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Web : www.panorama-consulting.com

7
PRE-IMPLEMENTATION
STEPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL
IMPLEMENTATION

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved.

GUIDE TO

PRE-IMPLEMENTATION
Software implementations are extensive
initiatives for any company. Implementations
carry significant risks including budget and
duration overruns and implementation
failures leading to less benefits realized.
Often, these risks can be mitigated by
proper scoping, planning, and proactivity in
addressing potential risks on the front end
of a project. It is a grave mistake to hold off
on fundamental tasks of an implementation
project until the design or build phase.

“Panorama’s Seven Pre-Implementation

Steps for a Successful Implementation”
discusses helpful pre-implementation tasks
to kick off a seamless implementation.

Using these steps are great for teams

that have selected ERP software or are
ready to make their selection and begin
implementation.
 SEVEN PRE-IMPLEMENTATION STEPS

CONTENT
STEP ONE: IDENTIFY SUCCESS FACTORS AND POTENTIAL RISKS 2

STEP TWO: DETERMINE IMPLEMENTATION, INTEGRATION AND RESOURCE

4
STRATEGIES

STEP THREE: DEFINE PROCESS, ORGANIZATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES 6

STEP FOUR: FOCUS ON DATA GOVERNANCE 9

STEP FIVE: DETERMINE FUTURE KPIS AND REPORTING NEEDS 11

STEP SIX: ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT ON THE FRONT-END 13

STEP SEVEN: LEVERAGE THE EXPERTISE OF AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTING FIRM 15

ABOUT PANORAMA CONSULTING SOLUTIONS 17

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 1

STEP ONE:

IDENTIFY SUCCESS
FACTORS AND
POTENTIAL RISKS

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 IDENTIFY SUCCESS FACTORS AND POTENTIAL RISKS

1
START HERE
Whether replacing a legacy system or starting from scratch, it is
critical to determine the success factors and potential risks/gaps
of a new system. Because software implementations are often
extremely expensive due to the software and resources, create a
business case for the project. While developing the business case,
also think outside of the standard success factors such as reduced
payback period and increased ROI and consider “soft” success
factors. Using a top down approach, determine what the system
needs to do to achieve the project goals and success factors. Is
coming under budget or duration important to your company? Is
ease of transition or training important? Understanding the ultimate
success factors will allow you to track the project and build a strong
business case.

Identifying potential risks or gaps in a pre-implementation state will

allow adequate time to strategize and adjust project plans in order
to mitigate failures. Being thorough and proactive about potential
disruptions, additional costs, gaps in software or resources will save
you from disaster during the implementation.

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 3

 DETERMINE IMPLEMENTATION, INTEGRATION AND RESOURCE STRATEGIES

DETERMINE IMPLEMENTATION,

2 INTEGRATION
AND RESOURCE
STRATEGIES
Phased vs big bang approach affects your overall strategy for implementation.
This decision depends on overall company size, complexity and budget. If
you decide a phased approach is appropriate for your company, there are
additional decisions about how to roll out functionality, locations, etc. This
requires a lot of planning, but is crucial in gaining as many benefits on go-live.

DECISION DEPENDS ON THE FOLLOWING:

Overall Company Size Complexity Budget

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A common mistake is for companies to take on too much too quickly.
Implementations can be overwhelming, so ensuring there is adequate
time built into the project for testing and training is essential. Identify the
system functionality, modules, integrations prior to go-live and prioritize
the essentials for phase one, two, three, etc. Being able to view real-time
inventory, transact, and close the books is a big win for out of the gate
functionality. Planning for a realistic and achievable timeline will keep your
employees from burning out. Remember, during implementations, your
resources still have their normal day jobs and the additional tasks for
implementation. Understanding and planning ahead will help to keep your
employees afloat.

