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ERP Roadmap for an Acquisition-Focused Growth Strategy
A Collaborative Approach to Harmonizing the System Landscape, Reducing Complexity, and Enhancing Cybersecurity
2023-10-30
Client
Leading company within professional workwear and tools
Services
ERP Strategy and Roadmap
Industries
Manufacturing Wholesale
The problem
The client's growth through acquisitions had led to a fragmented ERP system landscape, characterized by multiple ERP systems that were neither integrated nor met cybersecurity standards. This fragmentation had disrupted alignment with business goals, increased costs and security risks, and created uncertainty in strategic ERP planning. Although Group Management had decided to unify the ERP landscape under a single cloud-native platform, financing and board approval remained pending due to the absence of a concise business rationale and plan. Therefore, we were tasked with answering the question: How should the ERP landscape be structured to best support the company's goals?
Our approach
Adopting a hypothesis-based approach, we started with the initial assumption that the company should consolidate into a single ERP platform to best support its business goals. Our task was to rigorously test this hypothesis, aiming to either refute it or gather supporting evidence.
We guided the client in developing their future ERP strategy by engaging with various business units, merging insights into a strategic plan and roadmap. Our first step involved conducting an as-is analysis to define the project scope, identify current challenges, and formulate investigative questions. Utilizing a hypothesis-driven methodology allowed us to blend targeted data collection with iterative analysis, incorporating in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, distributing questionnaires, and reviewing internal documentation. In parallel, we assessed the business strategy and capabilities to discover synergies among units.
This approach provided insights into the existing ERP landscape's benefits, challenges, costs, and strategic alignment.
The ERP analysis data collection comprised:
Identification of all ERP systems
Mapping of ERP-related costs
Determination of ERP life cycle phases
User count assessment
Evaluation of supported business capabilities
We developed a report that balanced thorough analysis with conciseness, ensuring it was digestible for the group board.
Our impact
Within two months, our team successfully defined the ERP target state and roadmap, securing the Group Board's approval to proceed to the Request for Information (RFI) phase. This achievement underscores the value of our detailed strategic planning, which not only garnered positive feedback but also facilitated our support for the client in preparing the RFI. We continued working closely with the client, recommending starting with an RFI prior to an RFP to gain insights into implementation costs and system features, laying the ground for a board proposal.
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