Webinar Recap: Before You Buy: What Municipal ERP Vendors Wish You Knew

An ERP replacement brings decisions about how your municipality works, who needs to be involved and what staff will need to deliver it successfully. Getting those pieces in place before procurement helps your organization set clear expectations and make better use of the investment.

In our webinar, Before You Buy: What Municipal ERP Vendors Wish You Knew, Ben Perry and Sabina Coyle shared practical advice gathered through conversations with software providers and implementation partners. Here are the key considerations to bring to your next planning meeting.

Agree on what ERP means for your municipality

Finance, HR and IT may have different expectations of the same initiative. Bring those perspectives together early and get leadership agreement on the scope before going to market.

• Define the functions included. Consider finance, HR, payroll, property tax and utility billing, along with existing systems you intend to retain.
• Clarify who is included. Establish how the solution will serve agencies, boards and commissions, including libraries and pensioners.

These decisions help vendors understand your requirements and give departments a shared understanding of what the project will deliver.

Describe what better looks like

Clear outcomes help vendors demonstrate how their solutions would work in your municipality. Ben offered familiar examples: closing the books faster, getting accurate actuals to budget holders and helping business units understand their commitments.

Give particular attention to the circumstances that shape your operations:

• Multiple collective bargaining agreements.
• A library that needs to operate as a separate entity.
• Your municipality’s own pension authority.

Use those examples to build focused requirements and demonstration scenarios that help your team assess the fit.

Give your people time and authority

ERP implementation requires decisions about responsibilities, business processes and how departments work together. Active involvement from the CAO or another senior leader helps resolve those decisions and keep work moving.

“You need to have the right people in the room that can make the decisions.” Ben Perry

Plan for a municipal project manager, dedicated staff time and backfill where needed. Give change management its own resources and someone responsible for carrying out the work, including helping staff prepare for and adopt new processes.

Budget for the full commitment

The vendor’s proposal covers one part of the investment. Your business case also needs to account for the municipal resources and supporting work required to deliver it.

• Include the full implementation costs. Account for data migration, integrations, staffing, backfill and change management.
• Plan for uncertainty and ongoing operations. Ben recommended a contingency of 20 per cent of the total project cost, along with early decisions about support after launch.

Understanding those commitments gives senior leadership and Council a clearer basis for funding decisions.

Learn the market and your own environment

Peer conversations, requests for information and demonstrations can help your team understand what is available. Work with procurement staff to structure that engagement fairly and in keeping with your municipality’s obligations.

At the same time, examine your existing systems and connections. Sabina shared an example of an RFP that listed 25 interfaces when only 15 were needed, adding unnecessary work to the proposed scope.

• Explain the purpose of each connection. Give vendors enough context to recommend an approach.
• Keep options open where appropriate. Describe the outcome you need and invite vendors to explain how they would achieve it.

Get to know the implementation team

“You’re buying a team.” Sabina Coyle

Before signing, understand who will deliver the work, their municipal experience and their availability. Speak with municipalities they have supported and ask how the team handled challenges along the way.

Bring these questions into your evaluation:

• Who will be assigned to our project, and how much time will they dedicate?
• How will you handle a change in team members?
• What do you need from us to ensure success?
• What would you do differently from our RFP?

The answers can reveal assumptions and help both parties understand what a productive working relationship will require.

Plan for the years after launch

A phased approach gives your municipality room to establish core functions, support staff adoption and build further improvements over time. Assign ownership and resources for that continuing work while you are planning the procurement.

“You own the project, you own the product.” Ben Perry

Consider who will support users, assess new functionality and make decisions about future priorities. Those responsibilities will continue as municipal services and community needs evolve.

Watch the full webinar replay below for more examples and practical advice on preparing your municipality for ERP procurement and implementation.