The Aim of the recent workshop in Geneva was to ensure that the perspectives of Offices Away from Headquarters and Peace Operations were taken into account in the documentation that would be used in selecting the software for the Enterprise Resource Planning system, or ERP, to be introduced in the UN.

The workshop brought together a group of eighty staff members from all over the globe dealing with human resources, finance, supply chain or central services, from duty stations as diverse as Cambodia, The Hague, Haiti and Côte d’Ivoire. Many had come with just a few days notice, and had to quickly get into an ERP frame of mind and become familiar with jargon such as “RTMs” or “Requirement Traceability Matrix”! As participants introduced themselves it soon became clear that the group had in-depth knowledge and a wide range of experience in the main functional areas, both from outside and inside the UN.

Expectations varied, but there was a great deal of enthusiasm and energy. As to the bigger picture, the concept of ERP as a tool for achieving organizational change was ever present. The challenges from today’s environment demanded faster and better results from the United Nations. So what kind of change did we want? Step by step, or radical? Participants hoped that the “fear of change” in some quarters would be overcome, so that the UN could reap the full benefits of an ERP. As to the detailed work, staff from the different functional groups set out to critique the end-to-end business processes and the related scenarios. This would later be presented to the ERP suppliers to test their abilities to meet the UN Secretariat’s specialized and diverse requirements.

The findings and conclusions were presented on the last day of the workshop to the Chief Information Technology Officer, Choi Soon-hong, by video-conference. There was a strong recommendation that senior officials of the UN Secretariat and its programmes consider their reporting requirements so that this aspect could be taken into account in the ERP. The data cleansing needed to begin right away. And participants noted that they had repeatedly come across instances where the Secretariat’s procedures should be revisited. Participants left with high hopes, and with the expectation to see revised RTMs and scenarios reflecting their input. They also wished to continue to be involved in the ERP process.

Last but not least: some quotes

"We have the attention of the market place! The UN’s ERP implementation will be the biggest to take place in the next five years." Ed Blinder, ITSD/DM

"We must avoid the pitfall of implementing the existing systems on the new ERP." Francis Babatunde, UNOCI

"The spirited debates and insights gained will enable the ERP Team to return to New York with a more representative and balanced set of requirements." John Meulman, SRA Consulting

"This workshop is great value for money: the participation and feedback is great. We could not have achieved this progress any other way!"  Clemens Adams, DFS, ERP Project Team

This article is based on reporting from David Hastie, of UNON, and Francis Babatunde, of ONUCI

Note: A similar workshop for Headquarters staff is currently taking place in New York.

Originally published on iSeek on Friday, 16 November 2007, Geneva