6 tips and tricks to make ERP process harmonisation easier

Implementing an ERP system helps structure business processes within a unified framework. But just because the tool is centralised does not mean practices will automatically align. Differences in interpretation, local habits and lack of user support can easily derail even the best intentions.
Here are six practical levers to help harmonise processes across your ERP system.

Contents:

Create a shared vision of the processes
Involve business teams from the design phase
Document business rules in a practical way
Standardise the user experience across all modules
Embed best practices directly into daily tools
Monitor and adapt continuously based on user feedback

1. Create a shared vision of the processes

An ERP provides structure, but if every team interprets processes differently, alignment remains theoretical.
For example, “order validation” might mean a simple click to one team, and a manual budget check or manager approval to another.
These silent differences often result in inconsistent data entry, duplicates or blockages in the process chain.

Harmonisation starts with a clear, shared and widely communicated model of each process: who does what, when, in what order, and with what impact.
This model should not remain confined to the project team but be visible and accessible to all users.

With Shortways Assistant, you can integrate clear, visible reference points directly into ERP screens: role reminders, business definitions, process logic.
These in-screen guides support consistent usage, regardless of the user’s department or location.

2. Involve business teams from the design phase

ERP configuration is often viewed as a technical task. Yet it is the business users who experience the processes daily. They know where things get stuck, which steps are often skipped and how they should be adapted to real-world constraints.

Failing to involve them from the start risks modelling a process that is too far removed from reality, leading to rejection, workarounds and poor data entry.
Involving them early ensures that the system fits actual use cases, while encouraging evolution.

Shortways Assistant supports this business logic by tailoring guidance to each role.
An admin assistant will not see the same instructions as a finance controller.
This maintains the engagement of business users in the screens they actually use. Subject-matter experts should also be involved in creating help content, so the right practices are shared.

3. Document business rules in a practical way

ERP business rules are often highly technical: budget allocation, analytics, approval hierarchies, automated thresholds.
They may be known to the project team, but are rarely accessible to end users. Worse still, they are often documented in detached formats (PowerPoint, intranet pages, 80-page PDFs) that no one consults when actually inputting data.

To support harmonised practices, rules must be visible, understandable and embedded within the work environment.
It is not enough for rules to exist, they must be seen, understood and followed.

Shortways Assistant lets you attach help bubbles, examples or validation alerts to each input field. Rules become live, visible and actionable right when users need them.
You can also link documentation and FAQs directly to the screen the user is working in.

4. Standardise the user experience across all modules

An ERP is rarely used in a uniform way. HR uses one module, Finance another, Procurement yet another.
But navigation patterns, validation workflows and vocabulary often vary across modules.
This lack of coherence fragments usage and leads to different behaviours: the same field may be completed differently depending on the department.

Harmonisation also depends on unifying the user experience: consistent messages, a common logic in guidance and similar screen structures.

With Shortways Assistant, you can apply the same help and guidance standards across all ERP modules. Users find familiar reference points no matter where they are, which reinforces everyday consistency.

5. Embed best practices directly into daily tools

Even with clear rules, training materials and documented procedures, best practices only take root if they are visible and applied in action.
In ERP systems, operational pressure often pushes users to “do what they can”: copy from a previous order, ask a colleague or skip a non-mandatory field.

To foster harmonisation, best practices need to be embedded in the work environment, not confined to external materials.

Shortways Assistant provides contextual micro-content built into screens: reminders, step-by-step tutorials, good practices tied to sensitive fields. The ERP system itself becomes the channel for your target behaviours.

6. Monitor and adapt continuously based on user feedback

Once ERP processes are harmonised and the system is live, the work does not stop.
Some rules may turn out to be too complex, certain steps misunderstood, screens underused or roadblocks overlooked.
These are weak signals that, if ignored, can lead to a gradual return to local workarounds and imprecise data entry.

Harmonisation must be a continuous effort based on user feedback, support tickets and real usage analysis.

Shortways Assistant automatically collects usage statistics from its content (clicks, access rates, tutorial drop-offs). You can easily identify problem areas and update help content in just a few clicks, without waiting for a new project cycle.

Conclusion

Process harmonisation in an ERP is neither automatic nor purely technical.
It depends on how rules are designed, made visible, understood and actually applied.
This alignment requires organisational decisions, strong involvement from business teams and daily support, embedded directly in the system.

Shortways Assistant delivers this support in a concrete, sustainable and self-sufficient way by addressing each friction point.
Not by replacing the processes, but by finally making them clear, usable and shared.

To see this solution in action and learn how it can help you harmonise practices and improve both user and ERP efficiency: Contact us

👉 To go further on this topic, discover why are ERP operating costs so high?