Infor: What should your implementation team look like?
Implementing any of Infor’s product suite is a big business decision. This requires a huge amount of investment in both time and money and getting the implementation right first time is critical.
Whether you’re an organisation implementing Infor for the first time, or you’re currently upgrading your Infor system version - ask yourself…what makes an Infor implementation successful? Who do you need running your Infor implementation project?
Let’s run you through the key players:
The Executive Sponsor/Project Owner
The executive sponsor (also known as a Project Owner) is someone willing to take on a high level of responsibility. Typically, senior members of the business, they advocate for the new improved and upgraded ERP system.
This position is often held by your CIO (Chief Information Officer), CTO (Chief Technology Officer), Head of IT. Project Owner’s lead from the front, liaise with key stakeholders, and have a clear direction of how the implementation should go.
The Project Manager
For any project to be successful, it requires a leader. Your implementation/upgrade project is no different. The Project Manager has a multitude of roles and responsibilities but is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of the project.
The PM will be the beating heart of your ERP lifecycle.
The Project Manager is responsible for coordinating with the internal implementation team to update the plan as and when required. Other responsibilities may include:
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Being the point of contact for resolving issues from employees
Reporting project progress
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Directing and motivating the project team
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Managing schedules
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Managing project budgets and deadlines
The Super End-Users
The end users are a team of internal employees who represent the organisations different departments. They champion the ERP system. The Super End-Users need to be willing to learn and understand change processes to drive user adoption post go-live.
End users will analyse and provide suggestions in terms of customisations (when necessary). They need to be effective communicators and have an open dialogue with the project team, implementation partner and rest of the business.
Choose wisely when deciding on your team of super end users – they must be fully engaged/bought in to the project and want to drive change.
Internal Functional Team
The ERP Functional Team is made of technical experts (not to be confused with outright technical consultants) from different areas of your organisation such as finance, manufacturing, supply chain etc.
Key responsibilities include:
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Being the driving force to others in their specific functional area
Designing and configuring software parameters for their functional area
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Identify process improvements
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Documentation
Implementation Partner
Arguably the most important decision for any organisation to make is choosing their implementation partner. Choosing the right implementation partner is equally as important as choosing the vendor. The success or failure of an implementation can often depend on the experience and expertise of your chosen partner.
It is important that you are able to clearly identify what you are trying to achieve when the initial discussions take place with the implementation partners
Things to consider:
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Their proven expertise
Their inquisitive nature
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Their plan for the project
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How responsive they are
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How transparent they are
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Reviews from other organisations going through similar ERP transformations.
Our Connecting Experts
If you are currently looking to build a team for an Infor implementation, get in touch with our Infor specialists, Sam, for expert advice on selecting the best candidates in the market.
Getting in touch with our ERP specialists means that we can provide you with support on systems such as: M3, LN, LX, Baan, S3, Movex, Syteline, ION, CloudSuite, SunSystems, d/EPM, CRM, EAM, and System21.
