Organizations today need the right ERP to help their team drive vital business processes, make smarter and faster decisions, and ensure they make the most of their resources. Microsoft Dynamics 365 can bring your business to a whole new level, if implemented successfully.
Ensuring Successful Dynamics 365 Implementation
Check out five tips to ensure a successful Dynamics 365 implementation:
1. Plan Strategically
It takes real planning to organize organizational chaos! It goes without saying how crucial planning is for any project – from developing a software product to deploying an enterprise application – success comes to those who plan. While implementing Dynamics 365, what’s important is to first plan for the infrastructure, amongst other things. Since Dynamics 365 is cloud-based, updates happen automatically – continuously and in real-time. Strategize your planning and make sure you consider all instances you need and request them all at the same time, and avoid pointless scenarios.
Not sure if you are ready to take the next steps towards Microsoft Dynamics 365? Here are 5 reasons that you should consider before moving forward.
2. Carefully Assess Existing Systems and Tools
Very often, Dynamics 365 implementations fail because of outdated systems, partially integrated application suites and in-house programs built on extinct programming languages. Therefore, taking inventory of all of your current systems, databases, and applications including ones that are integrated is the first step to success. Implementing an ERP offers a good opportunity to standardize and centralize IT solutions, but this often involves data migrations, and system upgrades. If you’re looking to minimize delays, waste and the chances of a failed implementation, always take a thorough assessment of your existing infrastructure, and get the required insight into operational functionality, in order to gain project momentum and benchmark important milestones.
3. Understand Every Functionality
Before you decide to add more modules or features to your Dynamics 365 solution, it’s a good idea to first revisit all of the functionalities. As Microsoft continuously updates Dynamics 365 with new functionalities and add-ons on a regular basis, it’s very likely there are few functionalities that perfectly fits your industry, organization, and customer needs. While you might need to make some minimal tweaks to the “as-is” solution, understand what is currently availablein Dynamics 365 and then choose to build custom components.
4. Build Cross-functional Teams
Implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 should never be the job of just the implementation crew, but of cross-functional teams who excel at identifying and understanding inefficiencies, bottlenecks, time gaps, and quality control issues. Include a team of experts that can focus on specific process improvements and recommendations for unexpected issues and ensure every task is completed on time and within budget. While the experts can garner support from vendors, employees, and management along the way, IT specialists can focus on the core implementation process.
5. Spearhead the Project Properly
The front runner of a Dynamics 365 implementation process should always be a qualified leader who knows how to leverage the right skills and knowledge of everyone involved in order to achieve the project’s goals. The person who leads the implementation project should possess extraordinary time, communication and management skills to track data, follow-up with staff and deal with day-to-day issues and bottlenecks. While operation managers will most likely have excellent budgeting, supervisory and scheduling skills, they will lack basic Dynamics 365 acumen. Similarly, IT managers who excel at Microsoft Dynamics 365 understanding may lack operational procedure and business process knowledge. The best solution? Have two or more leaders from different areas of work to collectively manage the Dynamics 365 implementation project.
Improve your Success Rate
A shocking 80% of organizations are unhappy with their current ERP! Most ERP implementation projects fail not because the solution is incompetent, but because of poor planning and negligible management support that is required at every step of the project. IT delays, unexpected roadblocks and uncontrollable variables are unavoidable; therefore, following there tips will help ensure a successful implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Carefully assess existing inventory, understand each and every facet of the Dynamics 365 solution, choose the appropriate project leader(s), and build cross-functional teams for guaranteed implementation success.
