Implementation Blank Title 61030

Yahoo Archive
1
I myself started with 8.0 and have never went through the process of upgrading from 6.0. Our legacy production system was exactly that so we knew that conversion wasn't an option. Plus, the old was so dirty, so we thought we might as well start clean. Hopefully someone will be able to give you a better answer about conversion from a 6 series.


----- Original Message ----
From: bbelzer42 <bbelzer@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 4, 2007 9:59:50 AM
Subject: [Vantage] Re: implementation

Hi Bill,

The one question I have is that if I run a dual system for a while,
can I export data from the live (6.10) database and import it to the
new (8.3) database quickly over the weekend before it goes live?

--- In vantage@yahoogroups .com, Bill Baraski <bilbaraski@ ...> wrote:
>
> Buy the manfacturing user guide book. Don't rush through anything.
Split apart the system into sections and run a dual system for at
least a month in order to make sure everything matches. We started
with Payroll, Engineering, Order entry, shipping, Accounting, then
back to shop floor. We are starting audits on inventory next month.
Bounce all your questions off the consultant. Make them do something
because you're paying for them
> Don't rely on self paced classes to teach you everything. How would
they charge you more if it were free and easy? And last, keep
reading/posting to this group. You'd be supprised how many answers you
do find just by doing a search on this group.
>





____________________________________________________________________________________
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http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
2
Just like to get some input on how much training you guys did to get
started in your systems. We are new to the whole ERP/MRP as well as
Epicor so it is quite an adjustment. What are some of the things you
would suggest.

Thanks.
3
My single suggestion would be to TAKE YOUR TIME. Do not rush into going
live. Take advantage of a consultant, don't be cheap here (or with
education!). There are some areas that really do need good explanations
and a good consultant will be helpful.

Make sure ALL of your key people are trained in the system and that they
are comfortable with it. If you can afford the classes TAKE THEM, and
make all of your KEY people go to them. Now if you did not buy the
premiere package, then a "train the trainer" approach could work, but
make sure that your internal "trainer" is willing to work in all key
areas and understands all areas. I've been in companies where the
internal trainer was useless in key areas like either Accounting or
Manufacturing, so the training there didn't work very well.

Make sure your procedures are in place.

This is just a small part of the whole process, I'm sure others on this
list can give you very good details on the whole process as well.



M. Manasa Reddy
manasa@...
P: 630-806-2000
F: 630-806-2001


________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of mccarter817
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:23 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] implementation



Just like to get some input on how much training you guys did to get
started in your systems. We are new to the whole ERP/MRP as well as
Epicor so it is quite an adjustment. What are some of the things you
would suggest.

Thanks.






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
4
Buy the manfacturing user guide book. Don't rush through anything. Split apart the system into sections and run a dual system for at least a month in order to make sure everything matches. We started with Payroll, Engineering, Order entry, shipping, Accounting, then back to shop floor. We are starting audits on inventory next month. Bounce all your questions off the consultant. Make them do something because you're paying for them
Don't rely on self paced classes to teach you everything. How would they charge you more if it were free and easy? And last, keep reading/posting to this group. You'd be supprised how many answers you do find just by doing a search on this group.


----- Original Message ----
From: Manasa Reddy <manasa@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, December 3, 2007 3:07:41 PM
Subject: RE: [Vantage] implementation

My single suggestion would be to TAKE YOUR TIME. Do not rush into going
live. Take advantage of a consultant, don't be cheap here (or with
education!). There are some areas that really do need good explanations
and a good consultant will be helpful.

Make sure ALL of your key people are trained in the system and that they
are comfortable with it. If you can afford the classes TAKE THEM, and
make all of your KEY people go to them. Now if you did not buy the
premiere package, then a "train the trainer" approach could work, but
make sure that your internal "trainer" is willing to work in all key
areas and understands all areas. I've been in companies where the
internal trainer was useless in key areas like either Accounting or
Manufacturing, so the training there didn't work very well.

Make sure your procedures are in place.

This is just a small part of the whole process, I'm sure others on this
list can give you very good details on the whole process as well.



M. Manasa Reddy
manasa@weldcoa. com
P: 630-806-2000
F: 630-806-2001


____________ _________ _________ __

From: vantage@yahoogroups .com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups .com] On Behalf
Of mccarter817
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:23 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups .com
Subject: [Vantage] implementation

Just like to get some input on how much training you guys did to get
started in your systems. We are new to the whole ERP/MRP as well as
Epicor so it is quite an adjustment. What are some of the things you
would suggest.

Thanks.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking for last minute shopping deals?
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
5
I echo Manasa's recommendation.

