Best Practices for Business Process Ownership with Your ERP Investment
A competitive business rarely stays stagnant. Rather, your company should be constantly seeking new ways to optimize performance, seize opportunities and adapt to changes. Equally important to adapting to change is having sound, established business processes. However, transformation initiatives, especially an ERP implementation, can put these concepts at distinct odds. How do we establish robust business processes and also remain agile? How do we get everyone onboard with the systems and processes so they don’t naturally revert back to more comfortable old habits? If an organization values flexibility, will they resist new processes altogether? We believe you can do both – adopt solid business processes and manage them in a way that ensures scalability well into the future to get the most out of your ERP investment.
ERP INVESTMENTS: BUSINESS PROCESS MAINTENANCE FOR LONG-TERM VALUE
During the process of an ERP implementation, the project team will rightfully be focused on the plan and deliverables to achieve a successful go-live and post-production support. We see beautiful go-live count-down clocks and go-live celebrations that all imply the work is over when the system turns on. To get the most out of your ERP investment, however, we believe you should be thinking well past your go-live. Thinking through business process ownership after go-live will truly transform your business and take post-production support to a whole new level.
Business processes are the backbone of an ERP implementation. They should be properly documented, trained, and reinforced with business users. These processes also require consistent maintenance, governance, and improvement over time. That enhancement log that was growing through the implementation, that will drive some of the need for process change, as will system upgrades and evolving business needs. This ongoing attention to business process is the only way to drive sustained success – and to truly get the value from your organization’s investment in ERP.
ERP INVESTMENTS: BEST PRACTICES FOR BUSINESS PROCESS OWNERSHIP
Below we outline three best practices for business process ownership with your ERP investment:
Flexibility: Ensure your strategy offers enough flexibility so that it can be adjusted as your business needs to change and grow. Governance is a long-term journey, and the team will find they need to adjust their ways of working to fit new situations and adjust to new variables.
Transparency: Transparent communication is key to success. Provide all levels of the organization clear visibility into the priorities, changes, and improvements being assessed. Ensure the change management process is well-defined and embedded in your strategy. Clearly communicate goals, progress, and expectations to the business.
Cross-functional: On-going cross-functional documentation and education will help to bridge learning gaps, increase efficiency, and grow expertise across all business operations. It’s important to plan and allocate adequate resources to manage change requests, address systemic issues, and provide necessary changes to all core functional areas.
Business owners must keep in mind that the organization’s needs change with time, as do customer demands. The software you choose to implement must be adaptable and flexible to change, in addition to having an organized approach to maintain and improve these systems as your business grows. Implementing a new ERP is a major undertaking regardless of the size of your organization, but with proper planning and the right investment in business process ownership, your company can get the most out of your ERP system for years to come.
If you need help selecting the right ERP for your organization – one that is scalable and adaptable – Crescense can help. Reach out to us today.
This piece was originally published by a partner in our business ecosystem, Clarkston Consulting. Learn more about Clarkston Consulting here.