A New ERP System May Be Easier Than You Think

A New ERP System May Be Easier Than You Think

Incorporating a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) / financial system into your business certainly deserves some serious thought. In fact, the top 3 reasons that companies delay the launch of a much-needed project are:

  • Lack of time“This will take forever to put together!”
  • Perceived shortage of resources“How can we reconcile our needs with our budget?”
  • Lack of procedural and technical expertise“How do we proceed? How does [x] compare to [y]?”

However, it’s a common mistake to over-estimate these obstacles; they are certainly factors to consider, but should never bring projects to a halt. The competitive nature of the business world means a company’s very livelihood is connected strongly to their efficiency and productivity. With this in mind, a company that delays necessary improvements to their systems for the above reasons should consider bringing in an outside firm to help them with this process. The return on investment (ROI) of paying a relatively small amount of money to receive the expertise and guidance of a firm that is familiar with developing RFPs (request for proposal) and implementing systems can help save both time and money.

A great IT Software and Solutions provider can offer not only a comprehensive service whereby they’ll handle the entire RFP / RFQ development process to the point of selecting a vendor or simply offer guidance in the areas where you’d like it. In addition, the services can range everywhere in between those two options as well.

“THIS WILL TAKE FOREVER TO PUT TOGETHER!”

Successfully determining your company’s needs means getting the full picture from the people who use your current system every day. Input from executive and managerial teams as well as ground-level employees is crucial, especially if you’re looking to evolve from a legacy system. A good partner facilitates this process with a Requirements Analysis.

Calsoft has decades of experience in IT software and solutions and is ready to help you with the leg-work in a successful project implementation. To get your own RFP process started, the best way is to contact us and discuss your options further.

“HOW CAN WE RECONCILE OUR NEEDS WITH OUR BUDGET?”

At first glance this reason sounds like a roadblock. But it doesn’t have to be. You can leave the hard work to the experts. Let the experts work with you to define (and prioritize) your needs. Let the experts help you propose a reasonable budget range. Conversely, if you have a specific budget amount that can be allocated towards a new ERP project then, again, let the experts tell you what can be accomplished based on your budget.

Nowadays, more than ever, there are so many options for implementing a new ERP system. You can choose to purchase a solution (On Premise model) or you can choose to lease a solution (SAAS, or software as a service model). You can choose to finance the project or pay for it out of your own pocket.

For cash flow or other financial reasons you can even choose to implement the project in separate phases. With a multi-phased approach you’ll get some positive ROI from implementing a portion of the solution and as a result the positive ROI will enable you to be able to afford paying for the subsequent phases.

In short, don’t rule yourself out. Find a good consulting organization to assist you and leave it up to them to tell you what is possible and what is not (for your current budget) as well as help you define the budget for your entire needs, so that you can budget for additional project phases to be implemented in subsequent years, if necessary.

“HOW DO WE PROCEED? HOW DOES SOLUTION [X] COMPARE TO SOLUTION [Y]?”

As you’ve probably already realized the answer to this dilemma is pretty much the same as the answer for the dilemma above. Engage with an expert and allow them to help you get through this process as efficiently as possible. They’ll interview you and your executives to help determine both the organizational and management objectives. They’ll help interview your team to quickly define the project requirements and the project scope. Then they can recommend 2-3 solutions to evaluate.

Working with a consulting organization with expertise in RFP creation and ERP implementation will be much more efficient than doing your own online research or asking a friend in the same industry what they use (as tempting at that might be). Although your friend’s business may seem the same as yours, their requirements may be slightly different, even different enough to warrant evaluating a system different than theirs.

In fact, most of the time there isn’t one right system. Usually you’ll find that there are several systems that can meet your needs and each one will have certain advantages/disadvantages over the others. An expert that works with multiple systems will better understand the nuisances of the various systems and can help guide you towards the system, that fits your business needs a little better than the others.

Calsoft is one such expert and we’d be happy to offer some guidance on your ERP project. With a short dialogue, we can help guide you towards the 2-3 systems that best fit your logistics business, and then run an evaluation from there. Just remember — inaction is the one thing your business can’t afford. Contact us today, and let’s get moving.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *