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16 Steps Recommended Ascertaining the Success of ERP Implementation in your Organization

The implementation of the ERP in an organization is a massive step towards achieving the organizational objectives with a systematic and careful approach. It is a major change that ensures better success rate by involving various components of business and integrating them with the help of software.

These business components include human resource management, sales, and marketing management, production management, logistics, payroll, accounting, management control and many more.

Enterprise Resource planning helps all the organization across the globe irrespective of their size and line of business. It creates a global foundation and provides excellent outputs with increased productivity and reduced expenses.

If you want to implement Oracle ERP cloud in your business, then you need to consider about the several factors to ascertain that ERP implementation in your organization is successful and your business is benefited from it immensely.

Since ERP accelerates various business processes and streamlines them, it is critical to design effective ERP strategies for the constant delivery of positive business output.

Here, we are offering you 16 effective steps, and by incorporating them into your ERP strategies, you can ensure that the ERP implementation in your company is fruitful

1. Setting of Objectives
Before you start, it is imperative to identify your problem areas. Ask yourself questions to find the real goal of ERP implementation. It needs to be done keeping future endeavors also in mind rather than thinking about current projects only.

Now the important question is why ERP implementation in your organization? How good is it for your business and its operations? And what strategies need to be built for the successful implementation of ERP.

ERP implementation is crucial for any organization that wants to grow. ERP implementation offers better visibility and communication between different business processes and operations. It also ensures that the information is centralized for any respective department of the business to access. Various modules and their operations are managed over a unique database system.
However, it is also crucial to think about the software tools that are already in place and that migration to ERP might need strategizing and budgeting. In fact, time management and cost-effectiveness is the key to the success of implementation if every critical phase is handled by subsequent and well-planned steps.

So, before you plan to implement ERP in your system, do a self-assessment and come up with correct answers to ensure that this is the right decision for your business.

2. Anticipating Risks
There are innumerable risks involved in the implementation of ERP. Whether overhead costs or delivery delays, failure in infrastructure or vendor issues, it is critical to be prepared for these risks in advance. The management should be able to anticipate the major risks involved in the process. That is the reason it is important to define the objectives of the ERP implementation.
It is equally important to train the staff for the upcoming changes as ERP implementation is extremely influential and everyone should contribute towards achieving the favorable results.

3. Selecting the Suitable ERP System
The need for ERP varies from one industry to another in terms of performance. It is essential to look for an ERP package that is built as per your industry standards. For example, if you go for Oracle ERP Cloud, it offers an extensive array of applications that enable the management to get improved performance with better decision making and in reduced expenses.

Similarly, many ERP providers including Sage, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics, etc. render their clients with segmented ERP solutions. Some of them even design ERP specific to business sectors and position them accordingly.

The ERP is packaged to minimize the cost of ERP development and deployment. And the features provided in every package fulfill the requirements of all the SMEs.
The standard features of every package offered by the ERP providers make sure that the commercial aspect of your business is managed well. It also controls your logistics, handles the administrative and financial part, monitors the production, manages accounts, etc.

If you want to add more sophisticated tools as per your industry standards, then implementation takes longer than expected. And training is involved in every package as essential part along with data and file transfers. Hence, if you find a suitable Oracle implementation partner, the procedure becomes much easier for you.

4. Finding the Suitable ERP Providers
You need a vendor that understands your business needs and processes and offers you a comprehensive solution for your system. It is best to establish specification so that you are clear about what kind of planning and provisioning is required.

Ascertain that your provider has an excellent reputation in the market and is known for timely deliveries. Ensure that the business suite offered by your provider consists of a portfolio of industry-focused solutions, integrated business processes, and rapid value solutions

5. Defining the Scope of ERP
All the businesses offer some unique products and services and run on specific rules. Likewise, every business faces problems while growing. With the boost in the growth of any company, the various metrics such as sales, procurement, etc. become difficult to manage. Hence, ERP implementation comes into account and help in maintaining data enterprise-wide, reducing the manual efforts.
Similarly, irrespective of the size of business, its workflow plays a vital role. ERP improves the workflow of any business. It mainly covers all the aspects of your business and fulfills every business demand.
ERP also ensures that the higher levels of security are implemented in your system, and all the business operations run smoothly. It makes the data centralized, and only authorized employees can access this data.

Therefore, keeping in mind the core business requirements and financial investments, the scope of ERP is defined for the smooth and obstacle-free ERP implementation.

