So here’s the thing - you’ve heard about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and the benefits it affords a business like yours. You know - or at least you’ve been told - that it will ‘take your company to the next level’, but it’s all a bit overwhelming. It makes sense to have all your processes automated, centralized and running like a well-oiled machine, but at the end of the day you have no idea where to start, what you should be looking for or even what it will do for you.
There’s a lot of anxiety, uncertainty and doubt - mixed with high expectations - over what a potential new system must do. Everyone from the board, middle level management down to the lowest level operator of the system have high expectations that the system will be able to work its magic. Expectations are high and the pressure is on.
Let’s lay it out: Choosing the right ERP system can be stressful. The risks are high, with most published report saying 65% or more of ERP implementations are considered not successful or even failures, based on functionality, cost overruns, or implementation time overruns.
Muddying the waters further is the trust factor. During the course of sounding out a new system, you’ll often come across dual interests internally, as well as externally.
Inside the company, it’s human nature for individuals to want to put their interests first, particularly with functionality wish lists. Marketing needs a significantly different type of functionality and features compared to accounting. So whose wants should be prioritized?
Externally, vendor and implementation partner salespeople have been known to try and sell ice to the Eskimos - trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, all in the name of closing the sale and pocketing their commission. Are they revealing everything? A lot of systems offer discounts and incentives to new customers, are you being told the full story? What elements of the contract do you need to know? How would you even know to ask?
Part of the success is predicated on picking the right software that’s not too big and not too small, that has the functionality you need now along with the functionality you’ll need to grow into down the track, but importantly without too many bells and whistles that are more fluff than requirement.
And like the butcher who keeps the meat on the top shelf - THE STAKES ARE HIGH.
Choosing, and eventually implementing, a new ERP system can be an expensive task that often costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. But an even greater cost than that is implementing the wrong system for your company, having an implementation go over-budget or not delivered on time.
“Going it alone” is a scary and, more importantly, dangerous undertaking. Working with an experienced and trusted team of business advisors and ERP experts such as Liberty Technology Advisors is a critical step towards ensuring your new system implementation goes off without a hitch.
Chances are that someone undertaking, selecting and managing an ERP implementation has limited experience and exposure to the issues that come up along the way. It’s important to engage with a company such as Liberty Technology Advisors that act as true partners and work with you every step of the way, helping you find the right software and vendor that fits your needs like a glove.
With hundreds of ERP implementations under their belt, Liberty Technology Advisors know what questions to ask and know what’s reasonable (and unreasonable) when it comes to the implementation and contractual negotiations.
You wouldn’t walk into a restaurant blindfolded and hope you pick the right meal for you, so why should you do the same with something as important as an ERP system?