Planning Your ERP Implementation for the New Year

By Simon DavisThe New Year brings a whole new set of projects, goals and budgets to people and businesses all over the world. An effective enterprise resource planning (ERP) strategy is one way to accomplish these measures. So whether you’re a company newly implementing a new cloud-based ERP or a company looking to continue and improve ERP implementation for the New Year, here are some helpful tips that will quickly get you started.Review the Capabilities of the Cloud-Based ERPBefore you begin using an ERP, you need to fully review its capabilities and how it can effect effectively be used in your business. For companies who are already using an ERP, this is also a good time to be up-to-date with any improvements done to the ERP and how these changes can improve your company’s processes.Collect and Review DataFor companies who already implemented a cloud-based ERP for the current year, now is a good time to sift through all of the data collected throughout the year. Be sure that all the data is in a similar format to avoid compatibility issues. The data must then be organized and reviewed for any errors and lack of info. Once everything is done, you now have vital information that you can act upon in implementing your ERP for the following year.Create a Clear and Concise ERP BlueprintAny massive undertaking requires a vision. Before constructing a large office building, you need to know how deep the building goes into the ground, how many floors it will have, the layout of all the pipes and power lines, the placement of windows and doors, and countless other details. All this information is contained within a blueprint.ERP implementation requires the same thing. Though a cloud based ERP is a powerful solution equipped with built-in configurations, you need to how this will fit into your overall business strategy. From there, you can determine how to integrate the system into your business, which will help your ERP provider determine how to configure the system.Create an ERP Implementation PlanMany companies suffer from poor planning when attempting to start implementing an ERP. When that happens, the cloud based ERP night not be used to its full potential as companies try to modify their business processes to fit into the ERP pre-configured implementations. You want the ERP to work with whatever system you have in place and for that to happen, you will need a solid implementation plan.Credible cloud-based ERPs like Kenandy will already have a technical implementation plan ready to put into motion, but that’s only the half of it. You will also need to include other activities that are usually not in an ERP provider’s plan like infrastructure management, research, business process testing and more. This will give you a comprehensive ERP implementation plan that will account for all the activities within a company.Implementing an ERP can be a daunting task, especially since you’ve got a whole year to plan for. But as long as you keep the four basics steps above in mind, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem.[author]About the Author: Simon Davis has been a full-time business writer since the last 4 years and has had the privilege of attending some of the most renowned business conclaves held across the world. When not on business he loves spending time with his girlfriend and a bit of adventure sports. [/author]