Teamwork in ERP implementation

Implementing a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can be a humbling challenge for any company. Four critical factors will determine the success of your new ERP implementation:

1. Defining proper ERP implementation roles and responsibilities for your internal team
2. Selecting the best enterprise solution for your business
3. Choosing the right ERP vendor to guide your implementation
4. Defining proper ERP implementation roles and responsibilities for your internal team

Repeating number one and four isn’t a mistake. The importance of your ERP project team can’t be stressed enough -- everyone needs to be 100% committed to the success of the project.

Companies come in all sizes

To begin defining the ERP implementation roles and responsibilities for your particular project, first decide whether your company should be categorized as small, medium, or large:

Small: Companies with no current enterprise resource planning tools. 

Companies in this category usually start as “mom and pop” shops and then grow into successful, smaller organizations. The internal tools used by employees will run the gamut: estimates may be done in Microsoft Excel, warehouse inventory tracked in a different Excel sheet, and sales orders and purchasing in QuickBooks. One-off custom programs are developed to serve a specific need or department, without any alignment to other tools within the company. 

Medium: Companies replacing an ERP they have outgrown, or moving to a cloud ERP.

This is usually a company that went live on an ERP years ago and it served them well for a while. Over time, though, turnover happened, documented processes faded, and the system started feeling more like a burden than a tool. A fresh start is the answer. This category also includes companies that were acquired and are aligning to a different system, and increasingly, companies that are ready to move off an on-premises setup and migrate to a cloud ERP.

If cloud ERP is part of your evaluation, these resources are a good place to start:

• Cloud ERP for Manufacturing: A Complete Overview
• 5 Signs Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers Need Cloud ERP
• The Future of Cloud ERP for Manufacturing Companies

Large: Companies that have outgrown their current ERP solution.

There are hundreds of enterprise resource planning solutions on the market today that can be categorized into tiers, based on the depth and breadth of their functionality. Small or medium-sized companies should not try to force the more sophisticated tier one ERP packages into their businesses and invest in more moderate packages, with a smaller IT and maintenance footprint. As a company grows from small to medium, or medium to large, the need for more functionality and inherently more complex systems are required to handle the change in business and will launch a search for a new ERP solution. Or, a company’s existing ERP system might no longer be supported by the software developer and that will trigger a need for a new solution.

This is worth noting regardless of size: cloud ERP is a realistic option for companies at every stage now. Whether you are a small business taking your first step into ERP or a large organization migrating off an on-premises system, a cloud deployment may be worth including in your evaluation. This article on cloud ERP implementation walks through what makes it different from a traditional on-premises rollout.

 It is important to understand which of the three previous categories your company falls into, so you can define the ERP implementation roles and responsibilities of the team you will assemble. In a perfect world, the team would be the same for any of these categories, but one size never fits all. Not only does this apply to the actual ERP software itself, but also the method to implement the total solution. Every implementation requires a slightly different approach.

ERP implementation teams can vary in terms of roles, but most will include certain specific positions. It’s also recommended that the entire team be involved in both phases of an ERP project – selection and implementation. The main benefit of this is ensuring that each member feels like they have a say in which package is chosen, and therefore has a sense of responsibility to make sure it is successful. If the team cannot agree on one ERP solution, a strong project owner will need to mitigate that fallout.

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Who should be on an ERP implementation team?

Here are the five main members needed on an ERP implementation team:

1. Project Owner
2. Project Manager
3. Super User
4. Functional Team Members
5. Report Writer

In the next section, we'll describe who is in charge of what during the implementation process.

Suggested ERP implementation roles and responsibilities

Project Owner

This is a C-level company executive who will have high-level ERP responsibilities. In larger companies, this role may be a committee of executives, rather than an individual. Ultimately, it is the project owner’s decision to buy and implement a new solution. They may not be involved in the actual implementation but are responsible for making sure that both the ERP implementation team and the ERP vendor are meeting goals and expectations. Risk mitigation, solving unforeseen issues, and change management will ultimately be the project owner’s responsibility, too.

One thing worth saying plainly here: if the project owner is a C-level executive, their most important job is to make this project a visible priority. When leadership treats an ERP implementation as one of many competing initiatives, the team follows suit. Timelines slip. Progress stalls. And getting a stalled implementation back on track costs more time and more money than doing it right the first time.

Here are four characteristics that great ERP implementation project owners have:

Vision

If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? We’ve heard this before, and it’s true. For this project, the goal isn’t to implement ERP software. That’s only a part of what you are trying to do; the project is bigger than that. The mission is to achieve the business goals that were set. (Don’t have defined business goals? Read this.)

Replacing the old ERP with the new ERP will be an element of your business goals. The new ERP needs to be configured and new processes and procedures developed that support the business goals. Remember, ERP is just a set of tools. On its own, it changes nothing. How you use it can transform companies. That’s why implementing ERP is not the goal. You want to use it to achieve something and having that vision is critical for a project leader.

Humility

Humility is an admirable trait in general, but it’s particularly important here. The project leader probably has not implemented ERP for a living before and there’s a good chance implementing ERP isn’t anywhere in their background. Here is where the humility comes in: It’s fine that the leader isn’t an expert on implementing ERP. A good leader embraces their lack of knowledge and becomes an excellent listener. The people to listen to are the consultants who implement ERP for a living. In exchange, the consultants will have the humility to know they aren’t experts in your business; the project leader is. (If the project leader isn’t an expert with the subject matter at hand, your consultants should have access to someone who is.)

Remember: Embracing your lack of knowledge is a strength, not a weakness. It opens doors to learning and fosters good communication. Besides, the consultants see right through someone who is faking their expertise.

Authority

The project leader of an ERP implementation is going to make, or assist in making, hundreds of decisions. That person needs to have the authority to do so. I’m not suggesting you give that person unquestionable authority or toss aside a chain of command. But I am saying if the project leader isn’t trusted to make a lot of informed decisions, you don’t have the right project leader.

Time

The person with the traits above probably also has a full-time job. Therefore, they do not have extra time to spend on an ERP implementation project. Unaddressed, this issue of a project leader’s time constraints will derail an ERP implementation. Notice I said “will” and not “might” derail.

How this is addressed varies by company, but it usually involves removing enough responsibilities from the project leader’s regular job so that 60 to 75 percent of their time is freed up to work on the ERP implementation. I know this is easier said than done, but the project is destined to derail if it is not done.

Project Manager

This person is responsible for the overall organization of the ERP demonstrations and implementation. The project manager will work with the project owner to identify the key team members in the organization that will develop the requirements and goals for an ERP solution, along with a budget. Some companies may contract a selection consultant to assist with developing a requirements document and narrowing down your vendor choices.

The project manager is responsible for choosing several ERP vendors with solutions that most closely meet the company’s requirements, and then scheduling and managing any vendor assessments and demos. After the final selection is made, the project manager will coordinate with the vendor to develop a project plan for the implementation. It is then the project manager’s responsibility to coordinate the internal implementation team with the implementation consultants, and update the project plan as required.

The project manager keeps the project owner informed on the status of the implementation throughout the engagement. That relationship matters more than most people realize. There is a difference between giving updates and genuinely communicating. Updates can be filtered. Real communication means surfacing issues quickly and honestly, even when the news is not good. If a project is falling behind and the project owner only finds out weeks later, you end up in a conversation nobody wants to have. A strong, transparent relationship between the project manager and the project owner is one of the most important factors in keeping an implementation on track.

Super User

You may have been wondering by now, "What is the role of the users in the ERP implementation process?" This is where we designation a super user.

The super user is someone who will learn the new process and solution for every department. They will be cross-functional experts and the internal “go-to” person once the implementation is completed. The super user will dedicate the most time to the project, as he/she works with the vendor consultants in each functional area. Larger companies should have more than one super user, and some may have different super users for finance and operations. In other companies, the project manager and super user are the same person.   

The stronger the super user(s), the more self-sufficient your company will be once you launch your new ERP system. This is arguably the single most critical team member in the long-term success of your ERP solution.

Functional Team Members

There are many different ways to build and define functional team roles. It could simply be a team with representatives from each of the core functions – finance, manufacturing, and technical. In smaller environments, this may be just one person from each discipline. In larger environments, each of these disciplines might have a representative from different areas, such as A/P, A/R, collections, and so on from finance. The key is to involve individuals who can clearly define and explain the current process and future requirement needs for their core area. This team will also be the trainers for the folks in their respective departments, so be sure to choose members who have this ability.

There is also a solid argument for building cross-functional teams. The more team members who learn about other areas of the company, the more they understand how the entire system ties together.

Related: How ERP Customization Can Lead to Major Issues

Report Writer

Every company ends up needing reports the ERP does not come with. Some modify existing ones. Others need custom reports built from scratch. You can pay your vendor to handle this, or you can develop that capability in-house. An internal report writer who knows the reporting tools and the underlying data structure is a genuine asset, especially after go-live when reporting needs keep evolving as users get more comfortable in the system.

One thing worth mentioning: tools like Power BI have changed the equation somewhat. Once set up, Power BI puts data directly in the hands of users. They can query it, slice it, interact with it without routing every request through a report writer. That does not eliminate the role, but it does reduce the volume of routine requests and frees the report writer to focus on more complex work.

In smaller companies, the report writer and the super user are often the same person. In larger organizations, it typically falls to IT. If that is the case, make sure the super user is involved. It is easy to build reports that already exist when the two teams are not talking.

Also worth thinking about early: who is going to write the standard operating procedures? In smaller implementations, the super user usually handles this. In larger ones, the functional team members own it for their respective areas. Your implementation vendor can help direct the process, but the actual documentation needs to be written by your people. Ownership of the documentation is part of owning the implementation.

Plan for ERP implementation success

There are many other ERP project team members, roles, and responsibilities, but the above ERP project team structure is the core of any implementation. As long as these roles and responsibilities are filled and committed to, a company stands a greater chance at success. Concentrate on building the five essential roles (or teams) listed above, and then lean on the experience of the chosen implementation partner to help determine the balance of the project team.

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