When you, as a key user, are involved in the implementation of a new software package, you will need to have a good understanding of what this actually entails. After all, an implementation is not something you experience every year, so it will be difficult to realize what it requires of someone. To get straight to the point, I have an important tip for key users: forget the current package you are working with! And I'll tell you why.
It is replaced for a reason
Within the company where you work, the decision to replace the current software is not made lightly. There are always good reasons for this. One of the reasons is that the current package is no longer being developed while the market is changing. You want to see these changes reflected in new versions of the software. Another reason is that the software has actually become obsolete over the years. As a result, the software can hardly be integrated with modern applications that are being developed. But the most important reason is often that the current software simply no longer meets the current way of working. The fact that this software was chosen at the time is often due to a lack of improvement.
Current mode of operation is determined by the old package
The way the processes and ways of working within the current package are set up were created in part by the capabilities, idiosyncrasies and limitations in the current package to be replaced. By definition, the new software works differently. So you will have to rethink the new way of working. And not about the current way of working. That this is difficult I fully endorse. However, it is necessary to bring the implementation to a successful conclusion. So you have to completely let go of the current package.
The new package will also determine
The new package will also have its possibilities and limitations. So you will have to search, together with your colleagues and the implementation partner, for the most optimal way of working. This also means that some processes will run differently. But realize that the current processes and ways of working were determined in part by the old software. So looking back at "how it works now" really makes no sense.
Look Ahead
None of it sounds easy. It isn't. After all, the old software is familiar. You can read and write with it. But realize that it hasn't always been this way. It has also had its problems, and most of those problems you have now put behind you. Or accepted them. Or maybe not.
So see the implementation of the new software as a nice challenge to optimize the current processes. And to dust off the current way of working. The new software will come, the decision has already been made. Seize the opportunity offered by your involvement as a key user. The old package is being replaced, time for something new.
Peter Gerhardt is Senior Lead Consultant Logistics at Dysel and helps customers achieve maximum results with business software.
