Yesterday, I wrote about the process jig-saw that supports an implemented ERP system as it works to drive efficiency, but deliberately left out the hardest bit.
The most challenging changes necessary to make an ERP implementation deliver the value promised are the behavioural ones.
You can buy all the software in the world, but junk-in still generates junk-out.
Most ERP systems I have seen, if you take a wide view of what constitutes “ERP” is done on Excel. I have developed simple routines for SME clients using Excel, that whilst not fancy, automate parts of the operations planning processes, and generate substantial benefits.
Most sophisticated systems from the well known SAP to less fancied packages all have large chunks of data delivered by to them by a range of means, mostly spreadsheets, and the temptation for the individual is to leave well enough alone, and resist the dropping of their routines in favor of the expensive ERP package. Allowing this parallel system to survive beyond a short validation phase is always a mistake, as people revert to what they know as soon as there is an issue. When you jump in, you need to go all the way.
