MANUFACTURING ERP

IMPLEMENTATION
CHECKLIST
Over 70 actionable steps to help your ERP implementation go smoothly

GUIDE HIGHLIGHTS

Building your ERP

Migrating your data, testing,

Evaluating the success of

Page 1 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 INDEX
Written by experience ERP project managers, this
checklist breaks down your implementation project
into manageable chunks, including:

3
Organize your ERP implementation team

5
Plan your implementation project

7
Migrate your data and train users

9
Plan and launch your ERP system go-live

10
Evaluate the success of your implementation
project

Page 2 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 ORGANIZE YOUR ERP IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

As a manufacturing company puzzling out how to implement ERP, you will need to devote some
time to thinking through the ERP implementation plan.

Manufacturing companies often have a wider scope of ERP functionality than more general
operations. As well as the manufacturing-specific features (lot tracking, batch scheduling, machine
integration etc), you’ll likely have required some warehousing and SCM features too.

These provide plenty of long-term benefits, if used correctly. Nevertheless, it does make
implementing your ERP a daunting task, particularly given that many manufacturers operate on a
24/7, shift-rota basis. Manufacturers aren’t 9-5, so implementing with minimal disruption can be
tricky.

That’s why we’ve put together this manufacturing ERP implementation cheat sheet. We’ve mapped
out each step to implementation and, where relevant, flagged up some manufacturing-specific
issues to keep an eye on

CREATE YOUR IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

For any implementation to go well, it’s important to have the right people managing it. To manage
it successfully you’ll need a well-balanced mix of project management, IT specialists and employee
representatives.

Some vendors offer consultancy services during implementation (either included in the overall
price or for an extra fee). These can be a valuable resource, so make sure you consider how best to
use them and map out which processes they should be overseeing/assisting with.

RECRUIT YOUR MANUFACTURING ERP IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

Map out your implementation requirements

Managerial (project management)

Technical (testing, integration, data migration)

User acceptance (change management, communication, training)

Page 3 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 Promote membership of implementation team by communicating opportunities company-

wide and offering incentives f(e.g extra day’s holiday, cash bonus, free food)

Recruit your team:

Talk to department heads about suitable candidates

Recruit to fill technical and managerial requirements

Ensure that all key user groups have at least one representative on your team

Decide whether you want to hire an ERP consultant

Decide on vendor provided or independent consultant

Get budgetary sign off

For independent consultants: shortlist candidates, interview and ask for references

Get budgetary sign off

Hire your preferred consultant and agree scope of consultancy project

MANUFACTURING ERP IMPLEMENTATION TEAM CHECKLIST

Project manager

Application analyst

Application developer

Application test engineer

Shop floor stakeholders and user groups

Warehouse staff stakeholders and user groups

Engineering and design stakeholders and user groups

Sales stakeholders and user groups

Management stakeholders and user groups

Vendor/third party consultant

Page 4 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 PLAN YOUR MANUFACTURING ERP IMPLEMENTATION

As stated above, implementing manufacturing ERP is a vast undertaking. As such, there’s a large
scope for large-scale errors.

You get orders wrong due to poor user training? Revenue decreases.

You fail to meet customer deadlines? Revenue decreases.

You send orders to the wrong address? Revenue decreases.

You get the idea. Manufacturing ERP can cause immediate damage if implemented wrong - more
so than software for back office functions. That’s why managing the change effectively is so
essential. Create both a plan for the implementation itself and for how to manage your workforce’s
expectations during the transition. Now is also a good time to draw up your budget too.

CREATE A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PLAN

Establish how much support your vendor is giving you

Forecast implementation costs and drawing up a budget

Create an ERP implementation schedule for:

Data migration

Training your ERP user base

Testing and going live

On-the-day go-live activities

Identify evaluation criteria for measurement of project success

CREATE A USER ENGAGEMENT PLAN

Communicate any anticipated disruption clearly to anyone affected

Create a user training schedule. Notify employees in advance of when their training slots are

scheduled

Identify evaluation criteria for measurement of project success

Signpost ways staff can raise questions they have about the implementation - e.g email

Page 5 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 MAP OUT YOUR IMPLEMENTATION BUDGET

Forecast cost of hardware and network upgrades

Forecast cost of shop floor overtime pay/extra temporary staff

Forecast cost of operations overtime pay/extra temporary staff

Confirm vendor implementation fees

Forecast cost of data backup and storage

Forecast cost of productivity loss

Forecast cost of data backup and storage

Total up costs and add at least a 10% buffer in case of error or project overrun

Page 6 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 MIGRATE YOUR LEGACY ERP DATA AND TRAIN USERS

MIGRATING YOUR LEGACY DATA

The process here is similar enough to migrating data to any new software. Be thorough - best to
spend extra time here to get it right, rather than rushing and losing essential data.

