If you are considering an implementation of SAP Business One let me start by congratulating you on your choice of product. SAP Business One is one of the best SME products on the market today. As you are reading this blog you might be at the early investigation stage for new business management software or you might be about to finalise your plans for the implementation of SAP Business One and you are searching the web for some implementation advice. The question we want to answer is – “I have a budget for implementation services – how do I ensure that I deliver on a budget”. What areas of the proposal should I focus on to ensure that I can best manage the implementation to a budget?

In my experience, the areas of implementation of any business management solution that causes the most budgetary scope creep are: data conversion, user acceptance testing, reporting and development.

It sounds obvious but let’s not forget that a good scope of work is critical to managing any implementation.

Areas of focus for this scope of works should include all areas of functionality but let’s focus our discussion on the areas of greatest potential scope creep:

1. Data conversion – the team at Leverage has written a blog dedicated to data conversion so I won’t repeat what has already been written. The type of data conversion that you decide on together with your ability to provide good clean data from your legacy system will have a substantial impact on pricing and will help contain any scope creep.
2. User acceptance testing – this is a critical component of any good implementation methodology. When the pilot system is installed it is critical that your users test the system in a “day to day working environment”. Don’t underestimate the need for a comprehensive user acceptance testing plan – what functionality will be tested by which users on what days?
3. Reporting – SAP Business One has lots of really good reporting options – SAP Crystal Reports, SAP Business One standard reports, SAP Business One Query Manager, SAP Business One Dashboards, SAP Business One Excel Pivot tables etc. More than any other business management solution on the market today SAP Business One gives you a number of reporting options – this is one of the real advantages of partnering with the world’s largest provider of ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software. Even with all of these options available, reporting will require careful planning. What reports are required and in what format (mobile, printed, web) can have a substantial impact on implementation pricing.
4. Development – SAP Business One offers some great development tools – the SAP Business One SDK (Software Development Kit) and the SAP Business One Integration Framework. There is a Solution Developers Network – where SAP Business One development teams can go online and share their experiences and ideas. Development for customers can range from simple add-on solutions to comprehensive integration and modular development projects. Development and integration work to any business management solution should be carefully scoped and tested.

Let’s not forget that when implementing a business management solution the involvement of the customer is critical – in fact, there are several areas where the customer can assist to reduce implementation costs.

A good implementation methodology, a solid scope of work and the commitment of your team and a good SAP Business One partner will ensure success every time.

When implementing SAP Business One or any other business management solution the question I often get asked is “what resource is required to ensure a successful implementation?”.

These are the key areas of implementation that customers should focus on to ensure implementation success:

• Internal project management – your SAP Business One partner will provide project management resource to guide you through the project. Do not underestimate the importance of having your own internal project manager to manage budget, expectations, co-ordinate training and user feedback, track and follow up on user acceptance testing and report on progress to senior management.
• Super users – make sure that you appoint super users to each functional area of your SAP Business One implementation (finance, sales, logistics etc.). Super users will take responsibility for co-ordinating training, user testing and feedback in their department.
• Admin super user – SAP Business One has been designed for small to medium sized businesses. The total cost of ownership is relatively low when compared to other mid-market business management solutions. You can ensure a low cost of ownership by training one of your more technical users as a systems administrator. The systems administrator will take responsibility for day to day SAP Business One administrative tasks – setting up new users, basic support for user queries, user authorisations and reporting.
• Senior management participation – all good implementation methodologies refer to the fact that buy-in from senior management is required for a successful implementation of business management solutions. I would argue that you need more than senior management buy-in – you need senior management input into some key design phases of the implementation. The amount of senior management participation required will depend on the size of your organisation. In smaller companies where the senior management are actively involved in several day to day business activities you will definitely want to make sure that the senior team is involved in the more strategic design workshops. If you do not involve senior management you might spend time configuring your solution only to find out that the end result is not what management want.
• Get organised – a basic requirement that cannot be overlooked. SAP provides an implementation methodology for SAP Business One which includes templates for project plans, project minutes and step by step guides to assist with your implementation.
• Scope of works – make sure that you and your SAP Business One implementation partner put together a comprehensive scope of works. The scope of works should include data conversion, reporting requirements, functional footprint and integration / development requirements. Once again the SAP Business One implementation methodology provides some good scope of works templates which can be very useful.
• Phased implementation approach – depending on your timeframes and resource availability you might want to consider a phased implementation approach. Implement your critical business processes in phase one and include some of the nice to have aspects in a second stage implementation.
• Set realistic goals – make sure that your go live date and implementation plans are realistic. Give yourself time for user acceptance testing and training.

The team at Leverage Technologies have successfully implemented more than 140 SAP Business One sites across Australia – if you want any additional implementation advice feel free to call us on 1300 045 046.