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PH2 - Interview with Delaware Consulting Project Manager - Chitra Bose

Background: 

PREFACE: Raw interview transcript is posted on the blog. 

Chitra Bose is a project manager for ERP implementation at Delaware Consulting. Delaware is the partner company that assists with implementation, workshops, validation, software integration, and organizational change management for Avista's ERP implementation project. Chitra has been in the business for 30 years and has extensive experience in ERP systems, their benefits, and their potential drawbacks.

Summary of The Interview:

This interview provides a practitioner’s perspective on ERP systems, especially in the utility industry. Most of our conversation revolved around integration, efficiency, implementation risks, change management, AI integration, and workforce adaptation. Chitra emphasizes that ERP systems serve as a “single source of truth” that improves organizational coordination but also require careful selection, training, and change management. 

Chitra mainly argues that the vital benefit of ERP systems is that they can unify business functions into one shared system. She reiterates that in the utility industry, data and data entry are one of the most important differentiators because they inform services provided to customers. Data entered once becomes available across all departments, which ensures consistency and efficiency. It also provides a centralized customer record, which is important in upholding accountability, especially when dealing with services for the mass public.

Chitra argues that by implementing ERP systems, a company standardizes workflows and reduces manual synchronization. This benefit does not just transpire in saving time but also lowers operational costs. I did not ask whether this lower cost meant layoffs for existing employees because I felt uncomfortable asking, but that felt somewhat implied in the conversation.

After discussing the benefits, I tried to engage with the risks that arise in ERP systems. It was a little challenging to get a coworker who is hired to work on ERP systems to speak negatively about them; however, we analyzed three cons that come with ERP systems.

One is how standardization may reduce flexibility in some companies. Both Chitra and I came to an understanding that not all companies need ERP systems, and flexibility for a company can be a major advantage. By implementing an unnecessary system, a company might put itself in a box with a poor tradeoff. Chitra states that customizing ERP systems is important to reduce unnecessary effort and cost.

My other concern was data integrity risk. If there is one entry of data and a standardized reporting structure, and that single entry is wrong, the error will be reflected throughout the company. Chitra states that without proper safeguards, validation rules, audit controls, and the ability to centrally edit records, ERP systems might exacerbate harm rather than solve it.

Finally, we also discussed how the utility industry is often tech resistant, especially because of the older workforce that is more prevalent in the industry. It is Chitra’s belief that there needs to be a strong implementation lifecycle and a stronger change management structure to ease people into the transition, along with a hypercare phase after implementation is complete.

I will paste Chitra’s breakdown of a typical ERP system implementation lifecycle below.


ERP Implementation Lifecycle:

Phase 1: Discovery

  • Understand business needs

  • Evaluate and select software

Phase 2: Prepare

  • Assemble teams

  • Create project plans

  • Establish infrastructure

Phase 3: Explore

  • Define requirements

  • Conduct workshops

  • Perform fit-gap analysis

Phase 4: Realize (Design, Build, Test)

  • Develop custom features

  • Build enhancements

  • Test functionality

Phase 5: Deploy

  • Train users

  • Perform final testing

  • Go live

Phase 6: Run and Hypercare

  • Provide intensive support after launch

  • Assist users adapting to new system

  • Resolve early issues





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