To Replace Or Not to Replace?
Looking to replace your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can be a scary and overwhelming decision. Your ERP system is your information backbone and reaches into all areas of your business. Replacing it can be a difficult and painful. When it is done correctly, it can open unlimited business opportunities. When done poorly it can be a confusing, muddy and lead you to not make a decision at all.
Companies decide to replace their ERP systems for a variety of reasons. Basically, the issue is whether your current system supports or limits your ability to execute business strategies that will make your company successful.
Some organizations continue to use legacy applications. Because these systems automate only a few business function rather than an entire interconnected business processes, they demand manual, labor-intensive workarounds such as rekeying data into separate systems. Legacy systems also tend to be inflexible. Often, they don’t permit businesses to change their processes to adapt to changing business requirements nor do they provide visibility across the organization.
Over the next few posts we’ll give a points to consider helping you to identify and select the solution that will meet your expectations.
Look to the Crystal Ball
What will next ten years will bring for your company? To answer that question, look at the changes over the past ten years. Now, double it.
Technology will provide information to your employees at any time, on any device. Information will be personalized and will anticipate the needs and activities whatever the job description. ERPs will focus on providing the data needed to make decisions, on exceptions and on automating routine daily processes. And your ERP will have to adapt to new business and technology strategies that you have not even thought about.
So how do you future proof your next ERP System? Look for an ERP Vendor with the flexibility to providing strategic, enterprise-wide, mission-critical applications to support your business models and size—today and tomorrow. To that end, history is the best predictor of the future.
An ERP system needs to grow with your company and business plans. Proof of this comes from customers that have grown by acquisition. While it is not possible to predict future company acquisitions, a future-proof system grows and accommodates multiple facilities and companies with different processes.
A software vendor’s history of evolving their solution to changing business and technology trends is not accidental. From the beginning, this agility must be designed into the system so that it supports your vision of business today, and in the future.