What Role does Senior Management Play in an ERP Project?
Companies that implement ERP software continue to make the same mistakes that were made 10 years ago. They fail to monetize the intended business benefits while spending more than planned. At the heart of the matter is a chronic lack of knowledge and commitment on the part of senior management. Senior management continue to view an ERP implementation as an IT project rather than the company wide business endeavor that it is. Senior management must become more engaged in ERP implementation: While training for project teams and end users is a staple of all ERP projects, too little attention is paid by senior executives after the purchase decision is made. While senior management commitment to an ERP endeavor must include both sufficient funding and executive sponsorship, it is imperative that such sponsorship be more enlightened about ERP issues before the implementation commences to ensure that paramount business issues do not become lost in the fog of an IT shuffle.
