Enterprise%20Resource%20Planning%20Systems%20(ERP):%20Lessons%20Learned

1
Enterprise Resource Planning Systems
(ERP)Lessons Learned

• Jim S.C. Tom
• Associate Vice Chancellor for
• Information Technology
• UMSL
• for BA5800

2
Topics

• Introduction
• ERP at a University
• Lessons
• Current status
• Future

3
Whats an ERP?

• enterprise resource planning system
• integrated system to manage
• Financial transactions and records accounts
  payable/receivable, payments, invoices, vendors,
  etc.
• Personnel records, payroll, benefits, taxes,
  etc.
• Other components that might be included
• Inventory and asset management
• Factory operations
• Supply chain management
• Customer relationship management

4
The Hope

• Integrate all the information required to operate
  and plan a business
• Decision making information at your fingertips
• Get rid of the mainframe
• Cheaper, faster, better

5
The Reality

• A lot harder than people realized
• Over budget
• Over time
• Integration not achieved
• Operating costs much higher than expected

6
ERP at a University

• Financial system
• HR system
• Student information
• Other components that might be included
• Constituent relationship management (CRM)
• Fund-raising (development)
• Classroom scheduling and management

7
ERP at University of Missouri

• Latest effort began around 1995 well before my
  time
• Started in earnest in 1998
• Goals
• Streamline administrative processes (reduce
  costs)
• Replace administrative software systems
• Results
• Over time
• Over budget
• User dissatisfaction
• Ambiguous achievement of goals

8
Lesson 1 Ask the hard questions

• What problem are we trying to solve?
• Who cares?
• What are the assumptions?
• Wheres the payoff?
• Do you have buy-in?
• Who are the stakeholders?
• Do you have executive/managerial support?
• Have you involved the end-users?

9
Lesson 2 Plan

• Develop a Charter to capture
• Goals
• Executive/management sponsorship
• Answers to the hard questions
• Develop an overall concept
• Broad milestones and timeline
• Required resources, internal and external
• Develop as realistic a budget as you can

10
Lesson 3 Communicate

• This is crucial, not motherhood and apple pie
• Communicate to executive/management
• Communicate within your team
• Communicate with all your stakeholders
• Honesty, openness problems as well as successes

11
Lesson 4 Manage the Project

• Appoint a Project Manager
• Develop detailed tasks and timelines
• Develop accountability
• Track progress
• Adjust as necessary

12
Lesson 5 Its not about Technology

• Success is not just on time and on budget
• Nice as those outcomes are
• Success is about changing the way you do business

13
Current Status at UM

• Finance and HR systems are operational on latest
  version of software
• January 2007, UMSL is heading into the formal
  implementation phase of a new Student Information
  System
• UMR is already live
• UMKC and UMC are in the middle of implementation

14
Whats different?

• UMSL has been preparing for a year
• The outcomes or measures of success are clear,
  including
• Self-service that is, direct access to relevant
  student information for faculty, staff and
  students
• Improved service to students
• Recruitment
• Admissions
• Advising and retention
• Financial management
• teamwork

15
UMSL plans

• Began building a joint team with resources from
  ITS and from Student Affairs
• Secured buy-in from Chancellor, Provost, Vice
  Chancellors, Deans
• Learned (and continue to learn) from sister
  campuses as well as other universities
• Developed a Charter and preliminary plan
• Developed budget and resource requirements

16
Progress

• Completing a number of preparatory tasks
• Developing a communications plan
• Faculty, staff and students
• Creation of a Project Management Office
• Developed overall timeline and task definitions
• Found space for a teamroom

17
Challenges

• Resources
• Internal difficult to recruit
• External consultants are expensive and in short
  supply as well
• System major technical work is done by System
  resources, who will still be working on UMKC and
  UMC implementations
• Keeping current operations going while
  implementing a new system

18
Future

• Fully operational in Fall 2006 old system will
  be shut down
• Changes in business processes to best practice
  more user or customer focused
• Better information for decision-making
• Ambiguity in underlying software system our ERP
  is Peoplesoft, bought by Oracle. New versions
  will be converged system called Fusion, due
  in 2009

19
Wheres the market going?

• Disclaimer my personal thoughts
• End of monolithic systems
• Encapsulation of core functionality
• Modular functionality that will interact using
  Service-oriented Architecture

20
But whats the key?

• What does it do for the business?

21
Questions