Go-live is not the end for your ERP programme. Instead, it’s the starting point for making sure your organisation gets the most out of its new cloud system – now and in the future.
In this blog our Lead Principal Consultant, Laura Maitland looks at the stages to follow post-go-live, and how Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has put these into action to lead the way.
The importance of not stopping at ERP go-live
It’s a misconception that go-live marks the end of your ERP journey. In fact, it signals the start of the process of ensuring you realise all the benefits of the new technology.
The post-go-live phase is when your organisation can get the most out of its cloud-based system and make sure it takes advantage of the technology updates and opportunities as they arise.
So, by dedicating time and resources after go-live, you will continue to drive efficiency and better ways of working. Ultimately by continuing to focus on your ERP system post-go-live you will give your software investment the best chance of being a lasting success for your organisation, your people and your service users.
Embed and evolve your ERP
At Civiteq, we recommend you work through the following three phases after go-live, as an effective way to embed and evolve your ERP:
- Stabilise
- Optimise
- Innovate
By progressing through each stage, you can continue to deliver on your goals, such as being more productive and efficient, using fewer resources and enabling a better customer experience.
Here’s an overview of why each phase matters and what you need to do to successfully complete them…
Phase 1: Stabilise
The crucial first step post-go-live is to ensure you have a stable platform, so you’ll have a firm foundation to set you up for benefits realisation and continuous improvement.
This phase includes:
- Embedding the Support Operating Model
- Embedding the right decision-making processes into business as usual to protect the ‘adopt not adapt’ philosophy for ERP change
- Ensuring the right communication and engagement framework is in place to keep people informed about relevant issues and updates
- Effective tracking of KPIs and proactive interventions based on incident volumes and trends
- Implementing outstanding configuration
- Making sure all workarounds can be removed
- Checking all system processes are working well, addressing offline workarounds and ensuring automation is in place
- Ensuring controls are in place to prevent teams slipping back into old ways of working
- Ensuring effective segregation and security in place and optimising license usage
- Ensuring reliable and accurate data to provide credible Management Information and reporting
Phase 2: Optimise
This is the stage when you can access more of the benefits of the new ERP system.
It includes:
- A benefits review across the functional areas to look at where your organisation is in terms of realising the benefits it originally set out to achieve
- Closing any gaps in benefits realisation – or improving on those gaps
- Implementing previously descoped activity or functionality that didn’t go live
- Looking at any pain points and how these can be addressed
- Carrying out process health checks to ensure as much as possible is streamlined and automated
- Reviewing adoption, addressing gaps and increasing usage
- Identifying and implementing opportunities to improve productivity and drive organisational efficiencies
Phase 3: Innovate
This phase goes beyond optimisation because it’s an opportunity to strategically plan, take advantage of future system updates and embed a culture of continuous improvement.
It includes:
- Reviewing the ‘art of the possible’ to really set the ambition and appetite for further transformation and maximising benefits delivery
- Building a roadmap to prepare for the latest technology updates that could benefit your organisation in line with corporate strategy
- Ensuring robust milestones are in place to achieve the future changes
- Exploring if there are any process areas you could develop further to drive organisational value, productivity and efficiency
- Developing credible business cases to gain approval and investment to make the change a reality
- Making horizon scanning a business as usual activity:
- Embedding a cycle of continuous improvement within the Support Operating Model,
- Ensuring a structure is in place to look at future release roadmaps, impact assessing, testing and implementing changes safely with the organisation
How Sandwell Council have stabilised, ready to optimise and innovate post-go-live
Sandwell Council embraced the ‘embed and evolve’ ethos following their successful Oracle Fusion implementation.
After working with the local authority to reset and deliver their ERP programme, Civiteq continued to support the council to get the most out of their software investment.
We made sure their ERP system was stable, and supported their preparation to optimise and innovate. Our work included collaborating with Oracle and using its Cloud Success Navigator tools, and we’ve given the council the capability to lead their own continuous improvement moving forwards.
Thanks to their proactivity and forward-thinking, Sandwell is not only getting the most of their new system – but are in a strong position to benefit from future change.
Get in touch to discuss our ‘embed and evolve’ services.
Have a chat with our Account Director, Chris Batt, to discuss getting the most from your ERP investment.