Case studies · Manufacturing · 2011
Assessment, selection, and implementation of an ERP for manufacturing companies
Several manufacturing companies chose and implemented their ERP with AVILA®'s support, starting from a prior assessment of their processes and technology.
- companies supported
- 3
- chosen after a prior assessment
- ERP
The challenge
Choosing an ERP is a decision a manufacturing company lives with for many years. Yet it's often made based on the most convincing demo, a friend's recommendation, or the price of the first proposal, without first defining what the company actually needs.
The symptoms show up after the contract is signed:
Requirements no one wrote down, which the chosen system can't cover without additional development.
Production, inventory, or costing processes the ERP forces the company to change without the company having decided to.
Vendor proposals that can't be compared, because each one describes a different scope.
Implementations that drag on because the company wasn't ready: uncleaned data, unassigned owners, processes nobody agreed on.
Several manufacturing companies came to AVILA® facing exactly this situation, each with its own processes and its own starting point. They needed to choose and launch an ERP with a method that put their needs first and stayed unbiased toward vendors.
The solution
AVILA®'s Business Consulting Unit supported these companies through the selection and implementation of their ERP, starting with a prior assessment. The order was deliberate: understand the company first, then compare systems.
Prior assessment. A review of key processes, existing technology, and the organization's readiness for change. This is where the real requirements and the risks to watch come from.
Requirements and criteria. A prioritized list of what the ERP must do, with evaluation criteria agreed upon before seeing any demos.
Unbiased comparison. The same questions and the same scenarios for every vendor, so proposals are compared on the same scope.
Documented decision. A recommendation with its reasoning, so leadership can decide with full information.
Implementation support. Guidance to make sure what was agreed during selection holds up when the system is configured and launched.
Choosing with a method doesn't guarantee a problem-free implementation, but it does prevent the problems that start with a poor initial decision.
If your company is about to choose a system, see ERP, CRM, and MRP selection and our organizational and IT assessment.