Implementing JD Edwards (JDE) is a complex process that requires careful planning and skillfully trained professionals that have your company’s best interest in mind. With the wave of digital transformation impacting how organizations are designing their enterprise systems, it is crucial to use a proven implementation process that works with your company to ensure the best outcome for your JDE implementation.
JDE implementation services provide support throughout the implementation process, including the planning, designing, building, and deployment stages. If you are considering a JDE implementation, you must understand why JDE implementation services are so important and what best practices will help ensure a successful implementation.
What Are JDE Implementation Services?
JDE implementation services include a complete technical team featuring developers, project managers, system architects, application consultants, and change management that are experienced in JDE implementation and can help organizations create a more efficient environment within the system and within your IT team. JDE implementation services help reduce errors, redundancies, and data loss while the implementation is taking place.
Without the assistance of these experts, a JDE implementation could take an extensive amount of time and require resources on a scale that many organizations don’t have available. JDE offers an array of business applications that provide data-driven solutions. However, knowledgeable professionals must properly implement it to benefit from these capabilities and achieve a successful result.
Why Are JDE Implementation Services Important?
Designing a seamless implementation strategy that spans multiple systems and resources is an endeavor that requires skill, patience, and an in-depth understanding of existing company systems as well as JD Edwards’s features and capabilities. Instead of struggling through an implementation, utilizing JDE implementation services can manage the ins and outs of the process and ensure your data is safely deployed and you have the tools you need to keep your business running efficiently.
Companies running JD Edwards can choose the deployment solution that best meets their needs whether that is fully implementing JDE in the cloud, on-premises, or a hybrid cloud approach. Many companies choose to maintain their legacy systems on-premises because of the cumbersome process of moving data to the cloud and the costs involved with modernization. Others decide that modernization can provide a better user experience and superior security either entirely on the cloud or in a hybrid cloud environment. Though a migration to a cloud or hybrid cloud solution doesn’t always guarantee lower operating costs, these hosting solutions offer enhanced capabilities over an on-premises solution and the opportunity to design a more cost-effective system.
Using JDE implementation services enables organizations to have the vision and oversight to decide which deployment option is best for their business. And with more than 80 business applications available, JDE implementation services will enable you to customize your JDE system according to your organization’s unique needs.
Planning for a JD Edwards Implementation
Before beginning the implementation process, make sure to allocate sufficient time for planning. If you choose to work with a JDE implementation service provider like Syntax, they will help you manage this stage in addition to all the steps of the implementation process. The goal is to avoid costly mistakes and to develop an implementation plan adequately.
First, you need to build a capable project team. This team should include the key stakeholders responsible for the organization’s enterprise systems, some of the organization’s brightest and best, and an executive to serve as the project sponsor. While many organizations don’t want to give up their most vital team members for an extended period of time, a successful JDE implementation hinges on knowledge and adaptability. So, organizations should consider the need to cover the duties of those designated to be a part of the project to maintain ongoing operations.
After the team is assembled, it’s time to think about the timing and duration of the project. With an implementation service provider, the time spent integrating and implementing your JDE system won’t take nearly as long as if you decided to manage the process in-house. And If you are planning to simultaneously modernize your legacy systems or if this is your first ERP system, an implementation partner can provide the project management and technical skills required for a complex update to your enterprise systems.
What Are the Major Steps of a JDE Implementation?
Implementing JD Edwards is a highly complex process, but a basic structure should be followed to achieve the best outcome. Below is a list of steps a JDE implementation service provider will follow to support a secure and successful JDE implementation.
- Preparation – includes specifying requirements, elements, and boundaries that apply to the organization and personnel planning and the general project timeline.
- Blueprint – includes an outline of essential JDE modules and a map of critical business processes that must be supported during the implementation process.
- Realization – the implementation team uses information gathered during the previous steps to build, test, and define the JDE landscape.
- Final Preparation – the final JDE instance is coming together, and it’s time for the team to be trained according to any new processes created by the implementation.
- Go-Live – after careful planning, organizing, and building, the project team members monitor the system as it goes live so that any potential issues can be resolved quickly with limited downtime.
Tips for Choosing a JDE implementation Partner
As digital transformation permeates all areas of business and industry, JD Edwards systems have evolved into complex ecosystems that provide a variety of critical business functions in today’s connected world. Because of the complexity and knowledge required, many companies do not have the appropriate resources to conduct a successful JDE implementation. In many cases, it’s better to utilize an experienced JDE implementation service partner that can provide flexible, cost-effective, and scalable solutions.
Because the success of your JDE implementation rides on the knowledge, experience, and capabilities of the implementation team, it’s essential to understand how to choose an effective implementation partner.
1) Flexibility and Support
A reliable JDE partner must understand your industry and any industry-specific requirements and have the agility and capability to meet your time constraints. They should provide a knowledgeable team of experts that can customize their services to meet your unique needs and ROI goals.
2) Certifications
An implementation project requires both technical and functional knowledge of JD Edwards systems and the various environments where it can be deployed. Ensure your implementation service provider has the appropriate credentials to ensure they have the skills and capabilities to provide high-quality JDE implementation services.
3) Understand Their Strengths
Before choosing a JDE implementation service provider, research and understand the specific strengths they have to offer. You should ensure the JDE implementation service provider has experience working with businesses like yours so that they can bring your goals to life. A well-informed operational service level agreement (SLA) helps the client and the provider understand what activities and expectations are in place and helps guarantee results.
Conclusion
With more companies adopting modern business solutions to deliver improved business outcomes and better customer experience, industries have seen an increased level of competition that has the power to wipe out those who are lagging behind. The only way to survive today’s competitive landscape is to adapt to changing business processes and embrace the efficiency of adopting new and innovative technologies.
For organizations to continue to grow and evolve with their consumers, an effective JDE implementation can be crucial to manage data, gain intelligent insights, leverage digital transformation, and efficiently handle the logistics of business operations. To learn more about JD Edwards, visit our JD Edwards insights page, where you can access JDE whitepapers, webinars, data sheets, and much more.