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ERP Post-Implementation Assessment

Implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, while an important milestone, is not the be-all and end-all of Digital Transformation. It is just the first among many steps toward building a flexible and scalable backbone to launch an organization into the era of Industrial 4.0.


An ERP is a foundation over which one can integrate digital assets like IoT, AI, RPA, ML, Big Data, etc., to transform the organization into an Intelligent Enterprise. It is important to periodically assess and review the ERP solution for its ability to play this foundational role.


Also, an important investment like ERP should at the minimum break even, if not offer a positive return on investment. This case study is about a customer who wanted to perform a health check of their Microsoft AX ERP solution and how Entapp Consulting helped them with the assessment.

 

The Problem at Hand

 

The customer is an Omani gov’t body that oversees Domestic, Commercial, and Industrial Waste Management. They had been using Microsoft AX ERP for three years. The ERP had a customized Waste Management Module built into it and integrated with core modules like Finance, Procurement, Inventory, Sales, Asset Management, HR, and Payroll.

 

The following are some of the key challenges that they were facing:


  • Lack of system adoption by ERP users leads to incomplete transactions and inaccurate reporting.

  • Inadequate mapping of business processes in the ERP system leads to business transactions being partially executed in the system. 

  • No real-time reporting and business visibility due to the incomplete configuration of the ERP solution.

  • Questions on the ERP system's ability to scale and provide the necessary depth and breadth of functionality to accommodate future growth.

  • No tangible return on investment (ROI) for the effort and money spent on implementing the ERP solution.

 

Our Approach

 

We, at Entapp Consulting, performed an overall maturity assessment of the customer using our REACH ™ Program. This included a 360o assessment of the customer’s ecosystem to understand their business, market dynamics, statutory & quality compliances, environmental regulations, etc. This was followed by:

 

  • Process Consulting - We used our comprehensive framework of tools, checklists, and templates to interact with the strategic, tactical, and operational personnel in the customer organization to capture every possible detail. We conducted workshops to identify, prioritize and classify detailed business process flows across all functional areas with an emphasis to quantify all identified KPIs with measurable metrics. We also understood the challenges faced w.r.t the MS Dynamics AX ERP system and how the system has/has not met its intended objectives.

  • ERP Assessment & Analysis – We reviewed the ERP implementation and project management controls covering:

    • Assessment of existing organizational structure, functional configuration, and technical specifications in MS Dynamics AX.

    • Assessment of segregation of duties, data governance, and information security

    • Gap analysis on existing functionality vis-à-vis organizational goals/vision

    • Assessment of system documentation and business continuity

    • RoI Analysis using indices measured before and after the ERP implementation

  • Review and Recommendations – This covered:

    • Preparation of final assessment report with a clear list of gaps, risks, and recommendations

    • Recommendations included the suitability/supportability/scalability of the MS Dynamics AX ERP system to meet the Customer’s business objectives and vision

    • Review of the report by the Customer’s Internal Audit team & sign-off

    • Presentation of assessment findings and recommendations to the Customer’s management


Business Outcomes

 

The following are some of the key outcomes of this engagement:

 

  • Identification of key areas of improvement to achieve maximum utilization of the ERP solution. This included user adoption, process correctness & completion, data quality, and reporting output.

  • Identification of key gaps that led to the sub-par implementation of the ERP solution. This included poor scope definition, lack of project governance, unavailability of key personnel, absence of clear process ownership, and incomplete user training

  • RoI Analysis – Resulted in setting up of an independent internal committee of senior managers to identify, quantify and measure key business drivers for all future engagements.

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