ERP implementations can be lengthy, so tracking tasks, assigning responsibilities, and involving key people early are all essential for a successful rollout. Once you decide to implement or upgrade your ERP system, you need a clear project management approach. Without it, you risk losing control over costs and timelines, potentially joining the 75% of failed implementations mentioned in previous articles.
You can manage your ERP project with tools as simple as an Excel spreadsheet or as advanced as Microsoft Project, or any project management software you prefer. The important thing is to clearly outline tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines.
Set up recurring meetings to review progress. Regularly revisit responsibilities, tasks, timelines, and costs to keep the project on track. Your main goal is to establish when you expect to see results from your ERP. Without clear milestones, projects can stall or lose priority. Managing your milestones - those core achievements that drive implementation forward - is crucial.
Managing Milestones
Some tasks are both time-consuming and critical to your ERP’s success. These should be treated as key milestones. To identify milestones, look for tasks that many other activities depend on - these are your project’s pivotal points.
Once you’ve chosen your ERP software - and ideally before you invest - it’s smart to review the system’s requirements and recommended setups. Here are a few examples of key milestones:
- Creating Product Categories: This is often a major task requiring input from multiple team members.
- Document Templates: Most ERPs provide default templates for invoices, sales orders, work orders, and other documents. However, customizing these templates to fit your business is a significant step.
- Identifiers Convention: If your business manages products, you’ll need rules to ensure each item has a unique part number. The same logic applies to invoices, quotes, and sales orders.
- Prepare for Migration: Whether you’re switching from an old ERP or implementing your first, prepare lists of resources, materials, products, and other data in advance. This will make migration faster and smoother.
Each of these examples can be broken down into smaller tasks. Completing all the sub-tasks means you’ve reached a milestone. You might, for example, define categories first, then use them to create part number conventions, and finally prepare your data migration using the categories and new part numbers. Some ERPs require more setup than others, so plan accordingly and schedule these milestones in your project management tool.
Effective ERP project management isn’t just about ticking boxes-it’s about keeping your team aligned and motivated. By setting clear milestones and regularly reviewing your progress, you can spot issues early, celebrate achievements, and keep your implementation moving forward.
At Nengatu, our team is here to support you at every stage, helping you turn your ERP vision into a reality. We understand that every company has its own pace and priorities. That’s why you can prepare all steps as outlined above for a smoother experience, or simply start using the system and add resources as your needs grow.