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During the Olympic Winter Games, we saw athletes deliver top performances in just a few minutes. At such a moment, everything seems to come naturally. But behind that performance lies a long period of training, analyzing, and improving. Behind every athlete there is also a multidisciplinary team that prepares everything down to the smallest detail. In a large-scale ERP transformation, a similar Olympic approach is crucial for success.
To get straight to the point: an ERP implementation is not an IT project, but an organizational change that affects processes, data, ways of working, and people. It is not the start, but the preparation that makes the difference. Just like in elite sports, victory at the finish is determined by thorough preparation.
Like top athletes, an organization must first clearly understand where it wants to go and what is needed to get there. Setting clear goals provides direction: which processes need improvement, what results do we expect, what do we expect from the new system, and what does success look like? But just as important is involving everyone early on. An ERP transformation affects almost everyone in the organization, and only when people are truly involved does support and insight emerge. If you involve key users early in process design, testing, and training, ownership will develop naturally.
Good preparation starts with insight. How do we work now (AS IS)? And what will the future way of working (TO BE) look like? This analysis reveals inefficiencies, maps out the value chain, and shows where improvements are needed at the process, organizational, and system levels. The difference between the current and future situation leads to the fit-gap analysis: where do processes align with the ERP system standard, and where do they deviate? It is precisely here that crucial decisions are made: do we follow the standard, or do we adapt the process and system? The insights from this analysis form the basis for all decisions regarding scope, processes, organization, and system design.
The choices you make now about scope, processes, organization, and system design determine how smoothly the next phase will proceed. Think of decisions about standardization, customization, configuration, integrations, and data migration. The better this is worked out in advance, the less discussion and customization will be needed later under time pressure during implementation. And that saves time, money, and frustration. Many ERP issues during implementation are not implementation problems, but preparation problems.
Top athletes will confirm it: good preparation brings calm, focus, and confidence. It creates the optimal conditions to perform when it matters most. You could say that much of the race is already won here, even before the implementation begins.
No top athlete succeeds alone. Behind every success is a team of experts who coach, advise, and support. The same applies here. An ERP journey requires a strong team of business, IT, implementation partners, and key users. But more importantly, that team must work well together. Clear roles and responsibilities, transparent decision-making, and strong governance make the difference.
One important point is often underestimated: organizing backfill in time. Key users and process owners often already have full agendas. When they take on an important role in the ERP program, their daily work must be properly covered. If this is not arranged, it leads to overload, delays, or partial involvement. With the right people in the right place and enough room for them to fulfill their roles, control over planning, scope, and budget is achieved. And that builds confidence from start to go-live.
Success does not come all at once. Top athletes build up, test, and continuously improve. They do not wait until the last moment to try something new. A speed skater would not suddenly start using new skates right before the Olympic Games. The same principle applies to an ERP program.
Start early with:
Training together and strengthening collaboration
Dividing the program into clear phases
Completing preparatory work early so it does not fall on the critical path
This includes cleaning and standardizing data, refining processes, and making timely decisions about architecture and integrations. By doing this early, you prevent problems later. Employees also become familiar with the new way of working and the new system sooner. They grow into their roles and take responsibility. This is directly reflected in adoption. When the actual implementation begins, most risks have already been mitigated, and the team is prepared for what lies ahead.
Many organizations see go-live as the end point. In reality, it is just the beginning. Only afterward does it become clear whether the system truly works for the organization. Whether people embrace it. Whether processes actually improve. Just like in a race: the starting signal is not the finish line. That is when it really begins. Just as an athlete keeps pushing after the start until crossing the finish line, an ERP journey also requires perseverance, including aftercare, optimizations, and continuous improvement.
Angelique Bovee
Senior Consultant - ARV Consulting
“Those who see ERP as an implementation improve systems. Those who see it as a transformation improve the organization.”