Written By Andrew Fraser 

Effective new ERP implementation planning helps your organization prepare for a smooth transition to a new system. A strong plan also ensures the ERP fits your daily operations. To begin, assign a Project Manager who leads the work, coordinates tasks, and keeps the project on schedule. This person guides the team through gathering requirements and understanding how each department uses data.

Identifying Key Stakeholders for ERP Planning

Strong ERP planning starts with the right group of stakeholders. These individuals understand how their departments operate and how information moves through each process. Their input makes the system design more accurate and reduces the chance of missing important details.

Typical departments involved in planning include:

• Accounting
• Sales Order Processing
• Inventory
• Purchasing
• Manufacturing, Engineering, and Quality
• Shipping
• Management and Executive Leadership

Each department should create a clear list of the reports and processes they rely on. When teams organize these needs into Required, Would Like, and Not Required, they can review ERP options more effectively and compare features with fewer delays.

Documenting System Requirements and Business Processes

Before selecting a system, each department should also document how its work gets done. This step includes identifying where data comes from, how it moves through the workflow, and what teams expect the system to produce. Clear documentation helps everyone understand the current state of operations. It also makes it easier to evaluate ERP solutions and reduces confusion later in the project.

Evaluating Hosting and Technical Requirements

Technical decisions play an important role in new ERP implementation planning. Your organization must decide whether the system will operate in the cloud or on internal servers. In addition, you should determine where data will be stored and how users will access it. These choices affect performance, security, and long-term growth. They also help the project team understand what equipment and tools are needed before the implementation begins.

Preparing Open and Historical Data

Data preparation is a major part of ERP planning. Each business must decide what information to bring into the new system. Some data can be migrated, while other data may require manual entry. Because different datasets follow different rules, reviewing them early helps prevent delays during the implementation.

Common data categories include:

• General Ledger accounts and financial history
• Inventory items, categories, quantities, and transactions
• Open purchase orders and purchasing history
• Open and historical sales orders and invoices
• Customer records, open AR, and historical AR
• Vendor records, open AP, and historical AP
• Fixed assets and asset history

By reviewing this information in advance, teams avoid last-minute cleanup and ensure the new ERP system starts with accurate data.

Selecting the Right ERP System

Selecting a new ERP system requires structure and clear expectations. During this phase, the Project Manager schedules demonstrations, gathers feedback, and compares each option to the documented requirements. This approach gives decision-makers a complete view of how each ERP solution supports the organization.

After selecting the system, the team can map the requirements to the ERP’s features. This step guides configuration, testing, and training. It also helps the project move forward with fewer interruptions, since the team already understands how the system fits the business.