Things to Do for ERP Post-Implementation

After an ERP is already tested and ready to be implemented, the team needs to have readiness for Go-Live. In this procedure, departments from Infrastructure, development, configuration, conversion, testing, training, communications, operations, command central, reporting, and users must be assessed in the readiness process. This process will also be recorded, communicated, and documented to the project team and the company. The documents will be made into a detailed report as well as an executive summary for the senior management. The process for determining Go-Live readiness consists of a series of meetings and discussions on the status of each area’s tasks and activities.

              After the initial Go-Live is successful, the company must provide trainings to everyone that will be using the system and should use real data and examples. This training could include but not limited to, trainers who work for the software vendor and third-party trainers that have specific experience in ERP systems. After training comes stabilization, which is a process that begins when the ERP system software is in production, initial training is complete, and conversion of critical data is done. After the ERP system goes live, the organization will need to shift to stabilization process which could take up to 60 – 90 days. The IT staff from said department will be monitoring the infrastructure for response times and ensure that back-ups are taken appropriately when needed. Beyond that, help such as an expert in the subject that mattered should be prepared to help many users from their departments to operate the system in the correct way.

              With all these process at the stabilization step, there could be many issues regarding stabilization. First, system customizations could potentially add to the complexity if not documented and communicated well. Second, users are not able to perform necessary activities because they are unable to learn how to accomplish the activity. Third, users make few mistakes because of a new system that they are not used to. Reconciliation between the new ERP system and the old legacy system needs to be done as soon as possible to validate the inputs and outputs. With a certain implementation approach namely the parallel method, the ERP system is operated concurrently with the old legacy system, which is labor-intensive, confusing, and frustrating.

After stabilization, comes a process called postproduction support. The purpose of postproduction support is managing the daily system operations and ensuring that the system is doing what it needs to do. Subject matter experts and core project team members should be used to provide general support to answer simple process and system questions. If the post-production process is considered inadequate, then the implementation may be considered a failure.

With postproduction support comes postimplementation support. Postimplementation support is divided into the following points:

• Training
• Go-Live Support
• Data Validation
• Data Correction
• Patched and Fixes
• New Features

By communicating clearly with the involved departments about Go-live and the ongoing support processes, overall expectations will be better set to realize measurable business benefits and ROI from the ERP project.

Lastly, there is knowledge transfer, which is a process where to transfer knowledge and skill to new or existing staff or team members during and after the implementation process. This process should also be monitored and documented. There should also be a knowledge management plan which should be able to transfer knowledge significantly smoother.