It doesn’t take an organisation in the SME sector too long, to realise that the business scenario today is a highly complex and competitive one. In the dog-eat-dog market, the supreme advantage of being able to attract new customers and keep existing ones isn’t an accident. There are several factors that are taken into consideration for this: effective processes, good products, and competitive prices. Add to this, well-defined and streamlined processes with minimal waste, a robust Mpaperless-office-automating-your-businesssave-contactthank-youfooterindexlegalIS framework which delivers real time reporting on key parameters as well as a predictive ability to the business, and automation to improve or eliminate repetitive manual steps in the processing.
Given the above scenario, ERP implementations seem to be a readymade solution. But before you plunge into the deep end of the pool, consider the various facets of ERP implementations. Current day ERP implementations come at an extremely high cost, a rigidity that isn’t friendly to say the least, excessive investments that follow, resulting poor ROI, inflexible rules that govern these ERP implementations – in short, a list that dissuades you from ERP implementations and the disruption it causes your business, as you scramble for outside support.
Allow us to explain to you the factors you need to keep in mind before considering ERP implementations. It is imperative that you understand the key areas in your business that need to be measured – Customer Management: study audience profiles and their needs; and Operations Management – everything from inventory, sales patterns, payables, and rejected stock to billing, efficient approval processes, monitoring and deviance management processes.
The task of choosing ERP implementations may also require you to measure other areas like Finance & Accounts Management, Human Resources, Sales, etc., but before you begin to add those to your list, consider what your objectives of ERP implementations are.
It helps to keep in mind that most ERP implementations offered today are derivatives of products developed for large organizations, making them complex to deploy, operate and maintain. They are resource hungry, increasing your overall costs, both of deployment and ongoing operations, thus putting additional burden on your cash flow.
Before your SME buckles under these burdens, ask these all-important questions:
• Are ERP implementations for your IMMEDIATE business need or your DESIRED business state? In other words, are you employing it for cost reduction and improved cash flow in the present or future promises, while forgetting that ERP implementations have long implementation lead times and it could be years before you actually see the benefits?
• Why do you want to automate – is it to bring a level of transparency, predictability, integration and stability to your business environment? How important are these factors and have you thought about other systems that can deliver the same objectives?
• Is your organization ready for an Enterprise level automation? Is the work culture ready for such a dramatic shift or would a phased approach to Business Process Management be more acceptable?
• Do you have the resources which can be dedicated for the training and up-skilling requirements of effective deployment?
• In your current environment, can you afford the additional load of preparing your organization for the future? Are there pressing day to day issues that need to be addressed now? If you cannot afford such a major disruption to your current business, are there any other solutions that are easier to implement?
• At the end, the choice lies between Enterprise Management and Operations Management. Choose right! |
