Checklist To Starting An Enterprise Resource Planning

Are you looking to adopt the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to handle your business operations? Many businesses have adopted this strategy to efficiently manage their processes. This article will list some of the things you need to look out for as you start embracing ERP.

Be sure to have the following:

• Clear Scope

To get the best and most from your ERP, you need to outline what you need it to do for your business. Set the expected outcome from the utilization of your ERP. What percentage of growth do you expect in the first quarter of implementing ERP? Such is how to lay out your expectations. 

With a clear scope in place, you’ll be able to track your processes and progress and align yourself well if you’re no longer on track. You’re also able to assess if your ERP is still working for your business.

Without setting goals and expectations, you’ll blindly adopt ERP and most likely end up utilizing it inefficiently.

• Business Suitability

Your ERP strategy should fully meet your business needs, cutting across all sectors. 

Companies like Oracle ERP modules list cover various operations, from finances to project management. The aim is to use all its features to the maximum for the benefit of your business. 

As part of suitability, you should customize it for your company’s operations. This way, the ERP system will better meet your needs at a personal level.

When you implement an ERP that barely meets your needs, it ends up being a waste of your company resources. You might have to spend more money as well to acquire additional tools to satisfy the unmet needs, which is undesirable for any business owner.

• Integration With Your Systems

Before deciding to acquire an ERP, you already have systems in place that help your team carry out your business operations. Therefore, you should acquire an ERP that’ll integrate with these systems without causing problems. The connected systems should work harmoniously, without force stopping the other as they run. 

If you make the mistake of acquiring an ERP that doesn’t complement your existing systems, you might be forced to change your systems and get those that work with your ERP. Your systems should be the determinant of the ERP to adopt, not vice versa. 

If upscaling your technology isn’t an option, you might have to purchase another ERP, especially if your vendor doesn’t allow exchanges or has a ‘goods once sold aren’t returnable’ policy. You end up spending so much money that you could have spent on other aspects of your business.

• A Competent Partner

With many ERP providers in the market, you need to do your due diligence to prevent seeking the services of a vendor who’ll end up frustrating you.

Choose a provider who’s well conversant with the operations of your industry. They should be knowledgeable about the use of the ERP to assist you in making maximum use of its features.

A competent partner will be on standby and readily available to assist you and your workers if any issue arises as they use the ERP. Their response rate should be fast enough to reduce prolonged downtime. 

Ensure that the provider has a proactive approach in delivering their services. You want a partner who can solve possible issues before they happen, instead of one who waits for a problem to arise for them to address it.

• Adequate Support

For any new changes to be effective, they need support from the various stakeholders of your business. With such a decision, those with a voice in this decision are your partners, top management, shareholders, and employees.

Support from the executive members is crucial since it determines the success of your ERP. They are the ones who’ll allocate funds to allow for its implementation, as well as decide if it’s a viable investment. You’re better positioned to start the implementation process when they give the go-ahead.  

The implementation process starts with getting your team on board with this system. At the end of the day, they’re the ones who’ll be using the ERP in their daily activities. Explain why you need to adopt the ERP system and the associated benefits. When they positively embrace the ERP, you’re assured your team will utilize it to the maximum. 

Without workers’ support, they’ll tend to try as much as possible to find alternative ways of executing works that won’t involve the ERP. This renders this system a useless investment.

• Scalability

As a business, you expect to grow and expand a few years down the line. To attain these goals, you need an ERP strategy that you’ll take along your growth journey. The ERP should be flexible enough to adapt to changes and efficiently suit your new business needs.  

You shouldn’t invest in an ERP with a rigid structure, such that when you expand, you have to acquire another ERP solution to meet new needs. This isn’t cost-efficient, both in the short and long run.

Conclusion

Adopting an enterprise resource planning strategy is a wise and bold step as a business. To ensure the success of this implementation, use the checklist given in this article to ensure that you don’t miss anything during your selection process.