As an ERP consultant from Pakistan working overseas, I get asked quite often about ERP consultants from Pakistan landing in the USA. In fact, one of my ERP clients from Pakistan asked me – what is the advantage of consultants from Pakistan to ERP integrators and system integrators in the USA? He believes that consultants form part of the integrators’ internal teams who can actually provide better advice and recommendations for ERP implementation than integrators who have hired them. He further adds that consultants also have better communication skills and more experience in dealing with business systems than Integrators. I don’t share his point of view about consultants but I can say that I too would agree with him – and this is primarily because I work with ERP consultants from Pakistan and so I understand how different they are from ERP integrators.
My first experience of ERP integration was when I got to know about ERP project management in the late 1990s. I worked as a project manager for a number of large ERP software application companies where I managed project implementation, change control and other aspects of ERP implementation. I also spent some time as an ERP consultant and project manager for many smaller ERP software application companies. The role of ERP consultants in such projects differ from those of project managers, however.
ERP consultants in Pakistan have a slightly different role to play. Project managers typically plan and manage project implementation while ERP consultants in Pakistan work with project managers to execute and monitor implementation. This difference is very important to ERP consultants in Pakistan and the way their role is perceived in the USA compared to UK and other countries. In some countries project managers and ERP consultants may be of the same organization. In other countries, project managers may have ERP consultants on staff and the consultants would be ERP consultants from another company.
Since ERP is an integrated system, there are several ways to implement it. Consultants in Pakistan often work with one or more organizations for the implementation of ERP, depending on the complexity of the project. Consultants in Pakistan sometimes assist local ERP consultants or act as independent contractors to execute ERP implementations in client organizations. When ERP implementation involves complex IT processes consultants may work remotely from USA or UK.
Most ERP consultants in Pakistan prefer to implement ERP applications using complete ERP software solutions. The majority of these consultants prefer Windows based ERP software applications to other software applications. The primary reason for this preference is the compatibility of the ERP solutions developed for Windows based ERP software with Windows operating systems. This enables consultants in Pakistan to conduct ERP audits, which are vital for the project planning stage and the maintenance of the ERP system after the implementation.
To use the ERP software in a successful manner, consultants need to understand the requirements of the organization before they start working on it. The consultants have to understand the present working procedures and architecture of the organization, and how ERP can be implemented to upgrade the existing software system and to streamline the processes and eliminate redundancies. Once the consultants understand the needs of the organization, they can suggest appropriate ERP software solutions that would fit into the organizational chart and would provide maximum benefits to the organization. The consultants in Pakistan also need to analyze the present hardware infrastructure and select the hardware that would be used in implementing ERP in organizations.
Once consultants in Pakistan finalize software applications developed for ERP, the consultants have to conduct a series of feasibility tests to check whether the ERP would bring fruitful results and whether it can be rolled out into the organization quickly. They also have to check the present organizational chart and determine how existing processes can be optimized and integrated with the ERP. The tests also determine how new processes can be introduced smoothly to the organization and whether the software would create any additional costs. Once all these tests are successfully concluded, the consultants in Pakistan then have to hire an ERP consultant who can manage the implementation process.
The consultants can avail the services of numerous ERP consultants in Pakistan. These consultants specialize in ERP software and can train the necessary staffs of the organization. These consultants also have to train the necessary people who will handle the implementation process as well as check whether the ERP software applications developed by these consultants in Pakistan meet the required criteria of the organization. These consultants also play a pivotal role in training the employees of the organizations, in order to ensure that these employees have proper training so that they can implement the ERP software efficiently.
