CMU prepares for shift in Enterprise Resource Planning system

In 2020, Central Michigan University began to prepare for the eventual replacement of its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. Multidisciplinary work groups met with dozens of teams and units across campus to understand how they used CMU’s current SAP system for work related to finances, human resources and payroll, student records and more.

Now, after years of planning and review, an executive steering committee will lead a multidisciplinary effort to replace the outdated system with a modern, integrated platform.

Darcie Wilson, Chief Transformation Officer, chair of the executive steering committee for the ERP transition, said the group includes representatives from numerous offices across the institution and is already communicating with units that will be most impacted by the coming change.

The executive steering committee members are:

• Jim Bujaki, chief information officer
• Jennifer DeHaemers, vice president, Student Recruitment and Retention
• Mary Hill, chief financial officer and vice president, Finance and Administrative Services
• Eric Whitmore, interim vice president of the Office of Information Technology
• Darcie Wilson, chief transformation officer

A catalyst for change

The new system will encourage more consistency and efficiency in processes and practices university-wide, Whitmore said. 

“This is not simply a technology upgrade; it will be a catalyst for the broader change roadmap we have been discussing together,” Whitmore said. “This new system will reduce manual work and work arounds, improve access to reliable data, and enable smarter use of artificial intelligence, automation, and self-service.”

Whitmore said that CMU’s current SAP system has had to be modified and highly customized by individual teams and units to make it functional; he said the team working on the ERP replacement initiative will be looking for a modern, integrated platform that will better support teaching, learning, working and service across the university.

In addition, the new system will provide a better user experience for students, DeHaemers said.

“We will select a modern system that incorporates features and functionality that our students and their families are already familiar with from other platforms,” DeHaemers said. “That will improve their comfort engaging with this new system.”

Next steps for CMU

Much of the information gathered in prior years is still relevant and will be used as a starting point for the request for proposal (RFP) process, Wilson said. However, to select an appropriate system, there will be additional conversations and meetings with teams who regularly use the current system.

“An initiative of this size requires strong planning, broad commitment and significant investment,” Wilson said. “As we move forward with this project, we will be guided by clear principles that emphasize university-first decision-making, responsible stewardship of resources, and finding a balance between risk-taking, innovation and long-term sustainability.”

Over the next several months, members of the working group will release an RFP for vendors, review potential products and meet with faculty and staff from institutions that use a variety of ERP tools, said Chief Financial Officer Mary Hill.  

“Over the past several years, the university has intentionally set aside funding and put planning in place to prepare us for this important transition,” Hill said.

The working group will also be meeting regularly with groups of faculty and staff to be sure the new system will meet the needs of the full university community.

“Governance, transparency and shared accountability will be central to how decisions are made,” Hill said. “We will prioritize standard, proven practices wherever possible and avoid recreating outdated processes in our new system.”

Wilson said the University Transformation Office has launched a new internal webpage for information about the ERP transition project; faculty and staff can visit the site for progress updates. She said members of the university community can also subscribe to the University Transformation Office’s newsletter to receive regular updates on this and other projects.

“Engagement, communication and support are being built into our project plan at every step of this process,” she said. “Faculty and staff voices will be essential as we move from intention to implementation and put our change roadmap into action.”