Duties of the managing director or decision-maker

Duties of the managing director or the decision-maker

There is a moment in every ERP project that no consultant, developer or project manager can take on: someone has to decide what the company really wants to achieve - and what change is necessary to achieve it.

This decision belongs to management. Not because she knows every detail better, but because only she can set priorities across departments, resolve conflicting goals and release resources in a binding manner.

You don't have to know everything - but you have to represent why

A managing director does not have to memorize field names or configure an interface. His task is one level higher: He creates orientation when departments have different interests and everyday project life loses sight of the actual goal.

A viable goal doesn’t sound like “We’re introducing a new ERP.” It describes a noticeable improvement, for example:

• Customers receive reliable information more quickly.
• Inventories and delivery dates are trusted across departments.
• A process is processed continuously without double data entry.
• The management has current control information on a daily basis.
• Growth is possible without the administration and error rate growing proportionally.

Such goals give the team a compass. Without them, the project quickly becomes a collection of individual wishes.

Five tasks that leadership cannot delegate

1. Give direction

Formulate a goal that employees understand. Which problems should disappear? Which ability should emerge? What will be visibly different in everyday life after the introduction?

2. Make priority credible

An ERP project competes with day-to-day business, customer orders and other projects. If it is important, that importance must be reflected in time, attention and decisions - not just in a commencement speech.

3. Protect resources

The best specialists are often indispensable in day-to-day business. This is exactly why your project times must be consciously released and protected. A key user who is supposed to complete every task “on the side” can neither design processes thoroughly nor accompany colleagues safely.

4. Decide conflicting goals

Sales wants maximum flexibility, finance clear rules, warehouse simple processes and IT a manageable standard. All perspectives are valid. Management must decide when a local optimum worsens the overall process.

5. Make success measurable

Define a few key metrics that match the original intent: lead time, error rate, search effort, inventory reliability, deadline adherence, open processes or completion time. What is not observed quickly disappears after the go-live behind new daily problems.

Delegate without disappearing

A strong management does not handle every work package itself. It names a responsible project manager, process owners, key users and data owners. At the same time, she remains visibly accessible when decisions escalate or departmental boundaries need to be overcome.

A fixed rhythm with a few clear questions is helpful:

• What decision is the team currently blocking?
• What risk has changed?
• Where is there a lack of time or responsibility?
• Which assumption was refuted by a test?
• Are we closer to the business goal – or just technically busy?

This keeps leadership effective without micromanaging the project.

Change needs a credible story

Employees do not experience a new ERP as a strategy paper. They experience changed processes, new transparency and, initially, often additional learning work. Anyone who just says “The new system is coming” leaves room for rumors and resistance.

Instead, explain openly:

• Why the current situation is not sustainable in the long term
• which problems specifically need to be solved,
• what is not consciously changed,
• how employees can have an influence
• and how the company recognizes that the effort was worth it.

People do not automatically support software. They support a comprehensible improvement that they are involved in designing.

Leadership shapes the standard

Every exception, every special rule and every unclear responsibility later becomes part of daily work. When management sets clear principles - shared data before departmental solutions, comprehensible processes before personal abbreviations, standards before unnecessary special developments - many detailed decisions become easier.

In the end, the decision maker's most important task is not to select an ERP system. It consists of giving the company the clarity and commitment to work better with this system.

Frequently asked questions