ERP Implementation Process - The First Steps

You may have heard the motto prior planning prevents poor performance – and this couldn’t be truer when looking at the project scope of a Cloud ERP implementation process. Commitment, research and planning will be your path to success.

Let’s use the journey Portacool went through to highlight the first stages of ERP software implementation. As they discussed options, the Portacool team realized how much they were being held back by manual procedures and a 25-year-old legacy ERP system. In response, their CFO, started looking at their future needs and current options. The future implementation team chose to look at three ERP solutions, began to document their process issues, and built a vision for how they wanted to grow. Note, Portacool’s parent company was using SAP and others in the company had previously worked with Microsoft Dynamics, so both went on the list for comparisons. Then Algorithm’s team also recommended that they also take a look at Acumatica.

What Portacool did in the beginning was the first three steps: Realization, Identification & Comparison. Before any discussion of how the software ERP implementation will begin, they understood that a cloud-based ERP system was needed, they started documenting the activities that required improvement and then gathered information on competing ERPs.

“Data needs to drive our thought process and our decisions. Right now we're making a lot of decisions on gut feel. That's worked for the company for many years, but we can't rely on gut and hope, as a strategy for growth. I’m so excited that we’re going to make better decisions.” -Rodney Roderick, CFO, Portacool.

After these beginning stages, Portacool chose to continue working with Algorithm because of the relationship and quality delivered on past projects. They also decided on Acumatica Cloud ERP, believing that the all-inclusive system combined with Algorithm’s implementation team will be the winning combination that delivers the best value for a project of this size.

Many don’t spend the appropriate amount of time in the first stages of Cloud ERP implementation process and fast-forward to thinking about ERP Implementation Strategies – The Best Method. But, to know the best strategy for your company, realization, identification and comparisons need to be completed first.