Even we are a new company, our consultants and collaborators have several years of having been implementing Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) which is the basis of what NetSuite EPM is, so we will be sharing some of their stories, and what in their opinion worked, and didn’t work, at the different EPM implementation projects they have leaded or being part of.
1st Story: how to start a successful EPM implementation
Additionally to being founder of epm4ns.no Roger Medina is a Certified Implementator of Oracle’s Planning EPM module (equivalent to NetSuite EPM Planning & Budgeting – NSPB), so here his recommendations to implement NetSuite Planning & Budgeting (NSPB) successfully:
1. Don’t start if your ERP is not ready
The main data source to implement NetSuite Planning & Budgeting is your NetSuite ERP (your NetSuite accounting system), so it must have been in use for at least some months so
2. Start small, but grow big
Most successful EPM projects have started under a “Quick Hit” approach: achievable scopings of less than 6 weeks of implementation time.
3. Appoint one specific person as Project Leader and you (CFO/CEO) be the Executive Sponsor
Additionally to appoint the right person as Project Leader (usually a member of Finance), the CEO (if a small company) or CFO in a midsize company, should play the role as Executive Sponsor, which will require: having a follow-up meeting once per month, being the main spokeperson for the EPM implementation and its benefits, be accessible in case an escalation is needed, thanking the team for their involvement, esentially.
4. Trash-in, not always Trash-out
An EPM system leverages on your current and historical data, so if you don’t rely on your data, implementing an EPM will very likely will not solve this problem at its sources, but it is true that can serve as a temporary step where the “one-truth” is stored, as NetSuite EPM allows you to perform extensive data-checking and data-cleansing importing data mechanisms, so you will trust better its data.
5. Bet for probed and secure FP&A technology, and not for flashy dashboards.
There is a trend in the EPM and Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) tools to compare EPM tooling just for ow nice or flexible are its dashboarding capabilities, and it is true that this should be a selection factor, but it is not one of the most important ones. Look for security, performance, metadata integrations with your ERP, easily account structure updating, and more. If you need strong dashboarding capabilities, you will always be able to add Powr BI or NetSuite Warehouse Analytics to your NetSuite EPM.
6. Look for the right implementation partner for you.
As important as selecting the right EPM tool, it is to select the right implementation partner, as they will be the front-face to you when in an urgency. Here there is not a “one-size fits all” approach, but “equals connect”, so if you are an small or midsize company look for an implementer whose reaction times as your own customers would demand.
7. Try to speak with a real customer.
If the demo went well and the proposal of the implementer fits your budget, then ask to talk with a real customer without the implementer and software provider present, so you can receive the real answers you need to confirm your decision. Ask for the “what didn’t go so well” learnings from other customers.
8. Once started, no doubts.
Once your EPM implementation project has been signed with the supplier, it is very understandable that you could have doubts if you made the right decision (specially after the solution you didn’t select sends you a much lower pricing, or you read about a new “just launched” software for EPM), but don’t have any doubts. Most of the benefit of implementing will come from the way you implement it and how well it is being used by your organization, and not from the capabilities the tool itself has, so no doubts.
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