In our previous blog, we highlighted SMART organizations require taking a holistic approach. Now we are going to breakdown the parts which make up the whole starting with 'S' which stands for Sound Data Structure.
In order to achieve this, an organization first needs to have an ERP (enterprise resource planning) system in place. This is the foundation for all sophisticated business intelligence. An ERP is what drives continuous operations like financials, supply chain, customer accounts,
In my experience as a
- What areas are lacking in our current solution that would provide cost savings / efficiencies with a new solution or upgrade?
- Have we defined the critical needs and mapped our processes in a way we can effectively communicate to our current or a new solution provider?
- If we were to look for a new solution is there a sufficient budget to successfully implement the new solution? (The internal resources required to implement a new system should be viewed as a minimum of three times the resources proposed by an ERP solution provider.)
- Have we properly defined the areas that will be measured to calculate return on investment in a new or upgraded system?
-
How do we want to deploy our ERP system? Is a traditional in-house server critical to our
operations or would our company be a good candidate for cloud based solutions?
Now that we’ve defined some of the questions that are required for a successful ERP implementation or upgrade the process of selection would arise. If it’s been determined that an upgrade will suffice, then selection is not a concern, but if a new system is in order some of the resources available in the selection process would include:
- Contact business associates to find out what systems they are using and if they would recommend those systems. (Try to pick associates that are in similar or the same industry.)
- Contact competitors that are viewed as strong competition to find out which ERP solution they are using and if they would recommend the solution.
- Talk to major customers and vendors to see if there are any advantages to selecting one of the solutions in use at their organizations.
- Use one of the many on-line services available for making selection decisions. Keep in mind that the solutions recommended may be skewed, as most of these services are funded by the ERP software vendors as a way to generate leads and may result in calls from the different ERP solution providers.
One thing to keep in mind when you are selecting a new ERP solution is that you are making a ten year decision for your company, so the necessary time and effort required to make a long-term strategic decision cannot be discounted.
So now that you armed with some insight on the importance of ERP along with a few best practices for ERP selection, is there
"The Cloud" is one of the hottest topics today and that is because it is a disruptive technology. It allows small and middle market companies a level playing field with the much larger organizations because these SMB's now have access to the same ERP applications. Cloud ERP delivers information in real-time, up to the second, with access anywhere at anytime. With cloud ERP, you get: increased agility, attractive ROI, acceleration of time-to-value, the ability to scale quickly, and so much more for a very minimal investment. Contrary to popular belief, with the right provider, data for SMBs is actually more secure in the cloud as stated by a report in the Wall Street Journal.
To follow up, in our next blog, we will discuss the importance of executive skills and insights once an ERP is in place.
Do you run a SMART organization?
• S – Structure (Sound Data Structure)
• M – Modify (and Optimize Operations)
• A – Analyze (Analytical Tools)
• R – Reach Decision
• T – Track (and Measure)
Co-authored by Jim Ethell, Partner at B2B CFO