Visual South Insights

Choose the right tools

At Visual South, we have decades of experience implementing ERP software. I personally have been with Visual South for 20 years, and spend a lot of time working with manufacturing companies. Some of our customers are looking to get the most out of their Infor ERP, while others don’t have a solution and need help evaluating which ERP platform is the best fit for their company. Regardless of where they’re at in their ERP journey, I have found that just about all of these companies are working to have better manufacturing process control. How they do that is highly dependent on the tools they use to manage their business.

Lessons Learned

An ERP implementation is a big undertaking for any size of company. Visual South has been implementing ERP in manufacturing companies for close to 30 years, so we know how much of an effort it requires. Over that period of time, we have learned a lot of lessons, and developed a methodical process that puts our customers in position to succeed with their implementations. We have an exhaustive list of blogs on the topic of implementing ERP, but I have summarized our top 25 tips for success (in no particular order) below:

ERP implementations need a leader

For any project to be successful, it requires a leader, and an ERP implementation is no different.  Projects involve people who take on roles, responsibilities, tasks, and decisions. They are a true team, and everyone’s actions (or inactions) affect the team and project. The ERP Project Manager (or ERP Implementation Manager) is the leader of this team, and is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the implementation.

Searching for ERP

In my years of working with companies looking for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, there is usually a lot of emphasis placed on buying the right system along with declarations on how the new system is going to help run the business better. Other companies have achieved this, your company can also.

There’s a method to ERP implementation timelines

Creating an ERP implementation timeline can be a difficult process. There is no standard template that will magically fit all projects, as every one is unique. No two businesses, even in the exact same industrial segment, are alike. Each has a different scope, team, and availability. However, what’s typically the same for just about all small to medium-sized ERP implementations are the core phases and tasks to get from purchasing your new solution, to going live with it, and beyond. This blog will discuss Visual South’s methodology for an ERP implementation project plan.

Some background before we begin

An ERP implementation is not something that manufacturing companies do all the time, which is why they typically need another company to help guide them through the process. There are a lot of moving parts in an implementation, not to mention a ton of work, plenty of risk, and a million decisions to be made!

Teamwork

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:

How do you measure success in ERP implementations?

Simply surviving an implementation and going live on your new solution is not enough. A true ERP implementation success means that all objectives originally defined in the scope of the project were met and exceeded.

The good, the bad

I’ve been involved with manufacturing and ERP for over 30 years. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about the interaction between a manufacturing organization, their goals, and their ERP (or lack thereof). I’ve seen companies who have a good plan for choosing ERP; I’ve seen companies that don’t. I’ve seen companies that use ERP well; I’ve seen companies that don’t. I’ve seen companies admit they weren’t using ERP well and then work towards fixing that problem. I’ve seen companies admit they weren’t using ERP well and then lose interest in using it better. I’ve also seen a common thread between the companies who excel in selecting/using ERP, and those that don’t. The ones who excel have the expertise to develop a good strategy and execute it, or they admit they don’t have the expertise and they get help. They view the cost of getting help as an investment that has a payback. The ones who don’t excel aren’t aware they don’t have the expertise, so they never get the help they need. They view the cost of getting help as an expense.