Many companies will have a few systems or applications which will be

maintained through the transition to a new ERP. Is it vital that every
application is integrated on day one of go-live? Most likely, these ancillary
systems are not integrated in your current systems. Maintaining some “work
around” or manual processes can help keep the transition manageable.
During the pre-implementation period, identify which systems/applications
are a must have on day one.

Identify which systems/applications are a must

have on day one.

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 5

 DEFINE PROCESS, ORGANIZATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES

3
DEFINE
PROCESS,
ORGANIZATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE
CHANGES

PROCESS CHANGES:

Changes to current processes will undoubtedly happen when implementing a

new system. Developing and updating standard operating procedure’s (SOP’s)
as a pre-implementation project can be extremely helpful, especially during
the design phase of implementation. SOP’s can also be used to build out
training documentation for processes and system.

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 ALIGN WITH INDUSTRY STANDARDS

Switching to a new system will allow your company to improve processes

and align with industry standards. Most ERPs utilize best practice to
build pre-configured workflows and processes. Leveraging these best
practice processes could be value to the business and potentially ease
some configuration/customization efforts during implementation and the
maintenance of post-implementation. As a pre-implementation project,
classify processes outside of best practice into two categories, those that
provide strategic advantages and those that were created due to gaps
in people/process/technology. Once classified, be prepared to change
processes for the latter.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES:

Roles and responsibilities will change. Processes, tasks and jobs will go away.
This does not mean that employees will be laid off. There will be shifts in
the type of work being done and new roles will be created. A valuable pre-
implementation project would be determining a new org structure that
supports new roles and responsibilities.

Developing a RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) matrix

for each functional area and process will create a sense of accountability and
ownership. Defining the RACI will also provide clarity of the future state roles
and responsibilities.

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 7

DEFINE PROCESS, ORGANIZATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES

PHYSICAL AND NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

CHANGES:

Depending on the industry or size, companies may be making a big jump in

software capabilities, especially when it comes to warehouse management.
Understanding your inventory (quantities, movement, speed) can provide
very insightful information to aid the organization your warehouse space and
optimize warehouse activities such as picking. Completing this analysis during
pre-implementation will lessen the disruption of organizing the warehouse
during the implementation.

Determine document management structure, locations of folders/files

and nomenclature. It is very common for departments to work in siloes.
While there are many changes to come during implementation, it is a good
opportunity to become aligned and organized on the system infrastructure.
Breaking down siloes and defining the new structure before the new system
is implemented can be a huge advantage.

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FOCUS ON DATA GOVERNANCE

4
FOCUS ON
DATA GOVERNANCE

There is
true merit
to saying
“Garbage in,
garbage out.”

Plenty of companies will admit to having messy or inaccurate

data, but the vast majority of companies will say their data is
not an issue. At the minimum, all companies should complete
at least one thorough round of data cleansing before data
migration. Determine what is master data and reduce
redundant entries.

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 Beyond data cleansing, there are several planning components
around data that can be done prior to implementation. Define
future nomenclature for items, item description, unit of measure,
address layouts, etc. Define the types of data being migrated and
potential new fields to be created.

New systems may have advanced capabilities for creating item numbers.
There is an age-old debate about intelligent vs standard item numbers.
Understanding the capabilities of the new system and deciding the process
will be an important decision and will ultimately affect future processes. Non-
inventory, supplies, and MRO items may need to be reclassified.

Often companies are looking to slice and dice data every which way. Prior
to implementation, spend time classifying data groups for future reporting.
In order to perform extensive data analysis, data needs to be captured and
classified properly. Consider the possible classifications of customer groups,
vendors groups, item groups and even GL accounts.

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 10

DETERMINE FUTURE KPIS AND REPORTING NEEDS

5 DETERMING FUTURE
KPI’S AND REPORTING
NEEDS

NEW SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATIONS WILL

PROVIDE IMPROVED ACCESS TO DATA.
Define which key metrics are needed prior to required to capture useable data for analytics
implementation. Which standard reports will and reporting.
you be utilizing? Which custom reports will
need to be designed? Determine the fields

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Create pre-project and post-project metrics to track. Creating benchmarks will
be for all departments to gage the success of the project.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER ASKING:

Are you hitting your goals?

