Embarking on an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) upgrade is a pivotal moment for any organization. These upgrades demand considerable investments of time, money, and resources. A frequently asked question is whether it’s more advantageous to integrate Intelligent Automation (IA) before, during, or after the ERP upgrade. This isn’t a straightforward decision, as each phase of the upgrade offers unique opportunities for automation. Let’s explore the strategic timing for integrating IA to maximize its benefits throughout your ERP transformation.
Automation Before the ERP Upgrade
Preparation is key. Initiating IA before your ERP upgrade can establish a strong foundation, ensuring smoother transitions and better alignment with business goals. Here’s why starting early can be beneficial:
1. Temporary Automations to Free Up Staff Time
Using IA temporarily for certain processes that will become obsolete post-upgrade can significantly free up staff time. For instance, for a customer in the Utilities sector, we automated their order entry processes, cutting down 90% of the manual workload, even though they knew that this process would be overhauled with the new ERP in 1-1.5 years. This automation allowed the team to dedicate more time and resources to the ERP upgrade project, with a payback period of less than 6 months.
2. Optimal Decision-Making Between ERP Customization and Automation
Sometimes, IA can serve as a more effective solution than customizing the ERP. For example, a Belgian hospital faced a decision: customize their ERP to handle financial transaction reconciliation or automate this process using Robotic Process Automation (RPA). They chose RPA as it was quicker and more cost-effective. Deciding between customization and automation before the upgrade is crucial, as it can prevent unnecessary customizations that are better handled by automation.
Automation During the ERP Upgrade
Navigating the transformation. Implementing IA during your ERP upgrade can offer immediate benefits and simplify complex processes. Consider these advantages:
1. Data Cleansing and Migration
Automating data cleansing before an upgrade ensures that only high-quality, relevant data is transferred to the new system. For a manufacturing company, we automated the cleansing and transformation of customer and product data, significantly accelerating the data migration process.
2. Automated Testing
Using IA for testing workflows during the upgrade can ensure these critical tasks are completed accurately and consistently. Automation tools like UiPath offer extensive options for test automation, transforming how testing is conducted and greatly enhancing efficiency during the upgrade.
Automation After the ERP Upgrade
Post-upgrade optimization.
The necessity for Intelligent Automation (IA) becomes particularly evident after an ERP upgrade is completed. It’s a common scenario where organizations, freshly upgraded, suddenly face a surge in repetitive tasks due to more stringent data entry requirements imposed by the new ERP system. Such an increase in manual work can have tangible consequences; for example, we encountered a company whose employees developed “tennis elbows” from the repetitive tasks required by their updated ERP. Additionally, these organizations often have a lengthy backlog or wishlist of further ERP functionalities, necessitating prioritization. Discovering that IA can efficiently manage many of these tasks often proves to be a transformative insight.
Implementing Intelligent Automation after the ERP upgrade can significantly enhance the return on investment (ROI) of your new ERP system. This strategy not only alleviates the burden of increased manual tasks but also streamlines operations, enabling a focus on high-priority enhancements and continuous system improvement.
1. Filling the Blind Spots of Your New ERP
For instance, a retail company benefited from automating the administrative processes of returns. We have also helped several customers automate order processing with RPA and Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), covering functionalities that the new ERP did not support.
2. Enhancing Productivity in Your New Application Landscape
After an ERP upgrade, implementing complex automations that interact with multiple systems can lead to continual process optimization and increased efficiency, maximizing the ROI of the new system.
Conclusion
So, when is the best time to start with intelligent automation in relation to an ERP upgrade? The truth is that each phase—before, during, or after—provides strategic advantages. The type of IA use cases that are most suitable will depend on the specific phase of the upgrade. Starting early can yield significant benefits, but even post-upgrade automation plays a critical role in leveraging the full potential of your ERP system. In essence, the best time to start with intelligent automation was yesterday. Let’s not wait to unlock the full potential of your business processes with the power of IA.
