Discovering the implementation team

It is important for companies that want to implement ERP to understand that its implementation is not an easy task and it requires dedication, investment, and a professional partner. For example, Value Added Reseller (VAR), which has a consulting team experienced in implementing ERP, preferably has a partner that is an expert in the customer industry. On top of that, the customer should have a close engagement between management, key users, and end users during the implementation project. The implementation team is considered to be the key success factor for the ERP implementation.

The following diagram illustrates the ERP implementation team that consists of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and key users from customer- and partner-side applications and technical consultants. This team works together closely during the implementation, where the customer representatives (SMEs and key users) deliver the business requirements (that is, what they are expecting from ERP), with the consulting team that bridges the gap between the business requirements and the implemented application. This comes through several workshops via analysis, design, development, and testing. Microsoft plays a role in the implementation life cycle; the FastTrack team from Microsoft is a customer program that works on the implementation from the beginning to ensure safe onboarding for the customer to the cloud solution.

In order to check the full FastTrack service offering, you can go to https://fasttrack.microsoft.com/dynamics. 

The Microsoft Support team works directly with partners and customers on support requests, and there is also a newly introduced team which is responsible for service requests that are related to the production environment:

 

The implementation team should focus on two types of internal client: business executives and end users. Each client has a different perspective of the ERP implementation, and the implementation team should consider their requirements during the implementation life cycle. The executives' management focuses on reporting and end results, and the implementation team delivers policies and procedures to end users, who then operate the final product, which is the ERP application.

Responsibilities and motivation of an ERP consultant

Application consultant, functional consultant—the job title differs from one company to another, but whatever the title is, the person doing this job around financial and ERP software is considered as the middleman between the application and the technology, as well as having the key role of driving the adoption of a new technology by the business. The application consultant can start their career after graduation from university; they can major in business administration, finance, or information systems, if it covers a subject related to business.

Alternatively, the application consultant can start working in other fields. Some people start out as an accountant, procurement agent, commercial agent, or even sales representative. I do not consider it a career shift; I consider it as an advance in your career path. In other words, it is capitalizing on previous experience.

Traditionally, consulting skills are divided into two main areas: the business side, which is related to business aspects, and the technical side, which is related to the technicality of ERP. Then, there is a more general soft skills set that all application consultants need, as they spend most of their time in discussions, workshops, and training, related to business.

Some of the key skills that a company should look for in an application consultant, broken down into business side, technical side, and soft skills, are highlighted in the following diagram:

 

Application consultants have a very important role in the ERP implementation project, as they are involved in implementation tasks and activities. Microsoft Dynamics Sure Step has defined the application consultant role during implementation phases. It is a long and broad list of tasks, and this range of tasks is what I believe keeps most application consultants motivated and satisfied with their jobs. The challenges are always changing and the career path offers many opportunities to develop new skills.