This is where the IT staff on your implementation team get to shine. They’re the experts here, so
you should delegate running this stage to them and comply with the suggestions they make.

CLEANSE AND MIGRATE YOUR LEGACY ERP DATA

Cleanse and verify your data:

Ensure customer contact details are correct

Cleanse redundant internal data, e.g out-of-date product designs and employee info

Cleanse redundant external data, e.g old supplier addresses and customer contacts

Configure your databases

Map legacy data to new database fields

Transfer data to the new system

Test and verify legacy data

Test and verify new data inputs, for example:

Inventory data (item location, stock)

Production data (order volume, parts required, estimated completion date)

Sales data (customer contact, history of orders)

HCM data (payroll information, employee benefits)

TRAIN YOUR MANUFACTURING ERP USERS

In contrast to business headquarter operations, most shop floor personnel do not spend large
amounts of time on computers. On top of this, many manufacturing operations run around the
clock, seven days a week, with a shift-based workforce. Consider this as you plan out your schedule
and decide which style of training you employ.

Page 7 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 TRAIN YOUR ERP USERS

Identify and train super users for each key user group to assist with troubleshooting and

minor issues during general staff training

Create your training schedule

Decide on deadline for completion of e-learning modules

(OPTIONAL) agree on gamification incentives for completion of training

Training schedule for face-to-face training - important if your workforce works in shifts

Train key user groups:

Senior management

Accounting and finance

Engineers

CAD designers

Shop floor workers

Warehouse staff

Supply chain workers

Sales team

HR staff

Page 8 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 PLAN AND LAUNCH YOUR ERP SYSTEM GO-LIVE

Similar issue to user training: manufacturing is often a 24/7 operation, involving large numbers of
employees working on a shift rota. In contrast to office-based environments, there might not be the
option of implementing overnight when everyone has gone home.

The key here is to manage expectations and schedule in extra staff or overtime workers. Explain
that there will be some disruption, and draft in enough support to cover it.

LAUNCH YOUR ERP GO-LIVE

Conduct pre go-live software tests:

Integration testing (eg WMS, CRM, HRMS, SCM)

Functional testing

System testing

Stress testing

Performance testing

Usability testing with key user groups - engineers, designers, shop floor staff, warehouse

team, sales

Acceptance testing with key user groups - engineers, designers, shop floor staff,

warehouse team, sales

Schedule staff overtime

Schedule any temporary staff required

Identify metrics for project evaluation

Create a communications strategy for system downtime

Schedule Network speed and reliability checks

Create data backup processes

Conduct post go-live software tests

Page 9 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 EVALUATE THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ERP IMPLEMENTATION

You’ll be able to tell immediately if your implementation was a disaster. Bluntly, it won’t work, no-
one will know what they’re doing and your business will grind to a halt.

Manufacturing is relatively unforgiving in this - if your system falls down, you won’t know how much
you’re making or who to ship it too.

Assuming it wasn’t a complete failure, it’s more difficult to ascertain how much of a success it was,
mostly because you’ll need to monitor key metrics for a while to see which improve over time. Bear
in mind that your workforce will need time to get used to the new way of doing things, so monitor
your key metrics over a period of months to identify upward trends.

TO CONSIDER IMMEDIATELY POST IMPLEMENTATION

Was your implementation within budget?

Was your implementation within schedule?

If not:

What went wrong?

Can you take any actions to fix it?

Could you have done anything better?

What can you learn for next time round?

Are your users embracing your new manufacturing ERP, or reverting back to the legacy

system?

TO MONITOR CONTINUOUSLY POST IMPLEMENTATION

Have productivity levels increased?

Has client satisfaction increased?

Is human error decreasing (e.g shipment errors, wrong due-date)?

Is your new ERP producing a positive ROI? If so, how many months post-implementation?

Page 10 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA
 This guide was written by Shane Starr, ERP Focus Columnist, with contributions from
Kathryn Beeson, ERP Focus Editor

For more exclusive ERP advice and resources follow ERP Focus on social media:

This guide was brought to you by www.erpfocus.com

Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com is licensed by CC BY 3.0

Page 11 C
ERP FOCUS Manufacturing ERP Implementation Checklist M CONVERTED MEDIA