A project is in place for something to be achieved, and any initiative in ERP adoption is considered a major undertaking. Hence, such initiatives should not be treated as mere IT programs but as organizational initiatives.

The definition of a strong start is important and may need to be personalized as per the size and complexity of the project. In essence, when project goals are committed from top to bottom and the vision is accepted by all of the stakeholders of the project, it is considered to be a strong start. Often, this is just like laying down the seeds of a plant and watering them with commitment. While detailed planning will happen shortly, emphasis needs to be given to pre-planning.

Business drivers and organizational goals often trigger the conceptualization of an initiative. Use these levers to pre-plan for the project and have a high level of execution throughout the process.

A strong project start is imperative in laying down the foundations for assured success. We can ensure a strong start by mixing in all of the key ingredients:

• Vision statement: This is super important and should be written in business language, in such a way that any person outside the project should also be able to read it and understand what the project aims to achieve. A project vision statement should always be tangible and achievable.
• Executive sponsorship: Securing involvement and push from top management is important.
• Benefits/value addition: Consider what benefits and value addition the project would help to accomplish.
• Timeline for going live and for realizing benefits: Setting realistic timelines is crucial to attaining them.
• Constraints and assumptions called out upfront and validated: These are important to be made known to everyone who could be impacted as it can alter the project's course if ignored.
• Identification of solution advisors and/or implementation partners: An important evaluation to ensure the right team mix, expertise, focus, and momentum is given to the project.
• Budgetary approvals: A must have before initiating a project as an ERP project needs that focus, being such a transformative initiative.
• SME: Identification of in-house subject matter experts (SMEs) and securing their time from regular work is key to project success.
• Change management: The ERP journey brings a lot of change and addressing change in a planned way helps smooth adoption.

Projects are accomplished by people and the right team composition is crucial. In the next section, we cover this in detail.