Enterprise resource planning requires strict organizational change management
3/9/2012 at 10:47 am by
If your company is mulling over an enterprise resource planning implementation, it's important to keep in mind it offers many significant opportunities. One is that your business will soon have the ability to maintain a record of literally everything your organization handles. Another is the ability to peer into the future and make educated guesses about what might soon come to pass in terms of finances and stock.
However, one of the most important benefits that often goes overlooked is the ability to shake things up. It might seem like a hassle to completely reshape an enterprise's model using organizational change management principles, but it often helps to reduce inefficiencies and execute projects you've been planning for quite some time. Here are some important considerations you should bear in mind when altering a business model in preparation for enterprise resource planning installations.
Extent and scope
Some companies might feel the need to radically overhaul how they do business. This is often the case when ERP technology represents one of the most modern investments a business has made in its history. Others might be relatively up to date with their technology and could only need to adapt a few operations to work in tandem with enterprise resource planning technology.
ERP requirements
The tasks that need to be aided with ERP systems aren't usually the same for one company to another, so it's a good idea to determine which departments or activities need the most organizational change management support. For example, a business that needs to rely on accurate records of items and materials in stock should completely change the processes related to that sort of task. Conversely, that organization wouldn't necessarily have to alter its financial conduct too much.
Communications
Enterprise resource planning doesn't enable communication because it offers new channels for conversations and data sharing. Instead, it serves to standardize data and allow staff members to communicate using the same language. What was once a mix of finances, inventory lists, descriptions and customer responses can now be boiled down to their base components and easily shared. Decide which departments and divisions (if not all of them) need to be in on this new method of dialogue when an ERP system goes live.
About the Author
The Sage ERP team report on various topics related to ERP and business management.
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