Implementing ERP systems takes a lot of effort, and it takes a team to successfully do it. The implementation team consists of people who know the business industry, are product experts, and have tons of experience implementing the product working along with the customer's own team. As a customer, it is your responsibility to select the right people, vendor, and product that fit your business need. In this section, we will talk about who should be part of your implementation team and how they can help you to succeed. Some of the important factors of the implementation team are discussed in the subsequent sections.
ERP implementation team structure
Implementation partner
When you are implementing any Dynamics 365 production, you will need an implementation partner to help you with your digital transformation journey. Dynamics 365 implementation partners bring a lot of expertise in the area so you can be assured of successful implementation. Here are the two main reasons you would need an implementation partner:
- Product licenses: As a customer, you cannot directly buy the licenses from Microsoft. Microsoft has partnered with many companies that work in the Dynamics 365 domain and sell the Dynamics 365 product licenses to customers through these partners.
- Partner's expertise: To become a partner with Microsoft, companies have to prove to Microsoft that they have the expertise to implement the Dynamics 365 products. Partners are the first layer of support to the customer. Microsoft relies on the partner's expertise to help customers with the implementation and support.
ISV solution
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations comes with great features to support many businesses from different industry areas. Most of the time, 80% of the business need can be fit with out-of-box features provided within Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations, but there are those 20% of the requirements for which you might need to either change the business process or do some enhancement to meet that need.
When these business requirements become very common within an industry, sometimes ISVs develop the vertical solution that sits on top of standard Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations. These ISV solutions are developed in such a way so it can be plug-and-play, which means as a customer/partner you wouldn't have to do much to implement these ISV solutions. Here are some examples of business areas that have ISV solutions:
- Sales tax
- EDI integration
- Multi-tier pricing
It is important to check for an ISV solution before you start on any big enhancement as there might already be a solution that may save you a lot of effort.
Solution advisors
Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations implementation is a team effort. This team is made of the customer, the partner, Microsoft, and ISV solutions providers. The team needs to work like a well-oiled machine to achieve a successful implementation.
Sometimes customers hire an experienced independent solution advisor to work with the implementation team. Normally, a solution advisor has done many ERP implementations across various industries, which comes in very handy during the solution designs. The solution advisor's role is to keep customers and partners honest and keep them on their toes by checking each and every step of the project.
We cannot emphasize enough the importance of putting a good implementation team in place to make the implementation successful. Any decision taken during the implementation process can make a big difference, and a good implementation team can make sure you make good decisions.