2/13/2015 (T-24) Friday The 13th

2/13/2015 (T-24) Friday The 13th

Not much to report on today. The 'training schedule' was made available to all department managers today. Personnel was assigned to each session. A few didn't make sense, but that is not a surprise at this point.

I sent an email to the lead consultant today asking if computers should be set up in the conference room for testing and exposure to the software. The response I receive was that it was not necessary since our servers would not be set up until 2-27-15. There will not be a database set up for testing until that time. Users may have 5 working days before 'go live' to expose themselves to the software.

I did read a great article about successes and failures of ERP implementations. Although it was focused around SAP implementations, I think it still stands true. It is something management should read before considering any system.

"CRITICAL IMPLEMENTATION CONCERNS
Even in a single site, implementing ERP means "Early Retirement Probably." An ERP package is so complex and vast that it takes several years and millions of dollars to roll it out. It also requires many far-flung outposts of a company to follow exactly the same business processes. In fact, implementing any integrated ERP solution is not as much a technological exercise but an "organizational revolution." Extensive preparation before implementation is the key to success. Implementations carried out without patience and careful planning will turn out to be corporate root canals, not competitive advantage. "

I know the article speaks of millions of dollars and several years. That stands true for SAP, but isn't necessarily true for mid market ERP software packages.

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