In a
previous article, I described several areas where the role of the technology
team in ERP implementations has changed in the last ten to twenty years. Here is part 2.
Importance of data
ERP
and other application implementers have historically considered focus on People,
Process, and Technology as the foundation for success. In the last several
years, it has become apparent that Data is a fourth and equally important
element.
Data,
including its definition, conversion, integration, and governance have become
critical to the success of the implementation and the ongoing usability of the
ERP system. Although the data is owned by the business, they generally require
support from the technology team in supporting data governance and enforcement
of data standards.
Downstream systems
Due
to changes in master data or the business meaning of data when you implement a
new ERP, combined with the integrations, you may have many changes to data in
applications you connect to/from.
One
of the causes will be data re-numbering. For example, if you change significant
master data such as customer number, vendor number, or part number, you will likely
have a business requirement to update existing data in other systems besides
the ERP.
In
addition, when implementing ERP, the business may take the opportunity to
change the meaning of the data. For example, the existing ERP may have Acme
Toronto, Acme Vancouver, and Acme Calgary all set up as separate vendors. In
the new ERP, the business may choose to eliminate these three vendors and
instead create a vendor called Acme Canada with three sites in Toronto,
Vancouver, and Calgary. You can see that this would have an impact on the way
that integrations to/from other applications are designed; and the potential
for changes to existing data in those systems.
Data cleansing
Data
often requires cleansing in order to accommodate a new ERP. In addition to
correction of issues with existing data, the business may want to develop data
for the ERP that exists only in spreadsheets today. The technology team is
often called upon to support data assessment and may also need to provide tools
and processes to support data creation and standardization.
Workflow
Workflow can enforce controls and
retain documentation of approvals, and is built into modern ERPs. In a cloud
environment, the notification emails will be crossing multiple corporate
firewalls. Similarly, if you are using your ERP host or another external party to
provide integrated services such as invoice scanning, there will be
technology-enabled processes crossing internal and external environments. Your
technology team will need to be involved in the security design and
implementation.
Customizations
If
your existing ERP system is customized, you know what a challenge it is to keep
up with upgrades, as modifications need to be re-established with each upgrade.
With cloud ERP, it is easier to push back on the business when they want to
customize, as cloud lends itself to adherence to the vendor’s standard
offerings. However, where there is a real business need, you may need to
develop the customization outside of the ERP, leading to another system and
interface to manage, and the necessity of supporting business questions on
differences between the two systems.
System cutover
Along
with the transition of business functions to the new application and processes,
there will be a number of technical steps involved as well. Cutover tasks may
include turning off/on interfaces and scheduled jobs, and providing updated
charts of accounts and other master data (e.g. customer numbers) to other
systems and business partners. It is also common to prevent data updates in
legacy applications by modifying user roles when the new ERP goes live.
Stay tuned
There
is more to cover on the changing role of the technology team in ERP
implementation. Watch for part 3.
