Maximizing Return on Investment Using ERP Applications

CONSOLIDATION

Once the discussion points in the previous section are agreed to, the next step is to evaluate overlap, with particular attention to those areas that have the potential to create a situation where agreement on resolution will be difficult. It often turns out that the issues revolve around competing ideas to resolve conflicts, but the resolution becomes relatively obvious when the issue is clearly defined and discussed.

Remember that ERP platforms are applications that define logical relationships between functions, and, once understood, issues that appeared previously as areas of conflict simply become an opportunity to design a new cross-functional process. One must remember, though, that during these discussions, the members of the design team must remain sensitive to the needs of the functional executives they represent. There will be issues raised where the solution may be obvious, but agreement and implementation may require significant personal changes or sacrifices at the executive level.

This is of crucial importance because there is nothing that will destroy the effectiveness of a program more quickly than a design issue that the project team resolves and then finds a roadblock when it is explained to the team’s executive sponsors. We will talk more about how to deal with these issues during the next two chapters on governance and organizational change management in the executive suite. For now, just keep in mind that as these elements and analyses are discussed, ...