Why its important to have leadership support in implementing an ERP?

When a business makes the decision to purchase a new ERP solution or upgrade the existing one, that decision always comes from top-level executives addressing the key decisions, defining objectives and tracking milestones. The decision may be made as a result of employee’s request or feedback, but ultimately the final decision is taken by the leadership.

When it comes to adopting an ERP software – on premise or cloud ERP, the success of the implementation depends on how well the leadership understands the concept and the need of implementing it.

Obviously investing in an ERP software requires approval from the key leadership and in addition to that there are other factors for needing leadership support. 

Here are few thoughts for long-term success and adoption.

• Advocate: Every ERP implementation must have an advocate of the ERP chosen, and he must be part of the top-level executive team. The advocate who is leader and committed to see the ERP implemented successfully. He or She has a complete knowledge on the inherited value of an ERP, and motivates the entire team behind the project and makes everyone to be on track throughout the process.
• Manpower: A successful implementation of an ERP depends on the data that is fed to it, and it requires manpower. As ERP is a unified software for multiple departments in an organization, the end users from all the department need to be involved. The leadership team ensures the right people are placed in the team.
• Employee Support: The employee across the various departments in an organization requires constant support from the c-level management for this immense project. The lack of support or excitement from the executives will affect the efficiency of the employees. With the supportive management, the employee’s adoption to the valuable ERP software will be easier.

Yes, involvement of a leadership team is essential for a successful ERP implementation. So, how can we achieve that?

Let’s assume that you are responsible for convincing the top-level management to implement an ERP software. Before sharing your idea with them, you’ll need to involve in ERP selection process which gives you a clear picture on the benefits of ERP implementation. The amount of information you’ve gathered helps you in convincing the executives to join you in the endeavor.

Here are some important steps to gain leadership support:

Accompany leadership team in each phase of implementation: It’s always better to better to make everyone involved to contribute their thoughts and efforts than going alone. Building a coalition between the executive and ERP team generates organizations buy-in more quickly. In a bigger picture as more people and decision makers contribute their time, energy and resource pitching their ideas everything is placed in order in ease.

Highlight realistic expected ROI: Executives know the large expenditure required for implementing an ERP from installation, data upload, training and through the maintenance of the software every year. The value and profit they get in return from a well implemented ERP software will reduce their day to day operating cost, increase customer satisfaction, streamlines and unifies departments and completely removes data integration barriers across organizations. All the benefits of the ERP implementation directly affects and improves the Return on investment (ROI) over a period of time.

Outline how ERP can improve performance: To be competitive in the modern business world, business need to streamline and automate business process to improve efficiency and profitability. Analyse the problems in the organization and clearly elaborate on the solutions an ERP implementation can bring to the growth of the organization.

Are you currently looking for implementing an ERP software in your organization? If so, we encourage you to consider Horizon EBS. You can contact our experts at sales@fit.ae or ring us at +971 4 353 3727 with your questions or to schedule a quick product demonstration.