What is an ERP system?

ERP systems contain applications and tools that allow all areas of your business to communicate with each other more effectively. ERP systems integrate all facets of an enterprise into one comprehensive information system. Employees will have quick and ready access to any data organization-wide to fit their specific needs. All data is available in real-time, which enables employees to make faster, more informed business decisions. With ERP systems, all vital business functions—estimating, production, finance, human resources, marketing, sales, purchasing—share up to date information. Enterprise resource planning systems streamline the collection, storage, and use of your organization’s data.

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The right ERP system can allow you to collect and store data into one centralized platform for the following functions:

  • Finance & Accounting
  • Human Resources
  • Customer Relationship Management
  • Production Management
  • Business Intelligence
  • Warehouse Management
  • Inventory Management
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Point-of-Sale (POS)
  • eCommerce
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  • Help automate and streamline tasks
  • Give employees the data they need to be successful
  • Provides a single database
  • Accessible from anywhere (off-site and from mobile devices)
  • Increases productivity
  • Make it easier for teams to collaborate with third-party vendors
  • Offers powerful reporting and forecasting tools
  • Keep data secure and helps you ensure compliance with global regulatory laws and guidelines

Primary Benefits of an ERP

Now more than ever, businesses of all sizes are implementing ERP systems. Here are some of the main benefits of ERP implementation. Provides business leaders with real-time visibility of their operations. Provides business leaders and teams with instant access to their global supply chains. An ERP can enable business leaders to identify challenges, uncover opportunities, and make faster decisions that impact different areas of their business. These include the following and many more:

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How To Decide If/When Your Business Needs an ERP

Every business is unique and faces different challenges at different times. How do you decide if investing in Enterprise Resource Planning is right for your business?

If you’re able to check off most of the items on this list, it’s probably time to start evaluating ERP software providers:

  • Your team members are spending too much time on tasks that could be automated and streamlined
  • You don’t have easy access to the data you need to make informed decisions
  • You work with vendors and third-party applications across the globe
  • You have a lot of different software tools and processes that have been adopted and implemented for your business but are not connected
  • You don’t know what your inventory levels look like daily
  • You’re spending too much time searching for information, trying to boost productivity and effectiveness.
  • Your teams can’t easily collaborate or share information
  • You can’t access essential business data and information when you’re off-site
  • You’re having trouble keeping up with changes in regulatory compliance
  • You’re finding or addressing problems after it’s too late

If you can check off at least sixty or seventy percent of the list above, it’s time to start exploring ERP solutions. List the specific challenges you think your organization is having, and talk with your business leaders about how an ERP solution would help.

How to Choose the Right Solution

If you’re looking for your first ERP solution or looking to upgrade from an existing system. Correctly evaluating, selecting, and implementing is crucial for long-term strategic decision making in your organization.

To help you through this process, here are eight simple steps for a successful ERP system selection:

Step 1: Evaluation – Get members of your leadership together and start the initial conversation about ERP.

Step 2: Make An Assessment – Look critically at your business operations and determine what’s working, what challenges you’re experiencing, and what you think you need in an ERP solution.

Step 3: Establish Criteria – Develop standard criteria to use when evaluating vendors. This can include features, price, platform, and other valuable decision-making tools.

Step 4: Schedule Consultations – Schedule phone calls, in-person meetings, or online demos with sales representatives and product experts at the vendors you’re considering.

Step 5: Create a Shortlist – Narrow your list down to 2-3 candidates that you’re interested in.

Step 6: Make Contact – Contact vendors and schedule follow-up calls to learn more about how their products could help your business.

Step 7: Prepare Questions That Address Your Concerns – Prepare specific questions that you’d like each vendor to address during the follow-up call.

Step 8: Check Vendor References – Talk to other companies that have implemented ERP systems from the vendors you’re considering. Find out what they like, what they don’t like as well as if they’d recommend the vendor you’re asking about. Once you’ve selected the ERP vendor for your business needs, spend the time to scope the entire project, from start to finish.

Implementing an ERP System At Your Organization

When you’re finally ready to implement an ERP system at your organization, follow these practices and tips to ensure your success:

  • Understand business processes and critical requirements. Gain a complete understanding of all the areas, processes, and tools that make up your business. Spend time documenting problem areas, methods that work, questions you have, and any other observations regarding implementing the system at your company
  • Build a business case for ERP with a positive ROI. Make a list of the benefits of implementing ERP software. Share your list with team members, decision-makers, and key stakeholders. Focus on what’s not working at your organization and how an ERP system will help. Decide on key performance indicators that you can measure against once the new system is implemented across your organization
  • Ensure proper project management and resource commitment. Assign a member of your team with the task of managing the implementation process from start to finish. Make sure that person has the resources they need to be successful
  • Gain executive and organizational commitment, get the full support and commitment of everyone at your organization. Make sure everyone understands what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how it affects them and their work.
  • Recognize the value of early planning. Reduce the amount of time it takes to implement an ERP system through planning thoroughly. Think about the resources you’ll need along each step of the way to make the deployment phase go as efficiently as possible.
  • Focus on data migration early in the implementation process. Decide how much historical data you want to migrate into your system, then make plans to start the migration process as soon as possible — waiting until the end can wreak havoc on your business operations. Invest in training and change management. Give employees and team members enough time to understand why you’re implementing a new system, and how it will affect their roles. Make sure everyone is on board and encourage team members to reach out to you if they need help
  • Know why you’re implementing ERP. Define requirements, establish metrics, and build a business plan that clearly articulates what benefits the company expects from implementation.
  • Get outside help when required. Our experts are happy to help on any step of your journey

By following these recommendations, your implementation process will be a breeze. It will also assist your employees in reaching their goals and KPIs.

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To build a sustainable, scalable enterprise in today’s business environment, you need to use tools that help you streamline tasks, boost productivity, and leverage data in real-time. Fina Systems can make that a reality.