ERP Software and Your Business:7 Easy Steps to Efficiency and Profits

In this blog, we will explore business process mapping and why a business should go through this exercise to help gain efficiencies.  Business process mapping defines the business processes and how these processes add or detract from the overall goals and success of the business.  It clearly maps who is responsible for what and what improvements can be made to the current processes.  As ERP consultants, we know end to end ERP process mapping can be a great challenge. Ninety percent of companies made the decision to integrate their processes, costs prove to exceed the initial estimate because costly. They have missed some requirements along the way.  ERP software should fit your business in every way and in order to find out which one is your size, I have come up with seven logical steps to picking a system.  My realistic approach came from what I learned in my experience down in the trenches after having the chance to understand the process from the inside out.  There are seven steps to my strategy for determining whether or not a business needs an ERP system makeover.  The steps outlined below will hopefully help you make an informed decision if changes are required.

7 Easy Steps to Evaluate Your ERP Software

1. Identify the leader or key player of all areas of your business
2. Key players of each should document all ERP software and business requirements in their areas of responsibility
3. Get them all in one room to discuss and share the results. This will help you discover if there are any if there are any departmental redundancies or any new requirements another department may have in your areas of business. 
4. Once you have a master list, define each key player’s necessities and sort them in order from likes to must haves.  It is important that each key player is thorough and honest so you do not have to customize a new ERP solution to fit your business processes. Once the composite requirements are agreed upon, compare processes and cost.
5. Research your options for business process solutions on websites like www.infor.com or www.erpvar.com
6. Entertain offers for webinars and free demos.  That way, you are able to see how they measure up to your needs determined by the current master list from step 5.
7. Request estimates from ERP consultants about the integration of your current ERP system and supporting systems.  Once you have the estimates, you should double the total cost.  The last thing you want is to end up over budget and under prepared.

It is possible to make a good decision once you have 80% of the information. Productivity derives from task automation aimed to assist staff, not just production effectiveness.  Using automated tools, data can be manipulated and analyzed with powerful tools that allow data to be seen in a different light, leading to better overall business decisions.  Keep an eye towards the future in choosing solutions which will be flexible for your growth.  This is my experience as an ERP consultant from the inside out.  For more information on this topic, visit us at http://www.blsolution.net