Complexity is one of the main causes of partial or completely failed ERP implementations. Employees who want to stick to those old, but oh so familiar habits can put a bomb under your project with that attitude. And that is especially true if your organization is active in highly competitive markets with products or services that are more or less equivalent. The key question is how you can limit the degree of complexity even before the implementation starts. And thus increase your chance of success.
If there is something to choose from, most potential new customers would rather do business with a supplier with simple processes and a transparent organization than with one that is complex. Applicants also prefer to start at a clear and logically organized company rather than a complex organization.
So who actually benefits from complexity? Although most people prefer simplicity over complexity, many ERP implementations still perish from that same complexity. Here are three suggestions to avoid complexity.
1)Skip the top ten percent of your RFI
To determine what the new system should be able to do, many companies put together a so-called Request for Information. These are the bundled requirements and wishes of all departments and employees. Tip: rank all wishes according to the degree of complexity and skip the top ten percent for the first phase. That helps you very concretely to go live quickly and within budget. Then determine whether those complex wishes are still both urgent and relevant enough to stand a chance in the second phase.
2) A business case per change request
Our human species is not really good at changing. It is therefore logical that many requests for customization bubble up. As a result, new complexity is always lurking. Tip: invite your colleagues to submit their wishes in a ‘business case format’. Roughly determine the additional costs for developing, testing and long-term maintenance of the desired customization. And ask the submitter to indicate whether, and if so when, this investment will be concretely recouped.
3) Approval of your CEO
Some of your custom wishes only arise during the implementation. And that makes sense. After all, the wide possibilities of the new ERP solution excite the team. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for the desire to adapt the new system in such a way that it resembles the old solution. This allows people to stay in their comfort zone. Tip: as a rule, consider setting that any requested adjustment during the implementation and also in the use phase requires a formal agreement from your CEO. This will certainly put a brake on making your new solution and your business processes unnecessarily complex.
In summary: preventing (new) complexity during the selection and implementation phase contributes very concretely to increasing your chance of long-term project success.
