Implementing ERP Application

When implementing ERP application for clients, we deal with many things. In my previous job, we used the term RICE to summarize everything that we did during any implementation.

RICE stands for: Reports Interfaces Conversions Extensions

Let’s look at them one by one.

Reports:All of the client’s business reporting needs should be examined to ensure that they go live with at least as much information as they use today. The question is though, do they need the report or can they live with the new systems processes and online inquiries? Often reports are generated to support a manual process that takes some human intervention. For example a min-max report was printed to help the buyer make purchase decisions. Not with the new ERP package; the system provides suggested buys through an inquiry. So is there a need for that old report?

The best thing to do is to catalog all of the current reports and go through each of them with the client and determine what are the business needs that the reports solve. Once that is determined, find out if there is a better way to get the same information in the new system. If there isn’t, mark that report as a necessary report for going live. If the report is not currently in the new package, then a custom report will need to be made. These too should be prioritized. Some may not be critical for going live and are nice-to-have reports.

InterfacesHow many other systems will be linking into the new ERP package? This takes some software architecting, but you can see which software will be replaced by the new package and which software will remain. Does the remaining software have a need to be integrated into the new ERP? What is the cost of integrating that new solution, versus a manual entry? These are some of the decisions that you will be faced with during implementation.

Linking two systems together can be as simple as a data export and data import, to as difficult as a synchronized data movement between the systems. Often it is the first option. Export the data from the external system on a set schedule and manually import the export file into the ERP package.

ConversionsThis is one of the most deceiving areas of an implementation. It might seem simple at first. Oh, we just are converting the Customers, Vendors and the opening balances. Okay, simple enough. But does the old system have all of the data fields that the new system requires? Does the client have clean data to be brought over? One of the costly areas of implementations (in terms of labor) is the data clean up.

Most ERP packages have a standard data import template. As implementer you need to map the old system s data fields to the import template. You will also be responsible for to export the data from the old system. You will be lucky if the old system has export mechanism. Otherwise, you will have to write custom reports in the old system and use that report output to create the export file. Moreover, however good the export data might be, there will be dirty data that needs to be cleaned. If you have a lot of records, then this will be very time consuming.

The other option is not to even export and import. You can manually enter data too. The rule of thumb I go by is if there are less than 50 records in a data file, then it should be manually entered. If it is more than that, then you should look at an automated data load.

ExtensionsExtensions are additional programming functionality. Sometimes referred to as Enhancements, they provide functionality that does not exist in the core ERP package. Often this is due to a very specific task that the old system did to satisfy the client’s need or to satisfy a legal regulation that is specific to a niche industry. These custom programs are not written into the core ERP since that will break the upgrade path in most cases. Instead a separate program is developed using the same tools that the ERP system uses and data hooks are created to link the extension to the core ERP.

As much as possible, extensions should be avoided as upgrading becomes tough once the core ERP package is changed. But if there is a unique functionality that cannot be handled by the core ERP package, then an extension is the preferred way to handle it.

In summary, Reports, Interfaces, Conversions, and Extensions are key aspects of any ERP implementation and should be properly scoped in the initial planning phase. Insufficient time or resources can have a detrimental impact on the overall implementation budget. If you are about to embark on an implementation, be sure to look at all aspects of RICE before you begin.