Providers Seek Consulting Partners for ERP Implementation

Healthcare organizations are leaning on consultants to quickly realize outcomes, including positive return on investment, from enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementations, but there several questions leaders should ask before deciding on a firm, according to KLAS.

In a new report, the market research firm analyzed top consulting firms and software vendors that help healthcare organizations implement the new cloud technology, as well as guide organizations through the technical, training, and change management required for successful ERP implementation.

But before selecting a firm or vendor, healthcare organizations will need to determine how much strategic guidance they will need upfront and throughout the implementation, if the implementation will be part of a larger business transformation, and how much change management and/or training will be necessary.

Additionally, healthcare organizations should also consider how complex the ERP implementation will be prior to selecting a firm or vendor. Key considerations include the organization’s size and scope, ERP modules being implemented, number of external resources needed, and the type of work needed from resources, KLAS stated.

The answers to the four questions will help organizations select the right ERP implementation partner, whether it be the ERP software vendor, an ERP staffing firm, or ERP business transformation and/or implementation leadership firm.

Each type of ERP implementation partner has different knowledge and skills to aid healthcare organizations with the cloud technology purchase.

ERP software vendors, for example, can provide implementation services on top of the technology. These vendors—Infor, Oracle, Premier, and Workday being top vendors in this space—can lead implementations of their own technology, offer project management, or support ERP implementation, KLAS stated.

On the other hand, ERP staffing firms provide more technical services, largely through staff augmentation.

Firms like Atos, Avaap, Healthcare IT Leaders, Oxford Global Resources, and ROI Healthcare Solutions generally have the experience needed to support ERP implementations. Healthcare organizations mostly partner with the firms to help with software build or customization, according to the KLAS report.

Finally, ERP business transformation and implementation leadership firms specialize in either overall ERP implementation, taking the lead over the project, or overall project leadership or management.

ERP implementation leadership firms land on the latter side, offering project management and leadership for lower complexity implementations. These firms specialize in application implementation management, project management, technical expertise, as well as change management in some cases.

These firms, which include Avaap, Bails, the Chartis Group, Impact Advisors, and ROI Healthcare Solutions, are primarily used by small to midsize health systems, KLAS reported.

Larger health systems are more likely to use an ERP business transformation and implementation leadership firm, such as Accenture, Aap, Deloitte, Huron, KPMG, or PwC. These firms lead more complex ERP implementations and specialize in business transformation, application implementation management, and technical expertise.

These firms are typically involved for the entire ERP implementation cycle, including pre-implementation planning, change management, project management, system build and integration, and end-user training.

KLAS noted that overall scores for ERP business transformation and implementation leadership firms tend to be on the lower side compared to firms that focus on less complex ERP implementations. However, this is likely because of the “strategic nature of these engagements and high client expectations,” the report stated.

Top vendors according to clients included Accenture (87.5 out of 100 points), Huron (86.1 points), and PwC (78.6 points), while the top scoring ERP implementation leadership firms with a significant number of clients interviewed included Avaap (94.3 points), Bails (93.9 points), and ROI Healthcare Solutions (90.9 points).

ERP staffing firms meeting client expectations and other measures of success include Healthcare IT Leaders with 95.7 points and Oxford Global Resources with 94.3 points. All other firms in this category had limited data.

Finally, ERP vendors with high-rated implementation services included Workday, which had extensive software knowledge but lacked some leadership and guidance for more complex implementations, and Infor, which has had some reported early improvements despite some continued inconsistency with consultant knowledge, KLAS found.

ERP adoption has been on the rise as healthcare organizations invest in business management technology to streamline operations and improve back-end efficiencies, especially in an increasingly complex healthcare environment.

But just 12 percent of hospital and health system executives in a recent Guidehouse survey said their organization has optimized their ERP system.

Most executives (45 percent) reported that their organizational corporate services was consolidated or centralized, while 27 percent said they were standardized, simplified, or streamlined. Another 13 percent reported that the services were selectively outsourced.

However, about half (51 percent) of executives plan to optimize their ERP solution within the next two years.

Change management in addition to technology implementation will be key to realizing the value of ERP and other business technology implementations, Guidehouse stated.