System migrations are often steps feared by directors of information systems within companies. With 75% of ERP migration projects going over time or budget, this is a risky and expensive process. There is no shortage of examples of failures, including big players like Haribo, Lidl or Deutsche Bank.
Nonetheless, there are successful migration projects that actually bring value to the business in the long term. But we know that this is a perilous road. That's why the first thing you need to do is establish a good road map, regardless of what existing system migration project you're embarking on: a migration from SAP ECC to S4/HANA, Workday, Salesforce, Salesforce, Oracle Fusion, Oracle Fusion, Infor ERP, or any other CRM or ERP system migration.
1. Ensure the support of your employees and partners
For a long time, system migrations were mainly The prerogative of the IT department. However, they often affect all business sectors. It is therefore legitimate for them to be a strategic priority defended by all. Moreover, your management is not the only one who must understand what they gain: your users too. It may seem simple, but if your users don't see the value of your new systems, whether through increased sales or greater efficiency on a daily basis, they won't take the plunge.
2. Map your current processes
A system migration is similar to a form of digital transformation of your business. Therefore, you need to understand your current processes before transferring them to a new system. To do this, it is essential to know exactly what it looks like. your existing business processes, before deciding which items to migrate. It is only with a approach to cartography processes based on data that you'll be able to reorder them for the better. Moreover, this philosophy applies to migrations as well. Greenfield What about migrations Brownfield - even if you are implementing a solution from scratch, you need to understand the needs of your business.
3. Set short-term deadlines
Each of your employees and associates should feel responsible for the success of each phase of the migration. by setting deadlines and performance indicators. The creation of a structured roadmap will not only help them understand What tasks are expected and in what order, but will also make it possible to identify potential shortcomings when the necessary skills or budgets are lacking.
4. Leverage technology
To successfully complete your system migration project, The sectoral expertise of consultants who surrounds you is key, but you shouldn't overlook the potential of technology. Indeed, powerful technologies such as Process mining, automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning (or an execution management system that brings them all together) can help you map your processes objectively, identify process deviations, conduct a suitability analysis, test your new processes, proactively resolve inefficiencies, and monitor their adoption by users.
5. Evaluate your success and communicate regularly with your employees
All too often, system migration initiatives are Opaque for business owners and end users. That is why it is essential toEstablishing balance sheets during key migration phases and to monitor progress towards business outcomes for managing expectations and maintaining executive buy-in.
Throughout this process, you can use process performance measures such as compliance, workarounds, recoveries, or the lag time between its stages to compare old and new systems and measure the impact of your optimizations.
Regular progress reports, informal discussions, FAQs, newsletters, and user workshops can also keep your employees engaged throughout the migration.
About StoryShaper:
StoryShaper is an innovative start-up that supports its customers in defining their digital strategy and the development of automation solutions tailor-made.
Sources: StoryShaper, Celonis
