A company wants to employ an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system in order to coordinate...

Understanding ERP Implementation: Implementing an ERP system involves integrating various business processes to streamline operations and improve efficiency.

First Step in ERP Implementation:

Determining Organizational Functional Requirements: This step involves identifying the specific needs and functionalities required by the organization to support its operations.

This ensures the selected ERP system aligns with the company’s goals and processes, avoiding potential mismatches and ensuring the system meets all necessary criteria.

Other Steps (for context):

Scheduling Demonstrations: Useful but should follow the identification of requirements to ensure relevant systems are evaluated.

Reviewing Supplier Capabilities: Important for the selection process but secondary to understanding internal needs.

Seeking Advice from Commodity Councils: Can provide valuable insights but should be done after defining the organizational requirements.

Conclusion: Defining the organizational functional requirements is the foundational step that guides the entire ERP selection and implementation process.

References:

“ERP: Making It Happen: The Implementers' Guide to Success with Enterprise Resource Planning” by Thomas F. Wallace and Michael H. Kremzar

Articles on ERP implementation best practices from CIO.com and Gartner