The first 30 days of an ERP project are not the period when the program is installed throughout the company and immediately put into live use. The main purpose of the first month is; The aim is to establish the project team, understand the current operation of the business, clarify the scope, prepare the data and decide in what order the next stages will proceed. If this foundation is not established correctly, change requests, data issues, and liability uncertainties will grow as the project progresses.
30 days does not mean the same in every ERP project
The flow below is a sample startup plan for a business with production, inventory, sales, purchasing and finance processes. The number of branches, number of users, data quality, integrations, custom developments and project scope change the schedule. A small pilot application may be available within the first month; In a comprehensive manufacturing ERP project, the first 30 days are mostly the analysis and preparation period.
Brief summary of the first month
Project foundation that needs to be established in four weeks
Team and current situation
Goals, responsible people, process owners and current problems are determined.
Process and scope
Workflows are examined, priorities and initial implementation scope are clarified.
Data and links
Master data, code structures, transfer sources and integrations are prepared.
Verification and plan
Sample flows are shown, open decisions are closed, and the next phase is planned.
First 30 Days of the ERP Project: Step-by-Step Plan
Project start
Goals, team and decision method are determined
At the kick-off meeting, it is discussed why the project is being done, what work results are expected and which sections the initial scope includes. In-house project manager, department managers, key users, ERP consultants and technical officers are determined by name.
Output of this stage
Initial risk list with project objectives, task distribution, meeting order, decision and approval method.
Current status review
How do things actually work today?
In addition to written procedures, actual practice in the field is examined. Concrete answers are sought to the questions of how the order is opened, who creates the product card, how the material requirement is found, when the production notification is made, how the stock difference is closed and what information is transferred to accounting.
Records outside the system, such as e-mail, Excel, paper forms or personal tracking lists, should also be made visible at this stage. Just meeting with managers is not enough; Observation is required at the desk of the users performing the process and in the production area.
Output of this stage
Current process maps, documents and files used, bottlenecks, repetitive work and control gaps.
Process design and scope
It is decided what will change and what will enter the first phase
It is distinguished which of the existing problems will be solved by ERP adjustment, which will be solved by business rule change, and which will be solved by data cleaning or integration. Not every request is taken to the first stage. Priority is given taking into account legal obligation, continuity of operation, customer impact and measurable benefit.
- Companies, branches, warehouses and departments that will be included in the scope of first live use
- Modules to use and basic workflows
- Needs to be met by standard application
- Items requiring additional work, report or integration
- Requests that will be excluded from the first stage and scheduled for later
Output of this stage
Approved project scope, priority list, target process decisions and out-of-scope requests.
Data preparation
Records from the old system are cleared before migration
Customer, supplier, product, material, unit, warehouse, price, accounting code and open transaction data are extracted from source systems. Duplicate cards for the same product, missing tax information, inconsistent measurement units, unused codes and unlabeled inventory are identified.
This work cannot be left only to the IT team. The real owner of the data must verify, such as production or planning of the product card, sales of customer information, finance of accounting codes.
Output of this stage
Data inventory, new coding rules, cleansing principals, transfer templates, and initial sample data files.
Sample setup and verification
Decisions are tested on a sample workflow
Based on the project scope, basic company, warehouse, user, permission and workflow settings can be prepared in a test environment. The goal is not to complete the entire system; it is to demonstrate that critical decisions are correctly understood on a real example. For instance, how a sales order proceeds to production need, material planning and shipment is reviewed together with key users.
Output of this stage
Sample transaction flows, initial authorization approach, test scenarios, open questions and decisions that need to be fixed.
First month review
Decisions are closed and the implementation calendar is updated
At the end of the first month, completed work, pending decisions and project risks are shared with the management. Responsible people and target dates are updated for data preparation, configuration, integration, testing, training, pilot use and go-live. The current speed of the project and the level of internal participation are evaluated realistically.
Output of this stage
First month status report, clear decision list, current risks, detailed implementation calendar and next period targets.
Decision flow of the first month
How can meetings be turned into an implementable project plan?
