Vendors start to offer packages of systems and expertise to get firms up and running sooner.
Rolling out an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system can be a daunting task. It can require thousands of hours and involve employees from sales, accounting, treasury and audit. Implementation sometimes takes years. But ERP vendors say there are faster ways to get up and running.
Historically, companies in search of an ERP system either went with off-the-shelf software – which was potentially expensive due to fixes or overhauls that might be required down the line–or developed in-house systems by bolting together a variety of solutions.
Between these two extremes, Oracle and SAP developed rapid implementation approaches that they claim are also less expensive. They combine expertise in a variety of systems, relationships with specialists and implementation experience.
To speed the process, companies must have a solid, upfront commitment from top management that allows decision-making to occur at the project level. They must also identify the right project managers with the scope and knowledge for successful implementation.
Oracle says it can help. It has created an integrated enterprise program called Accelerate that it says will meet many of the challenges of rapid implementation. It has a network of certified partners, each with knowledge of specific industries, that work closely with Oracle in each phase of implementation.
Oracle attempts to marshal all these resources to get the project going. The best candidates, Oracle says, should not expect to implement everything at once. But if a company wants to accelerate the process while keeping flexibility for future enhancements, the package approach may be the way to go.