If you’re a business owner, manager, or IT specialist facing a new ERP implementation, or if you simply enjoy ERP implementation stories (and chickens), I recommend Gloria Braunschweig’s new book, Rapid Implementation. Braunschweig writes a Microsoft Dynamics GP column for MSDynamicsWorld.com, and Microsoft GP is the ERP touchstone of the entire book, but the book will prove highly useful regardless of what ERP system your company implements.
While the writing itself is imperfect, and sometimes dry when not punctuated with stories, the level of detail is very impressive. In 28 mostly-short chapters, Braunschweig provides advice and process tips for every step of implementation. The book is not written for a technical audience, so it is easy to read and easy to scan for pertinent lists of process tips.
But while the detailed advice and information is the book’s greatest strength, it also entertains with stories of implementations that went both right and wrong, as well as with a running chicken (and egg) theme.
The longest chapter in the book, “Rapid Selection of Software,” delineates a 15-step process for selecting your ERP software (http://mig.com/Software-Solutions/Enterprise-Resource-Planning-ERP). That may not sound very rapid, but the detailed advice given, along with a rationale behind every tip, can certainly save you some time. And you won’t need to spend much time developing your process with this handy checklist to use. The highlights of this chapter include a terrific list for developing your functional requirement needs, great advice on how to provide a software vendor with a request for information (RFI), and a very long and handy list of questions to ask other customers of a potential vendor.
If you’re looking at updating your ERP software, Rapid Implementation is the book for you. Get the book, then talk with MIG & Co. about rapid implementation of Microsoft Dynamics GP.
MIG & Co. is a professional consulting firm that specializes in the implementation of business management software solutions, including Microsoft Dynamics GP, SL, and CRM. We automate business processes to ensure that our customers work efficiently.
