Preparation is everything in NetSuite Implementation

Do you know what Christopher Duffy and I started doing whilst we built our business? We rescued failing or failed ERP projects, and guess what??? We could run our business purely on that rescue and recovery model because there's enough of that type of work needed out there. This needs to CHANGE, and that change can start on the client side. Lets start with preparation. Most organisations spend months selecting an ERP system. Very few spend time preparing themselves to implement it. And that’s often where the real risk lies. ERP projects are not just technology projects. They are organisation change projects. Finance processes can change. Approval structures can change. Data structure/ownership can change. Reporting and Analytics can change. I've wrote change enough here for you to get the picture I'm painting. (Who was the fella from the US that did the paintings on TV? I was more of a Tony Hart fan as a kid). Yet many organisations begin implementation with: • the only understanding of the ERP solution they just bought came from the sales person selling it...(pre sales need solution support. Our very best consultants are made available to our sales activity). • unclear process ownership • fragmented master data • undocumented finance and operational procedures • competing departmental priorities • a project team with no protected time I could go on... Weeks or months later the implementation “runs into issues”. Not because the system is wrong, but because the organisation wasn’t ready. The most successful ERP projects I’ve seen had strong client-side preparation before the implementation even began. That preparation usually includes: 1️⃣ A good understanding of the art of the possible with the recently bought solution 2️⃣ Data readiness ERP systems expose data problems very quickly. 👎 Duplicate suppliers 👎 Inconsistent chart of accounts 👎 Old cost centres 👎 Unreconciled balances Cleaning data early can remove huge friction later in the project. 3️⃣ Strong internal ownership ERP cannot just be “delivered by the vendor”. The client needs: 👍 a strong executive sponsor 👍 Leads who owns the design decisions 👍 operational stakeholders engaged in workshops 👍 a project manager protecting timelines 4️⃣ Time allocation The biggest hidden risk in ERP projects is people trying to do the project alongside their full-time job. The organisations that succeed protect time for their internal team to participate in design, testing and training. ERP implementations are demanding. But when organisations prepare properly, they often achieve something bigger than a new system. What’s the one thing you wish your organisation had prepared before your ERP implementation started? Drop us a message and tell us.