6. Evaluating the Current System to come up with Ideal Project Plan
It is one of the most crucial steps to ensure the successful implementation of ERP in your system. As per some reports, numerous firms customize their ERP software to lower degrees of the considered utilization.

The management of the organization is required to invest time and energy in evaluating the options available for optimal utilization of ERP. Because, otherwise the complexities may increase, if the evaluation is not done properly beforehand, leading to the failure of ERP implementation.
Evaluating your system is a stepping stone to understand the present needs and future projections. It is crucial to differentiate the customization and ERP configuration before the implementation starts. ERP needs to be flexible to accommodate the requirements going to arise in future.

7. Transferring the Knowledge
Once you decide to go for ERP implementation, it is essential to designate some employees that will provide assistance during the implementation process. These people should have knowledge of company’s history and culture as these are the representatives of their respective departments and introduce the ERP service provider with various systems along with internal users.
Usually, business owner, chief financial officer, chief technical officers and other decision makers are included in stake-holders along with several other representatives. Additionally, your provider also renders your team with required assistance and pieces of training needed for the implementation process.

8. Selecting Implementation Phases
ERP implementation is different for every organization. Choosing the modules that your business requires is a difficult task. This is when mapping of your business processes comes into play. It is a crucial step to know that what are the processes in place and what is their importance.
For a successful ERP implementation, it is essential to have the workflow ready and make changes or customize according to these business workflows.

It is suggested that the implementation project should be divided into independent phases. You can either select complete service approach or guided approach, depending upon your organization’s size and business requirement.

9. Creating Achievable Schedules for Timely Delivery
If the delivery of the ERP implementation is not timely, even with one year delay, it will not be called a success irrespective of the quality of the project and cost savings. Most of ERP implementations take longer than the expected time of delivery.

Hence, it becomes necessary to schedule the primary processes deliveries to be achieved on the timely basis. Make these flexible to accommodate final adjustments. This can happen when you define the project in independent phases and give them the estimated time limit to finish.

10. Migrating to ERP
Once you have established which ERP solution you need, then the major and the most critical step is data migration. It should be a trouble-free transition for the future utilization of ERP.
ERP implementation can be a tremendous change for the company that has not used this software before. It is crucial to determine that which data to be migrated as the complete shifting of data may be a burdensome process.

Hence, it is recommended that only critical data should be transferred to the software and precautions should be taken to ascertain that the data is retrieved and can be accessed whenever required.

11. Customizing
ERP is developed as per the requirement of your business and its respective industry. The significant amount of thought and research goes into this process. Since ERP implementation includes an enormous investment of capital, large pool of resources, lot of time and efforts, the company should be able to manage the scheduled maintenance of the ERP software.

At the time of pilot testing also, the management should evaluate the understanding of the utility of the system rather than the desired utility of the organization. It is critical to keep an eye on the system to be adopted by the management from the onset.

So if you want the successful implementation of ERP with necessary customizations, it is critical to follow the best practices. If ERP is fitted the way it was bought, this will do no good to your business. You must un-follow the old methods of ERP implementation and get the customization done as per your business processes and operations in the company.

That is why it is very important to understand your system, your business requirement, the software and the modifications that need to be made, prior to the customization.

12. Changing the Management
While employees of any organization are habitual of specific routine they follow for performing their activities through already defined processes, any changes in the system are not welcomed easily. However, with the implementation of ERP, change management becomes necessary.
ERP implementation has a significant impact on the working environment of any company. It is responsible for all the modification in working styles and affects all the processes and ongoing operations in the organization.

It is the responsibility of the management to prepare their staff for the changes by giving them training and making them aware of the positive impacts and efficiency of the software.

13. Transferring the Knowledge
Management should make sure that the vendor renders the in-house IT team with all the technical know-how and detailing of the project. Proper technical training and effective transfer of knowledge are considered critical for the success of the project.

For operations to be smooth and simplified, the IT support staff should be well-trained. If the software utilization is not optimal, then the output of ERP implementation will not be effective.

14. Going Live
It is only after go-live that the actual operational obstructions come in picture. If there are gaps between evaluation, processes and implementation and the system is not flexible enough to handle them, it may backfire.

At this phase, the system needs to be improvised, and at the same time, the management should ensure that the primary objective of the implementation should not be diluted.

During go-live period, accurate data migration and proper hardware synchronization are evaluated.

