Why ERP success depends on document management
Documents are central to whether the ERP solution works
“If a field is missing on the delivery note and you can’t get goods out, it creates a critical situation,” says Carsten Slot, CEO and partner at Bredana Axcite with thirty years of experience in ERP. Therefore, he encourages Output Management to be focused on early in the ERP project and given high priority.
“Documents are often a bit overlooked. They are just something that needs to be done. Some customers have the mindset that ‘We will figure it out’ and ‘We will fix it along the way,’ but even if documents are perceived as something trivial, they are central to whether the solution works,” explains Carsten Slot.
“One mistake in a document can potentially stop everything, so it’s critical for the ERP project if they don’t work as they are supposed to.”
Bredana Axcite specializes in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Finance and Supply Chain Management, with major international customers such as Borg Automotive, HydraSpecma, and Hoyer. The company has also developed its own software package that enhances Dynamics 365 for Supply Chain.
Choose the right solution from the start
Documents are not one of Bredana Axcite’s main areas of expertise. Therefore, the company often works with a partner based on the principle of “Do what you do best and leave the rest to others.”
“But it’s not always possible to get a third party involved in the project. In some cases, the customer thinks they can work out the documents themselves. Later in the project, we are then asked to help them finish it, and it would have been better to bring in a specialist from the beginning,” says Carsten Slot.
“We can help them, but we’re not as effective in this area as those who only do Output Management. And since it’s not our main area of expertise, we can end up getting our ‘fingers burnt’ because we underestimate the task and/or the customer keeps asking for more than what was agreed on at the start,” adds Carsten Slot. “Those who are used to working with it ask the right questions, which is better for both the customer and the ERP supplier.”
Documents can take time from other vital tasks in the project
The fact that the documents are not included in the initial phase of an ERP implementation is natural enough, according to Carsten Slot. “We discuss the big picture of pains and gains at this stage, but that doesn’t mean the documents shouldn’t be completely ready before we go live,” he says.
Bredana Axcite has developed a project model where the go-live phase covers all aspects. However, documents can represent a potential risk if they are not in place.
“The worst-case scenario is a postponed go-live of the company’s massive ERP investment due to some fields in a document”.
-Carsten slot, CEO and partner at Bredana Axcite
Some customers do have the skills to work with documents, but there are several pitfalls:
“First of all, it is often the same people on the customer’s side who are deeply involved in the whole ERP project that will do this work. These are ‘jack-of-all-trades,’ and we risk that the documents take their time away from other vital tasks in the project,” says Carsten Slot.
“Secondly, we see that some customers buy a cheap ‘mini solution’ for the documents, and nothing good comes of that.”
“A third problem is that people often forget all the many adjustments to the documents that have been made in the old ERP solution over the past fifteen years. It is very problematic to discover these missing adjustments at the last moment in the implementation.”
