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BPIC the Business Performance Improvement Consultancy Our tried and tested ERP Implementation Plan 10 case studies on the implementation of ERP and MRPII systems in the UK Jargon Buster covering ERP, MRPII, JIT, TQ etc. Useful links How to live with an ERP or MRPII system and why they don't always help Contact us

FAQ - How can you get all managers to make the cultural changes necessary to make ERP work?

You will not be surprised to learn that the problem of getting all managers to accept the need for change is not new. Unfortunately I have not yet found any "snake oil" or magic dust to sell on my site that you can buy and sprinkle around to make the changes happen! Change is never easy and almost never happens to the extent you need without some external stimulus because you have to change all functions to some extent to make a planning system work and this is hard to achieve from within.

All is not lost, however, as we have collected together a number of "tools" that you can use to chip away at the reluctance managers to persuade them to commit the resources that will be necessary to successfully implement an enterprise resource planning system. Here are some things to get you started:

  1. Work your way through the ABCD checklist to see how far away from best practice you are. You can print it out and show it around to the reluctant managers. It is an effective way to get people to recognise that everyone has to do their bit.
  2. Look at the implementation plan, the cost and benefit analysis example in section 2 in particular. Make fairly conservative estimates of your possible savings that could come from better planning and control, involve other people where necessary. For costs it is sufficient at this stage to scale the costs for the £40m company illustrated to your company’s size. People will get excited if the pile of gold is big enough and it usually is. The annual benefits divided by 12 is the monthly cost of delay. Another useful motivator for the procrastinators.
  3. You should now have a case to justify the purchase of my book "Business Excellence" at £14.90. (Could not resist the chance for a plug).
  4. Once you have read the book and have the financial justification, you are in a better position to make the changes happen. There is no doubt that the changes will happen faster with external help. The cost of delay calculated above will determine how much external help is justified and remember the benefits come not from implementing a piece of software but when you have better control of your processes. You have 2 alternatives to get started now:
    1. Persuade your managers to either attend one of our public education courses in the UK.
    2. For companies with managers who are unwilling or unable to travel to our public courses, we will run any of our courses locally. The best general course would be the Business Excellence Fundamentals course; there are 1 day and 4 day versions of this course. In addition there are specialist courses for each part of the business (see in-house courses).

The combination of the book, implementation plan and courses will give you enough ammunition to make the changes happen.

Phil Robinson - www.bpic.co.uk
BPIC - your manufacturing planning resource