Additionally...depending upon the size of your organization (if mid
to large) I would recommend hiring someone to be your internal
implemenation/project manager. This person would be responsible for
creating/maintaining a project plan, participates in all prototying
and conversion mapping, and the conduit internally and externally
with Epicor. Thus the result of this persons 100% involvement, once
live, this person becomes your in-house product expert.

Thanks
Patty Buechler

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, "Manasa Reddy" <manasa@...> wrote:
>
> My single suggestion would be to TAKE YOUR TIME. Do not rush into
going
> live. Take advantage of a consultant, don't be cheap here (or with
> education!). There are some areas that really do need good
explanations
> and a good consultant will be helpful.
>
> Make sure ALL of your key people are trained in the system and that
they
> are comfortable with it. If you can afford the classes TAKE THEM,
and
> make all of your KEY people go to them. Now if you did not buy the
> premiere package, then a "train the trainer" approach could work,
but
> make sure that your internal "trainer" is willing to work in all key
> areas and understands all areas. I've been in companies where the
> internal trainer was useless in key areas like either Accounting or
> Manufacturing, so the training there didn't work very well.
>
> Make sure your procedures are in place.
>
> This is just a small part of the whole process, I'm sure others on
this
> list can give you very good details on the whole process as well.
>
>
>
> M. Manasa Reddy
> manasa@...
> P: 630-806-2000
> F: 630-806-2001
>
>
> ________________________________
>
> From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf
> Of mccarter817
> Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 11:23 AM
> To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Vantage] implementation
>
>
>
> Just like to get some input on how much training you guys did to
get
> started in your systems. We are new to the whole ERP/MRP as well as
> Epicor so it is quite an adjustment. What are some of the things
you
> would suggest.
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
6
I would also recommend a diary from your users to know what situations they
come across on a daily/monthly/even yearly basis. All too often people create
procedures around the perfect scenario but that's not how the world works.
This becomes the basis for your "How Do I?" scripts. How do I? Unship a
product? Receive a part with no standard cost - or do I? Scrap an assembly?
Scrap a component and replace it? Not replace it? Prepare financial
statements? Etc.

Have a record of what they did and why they did it. Even without an
implementation, it's very interesting. You may even find waste that you can
eliminate from your value-chain. Be careful though, people might not remember
the reason why they do things but there someone else down the line will...

Mark W.
7
Excellent point. In prep for migration from 6.1 to 8.x we are doing something very similar right now. Basically mapping all processes (including exceptions handling) using Visio Pro's process improvement diagramming. Main objective being to identify customization opportunities in 8.x for weeding out waste or "obsolete solutions". When all is said and done the diagrams (with any changes) will become the ready made basis for new ISO documentation. We feel the investment in effort up front will be well worth it in the long run. Then again we are not under any gun for getting implemented in a certain time frame because 6.1 works well enough - so we have the luxury of time.
-Todd C.

________________________________
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Mark Wonsil
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 8:15 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Vantage] implementation


I would also recommend a diary from your users to know what situations they
come across on a daily/monthly/even yearly basis. All too often people create
procedures around the perfect scenario but that's not how the world works.
This becomes the basis for your "How Do I?" scripts. How do I? Unship a
product? Receive a part with no standard cost - or do I? Scrap an assembly?
Scrap a component and replace it? Not replace it? Prepare financial
statements? Etc.

Have a record of what they did and why they did it. Even without an
implementation, it's very interesting. You may even find waste that you can
eliminate from your value-chain. Be careful though, people might not remember
the reason why they do things but there someone else down the line will...

Mark W.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
8
Hi Bill,

The one question I have is that if I run a dual system for a while,
can I export data from the live (6.10) database and import it to the
new (8.3) database quickly over the weekend before it goes live?

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com, Bill Baraski <bilbaraski@...> wrote:
>
> Buy the manfacturing user guide book. Don't rush through anything.
Split apart the system into sections and run a dual system for at
least a month in order to make sure everything matches. We started
with Payroll, Engineering, Order entry, shipping, Accounting, then
back to shop floor. We are starting audits on inventory next month.
Bounce all your questions off the consultant. Make them do something
because you're paying for them
> Don't rely on self paced classes to teach you everything. How would
they charge you more if it were free and easy? And last, keep
reading/posting to this group. You'd be supprised how many answers you
do find just by doing a search on this group.
>
9
6.1 to 8.0 (idxcheck & idxbuild, schema change and conversion)
8.0 to 8.03.305x (schema change and conversion)
8.03.305x to 8.03.40x (schema change and conversion)

Does not equate to "quickly".
Having multiple servers is a BIG plus!

I'd made the jump from 6.1 to 8.0 seven months ago. Stayed at 8.0
because we felt there fewer problems in 8.0 then 8.03 at the time. Note:
you will need to convert your 6.1 db to UTF-8 if it's not already. 6.1
to 8.0 takes the longest due to the index check and potential idxbuild.
I did a dump and load.

