In implementing an ERP enterprise management system, beyond needing a consulting team with expertise in that type of enterprise, you also need operational steps that follow the right principles, so the entrepreneur can use the ERP for maximum efficiency.

The steps of an ERP implementation

The step of analysing needs to choose the ERP most suitable for the organisation
The step of selecting an ERP provider
The step of customising the ERP to fit your organisation
The step of syncing data so the data syncs correctly and stably
The step of building understanding with the people in the organisation
The step of training the people in the organisation
The step of preparing before going into actual use
The step of beginning full use of the ERP system
The step after full use of the ERP system

Details of each step

1. The step of analysing needs to choose the ERP suitable for the organisation

In this step, the entrepreneur can search for ERP providers — perhaps via Google search, expos organised by government agencies, and trade shows, where ERP providers like to set up booths to introduce their service to entrepreneur customers of various business types.

The entrepreneur may keep more than one ERP provider as an option, and ask about various service details, such as whether the size of the system matches the size of the organisation, whether the resulting costs fit the organisation’s budget, and so on.

At the same time, the entrepreneur should also know the needs of their own organisation — how they want an ERP to come in and manage their own organisation.

2. The step of selecting an ERP provider

Once the entrepreneur has information on the providers they’re interested in and knows their own needs, the entrepreneur then selects an ERP provider to arrange a meeting / discussion with.

In this step, the entrepreneur will have more information to support the decision, because they can ask about the various work processes in implementing the ERP, including the various costs from the start of the implementation through to the final process — the entrepreneur being able to close the balance sheet.

In this part, the entrepreneur may compare the prices of each ERP provider, along with the various operational details, to get an appropriate price and to get an ERP that can manage the organisation exactly as they want.

3. The step of customising the ERP to fit your enterprise

This step requires details specific to your enterprise, in order to customise the ERP to come in and manage your organisation with maximum efficiency.

In this step, the ERP provider will have a consulting team go in and analyse the organisation’s work processes in detail, to arrive at a work flow that is systematic and orderly — a work flow that is detailed and specific to your own organisation.

After that, the consulting team takes the resulting flow and customises it to produce an ERP with the right characteristics to come in and manage your organisation.

4. The step of syncing data so the data syncs correctly and stably

This step is updating data from other systems your organisation uses, then bringing that data into the ERP. In syncing this data, you must always keep in mind preserving the correctness and reliability of the data. There should also be checking and testing of the sync to be sure the data is imported correctly and no problems arise in the process.

The data sync may use a program for syncing data, and should be carried out specifically by ERP experts — namely the team of the ERP provider the entrepreneur chose.

5. The step of building understanding with the people in the organisation

This step is rather sensitive, because before switching to an ERP to manage the organisation, each organisation tends to have ways of operating that have been done for a long time — some of which may have become organisational culture that is hard to change.

Using an ERP to manage the organisation may cause some employees to worry about adapting from a way of working they’re used to and can do nimbly, to working in a different way — and employees may not yet have any experience using an ERP.

So communicating and building understanding with the employees in the organisation about the changes that will happen is necessary and should be done, so employees can see a clear way of working in the future and so it is good for the morale of the people in the organisation too.

6. The step of training the people in the organisation

The step of training the people in the organisation is a collaboration of both the ERP provider and the recipient of the service — namely the entrepreneur.

The entrepreneur must arrange the date and time of the training with the ERP provider, then the ERP provider sends the ERP implementation consulting team and Customer Support to train on using the ERP.

The ERP implementation consulting team teaches how to log in and use the various modules. The trainees are employees in the various departments / parts of the organisation who must use the ERP, so they can log in, record data, run processing, view various data, and use the other functions of the system.

Once the training is finished, if problems arise in use, the ERP provider has a Customer Support team to receive the various problems — for example, the system lagging, being unable to view data, and so on.

The approach to fixing them depends on the details of the problem that arose. Some problems the Customer Support team can advise on right away; some problems may have to wait for the programmer team to check and fix, and so on.

7. The step of preparing before going into actual use

Before using the ERP for real, there must be a step where the user still runs the organisation’s old system in parallel with the ERP, until the customer can use the ERP smoothly. Then the ERP provider does the Go Live, and once Go Live is complete, your organisation can be said to be using the ERP one hundred percent.

8. The step of beginning full use of the ERP system

When the organisation has begun full use of the ERP, problems may be encountered during use — such as the system not running through, time lags in pulling data from the system, or other problems.

The problems that arise along the way may come from the users themselves, or may come from the ERP itself. The ERP provider has a Customer Support team standing by to help if problems arise in using the system. Users can report the various problems to the ERP provider through the communication channel for reporting problems that both parties have agreed on.

The cost of the Customer Support part is as agreed between the system user and the ERP provider.

9. The step after full use of the ERP system

After the organisation has used the ERP fully, the ERP provider will update the system for the user regularly — for example, an update once a year, or as specified in the service contract.

After use begins, if the organisation using the ERP wants to adjust some functions or add various modules, it can notify the ERP provider. The additional cost depends on the agreement and the scope of service of the ERP provider, and the user’s own organisation can ask and negotiate with the ERP provider on a case-by-case basis.

The article “The 9 steps of a good ERP implementation — how it’s done” serves as a guide for entrepreneurs who want to prepare their organisation to enter into using an ERP enterprise management system.

By following these 9 steps, an entrepreneur or organisation can hire an ERP implementation provider effectively, and the recipient organisation can use the system smoothly.

The 9 Steps of a Good ERP Implementation — How It's Done