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Don’t Let Your Microsoft Dynamics ERP Solution Fall Short: 5 Tips for a Successful Implementation

by Frank Hamelly
Senior Consultant, I.B.I.S., Inc.,

Based on an unscientific poll on my blog, ERP system utilization rates seem to reflect a disappointing trend that I have observed anecdotally for years. 

When asked "How much of your ERP system does your company use?", 56% of the vote indicates 30-40%, 21% of the vote indicates 50-60%, and the remainder indicates 70-80%.  If you weight these results, the average is less than 50% - a result that would not surprise many ERP consultants and VARs, whether or not they'd like to admit it.  (Note:  results of the poll are incomplete at this point as there is still about a week left before the poll closes.  Please go to the blog and register your vote.)

Why is it that the average company responding indicates that they use less than half the functionality of their system?

Were they oversold when they decided to go with the product and ended up purchasing more functionality than was needed?  Possibly - it happens once in awhile.

Did they get most of the way through the implementation and run out of time, patience, or money?  That happens too.

Were they not trained as thoroughly as the might have been and are not even aware of some of the functionality that exists?   A perfectly reasonable possibility also.

I've always thought it a shame that a company gears up for a big implementation of an exciting new ERP system and then ends up never really gaining the productivity they had hoped for when the decision was made to implement.  Most likely one or more of the above factors play a part in why the investment isn't producing the ...

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About Frank Hamelly

Frank Hamelly, Sr. Dynamics Consultant with I.B.I.S., Inc., in Charlotte, NC,  is a business and technology professional with over 25 years experience implementing and supporting various ERP systems and business process re-engineering initiatives across all organizational areas and across various industries, for small, mid-sized, and Fortune 500 companies.  He has held numerous positions in Accounting, Finance, Customer Service and Information Systems.  His application experience includes SAP R/3, Baan, Fourth Shift, Peachtree, MAS 90/200, Quickbooks and Microsoft Dynamics ERP.  His industry experience includes manufacturing, , distribution, telecom, aerospace, life sciences, utilities and media.  Frank studied Business Administration with an Accounting concentration at the University of Pittsburgh.  He is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP), a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and has been named a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) each year since 2008.  He writes articles for Dynamics-related web sites and is a regular speaker at Microsoft Dynamics Convergence, GPUG Summit, MSDynamicsWorld's Decisions Virtual Conference, a trainer and presenter for the Great Plains Users Group (GPUG) and has been a reviewer for various books written by fellow MVPs.  Frank is author of the blog GP2themax with 5,000 visits per month.

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