An ERP implementation is a transformational change initiative — it levels up your entire organization, from people to processes to technology. Like a stool, you need three legs for this platform to stand. While many companies start this process on their own, and often choose an ERP solution vendor on their own, without having an ERP consultant to guide the process, mid-market manufacturing and distribution companies often waste hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of time.

Why is this?

1. Because you’re not undertaking large technology projects like this all the time. Your company is an expert in manufacturing a product — but it’s not feasible to keep people with the capabilities and capacity on-staff full-time for ERP projects that you only go through once a decade. Syte Consulting Group brings those capabilities and capacity to the project, and ensures you have what you need to continue move forward (with or without our continued assistance).
2. ERP solution providers can be myopic — they typically (and rightly) have a very narrow focus on their software. Your Syte ERP consultants ensure there is consistent connection, communication and collaboration between everyone about what matters most. This ensures you have a smooth, stable, successful implementation. The result is an ERP implementation that costs less, helps you see ROI sooner and protects your people from burnout.

Without an ERP consultant’s help, this can easily take 1-2 years. When you work with Syte Consulting Group, ideally this takes 3-5 months — but realistically it can take up to 9 months. The difference is entirely dependent on the degree to which you are able to assign dedicated resources to a selection team committed to the process.

This depends on scope and resources, but in general, if you have a dedicated team that includes experienced project management, for a mid-sized manufacturing company an ERP implementation takes 9-12 months.

From a people standpoint, the critical factors are: a dedicated team of functional experts from within your organization, executive sponsorship, experienced project management, and IT support.

From a process standpoint, the most important success factor is thoroughly documented as-is business processes.

A selection team will involve key stakeholders including an Executive Sponsor (usually the CFO), and functional leaders from Manufacturing, Operations, Accounting, and Information Technology. We would also include functional leaders from Human Resources and Sales if your ERP solution considerations encompass HRMS or CRM, respectively.

Expected engagement time by role is as follows:

Functional Core Team Members: 50-75%

Technical Core Team Members: 25-50%

Subject Matter Experts: 25%

Project Manager: 25%

Selections guided by experienced experts like Syte cost between $15-45K. Implementation costs can vary widely based on desired scope and number of users. In general, a successful Phase I execution of an ERP implementation including software and services (hardware would be additional) can range between $150K-$2M.