SupplyChain Magazine October 2016 | Page 19

system works . The design criteria of the new system must be rooted in the business purpose of the project . The new system must serve to :
• provide fast accurate , actionable information
• enable business agility to ensure that decisions are implemented fast and accurately throughout the organisation
• improve flow through your whole business not just within departments .
• Flow must be improved for your value chain and not just for your company – talk to your suppliers and customers
• Focus on benefits realisation and not only deadlines and budgets
Who are the most important stakeholders both inside and outside the business ? ERP in large organisations never operate in isolation , your value chain partners both upstream and downstream are critical stakeholders in enhancing flow through the entire value chain . Internal stakeholders include internal audit , risk , legal and compliance , not only the functional business areas .
How will you ensure that all identified stakeholders are consulted , collaborated with , informed , involved , and empowered throughout the project ? It is important to ensuring that the entire ERP team , including staff , stakeholders , partners and vendors are working together towards the same strategic business objective .
• Consulted – Ask their advice and opinions
• Collaborated with – work with them to develop the solution
• Informed – provide accurate , unfiltered information to all stakeholders . This breeds trust and leads to higher quality results
• Involved – make them part of the team
• Empowered – stakeholders must be in a position to affect change else they are not empowered
What impact will the new software have on the business and its people ? ERP projects typically follow one of four paths :
• Effective : where you experience returns that far outweigh the
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