The challenge
Walsall decided to undertake a migration to the Oracle Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to replace their multiple separate systems and paper-based/off-system processes. Following the procurement stage, that Socitm Advisory also supported, Walsall Council required a ‘Business Integration Partner’ to support the implementation of the latest version of Oracle’s Cloud ERP solution.
The benefits
Cost savings for their old systems by migrating to on-premise solutions
Increase of self-service and access to those staff who did not have council devices
Improved data quality and efficiency
The approach
As the chosen Business Integration Partner, our range of support included:
- Programme Management: Programme oversight throughout the entire lifecycle of the implementation programme from design to post-go-live support
- Finance and HR Functional Project Management: To oversee and support professional users in those areas through the programme lifecycle, through design, data migration and testing
- Business Change Management: Leading the process of change engagement and communication across the Council to ensure awareness across the programme lifecycle and effective user adoption and benefits optimisation at go-live and beyond
- Test Management: To design the Test Strategy and Scope Testing Activities and Plan. Overall management of the entire testing lifecycle including Financial Validation Testing, Reports Testing, System Integration Testing and User Acceptance Testing
- Cutover Management: Planning for go-live options, production and management of the Cutover and Transition Plan
Our Programme Manager had responsibility for resource and budget management of the Socitm Advisory team, as well as co-ordination of the wider supplier management on behalf of Walsall Council in line with Walsall’s OneSource Programme Plan. Our project managers were responsible for the delivery of each project’s target business outcome to time and budget.
Our Business Change Team led the programme of cultural and behavioural changes associated with the technical solution design, delivered against the Walsall specific change strategy. This included driving strategic change and targeted communication and engagement at all levels of the organisation, defining training need requirements and reporting on business readiness, based on the change impact assessment created in collaboration with Walsall Council Business SMEs.
“Walsall Council has successfully gone live with an implementation of Oracle’s ERP solution. Their new system is a corporate-wide Finance, HR, Payroll and Procurement system to all staff and council suppliers is no mean feat in itself, but to do so during the Covid-19 pandemic required incredible teamwork – dedicated, innovation and supplier programme delivery team.
The team worked together seamlessly and there has been excellent cooperative working across the programme’s workstreams and Socitm Advisory acting as the OneSource Programme’s Business Integrator has been instrumental in ensuring successful delivery of the new system and realisation of the defined benefits.”
Carol Williams, Head of ICT, Walsall Council
The outcome
Through a highly collaborative approach, led and facilitated by our Programme Manager and Change Manager, we supported Walsall to achieve a successful implementation of the core modules of their Oracle Cloud solution in July 2020. The migration from separate solutions onto a single Cloud ERP solution posed a number of challenges, from data migration complexity to resistance to change/ user adoption.
This was further complicated with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which introduced a lockdown period for Council staff and consultants during the last, critical months of the programme. However, the council were able to drive several benefits from their new platform including on premise costs for their old solutions, increase of self service, access to those staff who did not have council devices and improved data.