Ensuring that the implementation of your order management software is completed on time is an extremely challenging and complex project to perform. It’s not uncommon for an implementation project to overrun or go over budget.
Before implementing your order management solution, it’s best to have a project plan in place. The following steps and the accompanying quick start guide will help you to consider the business requirements and resources available to smoothly make the implementation of your order management system a success.
Planning your Order Management Software Project
Software Selection: Buy or build Order Management Software?
Not all ERP systems hold the information you need to successfully fulfil an order. As a result, some organisations use spreadsheets to store parcel weights and dimensions, track deliveries and print consignment labels. The manual approach to order management is prone to error, time consuming and a financial risk to your business.
There are many mainstream order management solutions that provide standard functionality, or offer features and modules that can often be overkill for your requirements. This means that your business processes then have to adapt to the system which makes you no different from everyone else.
The majority of businesses are looking for a solution that improves order management processes, a system that’s easy to use and is customisable to suit business requirements and support growth or changes when needed.
Rapid application development solutions can help you overcome the challenges by providing you with the tools to quickly and easily build your own order management application to provide you with the flexibility your business processes need.
Building a project team
Your project team will help you to identify your order management processes, users and information that will form the basis of your order management software. There a three main core groups that you should aim to build your team around. These are:
- Users, Directors, Management and Team Members
- Project Managers
- IT team
Defining Order Management Objectives
Defining your objectives will help you to prioritise your goals and desirables in a structured order. It will enable users to establish an understanding of the order management processes currently in place and where they need to be to progress. The overall target of this stage is to identify the key metrics and goals that will support your business strategy, business processes and long term growth plans.
Building your project road map
Documenting your goals and objectives will help you to build your project road map. Your road map will enable you to assess individual processes that may have an impact on technical resource or identify any constraints that may be unearthed.
Communicate
A lack of communication can lead to misunderstanding, create delays and long term issues. The Project Manager should create a communication strategy that can create user ‘buy in’. Each communication needs to prepare the business and its users for the changes that are happening and keep them engaged. Your messaging should highlight the advantages that the new system will provide and how the business and its employees will benefit in the long term. It’s also a great opportunity to gain company-wide feedback.
Training schedule
Your business and employees will not benefit if they are just told to use a new system. Users need to understand how the software works. Create a training schedule for the employees who will be using the software on a day-to-day basis to ensure that they are efficient in using the system for their specific role.
Test and test again
Before any software implementation takes place you will need to perform final testing. This is to ensure that the order management software is working correctly and to remove any problems that may be encountered.
For a more detailed guide on planning and implementing your order management software, download the quick start guide below or call us on +44 (0) 330 99 88 700.