The recent global report from analysts Panorama highlighted that average ERP deployments had reduced from 20 months to 16. This highlights the growth of cloud-based deployments and the trend towards ERP verticalisation. The challenges of choosing the right software, having a well-motivated project team and gaining buy in across the company remain the same.

However, what happens when you need to quickly react to a business opportunity and don’t have the luxury of an average deployment timescale to work with? Do you dismiss it or hire an army of temporary administration clerks to muddle through? We were presented with such a dilemma recently.

The food company in question needed to react quickly to take advantage of a new contract from a major retailer. Having assessed the increase in the volume needed, they concluded that a new factory would be required. This was procured and assembled in record time. However, in the rush to get the new factory built, the planning of systems was left a little late.

The system requirements for this new operation were quite extensive. They included full manufacturing and distribution, logistics handling, financial and advanced management reporting. Touch screen applications were needed to facilitate operations on the pack line by providing real-time access to orders and stock information. Mobile-based solutions managed the movement of product throughout the factory.

The first task of the joint project team was to separate essential facilities from “nice to haves”. Once the “nice to haves” were temporarily parked and the final scope agreed, there were still 35 integrated application elements to deploy. In the background, the factory’s opening was brought forward. The team now had less than six weeks to get the system developed, configured, tested and deployed. It was made clear that if the system wasn’t ready, the factory couldn’t open.

Under these conditions, the project team quickly bonded into a cohesive force. Detailed planning allowed daily progress reviews. Evenings and weekends were sacrificed as the system came together. The complete solution was implemented with a day to spare. Once the system had settled down, the team revisited the “nice to haves”, only to make an interesting discovery. Many of them had disappeared. On navigating the system, users discovered other ways of accessing the information they required.

The success of this deployment was helped by the fact that it was a new site with no baggage. However, it showed that with the right technology and dedicated skilled resources, rapid implementations can work. The key is to use the standard functionality where feasible. New ERP technologies are more flexible and provide various ways of accessing business information where legacy systems fail.