Partner Article

Dealing with an inflexible ERP system

Is an inflexible ERP system keeping you up at night? Here’s what to do about it.

Did you know that more than 33 per cent of businesses are dissatisfied with their ERP solution due to the high cost of maintenance and lack of flexibility and usability*? Are you one of them? If so, you probably have made a considerable investment in your current system, both in time and in money. And while the thought of identifying another ERP solution might make you restless, it shouldn’t stop you from finding the best solution for your business. After all, this decision has the potential to have the biggest impact on your business for the foreseeable future—choosing the right solution may mean the difference between exceeding expectations and gaining customers or failing to meet demand and losing customers. However, there are ways to make this decision easier. Here are a few things business owners need to take into consideration when shopping for a new business management system:

Evaluate your company’s needs

Before you make a decision, do your homework in the planning stages of upgrading or purchasing a brand new system. The first step is to perform a complete review of all of the requirements in accounting, manufacturing, engineering, data collection, and any other essential departments. Evaluate what is working now and what isn’t. Take stock of which processes are inefficient and make note of why. These are the kinds of details that can help guide your IT-decision-making, and tracking redundancies will payoff ten fold in helping you identify inefficiencies.

Gain insight from active users Once you begin your search, ask your sales representative if you can speak with a customer currently using their system—preferably one that is in your specific industry, with similar growth pain points. Ask them pointed questions about their experience such as, did you customize your system, and if so how long did that customization take? Does the solution provide mobile support? Are there any issues with customer service? If you could do it over again, would you go with the same system and the same vendor? These types of questions with a reference can pinpoint where and when a new ERP system will have the biggest positive impact on your company’s growth.

Keep in mind what you want

Asking questions of other businesses is very helpful, but don’t lose sight of your own business goals and needs. When choosing a system identify how you are planning on growing your business. If you are looking for lean growth and want to expand without adding employees, then it is important to choose an ERP system that does not require an IT person to manage it on a day-to-day basis. Be sure to identify your exact needs prior to engaging a vendor.

Evaluate the importance of anywhere accessibility

Think about your workday and about how many times you work from a device other than your laptop or desktop. Whatever business management solution you choose should give you the ability to access your data anytime and anywhere as well as on the device of your own choosing. Additionally, the system you choose should make it easy for your employees to access the data they need quickly and seamlessly. In order to maximize efficiency, the user interface should be clean and tailored to the employee using it, no matter where they are in the world.

In today’s business environment, growth means doing more with less. Having the ability to easily scale when you need to meet unpredicted demand should be a deciding factor when choosing a business management system. While we know choosing a new business management system can be an overwhelming process as you look for greater flexibility in all of your IT choices, if you do your due diligence and remain focused on what your business really needs, these proof points will make managing that choice less difficult.

*According to TEC, 2015 – SMB and Enterprise ERP snapshot.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jayne Archbold .