Are there mid-project adjustments
that need to be considered?

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 12

ADDRESS ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT ON THE FRONT-END

6
ADDRESS
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE MANAGEMENT ON
THE FRONT-END
It is never too early to start so how do we ensure employees,
communicating with employees and management and executives are on
stakeholders. One common risk is board? There are several tactics to utilize
never gaining end user adoption of including communication, training and
a new system or new process. It involvement.
is human nature to resist change,

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Company-wide memos can be overlooked or ignored, so approaching
communication from multiple angles might help to create a buzz of
excitement. Creating a newsletter focused around the project can be
informative. Having multiple sources delivering communication can be
an effective way of ensuring the messaging is being heard throughout the
company.

ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE STARTS FROM THE TOP

Executives need to have buy-in for the project and need to show support.
This is a crucial step in getting the rest of a company on board for massive
changes in the company. Leaders, subject matter experts and well-respected
employees are the types of resources that should be working on the
implementation team. Taking the time to form a strong implementation
team could make or break the project. These resources will end up being
your champions of change and it is crucial that they are empowered to
communicate project updates and decisions.

Ultimately, there are many factors that

affect the success of an implementation
project. Addressing some of these areas
prior to the implementation will not only
lessen some of the work load, but will
streamline processes and increase the
likelihood of a successful project.

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 14

LEVERAGE THE EXPERTISE OF AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTING FIRM

7
LEVERAGE
THE EXPERTISE OF AN INDEPENDENT
CONSULTING FIRM

Selecting the right ERP software and implementation requires the unbiased
advice of a firm that wants to see your organization succeed – not just spend
money. An independent ERP consulting firm, like Panorama, has the expertise
necessary to guide your organization through a successful and unbiased
software selection. Our approach is based on our hands-on implementation
experience with a number of different ERP systems.

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 WHY USE AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTING FIRM
TO HELP YOU DEVELOP YOUR IMPLEMENTATION
STRATEGY AND PLAN?

In the consulting world, “independent” refers to the level of association a firm

has with specific ERP vendors. If a firm is independent that means that it has
no association with specific vendors and, therefore, no potential for conflicts
of interest.

Independent ERP consultants have a different revenue model than software-

specific consultants. Because they don’t profit from selling as much software
as possible, independent consultants can focus on the true needs of their
customers.

When it comes down to it, an independent consultant should not necessarily

recommend that your organization implements ERP software in the first
place. If your organization’s business processes are not optimized, an
independent consultant likely will not recommend an ERP software package
until those processes are evaluated and, if necessary, reengineered at a high
level. Because independent consultants don’t make money from software
sales, there is no conflict of interest when determining whether or not your
business is ready for ERP. They understand that no ERP system, no matter
how advanced, automatically fixes inefficient business processes. This is why
many independent consultants emphasize the importance of focusing on
business process reengineering and organizational change management
before software selection.

Contact us for a full panoramic view of your ERP implementation!

©Copyright 2018 Panorama Consulting Solutions. All Rights Reserved. 16

ABOUT PANORAMA CONSULTING SOLUTIONS

ABOUT
PANORAMA CONSULTING SOLUTIONS

Panorama Consulting Solutions specializes in enterprise consulting,

infrastructure consulting and digital transformation for mid- to large-sized,
private and public sector organizations across the globe. One-hundred
percent independent of affiliation, Panorama helps firms evaluate and select
software, implement software and navigate organizational changes to ensure
that clients realize the full benefits of their enterprise software projects. We
also offer our clients IT strategy, business process reengineering, IT staffing,
independent verification and validation, project management oversight,
expert witness testimony and litigation support.

Panorama maintains a global presence with clients and consultants

throughout the world. More information can be found on our website,
Panorama-Consulting.com and social media.

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