Opinion: Minimising Business Impact

My heart sinks when I hear of an ERP implementation aiming to minimise any impact on the business. It sounds like that would be a good thing, but implementing an ERP in an organisation can be a once in a generation event. It should be a transformational programme, not something that slips by almost unnoticed. If you’re not impacting the organisation then you’re missing the point.

Many of the core business processes that keep your organisation in business date from when your current HR and finance systems went live, and some will be older than that. Think about how much the world has changed since then. Surely there it must be possible to improve your source to contract, purchase to pay, order to cash, and hire to retire processes?

Generative AI is so new that we have barely scratched the surface of its potential, but already we can see features emerging in ERPs that offer great value. Traditional AI can automate many manual steps, improving efficiency and reducing errors. Why would you want to deprive your organisation from these ongoing benefits simply to avoid a one off bit of disruption?

There needs to be a balance of course, you don’t want to create disruption for no good reason, but frame the conversation in terms of ongoing value versus a one-time pain. The C-suite will get it.