CFO and CIO: how to implement a successful finance ERP project?

Implementing an ERP project is an essential step in the digitalization of the company. This is an important step because the ERP software will have an impact on all of the company’s activities, from financial and accounting management to production, distribution, inventory management and human resources. Given the scope of the operations, this IT project must be considered in the long term and carefully anticipated.

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Upstream preparation, a key step to success

It is essential to properly prepare theimplementation of an ERP, given the particularly wide functional scope of this type of software, generally composed of a central core and multiple satellite applications specialized in one field.

The first step is to perform an inventory of the company, in order to identify each information flow, each business process and each tool used. This exhaustive list will help define the needs that the integrated management software will have to meet.

Once the audit is completed, it is time to set up a dedicated project team. At this stage, it doesn’t need to be too large. Often, two to three collaborators supervised by a project manager are sufficient. Each entity must have a well-defined role and complementary skills from technical and business areas.

The first task of this team is to write a technical and functional specification to identify the scope of the project. This document must be precise and detailed. The team can rely on the audit and on the testimonies of some key users.

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The choice of an integrated management software package

Knowing which ERP to choose is not the easiest task. There are a large number of offers on the market: proprietary or open source, self-hosted, SAAS or cloud-hosted solutions.

The selection of the management software must be based on the adequacy between the specifications and the proposed functionalities. When internal resources are not sufficiently specialized, it is common to call upon an external service provider who will be able to share his experience with the dedicated team, by providing advice and skills. He will also be able to propose you a short-list of solutions and to organize demonstrations with the editors. If the ERP software does not meet all your needs, it is essential to determine the cost of the necessary custom developments.

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    The implementation of the ERP solution

    The choice of the solution is a critical step in an ERP project, which requires a lot of work before the software is put into production.

    Implementing an ERP project requires an infrastructure upgrade with the objective of deploying a customized tool. Calling on an experienced service provider is, in this context, a coherent approach.

    After the implementation of the ERP comes the crucial phase of testing, which should not be neglected under any circumstances. They are an opportunity to make any necessary adjustments.

    Finally, the last phase concerns the training of users. Employees must feel comfortable with their new tool or the deployed solution may be rejected, destroying all efforts and dooming the project to failure.

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