ERP Implementations : What to Expect

Management Consulting In order to begin your journey to becoming an ERP enabled company and take full advantages of these incredible systems, our experienced Management Consultants provide you with an initial FREE consultation to ensure ERP/CRM is actually a fit for your organization.

Once it is determined that ERP/CRM is a fit, and/or that you are better served by switching ERP/CRM products, Arcturus Advisors recommends a Mini Gap Analysis to document the high-level requirements and any glaring issues. This is typically followed by a Complete Gap Analysis and/or an Implementation.

Performed by qualified business process engineers that are focused on your business processes, a Mini Gap Analysis (a reduced version of our Full Gap Analysis) consists of the following:

• Fit Assessment (FREE)
• Identification of process improvements
• Identification and checklist of what you are using now and how you are using it
• Change management issues and scope
• Mini Gap analysis to identify the macro level gaps between your business processes and on-demand ERP/CRM systems
• Budget identification
• Process documentation - high level only
• Time-frames
• Recommended ERP/CRM product to choose from
• Product budget Matrix with approximate pricing
• The main purpose of a Mini Gap is to ensure that you are making the right decision by documenting and mapping your budget and expectation to functionality and deliverables.
  Because Arcturus Advisors can recommend many products, we do not make recommendations based purely on our preferences. Your needs are more important.

This is ideally suited for customers who are: New to on-demand but do not have the budget for a full gap analysis right now or,
Are in dire need of a re-implementation of their existing product or,
Are looking at switching products due to budget/functionality reasons or,
Have more relatively less complex business needs.

Business Process Arcturus Advisors consultants have a solid background in process modeling and simulation. Process analysis and understanding leads to an improved implementation.
Implementations correctly mapped out can be faster and have fewer problems, without incurring extra costs, than those rushed into. Of course, best practices and tight project management are essential to any successful project.

Performed by qualified business process consultants that are focused on your business processes, a Full Gap Analysis consists of the following:

• Fit Assessment (FREE)
• Identification of process improvements
• Identification and checklist of what you are using now and how you are using it
• Change management issues and scope
• Full gap analysis to identify the macro and micro level gaps
between your business processes and on-demand ERP/CRM systems
• Budget identification
• Process documentation - high and low level
• Time-frames
• Recommended ERP/CRM product
• License negotiation
• Detailed project plan
• Final estimates for implementation and licenses

• The main purpose of a Full Gap is to ensure that you have planned the roll out completely and therefore have a clear idea on exactly how much it is going to cost, what to expect, and the time-frame and resources required. More importantly, it applies best practices techniques to system configuration and ensure that you get the maximum use out of the product selected.
  This is ideally suited for customers who are:
  Moving to a on-demand ERP/CRM product or,
  Are in dire need of a re-implementation of their existing product or,
  Are looking at switching products due to budget/functionality reasons or,
  Have more complex integration needs

Implementation

Most implementations are what is termed as "non-technical". This means that implementations are really a very large configuration exercise allowing the project teams to focus on the business and not the technology that drives it. Our implementation layer reports to our business process layer and work together with both our business process engineers and the customer to ensure complete success.
Typically performed after a Mini Gap Analysis or Full Gap Analysis, our implementation teams guaranty that all implementation go according to plan and in accordance with best practices for your particular industry.

Types of implementations:

Fixed Priced. Most of our implementations are fixed priced, unlike a lot of consulting companies. This increases the chances of success with our customers and also ensures a project is delivered to budget. You are paying to get a system up and running, not to have consultants working day in and day out without producing results.

Time and Materials. This is where you hire Arcturus Advisors on a time and materials basis to extend and provide knowledge and guidance to your in-house project team.

Managed Implementations. This is where we simply project manage your implementation using your in-house super-users or IT department. This ensures that you do not make any fatal mistakes, applies a best practices approach and you can cut your external resource costs by up to 50%.

Full Implementations. This is a full turnkey implementation of the products purchased. Arcturus Advisors ensures that you are trained along the way and encourages active participation via our project management tools throughout they entire process. This is ideal for companies that do not have the internal resources or time to perform a full implementation.

Most of our implementations take the following steps:

Gap Analysis (normally already performed)
Macro Setup (setup the high-level functions needed)
Micro Setup (setup the low-level functions needed)
Work-flow Setup (to setup how transactions flow in your organization)
Prototyping (using real-world data - test extensively every type of feasible transaction possible)
Detailed Work-flow Setup (after prototyping)
Customization and Integration (optional)
Data Conversion
Handover (Project complete and a go-live date is selected)
Cut-over (Defining the types of things that need to be done before go-live)
Go-live
Post implementation support using the original implementation team
Post implementation training (optional - if we have done our job right - training has already occurred)

To learn more about how your team can benefit from this implementing an ERP or CRM system and what is involved in implementing it in your organization, please contact us.

Tel (866) 593-2207