15. System Testing
Testing is another crucial step that ensures that product is ready. Though it is a hectic task but it confirms that all the technical and functional aspects of the system are positive.
Below are the checklist points that are evaluated during testing:

• Business reports
• Access rights for individual users
• Both static as well as dynamic data
• Auto backup procedures
• User acceptance
• Accounting reports

16. Maintaining and Supporting
Once the ERP is live, it needs maintenance and support for the maximum output. If the implementation is successful, it does not ensure the optimal future utilization.

It is crucial to update the system on timely basis along with periodical maintenance and ongoing support. This will ensure the smooth and trouble-free functioning of the ERP solution to give you better ROI for your business.

Do you think your services-based company needs cloud accounting? Is your system ready to handle this new cloud-based software? There may be many such questions in your mind when you are thinking of implementing cloud accounting in your Oracle enterprise business suite. Let us see how to determine whether your system requires to cloud accounting along with its benefits.

While you store numerous documents or images in your cloud, your emails are also stored in the cloud most of all. In a way, the cloud offers us many advantages to store and manage resources. Similarly, the accounting cloud also renders the organizations with several amazing benefits such as:

1. Automation
Cloud-based accounting solutions automate routine jobs and save a lot of time by working in real-time.

2. Accessibility
You can store or manage your data and resources from any place through any device connected to the internet. It can also be accessed by mobile devices as these solutions are mobile-friendly also.

3. Integration with Multiple Apps
The cloud-based solution can be integrated seamlessly to make the tasks more manageable for you. These complementary jobs can easily correspond with the cloud.

4. Less Manual Interference
Since the functions are automated, so with the help of seamless integration, you can move data around conveniently and restore it. Only a small extent of manual assistance is required in this process.

5. Security
Regardless of hardware, your data is stored safely. Easy mitigation of data, even in case of hardware malfunctioning or system crash, is possible when you use a cloud. In addition to it, your provider ensures that all your data is secured and infrastructure is monitored to safeguard your assets.

6. Cost-Effective Solution
Cloud-based solutions are cost-effective. You pay only as per your plan or subscription. Besides, there is no need to install costly hardware on your system. The provider does it all for you.

7. User-driven Innovations
Applications based on the cloud are developed as per the user’s specifications and are updated on a regular basis as per the user’s demand and insight.

8. Energy-efficient Technology
Your data is stored in data centers at offshore locations rather than onsite. This way you can make sure that the cloud service provider is using the latest and most advanced technology.

More About Cloud Accounting
Cloud accounting is the modern way of accessing the accounting software through your browser without even installing it on your system. You can access your cloud-based application anytime anywhere through any device that has an internet connection. This is also known as online accounting and is very much similar to the “Software as a Service” business model. Online accounting makes it easy for employees of a company to stay in touch with their accountants and data whenever they want.
Now when you know about cloud Accounting and all the advantages related to cloud-based solutions, you should also be aware of the questions like “why are you not accounting or invoicing on the cloud?” or “when do you think you will be ready for cloud accounting before it is too late?”

Let us find the answer to the above-asked questions through an assessment test:

Question 1. How do you manage your account processing?
By using excel or word for reports and invoicing
Have installed an accounting software on my computer
An accountant does it for me

Question 2. How do you collaborate?
Through email interactions
Call my staff in my office to share the insights

Question 3. How do you ensure that your business particulars are safe and secure?
I trust my guys
By backing up the data in my drive
By saving the important emails

Are you aware of the market standards and where your business stands? Is your site mobile-friendly?

Or you are least bothered about the latest developments in your business area.
Well, there are innumerable questions that can help you assess your business and where it is positioned in the industry. After answering all these questions, you will know what is lacking and what needs to be done for the progress of your business and to improve your business revenues.

While adding various software and tools to your business might help you in some of the operations of your company, in the long race, managing numerous tools might be a time-consuming task and need more resources than required.

Incorporating enterprise resource planning (ERP) in your business simplifies the operations and manages your business processes automating all the operations and back-office functions.

ERP Accounting Software
More and more firms are implementing cloud ERP in their businesses as it processes the information in real-time from anywhere, anytime. We all know that ERP is the ideal option for storing and processing data, especially when it comes to accounting tools.

Oracle ERP Cloud helps you increase the productivity of every core business process such as financial, accounting, procurement, and much more. This cloud also offers inbuilt features that are specific to a country’s regulations, which means it provides Global adoption. For example, it provides new compliance with GST or Goods and Service tax regulations and facilitates native support for such kind of network in India as many multinational companies operating in India and this country renders offshore data centers to numerous organizations across the globe. So, this is an excellent feature for MNCs whose processing of various operations takes place in this country.

