ORACLE CX + ERP: Keys to Successful Implementation
Real tips to stay on track and in sync
Motiv Admin
Oracle CX Experts
Deciding to transform the way your business operates with technology is not made without strategy and planning. Organizations often find themselves implementing both back and front office solutions at the same time, but also still have a business to run. This blog will give you a heads up on what to look for when managing all of those initiatives at once.
Implementing Oracle ERP and CX together can accelerate value, but it requires careful coordination to manage people, dependencies, and data changes that may affect both projects. At Motiv, we’ve guided clients through this exact scenario, and we’ve seen what works best to keep ERP and CX aligned.
Executive-Level Perspective
1. Assign a Leader to Manage People Across Workstreams
Regardless of whether the ERP portion of the project is live or not, Oracle CX introduces a new set of stakeholders. A strong program leader ensures alignment between teams, bridging ERP and CX, managing dependencies (see some common ones below), and keeping priorities in check with all parties. This role has been critical to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
2. Manage Dependent Deliverables
The decisions made in ERP provide critical inputs for CX design and success:
- Accounts Table: ERP owns customer and account structures that Sales and CPQ rely on.
- Master Products Table: ERP owns product data that sales and CPQ will rely on for quoting and communication with contacts.
- Company Information: Items like company hierarchy, calendars, and master data must be locked down in ERP before CX can fully align pricing, quoting, and reporting.
- Order Flow: As CPQ is deployed, won quotes must flow seamlessly into ERP as orders. This requires both technical integration and business process alignment.
3. Anticipate and Manage Changes in ERP
Even if ERP is well underway or near go-live, adjustments can happen. Minor changes to account structures, pricing logic, or items in ERP can have a significant impact on CX implementation if not identified early. We’ve seen that clear communication channels between ERP and CX teams prevent small adjustments from becoming costly setbacks.
4. Balance Concurrent Timelines
Project timelines will vary in length. ERP projects are often longer, while CX projects can move quicker. Managing to periodic milestones will be important. Our experience shows that setting joint checkpoints between ERP and CX teams helps keep both tracks aligned without slowing momentum. Nothing is worse than having downtime while deadlines are approaching.
Motiv’s exclusive focus on Oracle CX means we act as the connective tissue with ERP implementers. We guide ERP teams on what CX requires, represent customer-facing priorities in ERP decisions, and ensure CX is launched in alignment with ERP without unnecessary disruption. Having done this with several clients, we know how to translate ERP structures into CX success.
Tactical-Level Guidance
- Validate ERP Data Readiness: Confirm ERP account structures, product catalogs, and company information are stable before finalizing CX configuration.
- Use a Dependency Tracker: Maintain a shared log of ERP changes that could affect CX to prevent data surprises in the project.
- Engage ERP Stakeholders in CX Workshops: Their involvement ensures alignment in data flows, order management, and account structures.
- Test Integration Flows Early: Even in sandbox environments, validate the flow of data that power your processes as soon as possible.
- Apply Change Control Across Projects: Treat ERP and CX together when it comes to governance, so ERP changes don’t derail CX progress.
Motiv’s Final Thought: Running Fusion ERP and CX concurrently, whether strictly parallel or staggered with ERP already in motion, requires disciplined coordination of people and deliverables. Aligning leadership and project teams with a plan is the beginning. Managing dependencies and sequencing milestones effectively will be how organizations can avoid disruption and accelerate time-to-value. At Motiv, we’ve helped clients on this journey successfully, ensuring their customer-facing systems launch seamlessly, and allowing teams to focus on their day-to-day making customers happy!
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Own Your Journey
Oracle CX is a software suite that allows you to manage your customers’ experience (CX) through every step of your unique customer journey across a variety of different channels.
The benefits of utilizing the latest software that’s been configured to fit your workflow include an increased ROI, efficient and clean data management, increased business capacity, minimal process disruption, and an overall improved customer experience that grows current relationships while fostering new opportunities.
