What questions an ERP consultant should ask ?

Bista Solutions Inc. - Open Source Applications
What questions an ERP Consultant  should ask his/her clients before implementing an ERP Solution

The below is the review I researched from a social networking site.

Jan Pabellon - Web Surfer, Cloud Watcher
Depends. Typically you will look at the client's industry which will give you a head start on understanding their business model, competitive environment, etc which will clue you in to their business drivers--what drives revenues, costs, etc. This will give you an understanding of what business challenges they may be facing and how your solution can address those challenges. Example--typically an ERP system saves cost by integrating systems, making workflows more efficient, etc. Or it could be they are addressing a compliance issue where they need a single source of "truth" or system of record for the entire organization.
Jonathan Gross - Lawyer and IT Consultant
The Planning Phase requires comprehensive analysis and process mapping. Given the breadth of the topic, I've attached a couple of resources that you should find helpful (you have to fill out a brief contact info form, though).

Rahmat Sobari - Software Product Development / Project Manager
1. Business operation? (Industry sector, market, vendors, supply-chain, customers)
2. Organization\Company structure?
3. Production process, from end to end (raw material to finish good)?
4. Company management functions (Finance, HR, Purchasing, Sales, Marketing, IT, Internal Audit)?

Veronika Gultom - Business Intelligence Consultant & IT Software Specialist
First, you have to explore how the SOP of ‘current system’ going on is. Current system can be manual system, mean still not computerized but they do it manually.
From there you can translate the SOP into flow system, than compare to the ERP you will implement, and decide which module to implement first before the other, and how you implement it together with user.
Shawn Doyle - Executive Consultant and trainer, extensive US and UK business experience, Curitiba, Brazil
According to research I've read, something like 50-70% of major change programs, like an ERP solution, fail completely or fail to achieve their targets because the activity focuses on the technical solution...and virtually ignores the people and the effect the change will have on them. The first step in this process is to get the staff to recognise there is even a problem to be solved or a reason to make improvements. Before even attempting to ask technical questions, understand what is wrong with the current method and what, specifically, the company wants to achieve with a new ERP. Then, talk to people working in the current system to find out what they think of the current system and what isn't working. And, finally, make the current managers in the company the change agents and accept that implementing the new ERP is now their job, not something to be farmed out to someone else while they keep the operation running. They will have to learn to do both at the same time.

Henry Motyka - Big 4 Business Solutions Manager
You need to see what the accounting and book keeping structure is like. You also need to understand how the client handles revenue and payments. It is important to understand exactly who does what in the organization, and more importantly, how information flows.

Next, I think it is important to find out how the client uses technology. Who controls technology? Are they easy to work with? Are they willing to work with you or will they give you a hard time every step of the way?

Another area to be examined is the personnel. What is their level of expertise? How much training will be needed to implement a system?

The risk tolerance of the firm has to be assessed. What level of financial and computer controls are there in the company?

Lastly, what exactly what does the client want? What level of reporting do they expect from the system?

Mike Stankavich - Multi-disciplinary IT Professional
I have personally worked with Mark for over 15 years. He knows ERP selection like nobody else I have ever met. I highly recommend his services for ERP selection, project planning, and cost control. According to his bio he has been involved in about six hundred enterprise software projects and has delivered hundreds of webinars and workshops on enterprise software selection and controlling implementations. I definitely believe that. Just his cost control process alone could easily save more than the cost of his services.

John Manthey - Director, PMO/Project Management Practice at The Barnier Group, LLC
Based on the varied experience of a number of ERP projects, key questions I would ask a client are:

1. what is the tangible benefit to the organization and its customers of implementing an ERP? If an ERP is the answer, what is the question?

2. How much money is an organization realistically in a position to invest in an ERP?

3. Is the organization willing to adapt its business processes to the ERP? Is the default answer to use ERP functionality as is out of the box whenever possible?

4. Are there any functions or areas which are out of scope for the ERP, and what are the business reasons for not including them in the scope?

These questions pertain more to readiness and feasibility, but I would want to have clear answers before having a client spend money on this type of initiative.


Deborah Hyatt, PMP
You have gotten several good answers and there is just a ton of material available, but I wanted to add my two cents worth on the personal level. I always ask my BAs to specifically ask each person they work with how that person defines success for the outcome of the project. I ensure this question is asked at all levels. This fills a few purposes for me. It tells me how far apart the various tiers might be in their expectations and so allows me to reset them if necessary. It also helps the lower line levels feel more involved in a successful outcome because they feel like their opinion has mattered to us – which it does. It allows me to provide a more unified picture of what the end result will be and provides that ‘early warning’ system when everyone does not have unified vision.

Kader Beneddine - Business Analyst at NSERC
The first questions I would ask would be:
Why do you want to implement an ERP Solution? What do you want to achieve or what do you want to fix/ improve?
What is the scope of the project?
What about the buy in?
Will the key people in the Organization be implied?
What about the budget?
What about the willingness for change?
What about change management?

Then the analysis of the current business and how the new one should be can start.


Luca Polidori - IT infrastructure at Unilever - Frozen
Being the implementation a project by definition we need to assess the enterprise environmental factors and the organizational process assets that are the principal drivers of a project of this kind.

This is not exactly my pot, but basing on the experience in a big company that implemented an ERP more than 15 years ago I would perform a gap analysis between the processes in place and the limitations of the ERP system. My company had to adapt some processes to the ERP system because 15 years ago it was less customizable than how it's now.
I would suggest a phased approach including a further analysis to identify which parts of the business need to be implemented and in which order.
The PMI methodology is enough, you don't need to invent anything.

Annie Muller, PMP - AITP Co -Chair of PMO Group, Abbott Consultant/Project Mgr
1 - Why, Who, What, Where, When and How
2 - Why are we implementing an ERP solution? Define scope and success
3 - Who will be implementing the ERP solution?
4 - What goals and objectives are we trying to achieve with an ERP solution?
5 - Where are we implementing the ERP solution?
6 - When will the ERP be implemented (timeline, time-to-market)?
7 - How is it going to be implemented?


Eric Van Wetering - Managing Consultant at ThinkTankz
Even more important than the questions is the context in which these questions are asked. The decision maker(s) and consultancy lead should be able to see eye to eye and should be able reach a common understanding.