ERP implementation issues are often caused by gaps in project planning before the project begins.
No Defined Core Team
A common issue is starting your implementation without a clearly defined core team. If there is no internal project manager and roles and responsibilities are not assigned, the team members responsible for delivering a successful project will be confused and frustrated early. Tasks and follow-ups will be missed and the project will be delayed with potential budget over-runs. Define your core team early!
Unclear Project Expectations
The level of effort required for project success from your internal team is often underestimated by both the client and the implementer. ERP implementations are large projects that require consistent involvement from your team in setup, training, data migration, testing, and GoLive readiness. In most of our projects, our client’s project teams need to balance their day-to-day work with the time-consuming ERP implementation. In addition to setting the time commitment, you also need to set clear goals at the start of your project using critical success factors (CSFs) and key performance indicators (KPIs). It takes time to grow into a new system and many implementations often use a phased approach to keep things simpler to begin with. It’s important you manage expectations for GoLive and the team understands the project goals before the implementation has started!
No Project Governance
Many projects move forward without a clear structure for communication, meeting cadence, decision-making, and change control. When there is no defined process for managing change requests, even small adjustments can create problems. Changes may be discussed informally, approved without full context, or implemented without understanding the downstream impact. Over time, this leads to scope creep beyond the original plan, with no clear record of what changed or why. Have a clear escalation path with decision-makers!
Setting these areas upfront helps keep the implementation organized and easier to manage.