Information collected
- Real workflows in the field
- Forms, files and master data
- Bottlenecks and user needs
Project decisions
- Scope and implementation priority
- Code, authorization and data standards
- Responsibilities and integrations
First month outputs
- Approved scope and process map
- Data, test and risk lists
- Implementation schedule with specific responsible person
What Should You Have After the First 30 Days?
Current and target process map
It should be clarified who is responsible for critical flows from order to collection, from purchase to payment, or from production order to finished‑goods entry.
Approved scope and priority
In the initial phase, it must be documented which module, company, warehouse and process will be implemented; which requests are deferred.
Data preparation and transfer plan
It should be clear which data will be taken from where, by whom it will be cleaned, into which code structure it will be converted and when the test transfer will be made.
Implementation schedule with specific responsible person
The dates of the configuration, integration, testing, training, pilot and go-live steps as well as the responsible persons within the company should be defined.
Risk and clear decision list
Uncleaned data, delayed integration information, unresponsible processes, and unstable business rules must be visibly tracked.
Testing and acceptance criteria
In order for a process to be considered "completed", it must be defined which process scenarios will be tested by whom and with what result.
Who Takes What Responsibility in the First Month?
Makes target, scope and priority decisions; Resolves departmental conflicts and allocates necessary resources.
Tracks meetings, decisions, tasks and internal company participation; makes delays visible.
It describes the current operation, verifies the target process, cleans the data and runs test scenarios.
It matches requirements with system features, provides process recommendations, and transforms decisions into configuration and test plans.
Prepares technical infrastructure, user access, data sources, security, backup and integration connections.
What Not to Expect in the First 30 Days
In a comprehensive ERP project, it is often unrealistic to complete all modules at the end of the first month, to transfer all past data without errors, to train all users, and for the company to go directly to live use. Starting fast is not the same as starting unprepared. The most important result to be obtained in the first month is to remove the uncertainty of what the project will do, with whom, with what data and in what order.
Signs That the Project Will Have Difficulties in the First Month
People who will make decisions do not attend the meetings
The same issues are brought up again and again, and the consultant team is waiting for an implementation decision.
Each request is added to the “first go-live”
Since the priority order is not established, time, test load and project risk grow uncontrollably.
Data ownership is left to computing
Records that are technically portable but incorrect from a business perspective are being prepared to be transferred to the new system.
Screen is requested without explaining the current process
There is a risk of installing the same old system in the new software without understanding the source of the problem.
Key users are not allocated time
Analysis, data cleaning and testing tasks take a backseat to daily work.
Decisions are not followed in writing
Who approved what becomes unclear and the same decisions change as the project progresses.
Common scope, data, user participation and testing mistakes in ERP migrations 7 critical mistakes in an ERP project In his article; Criteria that should be evaluated before software selection are: In the ERP program selection guide and review it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the ERP project be completed in 30 days?
Unless the project consists of a very narrow and ready-made pilot scope, the entire ERP implementation should not be expected to be completed in 30 days. The first month is mostly devoted to establishing the team, analysis, scope, data and implementation plan.
Which section should start the ERP project first?
There is no single correct starting section. The flow that is most critical to the business and feeds other processes should be selected by examining the connections between order, inventory, production and finance.
Who should be the key user?
People who know the day-to-day operations of the department, can explain exceptions, implement decisions, and devote regular time to testing should be selected as key users. Just the title of manager is not enough.
Should all data from the old system be moved to the new ERP?
No. Which historical data will be transferred should be determined by evaluating legal storage, reporting and operation needs. Moving unused and unverifiable records to the new system reduces data quality.
Start the ERP project with the process before the software screen
Korgün's ERP process analysis and consultancy approach; It focuses on examining production, inventory, sales, purchasing, finance and reporting flows before implementation. If you would like to see which solution is suitable for your business with a preliminary evaluation, ERP solution guide you can use
General framework of ERP implementation, data preparation, testing, training and go-live stages How is the ERP project implemented? It is explained in the section.
When determining the first month's work list ERP selection and scope guide You can compare your module, data and application needs via .
Preparation for the ERP project
Create a realistic roadmap for your first 30 days
Reduce uncertainties before implementation begins by evaluating your current processes, data sources, project priorities, and internal custodians together.