Tried setting up my test environment 8.03.3xx and 8.03.4xx on the same
server - despite conflicting responses from Support I decided to run
each version on a separate server so that when it comes time to go live
it's simply a matter of restoring the db from 8.0 to the .305 server,
run the schema change and data admin conversion; then proback that db
and prorest it on the .403 server run the schema change and data admin
conversion.

I started my first 8.0 --> 8.03.403 conversion on Friday and finished
yesterday afternoon

My other suggestion is to run the process several times before before
attempting your production db -- you'll uncover numerous "gotchas".

$.02

Regards, Lee



Hi Bill,

The one question I have is that if I run a dual system for a while,
can I export data from the live (6.10) database and import it to the
new (8.3) database quickly over the weekend before it goes live?

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> , Bill
Baraski <bilbaraski@...> wrote:
>
> Buy the manfacturing user guide book. Don't rush through anything.
Split apart the system into sections and run a dual system for at
least a month in order to make sure everything matches. We started
with Payroll, Engineering, Order entry, shipping, Accounting, then
back to shop floor. We are starting audits on inventory next month.
Bounce all your questions off the consultant. Make them do something
because you're paying for them
> Don't rely on self paced classes to teach you everything. How would
they charge you more if it were free and easy? And last, keep
reading/posting to this group. You'd be supprised how many answers you
do find just by doing a search on this group.
>
10
You could... However, simply for your own sanity's sake, I would let Epicor
take the final conversion over for you. I have moved the database up from
6.1 a number of times, and each time found a gotcha. I do this for testing
and training , but do not recommend for go-live.





Bruce Butler, IT Consultant

Tangible Solutions

<mailto:bbutler@...> bbutler@...

<http://www.tangiblesolutions.biz/> www.tangiblesolutions.biz









From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
bbelzer42
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2007 10:00 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Re: implementation



Hi Bill,

The one question I have is that if I run a dual system for a while,
can I export data from the live (6.10) database and import it to the
new (8.3) database quickly over the weekend before it goes live?

--- In vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> , Bill
Baraski <bilbaraski@...> wrote:
>
> Buy the manfacturing user guide book. Don't rush through anything.
Split apart the system into sections and run a dual system for at
least a month in order to make sure everything matches. We started
with Payroll, Engineering, Order entry, shipping, Accounting, then
back to shop floor. We are starting audits on inventory next month.
Bounce all your questions off the consultant. Make them do something
because you're paying for them
> Don't rely on self paced classes to teach you everything. How would
they charge you more if it were free and easy? And last, keep
reading/posting to this group. You'd be supprised how many answers you
do find just by doing a search on this group.
>





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
11
mccarter,

You have made a smart move just with this thread and your awareness
of the Vantage Users Group. We went into it "blind" several years
ago and could only wish we had some of the advice I see being given
to you here.

I would seriously consider a consultant, as was stated, they don't
come cheap, but they can save you thousands. We actually had more
problems upgrading from 6.o to 8.o, so again, we wish we had hired
some knowledgeable help.

Do not be in a rush and make sure you have quality data going in.
The old term "garbage in, garbage out" is definately true. The
training of personnel is critical as well. Though we set up a
test/training environment and while helpful, it needs to
be "monitored" to make sure your people who will be using the
program have all seriously worked with it, and understand it. It
is all too easy for the people to give it short tries and then be
called back to their daily duties ... as a result things are not
necessarily truly learned.

I love Mark Wonsil's idea of a diary, oh, how nice that would be to
refer to today. We did have some deparment heads create detailed
manuals using screenshots for step-by-step procedures for some other
key processes. Those books have been invaluable in training new
personnel, as well as forcing the department head to really know the
process.

Don't rush it, don't be afraid to ask for help, and good luck!

Dick LaBrayere
Fasse Valves
12
Oh, something else came to mind. As a famous habitual person once said,

"Begin with the end in mind"

Look at the reports that you produce or want to produce. Start with the Income
Statement and Balance Sheet and then look at sales reports and keep going
through the reports that run your business today. These reports will answer so
many questions. If you need a sales report by product line then you're going
to need product groups that support that requirement. If you keep an inventory
by line then you're going to need part classes to do so, etc.

Unfortunately, if you start with the Knowledge Camp approach, you'll start
with quotation or sales orders and not know how fields should be set and
you'll get frustrated. You'll also spend too little time on the back end of
the process (G/L reporting) because you will burn out and/or run out of time.

One final thought on reporting. Don't do it all in the G/L. If you can get
sales report details from the Sales Module, why stuff all that detail into
your G/L? The same is true for inventory. But don't go too far. Make sure that
you don't put everything into one account because then it will be impossible
to reconcile.

Mark W.