Therefore, accounting software for an Oracle ERP Cloud is an advanced, modern, and sophisticated financial platform that delivers seamlessly through the Oracle Cloud. An Oracle implementation partner can help you implement ERP cloud in your system as per your business needs and market criteria.

It gives you effortless access to the data over the internet. And the best part is that it is easily customizable as per your business demands and incorporates your business-specific functionalities in your system. For example, you can add inventory control capability along with payroll function in case you are a manufacturing firm.

Besides, Oracle cloud helps you power intelligent business operations, enable growth, reduce the complexity of operations, reduced costs, differentiate your business from the competitors and boost your ROI through proven ERP practices.

To Sum Up…
Financial data is critical information for any business, and if you want to move it to a cloud, the service provider should be well-known and trustworthy. So, once you decide that you need to move your accounting to the cloud, you are required to find a cloud service provider that has great infrastructure, platform, storage, and application services. It is crucial to check the capability, security measures, and reliability of the provider before you subscribe. Hire the provider with the best performance, quality, and timely delivery.

Successful Cloud ERP Implementation- Points to Consider

Are you planning to migrate your existing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to the cloud? If you have never done this before, you might face a few issues while moving your ERP. There are uncertainties and complexities involved in this kind of software implementation. Since it involves enormous investments and of capital and other resources and can affect any aspect of business drastically, Cloud ERP implementation is considered quite a challenging task.

For ERP implementation to be successful, you need to be very careful with your planning and provisioning. Since we have years of experience in implementation, consultation, and customization of Oracle ERP cloud, we have come to know about the nitty-gritty of these ERP projects. We are offering you several factors to ensure that your ERP project is booming from the onset.

1. Include Expert Implementation Professionals
It is the most crucial decision to involve the right kind of professionals in your implementation team. Whether you have your internal team or have hired Oracle implementation partners, you need to make sure that you are contented with the methodologies that the implementation staff is using and these people are helpful.

2. ERP Implementation Methodologies
Defining the implementation approach in advance is critical. The team should acknowledge your current business processes and offer a tailored solution as per your business requirements. If you are hiring a third-party for ERP implementation, then the methodologies followed can be

Complete Service Implementation Approach
Here your Oracle implementation partners work full-time and provide hands-on services to the customers. They do all kinds of designs, application configuration, and other heavy liftings. Mostly larger organizations with complex processes go for the full-service approach.

Guided Approach
This is a short-term approach followed by companies with straight-forward and well-defined business processes. Additionally, the organizations that have resources and expertise for ERP implementation themselves take this guided approach. Here, the implementation partner is hired to render their clients with standard project flows and project management while customer conducts the system configuration.

3. Outline Your Fundamental Business Requirements
When you define your business requirements, these lay the foundation of resources and time needed for the application design as well as configuration strategies. They also help to determine the project scope and timeline.

Below are some suggestions to make sure that your requirement collection process is fruitful:

Recognize your Unique Business Requirements

• Identify your business rules, logic, and hence, needs along with applications that are to be configured on the ERP to ascertain that the new software implementation support all your business processes.
• Develop the consistent and comprehensive understanding of how your Oracle enterprise business suite is going to manage the standard flow of any business process and special use cases.
• If the business requirements are not adequately defined, they can cause significant financial and timeline complications.

Modifications in Project Scope
During the implementation process, there are chances that the project scope might need changes. This happens mainly because of unidentified business undertakings that may occur during new business acquisitions, product line expansion, sales process or numerous other reasons. Hence, it becomes necessary to establish new strategies to handle the alterations in the scope of the project.

While analyzing the modifications in scope, budget, timeline, and quality are the three factors that are taken into account and considered most critical factors. Therefore, effective and well-defined strategies are designed to achieve the project goal efficiently.

Phased Approach to ERP Implementation
If your organization is large and areas of improvements are vast, then EPR implementation process might take a long time to cover your implementation goals. In such case, you may consider adopting the phased approach to accomplish gradual implementation.

This way you can prioritize your areas of requirement, and critical functionalities can be delivered based on their importance. It also helps you communicate your business requirements along with pending design decisions based on embraced business processes after the completion of one or more phases during implementation.

At the End to Sum Up..
Implementation of ERP cloud may be an arduous task, but by incorporating the above actions in your in your ERP implementation strategies, you can save a lot of money and efforts. An ERP consultation firm may assist you in ensuring that your ERP project is on track and migration to ERP cloud is successful and timely.