The right enterprise resource planning solution can be the difference between your company acting proactively or reactively in a crisis. When internal IT professionals control the selection, purchasing, implementation and maintenance of a company’s ERP systems, a few common mistakes are made.
Here they are, and here’s how to avoid them:
Embracing the Status Quo
Deciding which ERP system is right for your business is a great opportunity to re-evaluate how your current systems and processes are working and redesign your business processes to be more efficient and effective. Often, company executives will select ERP solutions that simply automate their current processes without evaluating whether those processes are actually working.
Deciding in a Vacuum
The selection and implementation of your ERP solution should include insight from every stakeholder in your business, especially the end-users – the people actually using the new system on a day-to-day basis. Including team members from finance, manufacturing, operations, distribution, and every department within your company not only brings important business nuances that you otherwise may not have considered into the conversation, but it develops buy-in across your organization.
Underestimating the Expense
Purchasing, implementing and maintaining an ERP software solution is expensive and requires IT professionals. This team is critical, not only to get the project running, but to fix any implementation errors and keep the system running smoothly over time. Budgeting for this in advance will make the process easier down the road.
Choosing a Generic Solution
There are many ERP solutions developed specifically for a range of industries, and chances are, yours is one of them. When selecting your ERP solution, work with someone who knows the ins and outs of ERP that can help you select the one that has the features required by leaders in your specific industry.
Losing Your Patience
Implementing an ERP system takes time, and it rarely happens all at once. Companies often take a waterfall approach to ERP implementation – this includes implementing the system and training users simultaneously, going live immediately and expecting everything to work perfectly right from the start. Companies that take an agile approach are usually more successful with their ERP launches, implementing and training in stages that involve the users and addressing problems as they get closer to launch.
There are many approaches to take in the selection and implementation of your ERP software solution. We are here to help guide you through the process and ensure that your company avoids these common errors.