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Guide and Tips to choose the right ERP System for your company
By Mukesh Variyani August 13, 2019 Business
How to choose the right ERP Software for your company
Though business owners have realized the benefits of implementing ERP system for their organization, it is important to realize the wrong choice on ERP system can actually waste a lot of time and resources. As choosing the right ERP can improve your business performance and accelerate your growth, a wrong choice has the potential to slow you down.
What to consider while choosing an ERP Software:
There are multiple types of software solutions to choose from when it comes to the ERP solution. But you need to analyze and study which one is best for your business not only as per current needs and requirements but also considering future scalability. A perfect fit will enhance the profits and productivity while the other software may result in errors and failures of the business. As it is rightly said, "Nothing worth having comes easy", similarly there will be challenges of ERP implementation. Below are some tips that can help you to decide wisely.
All of the work that goes into development is not adding value until the software is in the hands of the customer. - Mary Poppendieck
Analyze your need
The ERP software which is exactly as per your business needs is the most successful one. For that, you first need to carefully and wisely analyze and list down the needs and requirements of your business and employees. Consulting with the employees who are the end-users of the ERP, from various departments is a great way to ensure you choose the right ERP software for your company.
Understanding the Budget
It is important to consider the charges that different vendors charge for different features and options. You need to ask questions such as - are these charges one time? Or are they recurring in nature? Are there any additional costs involved? Questions like these will give you a brief idea of the total costing of the ERP software.
Customization
Often all the businesses need to optimize and customize the ERP software to match their requirements. I always believe you need to mold users and customize ERP software both to align them perfectly. If you ask users to accept and use ERP software as is, mean you loose your unique working style which was profitable. But customization comes at a cost, so it’s important for you to analyze to what extent the ERP software can be customized and at what price.
ERP vendors
The best ERP Software can also fail for you if you make a mistake in choosing the implementor. ERP is a very detailed software with features touching each aspect of your organization. It’s important to check the knowledge of the vendor prosing the solution. Generally ask as many questions as you can during the demo sessions, which can help you compare the vendors on their know-how. The association with the vendor can last for years and it's important to take your time to identify vendors whose knowledge can provide long-term value to your business.
Analyze the benefits
It is important to measure the benefits that ERP software will render to the business. These benefits should ideally be categorized in the money saved or money earned. If you are saving time, that also falls into money saved. Eventually, the goal is to calculate ROI of the project. This will help you find how long will it take to make this ERP software implementation project profitable.
Company Goals & Vision
Is your choice of ERP Software is aligning with the company’s goals and vision? Or are they just achieving the short term objectives or instant problems? Ideally, you should choose an ERP software which is extensible to match your vision for the company.
Steps to choose the right ERP Software for your company
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Prioritize your requirements: challenges to solve shortcomings of your current system (if any), Review your list, and prioritize the list.
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List down the vendors: Identify and list down vendors who provide solutions in your industry within your budget
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Discuss your needs: Share your prioritized feature, selection process, timeline, expectations from vendors.
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Take software demonstrations: Prepare brief demo scripts, demo each software system, and gather feedback.
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Study ERP software features: Check ERP software functionality, software capabilities, efficiency.
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Compare price quotes: Detailed price quote, Compare all quotes, Ensure quotes are complete, choose the right price.
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Verify the References: Ask for two references, talk to them, verify working style and timely delivery of solutions by the vendor.
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Make the right choice: Choose the right software after all the factors and use it to full extend to derive value you envisioned at start.
A company may employ the most sophisticated software in the world, but unless information is managed, timely, accurate, and complete, the system serves little purpose. - Wayne L. Staley.
Implementing an ERP software is not an easy task but a step by step procedure involving time, high costs and a longer value attached with it. A wrong decision can lead to loss of time and money and can also leads to negative results of the business. So it is very important to analyze all the possible factors carefully and then make a right decision. Appropriate time spent on choosing the perfect fit for your company and following the correct ERP implementation steps will save the time being spent on maintenance or rectifying the errors in future.
Mukesh Variyani
MD, Finbyz Tech Pvt Ltd
