Replacing your ERP System
Your ERP system is ingrained in everything your business does, understandably the notion of replacing your ERP may send shivers down your spine. Yet if the very lifeblood of your business is affecting your agility in responding to market/competitor trends, then quickly the idea becomes a necessity. Since the implementation of a new ERP system is a massive commitment of time and resources, how can you gauge whether a replacement is required?
The first and most important question to ask yourself about your existing system is this: Does my current system support the needs of the business? Aspects you could look at to answer this question include the system’s ability to cater to the bread and butter of your business, the system’s responsiveness and your staff’s ability to leverage the system’s capabilities. Another important factor to consider is whether your current system gives a path for growth into new and innovative technologies (IoT, Business Intelligence, collaboration etc).
If you are heavily reliant on spreadsheets and workarounds in your current system, you leave a lot of headway for your competitors to out-pace you on price, lead-time and customer service. If your current system is unable to foster the growth and change your business needs to keep up, the ultimate cost is lost opportunities which therefore leaves revenue on the table.
The cloud based ERPs of today are impressively flexible and user friendly. They also offer a platform that allows your business to easily adapt and scale as needs evolve over time. The net result of a properly implemented ERP solution will aide you with achieving these objectives:
Increased customer satisfaction
Improved cash-flow and decreased outstanding receivables
Increased opportunities
Decreased costs through efficiencies
Improved sell-through rate (inventory turnover), less capital tied up in inventory
If you are coming to the conclusion that your business may need a heart transplant, get your best people together internally and start identifying the key areas where change needs to happen. After you have properly identified where your trouble lies, you need to determine the correct time to implement. Many ERP projects fall over as the business was not ready for change. However when executed properly, the implementation of a new ERP will take your business to the next level. Alt Shift is an ERP project consulting firm with many successful ERP implementations from all sorts of industries under our belt. Have a chat with us to discuss your business requirements.
