Page 221 -

Chapter 7 • Operations and Postimplementation 197

2
will see the business metrics move in the direction you’re seeking. Most people in the IT field,
however, now believe that the training component that matters most to success is not showing
clients where to point and click. This has historically been called “training,” but it is now viewed
as inadequate. Truly valuable training must focus on the underlying flow of information through
the business.
John Conklin, the CIO of World Kitchen (formerly Corning), said he “separates
training into two parts: education and training.” He asserts that “education is the why, who,
and where issues, while training is the how part of the equation.” ERP implementations were
historically considered purely technical, but today most issues during and after an implemen-
tation are people and culture related. The human element of the training process is so impor-
tant because the users must understand how the relationships of processes and people in
different departments affect each other. For example, users must understand how poor data
entry processes from an operational standpoint can adversely affect other parts of the
business. If the sales department inputs questionable data into the ERP, it is entirely possible
that it will have a waterfall of negative consequences down the line (e.g., invoices not getting
sent or, worse, not being paid).
As previously stated in many ERP implementations, training is not given very much consid-
eration in the overall process. Training is the first thing to cut when it comes to budget. Even though
training should be conducted just in time, it usually comes as a postimplementation concern when
deadlines are already missed and timeframes are being compressed to fit the schedule. Thus, it gets
put into the postimplementation schedule as a last-minute activity and is usually problematic.
With regard to business process, training must be put forth to middle management
because decisions that once had no negative effect on the business (e.g., circumventing system
inputs in order to get product to customers expediently) may in fact be catastrophic in an ERP
postimplementation environment. Although trained in operating, the system managers will not
see far enough down the road to decide to forego the short-term benefits of conducting a bad
business process. Only a broad education in the company’s ERP-mediated business processes
will do that.
Overall, training needs to be endorsed by senior management early in the implementation
process so that adequate funding and scheduling are utilized for business processes and technical
training.

STABILIZATION
The stabilization process begins when the ERP system software is in production, initial training
is complete, and conversion of critical data is done. It has taken a lot of time and effort by the
project teams to get to this point. There have been many difficult and challenging issues, but the
implementation itself is not the goal—it is merely the means that helps an organization to get to
the predefined goals (e.g., labor savings, better customer service, and process improvements).
In any case, it is a major accomplishment to get to this point.
After the ERP system goes live, the organization will need to shift into a stabilization
process. This process can take anywhere from 60 to 90 days, depending on the number of issues.

2 Ibid.