Duration of an ERP implementation will depend on many factors. Company size, coordination between management companies and complexity of operations are some of the main factors influencing the duration of ERP implementation process. In usual cases, an ERP implementation program may take from 6 months to 2 years to complete. Complexity of work is one of the main reasons responsible for such a long duration. An ERP implementation process will start with understanding the customer requirements. After understanding the specific needs of business, ERP consultant will map the customer requirements and work accordingly. Mapping work itself may take several days to complete. Actual duration vary according to the complexity of implementing ERP software.

After mapping the requirements of business, it is the role of an ERP consultant to do further job according to the needs. He should be capable to provide best solution as per the client requirements. Preparing the proof of concept is another main work done by an ERP consultant. For preparing this proof of work, it may take 15 days to 1 month duration. Implementation process of ERP software will start only after the approval of this proof of concept. Before implementing, documentation process is another important task done by ERP consultants. Documentation in ERP implementation is done according to the customer requirements and solution proposed.

Documents prepared as a part of ERP implementation process are reviewed by project heads and company owners. Changes in implementation process are done during GAP analysis. After GAP analysis, ERP consultants will do their further job by coordinating with ERP core team. Customization of modules is another procedure carried out in implementation process. Process of customization is usually done when the operations are too complex or difficult to perform. Coordination between team members is a main factor consuming time during an implementation process.

According to studies, it is found that each and every module of ERP system software is interrelated. Failure of any module will lead to the failure of whole process. This is one of the main answers for the question why do most ERP implements so long to complete. Hence you need to take great care while implementing ERP system software. Communication between vendor and customer plays a great role while implementing ERP software. Technical terms used in implementation field may cause difficulty in communication between vendor and customer. This can delay the progress of work to a limit. Creating user guide play a great role in implementing ERP project. This task is usually done by functional ERP consultant before signing off the project. It can also take some considerable amount of project time.

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In most cases, ERP system software may take years to complete their implementation process. Activities done during ERP implementation process may vary according to the company size and specified project of businesses. According to studies, it is found that the time required for the implementation of ERP system software increases with increase in complexity of project. Approximately, it may take six months to one year duration for implementing ERP system software in a company. Today, almost all sizes of company are introducing ERP for their business management.

Choosing ERP consultant plays a great role indetermining its timeframe. To reduce the time consumption during implementation, it is advised to employ ERP consultant with good knowledge. Business process of company is a main factor determining the timeframe of implementation process. Today, implementation of enterprise resource planning software is done with customization option to meet the demands of customers. How many of you know coding work of ERP system software? Generally, coding work of implementation is done by technical consultants. Anyway, this process may take some time to complete.

Documentation process is one of the main tasks performed by ERP consultants. It is the role of functional ERP consultants to go through paper works of each module. In case of large companies, ERP implementation may take so long to complete. In this case, company workers may employ a team of ERP consultants to do task. It can reduce the timeframe required for implementation. Hence there is no accurate timeframe for ERP implementation process. Completion of project without proper analysis can lead way to failure. This is one of the common problems reported by many company owners.

Typical implementation timeframe for ERP system is described on the basis of company size. Studies say that a small sized company may take nearly six months duration to complete ERP implementation. Whereas, a large sized company may take up to one and a half years duration to complete ERP implementation. Have you ever checked how efficient your team members are? Efficiency of team members is a vital factor influencing the timeframe of ERP implementation. To prevent this problem, it is recommended to employ professional functional and technical ERP consultants with good experience. Also, it is advised to have realistic expectations rather than an unrealistic one. This can reduce the delay in timeframe for ERP implementation.

Read about Implementation Timeframe for ERP System. Also know Cost of ERP Implementation.

Functional consultant is required to generate ‘As Is’ document, this document is the study of whole present business process and work flow of the organization where ERP has to be installed. In ‘As Is’ document functional consultant describes the current business processes, current business flows, identification of complications in current business processes and flows, flow diagrams and DFDs of the present system. This document describes ongoing working process of entire organization.

After ‘As Is’ document gets approved ERP consultant joins the technical team and consultant to do GAP analysis and Mapping. This effort is required to identify the GAP between present work flow and processes and ERP. The complications in the present system, redundant processes, manual processes which can be automated and areas which can be automated completely through ERP are identified and solutions are worked out.

After GAP analysis and Mapping the DFDs and ERDs are prepared which are called as ‘To Be’ document, this document is description of future way of working after implementation of ERP. Even in this step ERP functional consultants are expected to play a role and contribute.

ERP consultants are also expected to prepare test cases. These test cases are designed to check the functioning of new system, this may include unit testing, system integration testing, performance testing, user acceptance testing, regression testing or any other software testing. Functional ERP consultant is expected to get the results approved by relevant authorities before allowing the software for practical use.

ERP functional consultant prepares a document which describes all the changes been made to match up the ERP with ‘To Be’ document. With the help of this document the in-house team of the organization in future can make changes and refinements according to their newly developed needs.

In the end of the implementation, functional ERP consultant is expected to provide training to the end users. This training includes introduction of ERP and it’s functioning, attributes of the new system, ways to perform daily tasks and precautions that one has to take while doing his job. Enhanced training includes meaning of error messages and their implications on overall system so that end users are well aware of the consequences of the mistakes they might make during their daily routine work.

To perform well as functional ERP consultant one has to be an able listener and communicator. An ERP functional consultant understands, explains and convince people from low to high end of the organization and also he has to participate in the discussions held with his team leader and technical consultants. Even excellent written communication is also expected in ERP functional consultant as he needs to document all the steps of the implementation, prepare user manual, generate reports and send E-mails to users, customer and his own team.

Read about ERP Functional Consultant. Also know How to Become a Top ERP Consultant.

ERP implementation in large organizations having many offices and work locations at distant geographical locations takes lot of time compared to organization of similar size but confined to a particular region. The reason behind this is that it slows down the process of information gathering and increases volume of customization by many times. Such organizations have different processes and working pattern at different locations, all of these have to be integrated through single software ensuring smooth flow of information and also without disrupting the work flow, this makes task tedious and complex. Such situations make it very difficult to calculate typical implementation timeframe for ERP software.

Role of staff of the organization where ERP is getting implemented is very crucial and highly unpredictable and it can make any general formula providing typical implementation timeframe for ERP software unreal. When ERP is in the process of implementation the new system can create distrust amongst the staff and also insecurity, which most of the times leads to lack of cooperation. When consultants do not get proper response and information from the existing staff the entire implementation process slows down increasing its duration. In some cases lack of computer literate staff delays the implementation as they take lot of time to understand and use the new system.

Under prepared management is another factor which makes almost impossible to work out any typical implementation timeframe for ERP softwares. Purchasing and implementing ERP involves lot of money and also sometimes high risks. In such cases management takes too many precautions and lot of time before making any decision. Delays in decisions slow down implementation as ERP providing company cannot move ahead without receiving an approval from the management. Most of the time suggestions made by the consultants to replace old processes with new ones for better performance and some major changes in working style cause lot of confusion in the minds of people responsible for making decisions on behalf of ERP purchasing company. This happens when management has not done enough research and analysis before going for ERP implementation.

There can be various other issues like technical problems etc which have also been found responsible for delaying the process of implementation in many cases, chances of any of these problem creeping up makes time and cost calculation beforehand for ERP implementation extremely difficult.

Read about ERP Implementation Cost Timeframe. Also know Causes of ERP Failure.