Any ERP project starts with a sound business case, typically where costs would be reduced or profits are increased. Given the timeframe between identifying the need for an ERP project and when the project goes live, time is literally money.
When it comes to committing to a new ERP system, we often hear clients say “We love it, but the timing is just not right.” The reasons they give vary from a lack of budget and resources, to fear of change. Timing is often forgotten as an important element when it comes to the commissioning of an ERP system. The sooner you commit to the project, the sooner you can start reaping all the benefits of ERP and realise the value laid out in your business case.
A good ERP platform will help you to get all the elements of your business working together, ensuring maximum visibility and integration across all your systems, and enhancing the ongoing sustainability of your organisation.
In this modern era of innovation, global free-market competition, market volatility, and constrained supply chains, there are numerous factors that drive businesses to adapt and change at a pace that has never been seen before. Like any major project, an ERP solution will take time to implement, but once it’s in, its value will be immediately apparent.
On average the buying cycle is longer than nine months. Although there are several factors that could delay the process, careful management will ensure that their impact is minimised. These factors include staff changes, concurrent projects, poorly defined budgets, too many people involved in the decision process, even the lack of a sound business case. Take staff changes, for example. These could take place at board or operational level, where the project could end up being cancelled or delayed. When a board member has a vision for the project and they move on, the new member often has an intentionally completely different vision and will often drive a different agenda and delay the ERP project.
Given the time an ERP project takes to implement, does a nine to twelve month buying cycle make sense, especially when the business is losing the opportunity cost to deliver on what was laid out in the business case?
Start with a sound business case and allow that to guide the scope of what is expected from the ERP project. There are many professionals that can help you develop the business case and chose the right software and partner. In our experience, implementations where an independent consultant has assisted the business through the selection process, often deliver value in a much shorter timeframe.
Time is your best friend when it comes to starting an ERP project. Use it wisely.