Selecting the Best ERP System for Your Business: 9 Considerations for ERP Selection – Part 3
The ERP selection process should not be taken lightly, as ERP software is not only a sizable investment, but also one that will remain at the core of your business for many years to come. Selecting the best ERP system for your business is achievable for those that spend time up front to fully understand how the various ERP options match up to their specific business requirements. With recent technologies leading to a whole new way of doing business, Business Process Improvement (BPI) is one of the big benefits resulting from an ERP upgrade.
To help you with selecting the best erp system, MIS has put together a list of 9 considerations for ERP selection. Ensuring a successful project is about a combined team effort consisting of your project team and project consultants. Part 3 of this series focuses more on the areas where your consultant’s expertise and creativity will play an integral role in helping to define your ERP solution. Part 3 topics include:
- ERP Customizations
- ERP Support and Training
- ERP Ease of Upgrades
The series as a whole discusses the following topics:
- How Much of an ERP System Do You Need?
- Business Goals and Objectives
- ERP Cloud or On-Premises or Hybrid Deployment
- ERP Budget
- ERP Annual Cost
- ERP Technology Platforms
- ERP Customizations
- ERP Support and Training
- ERP Ease of Upgrades
When selecting the best ERP system for your business, consider short and long term business goals. The more you understand your business today with insights as to where it’s heading tomorrow, the better you’ll be able to invest in a solution that will provide you with the biggest long term ROI. Lets dive into Part 3:
7. ERP Customizations:
A general rule of thumb is that an ERP solution should meet 70-80% of your needs out of the box with the balance of functionality requiring customizations. If your consultant suggests that you need customizations, then those areas should be mapped out during the planning phase so that your project team can correctly assess overall costs for properly setting management expectations. C-level executives don’t appreciate surprise expenditures, who does? Understanding customization requirements up front will let you plan for the timing of customizations. Maybe a phased approach is needed. Your consultant can help prioritize and map out your project so you’re in better control of your timeline and budget.
Other Considerations for Customizations:
- The availability of local consultants that understand the software and the technology platform you are considering.
- Whether current technologies offer a new way to meet more of your requirements without the need for additional customizations.
- Whether you will try to do your customizations in house – not suggested if you don’t have the right expertise in house.
- Whether there is a large enough pool of candidates with the technology expertise for you to easily find a replacement if your key in-house IT person leaves.
In general, it’s typically best to leave customizations to the software experts as they know the system best and should be able to offer multiple options when building your ERP solution. Plus, software experts can create the customizations faster than a non-expert.
8. Support and Training
Consider support and training to be like the automobile mechanic that services your car. I think most understand the importance of having access to support after the conclusion of an implementation as well as offering staff training on a new ERP system, however is it worthwhile having access to a ‘mechanic’ afterwards?
Lets start by saying that many choose not to invest in additional training after the initial training period because the benefits of refresher training can be underestimated. Refresher courses help to keep bad habits from forming. Bad habits cause inefficiencies, and if someone with bad habits is training your new employees, then the impact of the inefficiencies is multiplied. Keeping everyone at their most efficient by offering an annual refresher course will help address inefficiencies while rewarding your organization with a higher ROI.
If you choose to have MIS support your Epicor ERP implementation, you, your staff, and MIS consultants will continue to work together beyond the initial implementation. Having access to someone that understands your ERP solution, your unique configuration, and staff can be a time saver when you are having a problem.
9. Ease of Upgrades
While selecting the best ERP system for your business, you should inquire about the upgrade process of the ERP solutions you are considering. Lack of being able to upgrade an ERP system easily is what keeps two thirds of businesses running their critical business operations on older, outdated ERP systems. Why can’t systems be upgraded easily? Because many companies heavily invested in customizing their old ERP or legacy systems, and these are typically lost during an upgrade which results in additional upgrade expenses.
Before making your final software selection, inquire about the upgrade strategies of the top ERP software vendors on your list. As an fyi, with Epicor ERP you won’t lose any of your upgrades as the technology which is being upgraded is maintained separately from your software and customizations. What does this mean to you? It means that your technology upgrades are independent of your software and database upgrades; your customizations will be preserved. It’s seamless and the benefit to you is that your business will always be able to take advantage of the latest available technology and software releases.
If you have any questions about how to select the best ERP system for your business, or would like to learn more about Epicor ERP or Epicor SaaS, contact MIS today. We’ll be happy to provide you with solid advice so you can keep your project moving forward and in the right direction, even if that means referring you to another vendor. Our goal is for you to pick the best ERP solution for your business because if it’s not the right solution for you, then you risk project success and we risk having an unhappy client. We want you to experience nothing less than Exceptional ERP™.
Additional Topics of Interest:
To learn more about what to expect from the software selection process and how to stay in control, take a look at: