Implementing a scalable ERP platform to support growth after a merger

Our customer was a merger of 2 housing associations in England. Neither organisation had suitable or scalable technology systems to support their finance and HR requirements in the new entity so they needed support to research the market in order to procure both a new ERP system and an SI partner to implement the change to support their business activity and growth plans for next 5+ years. 

The change to a new platform was essential as their existing systems were very dated, out of support and inadequate for their requirements now they were a much larger organisation with a significant headcount. They also wanted to use this opportunity to standardise more of their processes and approaches across finance and HR whilst enabling their people to be more effective in their roles through better enabling technologies.  

The challenge was complicated due to newly formed teams across the business including IT who all had varying views and preferences on vendors, SIs and platforms so they wanted an independent partner to help them navigate through this process with an objective view and challenge perspective for the board. 

As a Public Sector charitable organisation, they considered the Procurement process to be impacting their ability to move quickly and achieve their ambitious roadmap for implementation.  

They required Project One to help them build an understanding of the current Finance and HR Integration scope, requirements and programme leadership approach.  

We created a Guiding Principles playbook to enable the adoption by the Finance and HR Integration Programme to support the first phases on this roadmap.  

This included: 

• A high-level plan with key activities for each phase (system selection and SI selection) 
• A defined, appropriate Governance Structure with clear accountability and escalation paths  
• An approach for clear and measurable system and vendor selection criteria aligned with the Public Procurement Regulations   
• A tailored long list of potential systems and vendors 
• A deployment options document with associated pros and cons, and recommendations  
• Supporting their internal Board preparation of Go-to market strategy, approach and recommendation for procurement phases with advice on approach and recommendation of implementation partner.

We provided a high-quality 40-slide Analysis and Recommendations pack presented to the Board members and senior management team. Included in the pack was: 

• An executive summary on observations and recommendations 
• Three implementation options each assessed from a risk, timing and complexity perspective 
• A list of recommended independent software vendors and SI’s to meet the vision, strategic aims and requirements of the customer resulting from detailed research, experience in and direct engagement with, candidate ISV’s  
• The design of a Procurement approach specific to the needs of the whole organisation that would see an accelerated selection process for ISV and SI 
• A proposed set of ISV selection criteria including non-functional requirements ready to use in the upcoming RFP process 
• A proposed Governance Structure to maximise effectiveness and efficiency of assurance and decision-making when deploying the new FI and HR solutions in the merged organisation 
• A set of recommended Programme Guiding Principles 
• A 6-month high-level plan of activities to deliver the ISV and SI selection phase.  

Our short project gave them greater clarity around their options, suitability and a more considered way forward to approach the procurement process and how they might procure effectively within the constraints of a public sector procurement framework based on their immediate and aggressive timelines for implementation due to the merger. 

This enabled the transformation programme leadership and team to engage properly with the board for approval on next steps and business case including commercials parameters. 

Project One value Add 

• Independent expertise and advice from experience ERP transformation professionals 
• The ability to execute an immediate and fast start on day 1 and continue the same level of intensity throughout the assignment, culminating in conducting 55 client interviews, documenting the findings whilst in parallel preparing our considered and independent point of view and recommendations
• Clarity of thought and ability to challenge and bring together a dysfunctional and under pressure transformation programme team who were out of their depth 
• They liked Project One due to our boutique nature, measured and hands on approach with a highly experienced team with diverse sector experience 
• Our public sector knowledge and procurement experience within the wider consulting team to leverage that SME knowledge.