ERP Project Management | Project Management of ERP Implementation

How Long Does ERP Implementation Really Take?

April 18, 2024 | 0 Comments | 180systems

This blog is about: How much time it takes to implement an ERP system. What resources you need for an ERP implementation. Time to implement an ERP System Can you trust the vendor’s estimate on the time it takes to implement their ERP System? You have a few options: Hope for the best based on trust. Evaluate whether the numbers are reasonable. Throw a dart at the wall which contains ranges of estimates. Option 1: Hope for the best based on trust This option is risky, but you can mitigate the risks by: Get to know the implementer very well […]

Evaluating the Statement of Work – Project Management

December 21, 2021 | 0 Comments | 180systems

The Statement of Work (SOW) provided by the vendor for an ERP implementation is a critical document. It is the vendor’s way of defining the terms of the engagement and it is understandably used by them to maximize their profitability and to protect themselves when things go wrong. The SOW is not like other contracts that have been vetted by the lawyers many times and very difficult to change. The vendors will negotiate the terms in the SOW, and you need to review it carefully especially with regard to scope and roles and responsibilities. We are going to write a […]

Are ERP Implementations Doomed to Fail?

December 17, 2021 | 0 Comments | 180systems

You have probably read something like the following: “A recent (2021) survey found that more than half of organizations deploying ERP strategies to modernize their legacy technology experienced failure.” “Research has found out that globally from 55% up to 75% of all ERP projects fail.” But have you ever wondered whether? The authority is exaggerating the facts to attract new clients Whether the facts are accurate Whether the organizations included in the research are very large companies with more risk What was the basis for failure? Our experience is that ERP selection and implementation projects are not doomed to failure. […]

Hitchhiker’s Guide to Technology Solutions

May 18, 2021 | 0 Comments | 180systems

180 Systems is presenting a workshop for CPA Canada on June 16, 2021 from 1 pm to 4 pm EST with guidance and best practice for: Business Case System Optimization System Selection Contract Negotiation Implementation Transition Management Emerging Technology RPA Project Management Change Management You can register for this workshop by clicking here or contacting Michael at mburns@180systems.com if you have questions. […]

Beware of Roles and Responsibilities in an ERP Implementation

March 6, 2020 | 0 Comments | 180systems

Let’s assume you did a thorough job in evaluating the ERP systems/vendors and are in contract negotiations with the preferred vendor. You will be asked to agree to many things including their assumptions on roles and responsibilities for activities such as testing, integration, documenting business process design… The problem is that you have no idea whether the allocation of activity between the vendor and your organization is reasonable. Unfortunately, you may learn the hard way when the vendor issues change requests (and higher costs) for work that was assumed to be your responsibility but for which you need a lot […]

Is Your Implementation On Track?

February 1, 2018 | 0 Comments | 180systems

February 2018 from CPA Magazine and written by Michael Burns – “Senior executives of any organization that is going through a major system implementation worry whether the implementation project will cause huge problems when it goes live or whether the costs and time estimates are accurate. The project manager might be telling them all is well but project managers have been wrong on occasion. How do you look under the covers of a project to see what is really happening?”… Read more […]

So the project has gone belly-up, what now?

December 15, 2015 | 0 Comments | 180systems

December 3, 2015 from LinkedIn – “Most SMEs and many larger companies are not experienced in running projects. It is just not something they need to do on a regular basis and certainly not with this much at stake. An investment in the services of a skilled internal Project Manager is rarely a waste of money. It will often cost you more to skimp in this area and then have to recover afterwards…” Read more 180 View – The author, a business development manager for Pronto Software, makes a number of really good comments on why implementation projects fail and […]

Demonstration Scripts

December 10, 2015 | 0 Comments | 180systems

A demonstration script is critical to the selection process but there are huge differences on how to do this. Rather than criticize the techniques we have read, I will share our methodology with you: Two demonstrations – You don’t want to go too deep on the first demonstration unless you are positive that the vendor will not waste your time (or their time) 1st demonstration – We base it on a small subset of the most important requirements in the RFP and limit the time to about 3 hours. We allocate a certain amount of time to each requirement and then […]

How to measure whether an ERP implementation is successful

November 4, 2015 | 0 Comments | 180systems

It’s not time to celebrate when the system goes live. Nor is it time to celebrate even if it’s on time or on budget. It’s only time to celebrate if the benefits in the business case have been realized. Ideally the benefits are in the form of a measurable metric or a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) such as the time it takes to process an order. However many organizations don’t identify these measures of success and even if they do, they promptly forget about them as soon as the implementation starts as they have enough on their plates to consume […]

Tips for Implementing Change

May 28, 2015 | 0 Comments | 180systems

May 28, 2015 from ProjectManagement.com – “Organizational change management should begin with a systematic evaluation of the current state in order to determine the need for change. Organizations must also consider the appetite for change and the capability to change” Read more 180 View – The author provides 8 short and easy to read tips for implementing change. Lack of good change management can lead to disaster for even the best systems. One of the recommendations is to “Assess the capability of the organization to change.” In our opinion any project will fail if the core implementation team does not […]