Disclaimer: The articles in this blog post are those that I found interesting and relevant to the topic of ERP and technology in general. I have no commercial association with any of the entities mentioned in this article. I may be following a few of these entities on LinkedIn and even some of these entities may be on my LinkedIn or Social Media network. These articles are selected purely based on their relevance to the objective of this blog, to promote ERP. Finally, the summary is mine. While I stay close to the points in the articles, I also elaborate a few of them based on my understanding.
The Short URL for this post is https://goo.gl/WrtucH
The steps in ERP Implementation are:
3. Implementation partner / System Integrator Selection
4. ERP Auditor Selection
5. ERP Implementation
6. Integration with external applications
7. Post Implementation Support and Stabilization
We covered the Step 1 above in our series in Week 8 which was focused on Digital Strategy. Step 2 was covered in our series in Week 10 which focused on ERP Selection. This week's theme is Evaluation and selection of ERP Implementation Partner / System Integrator. The perspectives in the selected articles gradually become granular.
The first article discusses high level considerations while selecting an implementation partner. It says that vendor certificates are irrelevant since the criteria for giving certificates is different for each vendor.
The second article provides you with 9 point checklist for selecting an IP, including industry expertise, practice size etc.
The third article, written by Mr.Brian Sommer, goes into much more detail level, where he methodically explains the nuances of selecting an SI. He bemoans that in the age of the cloud, vendors are preparing responses to proposals without even visiting the customer location. This creates a project risk. As per him, the SI should demonstrate their understanding of the environment by preparing an Information Architecture Diagram.
In his article on selecting the right ERP Consultants, Mr.Tom Miller gives some practical guidelines and perspectives. Additional readings also has a case study written by him on how an organization selected the external consultants to augment the project team.
The fifth article is by Mr.Erik Kimberling warns you not to consider that your job is over once you select the SI. There are somethings that SI will do and some things that the Organization should do. For example, Data Cleansing, Strategic Organizational Change Management, Quality Assurance and Project Governance are the responsibility of the customer. Building an ERP competency to complement the services offered by SI is more often overlooked in an ERP implementation.
Great articles all of them. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/selecting-your-sap-s-4hana-oracle-cloud-or-microsoft-dynamics-365-implementation-partner/
Any
ERP implementation is only as good as the weakest consultant in the
implementation team. This means that selecting a System Integrator /
Implementation Partner (SI / IP, I am using these terms
interchangeably here) is one of the most important decisions you will
make. The article suggests that the 'Certificates' like 'Gold / Platinum
partner is overrated. These certificates are often sold to a partner
and is another revenue source for the vendor. Also criteria for issuing
these certificates vary from vendor to vendor.
Most of the
partners implement more than one application, with their focus on one
application over other. For example they may have teams implementing Oracle, SAP and MS applications but the key focus of the Organization will be on SAP. The customer should ensure that the
implementation partner has the requisite team and capabilities in place and the requisite focus on their application to support the inevitable challenges that crop up during implementation.
(In case you are implementing Microsoft Dynamics, I can suggest a great
partner).
ERP Consulting has high levels of attrition. Good
consultants are regularly 'transitioning' to newer opportunities. Ensure
that the team that the partner put in place is stable and
experienced.
Longevity of the vendor is another key factor. You
don't want a 'Shoot and Scoot' kind of partner. You must partner with
those that were 'Been there, done that', who can grow with you.
Another
suggestion, which Mr.Sommer mentioned in the third article in this
selection, is to look for independent consultants who have a lot of
experience in implementing the application that you select.
Last
but the most important, with a number of new technologies coming up
almost on a daily basis, any implementation partner you select should
have strong integration capabilities. Even the application that you
select should be easy to integrate with.
While the points are common sense, some information is new for me, especially about the certification.
This is a nice article.Thank you Mr.Brian Potts.
http://www.kaartech.com/blog/2017/09/30/choosing-right-erp-implementation-partner-evaluation-criteria/
Identifying the right solution, the right approach and the right
implementation partner are the three critical tasks in an ERP journey. The article by Brian Potts above gives a general guidelines of selecting an implementation partner for your ERP Implementation. Next step is to identify the specific criteria for choosing the right partner. , This articles goes into detail of the process and gives 9 point checklist for choosing the right implementation partner.
The critical question is if the partner has experience in the industry. For example, if you are implementing ERP for Dairy industry, it is very important for you to know the 'Milk Procurement Process' in the industry. Another related question (not mentioned in the checklist) is if the partner has experience in niche applications that you are implementing. For example, Oracle Process Management (OPM) and Oracle Transportation Management (OTM) are niche applications and skills are rarely available. Other questions include the partner size, practice size, following implementation methodologies, change management philosophy and availability of customer references or testimonials.
Simple article. Quick read. The points could have been better elaborated.
https://diginomica.com/integrators-who-dont-integrate-and-other-erp-problems/
The focus of this article is on evaluation of System Integrator. In the new era of cloud ERP, the service organizations have moved to a new business model where the consultants do not visit the customer, consultants might be working for different customers at the same time and the implementation consists of spreadsheet uploads. The 'Lift and Shift' is a wrong approach since it does not address the soft issues like user concerns or provide any value that ERP implementation should.
