User-Centric ERP Implementation: Training as the Key to Success

The go-live of a new ERP package like Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations often involves a significant process beforehand. Initially, the intention is for the new system to contribute to the strategic objectives of the organization. Many companies approach an implementation from a technical standpoint. 'An IT party'. However, the real gain comes from the correct use of that new solution. Therefore, the focus at Nature's Pride was not only on the technical aspect of the implementation but also on the human side.

Key Users as Trainers: The Power of Internal Knowledge Sharing

Axelio, formerly Mprise, helped Nature's Pride with a 'Train the Trainer' workshop. In this, we explain to key users how to train their team in the new ERP system. We speak with Senior HR Advisor Catry Bernardt from Nature's Pride about how they experienced this and what benefits they gained from it.

The scale of the implementation at Nature's Pride is substantial. About 70 key users needed to be trained. "At the start, we immediately formed a large ambassador group. This group consists of management on one hand and all key users on the other. We chose to have the key users train their own colleagues. They know exactly how the processes in their department work and introduce their colleagues beautifully to the new system and the processes that come with it. But those key users are not trainers in their daily lives. The impact is therefore quite significant. They also see that training in itself is a separate profession. How do we transfer knowledge, how do you organize a system training in general, and how do you ensure that you get your colleagues on board with such a change?" says Catry Bernardt.

Within Nature's Pride, the importance of the user in the success of the implementation has been clear from the beginning. Every employee in every involved department must 'own' the system. The payoff is already evident. Catry: "Where there were initially many questions, you now notice that there is more knowledge of the system. The questions from all users are becoming much more substantive. This helps to look together at the points of attention in the implementation".

Growing in Knowledge Transfer and Structure

"The key users who participated in this workshop are all very enthusiastic. They can better see what knowledge needs to be transferred, can explain what it means for the end user, and what the benefits are. The key users have also been greatly assisted with the structure in which they can build their training. Additionally, the 'Train the Trainer' workshop provided tools to see what training materials and preparations are needed to set up a training. It turned out to be a bit more involved than they had initially thought. And then, how do you actually give such a training? What methodology do you use? The trainer from Axelio also explained to them how to deal with resistance in your training and how to maintain control over the group.

The participants sometimes found it quite challenging to prepare the training materials properly. A training session sometimes consists of 8 modules. The trainer from Axelio helped with that as well. Once we had that filled in, it was easy to conduct the trainings."

All key users are now trained as trainers, and a large part of the end users has also been trained. This ensures that during testing, everyone is also aware of the process and sees what improvement points still exist. These are processed by the key user and the stream lead to create a better Dynamics 365 F&O environment. Catry says about this: "The key users work closely with the stream lead. They look very closely at what is happening in the process, and conversely, the key users are involved in the testing. This way, they can familiarize themselves with the new system and the new processes and create work instructions from there."

The Choice for Axelio

"We know Axelio because several employees have already taken training with Axelio. We chose Axelio because they could specifically help us with this issue. So it's about the package, the industry (fruits and vegetables), and their specific knowledge and approach in this area (training key users).

We had several organizations pitch. But for me, it was immediately clear that it had to be Axelio. Other suppliers asked for more input from us to figure out how we should fill this in. At Axelio, this was already on the shelf. And we are very happy with that," concludes Catry Bernardt.