design of the system should really only be put in the hands of those people in the business who know the day-to-day processes in detail. These are usually the senior managers in each department. So from defining the requirements right through to testing the system and signing off that the system meets the requirements, this needs significant input from these senior people. Their seniority will also ensure that the project is given the right amount of focus throughout the process, and that the additional colleagues that will be needed at various parts of the project as Subject Matter Experts (SME's) can be freed up to work on the project tasks. Most organizations will arrange to have these senior people back-filled for the duration of the project. They are typically expected to be busy on the project for 80%+ of their time, so it is important that they are not attempting to do the project alongside their own day-job as well.
For the SME's, there will be some busy periods on the project for them - typically at the outset when requirements are being defined and documented, and then towards the end of the project for User Acceptance Testing and User training. A rough estimate of the required time for them on the project would be 40% overall. But bear in mind that this will probably fall in a couple of busy periods.
You will need a dedicated Project Manager to manage and oversee all project activities and work in conjunction with the Systems Integrator Project Manager to ensure everything is on track and going in the right direction. This is not a part-time activity. A project can very quickly go off the rails if it is not getting day-to-day attention to ensure that the plans put in place at the outset are being followed.
You will need someone to work on preparing the data to go into the new system. This task is often over-looked or under resourced. Yet it has the potential to derail the project if the data is not migrated correctly or if any vital data is missed. This is a key area to be resourced for the project.
If there are integrations to other external systems, there will be a need to involve technical resources to work on re-building and testing the integrations with the various third parties involved.
Obviously there is a need for serious focus from the Senior Leadership team throughout the project. One of the major causes of ERP project failures occurs where there is not the required buy-in at a leadership level to ensure that the project is given the correct resources over the life of the project. Significant change projects such as ERP implementations will fail if they are not treated as the highest priority projects in an organization. Regular Steering Committee meetings are vital and the Steering Committee should include the majority of the Senior Leadership team. These meetings should be scheduled to run at least monthly, and there may be a need for additional meetings at vital times such as run up to Go Live (in order to get Go/No Go decisions agreed).
I have outlined below a typical project team structure that you see in most ERP implementations. Depending on the system being implemented, there may be a simpler structure on part of the Systems Integrator. And depending on the structure of the organization there may be a need to have additional people in place to cover situations where you have got multiple divisions and multiple legal entities being implemented onto the new system. What I have shown here is a simple team structure to cover a single legal entity.
Template for Internal Project Team Structure
Template for Systems Integrator Project Team Structure
As above, these templates provide a potential structure for your ERP team. You need to consider any additional situations where you will need to involve people from other entities, countries or even partner organizations in order to ensure that all of the business functions and areas are catered for within the system design as well as the testing and training on the new system once it is built.
It is vital to not under-estimate the extent of work involved in these projects. Contact me if you have questions or need help with any of this.