Database Reference
In-Depth Information
4.3 Selection team
Implementation of enterprise-wide systems like SAP can be successful only when all stakehold-
ers are willing participants in such an effort. It is necessary for ensuring the future interest and
involvement of all concerned that all stakeholders and their views should be properly represented
and incorporated during the planning, organizing, executing, and managing the implementation
of the CRM system. In the SME enterprise, the mistakes committed while implementing com-
puterized systems in the last century should be avoided. In the remaining part of this section, we
discuss the important constituents of the selection team.
4.3.1 Functional Team
This team is the major constituent of the selection team. Its members should consist of senior
officers who are knowledgeable of the company's business operations, manufacturing technology,
competencies, and the competitive gaps. Since the CRM implementation projects are user driven,
involving the functional team members in the evaluation and selection phase is the best prescrip-
tion for ownership during the implementation of the selected package. They should preferably be
members who have participated in similar customer-centric enterprise-wide performance improve-
ment efforts like TQM, BPR, and BPM.
4.3.2 Technical Team
The members of this team should be members who have extensive experience at least in the tra-
ditional application development and implementation projects. They should be familiar with
conventional development environments and the traditional methodologies employed during the
software development life cycle (SDLC). They should be perceptive of the rationale for deploying
CRM solutions in the organization and the reasons for the implementation project to be driven
and led by the functional users.
4.3.3 Technology Team
The members of this team should be conversant with the latest hardware, networking issues, and
solutions. They should be familiar with issues of portability, scalability, and interoperability. They
need to be aware of the latest standards and protocols to make an informed judgment on the infra-
structure issues for the CRM implementation within the organization. They must be comfortable
with issues of compatibility, upgrade paths, network traffic on LANs and WANs, and estimating
system loads and system responses.
Technology team members should also be familiar with solutions for backup, archival, and
disaster recovery systems. The members of this team need to be conversant with site preparation,
cabling, installation, maintenance, and support requirements for the CRM system installation.
4.3.4 Commercial Team
The members of this team need to be conversant with the issues of negotiating with vendors,
signing commercial contracts, defining deliverables and milestones, laying out acceptance crite-
ria and approval procedures, performance guarantees, payment terms, legal liabilities, licensing
procedures, upgrades and releases, regulatory issues and taxes, and so on.
