Research from the International Data Corporation (IDC) reveals that by 2026, 75% of leading companies will have structured, systemic digital innovation programs and investments that support continuous interactive innovation, enabling growth, scale, agility and resilience. Another forecast by the consultancy is that by the year 2024, the top five companies in each sector will be those that used technology to innovate and get out of a global crisis, such as a recession or supply chain interruption.
In the document “FutureScape: Predictions about the future of global innovation 2023”, IDC also reveals that by 2025, 85% of CEOs of large companies will require their leaders in companies to provide data-based information on innovation activity, including efficiency of developers and business results.
In this scenario, companies that do not want to lose competitiveness already know that investment in process automation tools, for example, can no longer be postponed. With 17 years of experience in implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, or the Integrated Business Management System in the Portuguese version, Luiza Krause Corrêa Ogihara explains that ERPs are important allies in optimizing operational processes and increasing the productivity of a business.
“ERPs make it possible to replace several manual tasks with automated and integrated processes, reducing errors, improving data quality, eliminating rework and increasing the productivity and motivation of the team, directly impacting cost reduction”, he emphasizes.
She comments that the implementation of this system in a company can take a long time, depending on the size of the organization. According to the professional, errors in planning, definition of objectives, inadequate requirements gathering, lack of involvement and engagement of the right people in the teams defined for implementation, ineffective change management strategy, among other factors, can cause even more delays and failures .
For an effective implementation of an ERP system that guarantees a return on investment, companies first need to make the right choice for their needs, involving the right people from the beginning. “At this stage, it is important to research and document the company’s current processes, indicating legal requirements, bottlenecks, critical points and strengths of the processes. It is also necessary to indicate the reasons why a new ERP is necessary, and what problems the system intends to solve”, he says, adding that “having this information clearly documented will help in the requirements definition stage, guaranteeing that the ERP will be solving the right problems.”
Another factor to be considered is to identify who are the people who will support the choice of ERP. According to the professional, finding a system that works for the organization requires collaboration from people who are part of the day-to-day processes and also from decision-making leaders. In addition, ignoring this step can cause the company to lose important and necessary requirements or functionalities to the main departments, leading to incorrect planning and decision making.
“Some key points to consider when evaluating ERP requirements: What are the business objectives for the next few years? Which business areas are expanding, shrinking or transforming? What are the main benefits that a new ERP can bring? What is the available budget? Is he suitable? What are the critical success points for the implementation of the new system?”, he emphasizes.
The paths for implementing technology in companies require planning
According to the ERP implementation specialist, Luiza Ogihara, for investments in automation and management systems to be effective and meet the company’s real needs, it is necessary to develop an implementation plan that includes all the activities necessary for the system to be implemented, from surveying and defining business processes, to solution design, implementation execution, data migration and conversion activities, test steps and critical organizational change management activities.
In addition, another key point for the success of an ERP project is the choice of the implementation team, which must include professionals from different areas of the company, and from different levels of seniority. This includes top executives, project managers, specialists from different areas of the business, people who carry out day-to-day business processes, IT departments, among others.
The professional adds that each team member has specific responsibilities, which are based on their area of expertise in the time each person will have available for the project. The responsibilities of each member must be clearly communicated and understood so that everyone knows who does what. In addition, it is important that the team is engaged from the beginning of the project, so that all stakeholders be heard and feel responsible for the success of the implementation.
Finally, another critical success factor, which is often overlooked by organizations, is the development and execution of the Change Management strategy. “Developing an effective plan for Change Management is a critical aspect of project success, as the lack of it is one of the main reasons why ERP implementations fail. The implementation can occur perfectly, within the deadlines and costs, and meeting all the business requirements, however, the project will fail if the adoption of the new ERP is poor and if it is not well used”, warns Luiza Ogihara .
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