So you’ve put together your ERP Selection Team and think your company is ready to implement ERP (enterprise resource planning), but are you sure? While an ERP implementation can be a key element of your company’s growth, if you’re not truly ready, it can be a costly and time consuming undertaking. Some consulting firms estimate the ERP implementation failure rate at 50-60% with cost overruns of up to 100%, therefore it is critical to do your due diligence to ensure that your entire organization is prepared before making your decision. Check out Computer World’s article back in August 2011 on Epicor’s failed implementation and subsequent lawsuit. Upfront preparation, clearly defining goals and expectations, and doing your due diligence help to ensure that your ERP implementation is a success.
If your Small to Medium Sized Business (SMB) is drowning in paperwork and bad information from disparate systems, it might be ready to implement an ERP System. You may be overwhelmed by not only the choices, but the best practices in choosing a new ERP system.In this blog series entitled, “Selecting ERP for Your Small to Medium Sized Business,” we’ll outline the six steps you should take to ensure a successful selection and implementation. From assembling your cross-functional ERP team to finally selecting your ERP system, we’ll walk you through each step of the process. In the first blog, “Develop Your ERP System Selection and Implementation Team,” we’ll cover what you need to know to make your first step the right one.
How sophisticated is your inventory control process? Is it a tool that you can use for forecasting and planning, or are you happy if you can just keep your warehouse from emptying out before the next materials delivery?
Costing out a project is arguably the most important step to do well. Being able to track the costs of materials and labour accurately is necessary to determine which projects are profitable, both historically and going forward. Being able to peer into these data also allows for more accurate estimates and proposals, and to forecast and mitigate cost overruns. What many business owners overlook is the value of time in cost tracking.
Visibility matters a great deal when it comes to project management. Knowing that you have a great team handling any particular project doesn't make up for being in the dark about the details, or for having to wait for a regular status report to see how the costs and timeline match up with the projections.
What's keeping your valuable information from being as visible to your employees as you would like it to be? Sometimes the problem is too much information, or at least too much of the wrong information. When an employee sits down to complete a task, how much time and effort is spent wading through filing cabinets of folders, menu screens and different software programs? Once everything is found, how much time is spent going through the access to find what is needed?
When a company is started by one or two people, customer relationships are often easy to maintain. As a business grows and more people get involved, data visibility becomes more complicated than simply recalling a birthday or a conversation about a pending order. This is when a customer relationship management tool, or CRM, can help you continue to grow profitably.