The problems start from proposal stage. Vendors provide a wide open and meaningless proposal full of assumptions and done without visiting the customer. The proposal do not mention team members or even the Project Manager by name. The proposal do not even include the project schedule. Customers should be wary because such proposals are predicated on the client signing a support contract with the vendor.
Why is integration difficult? Let us first look at the three different types of integrations. One is CSV file based approach. Download CSV file from source application, modify data in excel, and upload the same to target application. This introduces errors and data latency into the process.
The second type of integration is a 'point to point' integration. You map the fields between Source and Target and write the code to integrate these applications. Such integrations can be used for simple 1:1 or 1:N integrations. They can be real time or batch process. This is simple and easy to execute.
The most complex integration is N:1 or N:N. You take data from multiple sources, modify and push it to one or more target applications. This integration require high level of architecture skills which are minimally available.
The challenges multi-fold in the age of IoT. This involves handling messages from many connected sensors and pushing it to different targets. Another challenge is that many of the coders do not factor error and exception handling.
Author provides some very good suggestions for selection of System Integrators. One is to select vendors independently instead of relying on Software Vendors to recommend. Two is to vet the partners. Another suggestion (music to my ears) is to go directly to independent consultants. There are other suggestions including tying up with a third party vendor to provide Quality Assurance and Interview every consultant who is going to work on the project.
Ask the integrators to prove their understanding by designing high level 'Information Architecture' diagram showing the role of different integrations. I found it to be an excellent suggestion. A sample Information Architecture Diagram is shown below.
 |
| Information Architecture Diagram |
Great article. Thank you Mr.Brian Sommer.
https://www.erpfocus.com/choose-erp-consultant.html
I like Mr.Miller's articles. His points are crisp and clear makes easy read. In this article, he is focusing on an 'internally managed ERP Implementation' where the company decides to fill some posts for a temporary period due to skill gap.
The consultant you choose should have experience in your marketplace and should be familiar with the application you select. The first step is to understand your requirements from ERP. Any consultant you choose must deliver these requirements. Next step is to do a skill gap analysis. You may not have some skills like technical development, data conversion etc.The consultants who come to work in your project must fit your company culture. There was a case that I worked where the Organization had to work from 6.00 AM to 2.00 PM during a few days in a month and the consultant flatly refused to work those hours. You don't want such situations. Project Manager is the most important position in an ERP implementation. Ideally this position should be manned by someone internal to the company.
Once you have the list of candidates, you have to have an evaluation. Author suggests a weighted averaging of critical evaluation criteria including expertise, testimonials, business knowledge, product knowledge, cultural fit etc.
There are specific areas like setting up a project management structure, data conversion, recommending automated testing tool, training and go live hand-holding etc where consultant can add value.
Finally, in addition to initial evaluation there should be a process of ongoing evaluation and ensure that they meet all the criteria that was set up at the consultant analysis phase.
As a bonus, please checkout this case study written by me.
As a bonus, please checkout this case study written by me.
https://www.thirdstage-consulting.com/why-your-sap-system-integrator-isnt-the-silver-bullet-youre-looking-for/
This article by Eric Kimberling of Third Stage Consulting adds on to the article number four above by Mr.Miller by providing more perspectives. The article starts off with a bold claim (that I agree with) that choosing the S/4 HANA implementation partner is more important than selecting the application itself. Even the reputed SAP SIs have gaps that the customer has to fill.
First aspect is the Project Governance. While the SIs are good at project management, they may not have capabilities in the Program Management and Governance and Controls area. Activities like risk mitigation, non-program activities that are internal to the Organization has to be included in the Governance structure.
A comprehensive QA process covering all areas of implementation have to be put in place at the beginning of the project and the same has to be religiously followed up. Third Stage has a good framework covering all aspects of implementation including Product Selection, Project planning, governance, resources, process alignment... all the way up to matrix baselining and audit.
Another critical aspect is the Organizational Change Management. He divides the OCM into two parts, Tactical Change Management and Strategic Change Management. While most of the SIs are experts at the former, it is the Organization's responsibility to ensure the later, which could include change in Organizational Design and job descriptions, which are outside the project scope, but important to its success all the same.
Another important area is Data Cleansing. This is not given importance in the implementation. The SI loads the data provided to them. This can cause GIGO effect. Organization has to ensure that correct data is loaded into ERP. Most of the time, ERP also acts as a MDM application which supplies data to other applications. What is not mentioned in the document is the scalability and flexibility that has to be built into the input data. I am not going to explain it here, but if you want to know what I mean by that, ping me on Twitter (@vkrama01) or LinkedIn
To ensure that Organization is not dependent on the SI, it is important to build in internal capabilities in mission critical applications. For example, one of my customers was dependent on Oracle WMS and OTM and we built internal capabilities in those two areas to ensure business continuity.
While this article refers to S4/HANA, the points mentioned in this article are product agnostic, I think.
Great article. Thank you Eric Kimberling.
Additional Readings
1. A case study on finding the right ERP Consultant (https://www.erpfocus.com/case-study-erp-consultant.html)
2. Guide to choosing an implementation partner (https://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/PANCONUS/P130121G.pdf)
(https://www.erpsoftwareblog.com/2015/09/selecting-right-erp-partner-lead-implementation/)
(https://www3.technologyevaluation.com/research/article/the-dos-and-donts-of-choosing-a-software-implementation-partner.html
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