ERP Readiness Checklist: What to Prepare Before an ERP Project

Whether an ERP project succeeds is largely decided by the preparation you do before choosing the software. Before your first meeting with an implementer, five things should be ready on your side: an as-is map of your current processes, master data that is already being cleaned, a list of the modules for the first phase, an inventory of the systems the ERP will talk to, and an internal owner for every process. If these are missing, the ERP ends up automating a process nobody fully understands, and after go-live the team drifts back to its old spreadsheets.

The checklist below applies to manufacturing, trading and service businesses alike. Where a point depends on Turkish law (record retention, e-invoicing, personal data), we say so; if you operate in another country, check the local equivalent.

1. Process map: how does work flow today?

Write down the steps of every main process, from order intake to invoicing and from purchasing to production and shipping, along with who performs each step and with which tool. It does not have to be perfect; it has to reflect reality. Designing the "to-be" process is part of the work you will do with the implementer, but if the starting point is unknown, the improvement cannot be measured either.

Note the exceptions in particular: discounts a manager approves by hand, urgent orders taken over the phone, invoices issued after shipment. Most surprises in ERP projects come from these exceptions.

2. Master data inventory and cleanup

Where are your customer, supplier, product, bill of materials, stock and price lists kept, how many records are there, and how many are duplicated or out of date? If the same customer spelled three different ways, uncoded products and stock with mixed units are carried into the new system, the ERP looks unreliable from day one. Data cleanup is the invisible part of the project that takes the most effort; those who start early come out ahead.

The data you migrate also contains personal data: customer contacts, employees, account holders. In Turkey, Article 12 of the Personal Data Protection Law (No. 6698) requires the data controller to take technical and administrative measures to prevent unlawful access to this data, and states that you are jointly responsible with those who process it on your behalf. Agree with the implementer from the start on who holds the migration files, for how long, and how real personal data will be protected in the test environment.

3. What happens to the legacy system's data?

A new ERP usually receives opening balances, open orders and a selected period of history; not everything is migrated. The data you leave behind cannot simply be deleted. Article 82 of the Turkish Commercial Code requires merchants to keep their commercial books, inventories, financial statements, business correspondence and the documents underlying their records for ten years. The law also allows these to be kept electronically, provided they can be made readable and remain accessible throughout the retention period.

So make an archive plan for the old system's license, server and backups: who will access the old data, with which tool, and for how many years? Getting your accountant's view at this stage prevents a problem you would otherwise be solving in a hurry after go-live.

4. Module priority: not everything at once

Finance, purchasing, inventory, production, sales, HR and logistics come together in one integrated system, but the order in which they go live depends on the business. Give the implementer a clear answer to "which modules at first go-live?" Because the modules share the same database, you can start with what you need and expand on the same system. We describe what each module does on our ERP solutions page.

5. Integration list: which systems will the ERP talk to?

List the e-commerce site, CRM, banks, shipping carriers, machines on the production floor and third-party software one by one, and note for each whether data flows into the ERP or is read from it. This list directly affects module selection and the project plan.

Plan e-documents separately. According to the e-Document site of Turkey's Revenue Administration, the e-invoice system can be used in three ways: through the e-Invoice Portal, through direct integration of the company's own IT system with the Administration's system, or through the system of an institution that holds a special integrator permit from the Administration. How the ERP will send e-invoices, e-archive invoices and e-dispatch notes should be tested before go-live day.

If some processes do not fit the ERP well, such as approval flows, request forms and reporting, this is also the stage to discuss whether they should be built on a process platform integrated with the ERP.

6. Process owners and management support

Name an internal owner for each main process: an owner for purchasing, for production planning, for finance. These people join the configuration sessions, run the tests and train their teams. Modules without a process owner go unused after go-live. You also need a sponsor from management: that person resolves priority conflicts between departments and protects the time allocated to the project.

7. Choosing the implementer

Three criteria are decisive. First, the implementer's level in the vendor's official partner program. Second, a team that does the analysis, configuration and training itself rather than outsourcing it. Third, the capacity for support and custom development after go-live. At the proposal stage, ask for a written plan covering discovery, analysis, configuration, training, go-live and support; that plan, not an estimate, should determine the timeline and cost. If possible, ask to speak with a customer in a similar sector and of similar size who has already gone live; hearing what was hard in the first months of the transition is more useful than a screen demo.

8. Go-live readiness: minimum conditions

• Cleaned opening data has been loaded and checked by the process owners
• Each process owner has tested their module end to end
• User permissions are defined, with no unnecessary rights left
• Integrations and e-document sending have been verified in the test environment
• How long the old system will run in parallel, and the archive plan, have been agreed
• A support team and contact channel are set for the first weeks

If any of these is missing, postponing the date is cheaper than going live with the gap.

What should you watch in the first months after go-live?

Go-live day is not the end of the project; it is the start of the usage period. In the first weeks, open a channel that collects where users get stuck, and sort incoming requests into bugs, training gaps and new requirements. When the first month-end close is done in the new system, compare the reports with the old system. Process owners should watch whether their teams are still keeping side spreadsheets; a side spreadsheet is the earliest sign of a gap in the system or a lack of trust in it.

Piküp Medya is a Canias ERP Gold Partner. Process analysis, module selection, configuration, custom module development with TROIA (Canias's development environment), integration, training and post-go-live support are delivered by our own team in İzmir, for companies across Turkey. For approval and form processes that sit next to the ERP, we use our own platform, Nexfabra. If you would like to review your readiness checklist together, reach us through our Canias ERP partner page.