Choosing an ERP System? 5 Resources Can Help

Are you choosing an ERP system soon?

Too often we see ERP selection and implementation projects go flying off the rails because of poor preparation, unrealistic expectations and insufficient project and change management. We want to help you avoid these problems before you even start communicating with vendors.

Here are five resources to help project teams prepare for choosing an ERP system, from designing a roadmap to reading customer success stories. Your journey starts here.

Resource 1: Choosing an ERP System? Create a Roadmap

The top performing manufacturing and distribution project teams find success by implementing guideposts for continuous business process improvement when embarking upon an ERP selection and implementation project.

They work through a roadmap following the steps here:

•  Decide who is in the driver’s seat
•  Document the current state
•  Make the case for education
•  Develop the future state and the “to be” process
• Build the business case

This is a proven methodology for success when it comes to business transformation.  A more thorough look at the process is available in the white paper entitled A Roadmap for Business Process Improvement.

For an understanding of this effective roadmap, it is also important to stay educated. For an in-depth examination of technology solution topics, check out Ultra’s vast library of white papers.

Resource 2: Understand the Value of Your Current System

Reasons for starting an ERP project are often a combination of outgrowing a legacy system and being burdened with manual, patchwork and standalone processes – common scenarios that leave the company in a poor position to react to change and optimize business processes.

Ultra’s team of ERP consultants suggests taking a hard look at the value delivered by the current enterprise technology solution:

• Are current ERP functions adequately supporting the current and future state of the business?
• Does the solution integrate with external systems, applications, customers and suppliers? Does it offer an intuitive look and feel?
• How robust are the current solution’s business intelligence capabilities? Does it provide real-time visibility into areas like shop floor activity, capacity, and inventory levels?
• How easy is it to generate real-time reports that are accessible throughout the enterprise? Is visibility and transparency of information lacking?

By approaching the evaluation process and ERP selection criteria in an informed manner, companies can ensure they make the right decisions and maintain their competitive edge. This is a key phase that is more fully explained in the blog post Starting an ERP Project? Start Here.

It’s wise to analyze the scenarios that leave the company in a poor position to react to change and optimize business processes

Resource 3: Listen to the Experts

In less than 10 minutes, you can learn about different aspects of an ERP evaluation and software selection project.

Ultra’s Founder and CEO Jeff Carr describes a typical organizational chart and shares how essential it is to assign process owners for each major functional area: customer facing, engineering, supply chain, production, quality, warehouse, logistics, HR, and accounting. Check out the podcast What Resources Do We Need for Our ERP Project?

Wondering about the optimal team make-up and timeline for an effective ERP project? Host Jeff Carr notes that in general, an ERP project will consume the better part of a year for a midsized company. It can take longer if multiple sites, countries, and companies are involved. Listen to the podcast What’s the Best Team, Timeline for Our ERP Project?

Resource 4: References from Other Enterprises in the Same Boat

Learning how similar manufacturers and distributors handle technology solution projects may be just the information you’re searching for. Read about the benefits of working with independent technology solution consultants to achieve both business transformation and ROI. Read customer success stories.

Resource 5: Live and On-Demand Webinars

Business process transformation is only possible with a thorough understanding of proven methodologies.  You’ll gain access to that key insight via  live and on-demand webinars covering a variety of topics related to choosing and implementing ERP projects, including vendor demos and ERP best practices.

As you begin your ERP selection and implementation project, trust in these resources based on Ultra’s years of experience with hundreds of successful technology projects. Choosing an ERP system can be a transformative process when you have the right resources and work with the most experienced experts.