Connect with us
Finance Digest is a leading online platform for finance and business news, providing insights on banking, finance, technology, investing,trading, insurance, fintech, and more. The platform covers a diverse range of topics, including banking, insurance, investment, wealth management, fintech, and regulatory issues. The website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

BUSINESS

Monzer Tohme, regional vice president, sales, Middle East & Africa, Epicor Software

When purchasing a strategic software solution such as a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, making the right decision is vital. Many organisations wrongly assume that when it comes to ERP, the old adage of ‘one-size-fits-all’ holds true. This couldn’t be further from the truth, particularly for enterprises operating in the manufacturing and services sectors, where an ERP system that is customised to meet the organisations’ specific business requirements, is vital to operational efficiency and ultimately growth.

Below are six critical success factors to help ensure that you choose the ERP solution that is right for your business requirements.

Assess functionality needs–Start by evaluating the business challenges and individual pain points that you need to address and determine the business value your organisation needs to extract from the software. What problems should it solve, or what opportunities should it create for your business? For a CEO, you might be focusing on growing revenue from existing customers, attracting new customers, or supporting your move to a new market. For a COO or factory floor manager, you might be challenged with improving throughput on the factory floor, reducing inventory levels, or coordinating supply and demand to prevent stock shortages. At a very early stage of your decision-making process, you will want to compile a list of cross-functional requirements to use to reach out to software vendors that have solutions that match these requirements.

If replacing legacy software, keep in mind future business goals, rather than simply writing a list of the shortcomings of your old software. Where do you want to be in 3-5 years? What does your ERP solution need to support in the future? These questions are vital. In the past few years, manufacturers have undergone a significant transformation to address market challenges. For many, this has meant moving from a very standard ‘make-to-order’, ‘make-to-stock’, or ‘engineer-to-order’ manufacturing model, to a “mixed mode” model which can put added pressure on ERP solutions. Another key question to ask is: how do you want to deploy the solution? Legacy systems are traditionally on-premises solutions. Today however, you have a choice in deployment including traditional on-premises, hosted, “true cloud”, or hybrid options.

Have an open dialogue with software vendors –The opening stages of making any software decision should involve an open and honest discussion with the software vendor about your organisation’s business ambitions. This is where vendors show their strengths as a true partner–suggesting the options that will best accommodate the company’s overall business strategy.

Understand the end game, not just cost of ownership–New software requires a considerable business investment, however, it’s important to measure ROI, not just cost. Consider the up-front purchase budget alongside other key considerations such as the benefits the organisation can expect to gain from that software, as well as the long term maintenance costs.

Today’s next-generation enterprise software solutions, for example, have the ability to save businesses valuable time by reducing the amount of administrative tasks that employees have to complete, automating processes and streamlining workflows. This results in a more agile business, that is more responsive and competitive.

Assess ability to support the new software–Be sure to understand the capabilities of your company’s IT department. Will the team need help throughout the entire implementation process and beyond, or will they just need a training session before managing the deployment themselves.

Many software vendors include support and upgrades in their sales package, but make sure the vendor is prepared to provide the level of service needed. Having this information and working with a vendor that understands the needs of the organisation will help when deciding what software/support bundle is best suited for your company.

Research the software vendor–It is vital that companies check credentials and do the necessary research to make sure they work with a software vendor that cares about the business requirements, not just about where the next sale is coming from.

Reputable software vendors will consult with the company on different options available and offer honest opinions on how to use technology to improve the business. This is especially important when purchasing an ERP solution, which is a whole package, not just one small element of a business’s technology.

Also, you can’t predict the direction your future growth will take, so having a partner that is agile and committed to innovation, is invaluable.

ERP solution features–An ERP solution should solve problems, not create them, so it is critical to ensure that the solution you choose has the following features:

Choosing any new software, but particularly an ERP solution, is a complex task and can also be a confusing experience. That being said, selected carefully, an ERP system can serve as the backbone of your business—it can improve visibility and transparency across departments, streamline operations, speed up time to market, support change management initiatives and aid decision making—and give your enterprises the competitive advantage it needs to grow.

Continue Reading

Recent Posts