Operations and post implementation:

The ERP implementation before going-live is one of the most critical stages in an ERP project of
any firm. Following are some of the strategies which we would propose for Snapdeal.com to
follow for a successful ERP implementation.
Go-live readiness:
This process will clarify the progress toward completing the activities and identifying the major
issues on which to focus before going live. All areas must be assessed in the readiness process.
These areas include infrastructure, development, configuration, conversion, testing, training,
communications, operations, command central, reporting and users. The first checkpoint gives
the management and project team a very good idea of what remains to be done before going live.
This review has to be documented and communicated to the project and the company. The golive date needs to be evaluated at each review. The readiness review and go-live date should be
communicated to all involved to improve the credibility of the process. It is essential to discuss
the readiness reviews with the senior management to apprise them about the successes and issues
of the project. This review and status report is usually a table that shows the status of each area at
a glance, with the key activities that need to be completed before going live.
Training:
Training must be provided to all the stakeholders and should use real data and examples that will
be performed once the system is live. The stakeholders here include the employees, suppliers,
logistics firm and others. The focus should be on how the organization is going to use the system
and transactions for daily processing. Training will act as a validation of the users understanding
of how to use the system. This helps the management to identify users who need more training or
who need some additional practice on the system. The cost of the training is expected to be up to
20% of the project which is quite high, because the ERP implementation involves giving training
to external stakeholders like the suppliers. Continual training should be provided on a regular
basis for the users to utilize the system fully.
With regard to the business processes, training must be put forth to middle management because
decisions that once had no negative effect on the business may in fact be catastrophic in an ERP
port-implementation environment. Training has to be endorsed by the senior management early
in the implementation process so that adequate funding and scheduling are utilized for business
processes and technical training.
Stabilization:
This process begins when the ERP system is in production, initial training is complete and
conversion of critical data is done. After the system goes live, Snapdeal.com shifts into the
stabilization process. This process can take anywhere between 60 to 90 days, depending on the

number of issues. There should be very little development addresses during this phase. There
should be tracking and communication of problems in place. It is very important to track these
issues and resolve them. The IT staff should monitor the infrastructure software for response
times and ensure that back-ups are taken appropriately for all the hardware and software.
Training users for change management is critical and can prevent many problems that result from
frustration and confusion.
Post-production support:
The development of a post-production support plan and process is as important as any set of
activities discusses above. Key measurements need to be in place to understand the effectiveness
of the new system fully. For Snapdeal.com, the measurements such as number of orders per
second, time to delivery, etc. would help evaluate the post-implementation efficiency. The
support process is divided into tiers. Tier 1 is considered triage and is usually the help desk or
call center. Tier 2 support is where the subject matter experts are used to answer system process
questions or provide resolutions on how to maneuver through the system to complete processes.
Tier 3 can be a combination of technical staff along with vendor or implementation partner
support. These are usually complex problems that will need a technician to research and fix. This
phase is usually divided into five points. They are as follows.
Training
Continued before and after go-live date
Go-Live support
Day-to-day assistance for the stakeholders in using the system
Data validation
To ensure that the system is being used correctly and data entry processes are
being followed
Data correction
To ensure that the conversion of data between the automated interfaces is updated
correctly
New features
To ensure that the system be kept in pace to the ever changing business
environment
Knowledge transfer:
Knowledge and skill transfer should be an integral part of the implementation plan. It is very
important to document the business processes and how they are mapped to the ERP software.
Structured and integrated visibility to the knowledge base is critical for easy accessibility and
retrieval of information. The major function in this phase is to monitor the transition from one
phase to the other, which enables a smooth transfer of knowledge. One central data repository
should be used by the team to store the documents. This will eliminate duplication and losing
data.