Choosing an ERP, as we’ve discussed before, is not an easy undertaking. Previously, a blog entitled “6 Mistakes to Avoid When Implementing an ERP” was published. Here is a more in depth discussion about the third mistake – not understanding how much preparation is necessary before a switchover happens.

To recap: Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a type of business management software that supports the basic internal processes of a company. It allows companies to use an integrated system to manage all the pieces of their operation. Product planning, development, manufacturing processes, inventory control, customer and vendor data, materials management, sales, and marketing are all examples of what an ERP system can control and streamline.

Mistake #3: Not understanding the amount of preparation necessary. 

When a company lacks knowledge about the ERP implementation process, they commonly make the mistake of cutting critical events such as documentation, process integration, and/or testing in order to reach the “go live” date on time. ERP systems, however, are only as good as the data they are given. Every single process that is going to be replaced by the ERP system needs to be documented from beginning to end.

This is known as mapping current business processes. It is the first step in all successful system implementations. There are choices as to how to map current business processes – brown papers, flow-charts, and process narratives being the most popular – but it doesn’t matter which is chosen. What matters is that any of these techniques will force employees to evaluate their current processes. What areas are working? What areas need improvement? Evaluating processes will also ensure that the processes will run in the new system without any gaps – or extraneous steps. Sometimes an employee has been doing something without knowing why they’re doing it, and mapping out the process may show that there are unnecessary steps.

Sometimes companies think that their current processes are so broken that mapping them would be a waste of time; they think they are getting an ERP system in order to start fresh. Sometimes companies are embarrassed about their inefficiencies and process errors and don’t want to highlight them by mapping them. And sometimes the company just wants to save time and money and doesn’t map their processes in order to do so.

Mapping current business processes, however, is the key to a successful implementation. Correct data is the foundation of the project. Customer names/numbers, vendor names/numbers, inventory, human resources, and many other pieces of information need to be evaluated, saved, and transferred. If a mapping process does not occur, valuable data could be lost.

Most importantly, mapping current business processes should start as soon as the project receives the official “go ahead.” A company should not wait until just before the system launches.