Your organization has deployed NetSuite. The implementation phase is complete, but system adoption remains inconsistent. Manual workarounds persist. Critical workflows are underutilized. Familiar tools are resurfacing.
For IT directors, ERP project managers, and NetSuite administrators, this signals a familiar risk: implementation without adoption. Without a structured change management plan, the system will not deliver its intended value.
According to Gartner, more than 70% of recently implemented ERP initiatives will fail to meet their original business goals by 2027. The problem isn't the software. It’s the lack of alignment across people, processes, and leadership. This article presents seven practical change management strategies designed to help you move beyond go-live and embed lasting adoption across your organization.
ERP implementation reshapes business processes, roles, and expectations. Without structured change management, adoption slows and the system underperforms.
Change management prepares people to adapt. It clarifies what is changing, why it matters, and how each user fits into the new model. Communication, targeted training, and support equip teams to shift behavior confidently.
Without this foundation, old habits return. Workarounds spread. In a system like NetSuite ERP, where changes affect finance, supply chain, and operations, those breakdowns carry real business risk. A clear change management plan reduces friction, sustains progress, and secures your ERP investment. It turns go-live into real, lasting adoption.
A successful ERP implementation depends on how well you manage change across people, processes, and systems. These seven strategies form a structured approach that helps unify business functions, reduce resistance, and drive long-term adoption of NetSuite ERP.
Without visible ownership, change initiatives lose direction. Build a cross-functional leadership group of executive sponsors, department heads, and project managers. This team must lead decisions, resolve blockers, and set a consistent tone across the organization.
Assign specific responsibilities: IT may own system integrity, while operations leads drive adoption within their departments. Without this structure, conflicting priorities emerge and adoption stalls. According to the 2025 Panorama ERP Report, many ERP projects fail to deliver expected outcomes, often due to a lack of focus on organizational change management.
Different business functions use NetSuite differently. Sales, finance, operations, and supply chain each face distinct expectations and friction points during rollout.
Identify stakeholders early and map their workflows, concerns, and risks. Then create role-specific messaging and onboarding steps aligned with each group’s daily tasks. Engagement that speaks directly to users’ roles and responsibilities increases clarity, reduces resistance, and strengthens alignment.
Lack of understanding is a major barrier to adoption. When users don’t see the value of the change, they’re more likely to delay or revert to familiar tools.
Explain what’s changing, why it matters, and what’s expected. Tie system features to business outcomes like reduced close cycles, improved reporting accuracy, or faster order fulfillment. Deliver this messaging through multiple channels such as team meetings, internal portals, job aids, and repeat it as new processes go live.
Generic ERP training often leads to confusion, missteps, and reliance on workarounds. Build a structured training program tailored to specific teams like finance, purchasing, fulfillment, and customer service.
Use a mix of live demos, on-demand guides, peer coaching, and internal knowledge bases. Assign change champions within each department to reinforce usage and assist with troubleshooting. Hands-on, role-based training builds competence faster and reduces dependency on admin support.
Your change management plan must be responsive. After go-live, issues emerge, user behavior shifts, and processes need refinement.
Create formal feedback channels such as check-ins, anonymous surveys, and usage trend reviews. Act on recurring issues, prioritize enhancements, and communicate improvements visibly. This creates a feedback culture where users feel heard and supported, which are two key elements of successful ERP adoption.
If you can’t measure adoption, you can’t improve it. Track system usage through ERP dashboards and analytics. Monitor logins, workflow completion rates, and help desk volume by department.
Use this data to identify drop-offs and friction points. When engagement lags in a specific team or function, provide targeted reinforcement. Without these metrics, poor adoption remains hidden until business processes fail.
Adoption is not a single milestone. It’s an ongoing behavior. Reinforce adoption by recognizing success and maintaining support availability. Acknowledge users and teams that adopt new workflows, help others, or surface valuable feedback. Use shoutouts in team calls, recognition platforms, or performance reviews.
Maintain accessible support channels to prevent resistance from turning into disengagement. Recognition builds momentum. Support sustains it.
Even a well-configured ERP system like NetSuite can fail to deliver if change management is weak. These common mistakes often derail adoption and delay value realization. Address them early to keep your implementation on track.
Underestimating resistance
Users do not resist new technology. They resist unclear priorities, unfamiliar workflows, and a lack of support. If the change feels optional or disconnected from their daily work, engagement drops quickly.
Treating training as a one-time event
A single training session is not enough. Users need continuous, role-specific instruction that aligns with real tasks and evolves as the system does. Without reinforcement, old habits return.
Ignoring adoption data
Usage metrics reveal where friction lives. If you are not monitoring system logins, process completion, or support volume, you miss early signs of disengagement. Delayed intervention leads to deeper adoption issues.
Avoiding these pitfalls drives sustained adoption, strengthens system usage, and delivers measurable business outcomes.
Effective change management in an ERP environment requires more than project planning. It demands organizational change management that connects business strategy with execution. Kimberlite Partners provides NetSuite ERP services that unify processes, equip users, and link implementation to measurable business outcomes.
Their structured implementation process supports enterprise resource planning across departments, from finance to operations. They help organizations manage the change by focusing on stakeholder alignment, role-based enablement, and clear communication. Kimberlite’s approach integrates change management efforts with practical tools to drive successful ERP outcomes.
Change management is the side of ERP most likely to be neglected and the one most likely to impact adoption and usage. People-centric change creates new ways of working, fosters accountability, and reduces the likelihood that teams will resist the change.
To lead a successful implementation, business owners and IT leaders must implement the change intentionally. Reinforce training, track usage metrics, and align user behaviors with the system’s capabilities. Combine tools like the Health Check, Data Migration Process, and Optimization Services to support your change management plan.
Ready to strengthen adoption? Book a NetSuite adoption review to evaluate team readiness and reinforce your long-term change management strategy.