ERP Readiness Series: Essential Skills Every Project Manager Needs

This is the third in a series of posts about how to determine if your organization is ready to implement a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Determining ERP readiness involves looking at three dimensions of your business: your people, your business processes, and your technology and systems. Starting with people, we’ve looked at the various roles needed to successfully implement a new ERP system. In this post we’re talking about the one of the most critical roles (if not the most critical) on your Core Team, the Project Managers. Managers with an ‘s’ because there are two of them, in fact . . .

Project Managers’ Responsibilities

There are typically two project managers involved in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system implementation: The Core Team Project Manager (PM) and the Solution Provider PM.

Core Team PM

The Core Team Project Manager is usually a role filled by someone within your company (we’ll say more on what the Core Team is and what it does in a future post). The Core Team PM is easily the most critical role in getting value out of the ERP system and executing the implementation process effectively. The Core Team PM’s area of expertise is your business and what your business requires of the ERP system you are implementing.

Solution Provider PM

The other project manager is typically from the ERP solution provider, or Value-Added Reseller (VAR). For example, a Microsoft Dynamics, SAGE or Oracle partner.  The Solution Provider PM’s area of expertise is the ERP solution itself.

They will provide a project manager who will work primarily with your internal PM to ensure that the ERP project stays on track and that the VAR’s resources do their part to make this happen (more on this later).

While the two project managers work in tandem to deliver a successful ERP implementation, it is ultimately the Core Team PM that is accountable for overall project delivery. So, while the Core Team and the Solution Provider PM’s have similar, if not overlapping, responsibilities, there are subtle differences between the two that we will discuss in this post.

The Project Managers are responsible for . . .

1. Ensuring Project Success. It is the Core Team PM’s responsibility to ensure a successful ERP implementation. If “the buck stops” with anyone, it is certainly with the Core Team PM. The Solution Provider PM has a vested interest in the success of the project; after all, the success or failure of the project will reflect positively or negatively on the solution chosen and the provider or VAR.

2. Preparing and Managing the Project Plan. The Core Team and Solution Provider PMs are responsible to creating and overseeing the ERP implementation project plan and timeline. They are responsible for determining who is doing what, and by when. They are also responsible for monitoring the budget and allocating adequate resources to get the job done on time,

3. Monitoring the Core Team’s Progress. Unlike the Executive Sponsor, the Core Team and the Solution Provider PMs are closely monitoring the day-to-day, task-level progress of the project.

4. Conducting Core Team Meetings. It is the Core Team PM’s responsibility to lead core team meetings, to create and communicate meeting agendas, to monitor project deliverables, and to hold team members accountable for their commits and deliverables. The Solution Provider PM is similarly responsible for making sure that provider is living up to its commitments and deliverables.

5. Reporting to the Leadership Team. It is the Core Team PM’s responsibility to report to the Executive Sponsor, the steering committee, or the company’s leadership team in order to keep them appraised of the Core Team’s progress. It is also the Core Team PM’s job to elicit support from the Executive Sponsor in order to leverage the Sponsor’s authority to make corporate-level decisions to overcome project roadblocks.

6. Training Implementers and Subject-Matter Experts. This last responsibility is specific to the Core Team Project Manager, especially if that person is outsourced. We’ll explain why in more detail below.

Experience Counts

At SYTE, we have found that the more experience the Core Team Project Manager has had in the ERP space—especially if he or she has implemented one or more ERP systems before or has managed other complex system engagements—the more quickly they will see a return on investment from their new ERP system. In the short-term companies with this kind of expertise save time, money, and keep the project scope in line with the expectations of the executive team.

Core Team PM: In House or Outsourced?

Finding an experienced Core Team Project Manager in-house is optimal, but this is a role that is often outsourced. Very few small and mid-sized companies have someone with ERP and formal project management experience or training. In addition, it is rare that someone internally will have the time to devote to this critical role.  Depending on the scope, complexity, and pace of the ERP implementation, an average of 30-to-75% of the person’s time will be needed to successfully bring the project to completion. People are often too enmeshed in functional roles like customer service, purchasing, finance and accounting to devote up to three quarters of their time managing an ERP project.

Small and midsize companies find that they don’t always need someone in the project management role long term, but hiring an experienced PM from the outside does have long term advantages.  When engaging an outsourced Core Team PM, you should expect that part of that project manager’s role is to guide and train the people within your organization—the implementers and the subject-matter experts—and to impart as much knowledge and expertise into the Core Team as possible. When that external project manager does exit after the implementation, you’re left with an empowered Core Team—and eventual support team—that possesses a greater breadth and depth of skill.

Solution Provider PM: Outsourced

As we’ve talked about already, the Solution Provider Project Manager is always an outside resource. The Solution Provider PM is a critical representative their organization and makes sure the resources that provider brings to the table stay on track.  A good Solution Provider PM serves as more than a single point-of-contact with the provider or VAR but actively supports the Core Team PM to ensure project success. But, it is good to remember that the Solution Provider PM is ultimately answerable to their company, not yours.

Here are three questions to consider when trying to figure out who might serve as the Core Team Project Manager of your ERP Implementation.

1. Do I have someone in my organization that has experience in implementing ERP systems?
2. Does that person have formal training or experience as a Project Manager?
3. Does he or she have the time to take this on? Remember, an average of 30-75% of their time will be required to successfully manage an ERP implementation project.

If the answer to either of these questions is no, you should consider looking to hire an experienced ERP Project Manager from outside your organizations.

Similarly, when selecting an ERP solution provider or VAR to work with, consider how experienced their project manager is. Ask how long that person has been with the company and how many ERP implementations he or she has managed. If the answer does not instill confidence, ask the provider to assign another PM to your project, or consider engaging a more experienced provider altogether.

Do you have questions? Do you need an experienced ERP Project Manager on your team? We can help. Please don’t hesitate contact us.

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