First 90 Days After ERP Go-Live: Stabilisation Roadmap

The First 90 Days After ERP Go-Live

The go-live celebration is over. Now the real work begins. The first 90 days after ERP go-live are the most critical period for manufacturing companies — this is when adoption either takes root or users revert to workarounds and spreadsheets.

Days 1-30: Stabilise

Objective: Ensure the system works reliably for daily operations.

Focus Areas:

1. Daily Production Support

   • Maintain on-site or immediately available support for the first two weeks
   • Conduct daily stand-up meetings (15 minutes, same time, non-negotiable)
   • Track and categorise every issue — even small ones
   • Prioritise anything that blocks production or shipping

2. Data Corrections

   • Expect data issues — they're inevitable, not a failure
   • Common issues: incorrect BOMs, wrong unit conversions, missing vendor lead times
   • Establish a fast-track correction process (don't let issues sit in a queue)
   • Document every correction for the knowledge base

3. User Support

   • Floor walkers during shift changes
   • Quick reference cards at every workstation
   • "No stupid questions" culture — make it safe to ask for help
   • Track which processes generate the most support tickets

4. KPI Baseline

   • Establish your Day 1 baseline measurements (they will be worse than pre-go-live — that's normal)
   • Focus on: Order processing time, inventory accuracy, MRP exception messages, production order completion rate

Days 31-60: Optimise & Refine

Objective: Move from "it works" to "it works well."

Focus Areas:

1. Process Optimisation

   • Review the top 10 support ticket categories — these are your optimisation targets
   • Simplify any process that's generating excessive errors
   • Implement shortcuts and automation for repetitive tasks
   • Update MRP parameters based on real data (lead times, safety stock, lot sizes)

2. Report Refinement

   • Users now know what information they actually need (vs. what they thought they needed)
   • Build the dashboards that matter most to production and finance
   • Set up automated daily/weekly reports

3. Advanced Training

   • Users are past the basics — now train on efficiency features
   • Cross-training for backup coverage
   • Power user development (these become your internal champions)

Days 61-90: Transition to Steady State

Objective: Establish self-sustaining operations without project team dependency.

Focus Areas:

1. Knowledge Transfer

   • Project team transfers remaining knowledge to operations
   • Internal support procedures documented and tested
   • Escalation paths established (Level 1: super users, Level 2: IT, Level 3: vendor/consultant)

2. Performance Measurement

   • Compare Day 90 KPIs to Day 1 baseline — you should see improvement
   • Key Manufacturing KPIs to track:

1. Continuous Improvement Planning
   • Identify Phase 2 enhancements (features deferred during initial go-live)
   • Establish a quarterly improvement cycle: Measure → Analyse → Improve → Review
   • Plan for advanced modules (advanced planning, shop floor control, IoT integration)

Common Mistakes in the First 90 Days

1. Reducing support too quickly — Keep intensive support for at least 30 days
2. Ignoring user frustration — If people are complaining, listen. Unresolved frustration leads to shadow systems
3. Over-customising to fix training gaps — Sometimes the answer is better training, not system changes
4. Not celebrating wins — Acknowledge improvements, no matter how small
5. Skipping the retrospective — At Day 90, hold a formal project retrospective. What worked? What didn't? What would you do differently?

The 90-Day Checkpoint

At the end of 90 days, you should be able to answer "yes" to all of these: - Can we run daily operations without project team support? - Are our key KPIs trending in the right direction? - Do users know how to do their jobs in the system? - Is there a process for handling issues and enhancements going forward?

If yes — congratulations, you've achieved a successful ERP implementation. Now the ongoing journey of optimisation begins.