What success factors play a role in cloud ERP adoption?
Florian Suckfüll: The introduction of this system is not only an IT project, but first and foremost a business project, which makes it very important. Accordingly, the use of an independent consulting firm and the choice of suitable technology are elementary for its success. An independent ERP consultant is able to combine the dimensions of process, technology and people. He is exclusively committed to the company's goals in terms of time and budget and brings with him the necessary project management experience and expertise. He is also able to incorporate the strategic orientation of the company already in the selection of the appropriate software. The consultant acts as a translator of business requirements into the technical language of the implementation partner and can derive and transfer recipient-oriented measures for the specialist departments. The consequence is a harmonised transfer of requirements from both sides. He also knows the necessary standards of processes and can interact at an early stage if the business department wants a "dream lock" or the implementation partner proposes "unnecessary" system adjustments. In addition, he provides support in cushioning peak loads on the part of the customer.
What is your concrete approach in an ERP project?
Florian Suckfüll: We always start with the customer's requirements and the business processes through which they are to be implemented. We record the requirements, analyse them and compare them with industry standards. For this purpose, we have proven standard process maps (see Fig. 1) of the most important industries, which are based on theoretical principles, tried-and-tested best practices and the standards of the market-leading ERP systems. This enables us to quickly analyse which processes are supportive or add value in the case of the respective customer. Superfluous process steps, duplication of data entry or a lack of automation can be identified immediately. Our standard-first approach states that support processes should always be mapped in the standard. The challenge arises in the hotspots - the areas that either cannot be fully mapped by the system or where there is high added value in the process. In these points, customisation or programming can actually make sense. We prepare business cases for the client and make well-founded decisions. In doing so, we want to stay within the ratio of 60 : 30 : 10 (standard : customisation : programming). Costly and time-consuming programming, which is usually in the interests of the implementation partner, is avoided and the first foundation stone is laid for keeping the project on time and within budget.
Another principle is that we want to work on the system from the very beginning, which we succeed in doing by implementing a cloud ERP system. Its basic structure is operational from day one and enables us to seamlessly integrate the departments and peripheral systems involved. The downstream joint design of the processes empowers the employees to work in the new system and thus makes them even more satisfied through their participation.
We work actively until the project is fully go-live. This approach has proven to be very successful in the past years.
