If you’re in the market for your business’s first ERP or if you’re looking to change ERP’s, chances are you may already be overwhelmed. It’s vital to choose the correct ERP for your organizational needs, but it’s also important to set up the ERP correctly out of the gate. Most of us know that an ERP that’s not quite set up properly defeats the entire purpose of the platform and often creates more work and more headaches for users.
As such, here are a few tips to help you make the best decision possible for your team.
Know What You Want
Before you even approach a vendor, it’s important to have a game plan in place that outlines all of the holes in your current business model. Knowing exactly what your group needs to succeed must trump any fun new features you might see in a product demo. Rather than approaching an ERP vendor with problems, imagine what your ideal solution will look like. This will help guide you during your search and will ensure you don’t get hung up on any insignificant details during the negotiation process.
What Makes You Different?
Every ERP system will offer the same basic features, such as inventory management, financial and accounting management, human resources, etc. But what makes your organization different from the rest? Knowing what special needs you have will help you properly differentiate between ERP systems and help ensure that you dive into something that will truly help your particular group succeed in their daily, weekly, and quarterly goals to drive more revenue year over year.
Look to Your Employees
Another critical factor in selecting an ERP system is user experience. In order to be certain that your employees will be able to properly use the system, find out what people in each department expect and desire from an ERP. Sales might be expecting one system while materials managers and HR specialists may envision something entirely different. Getting feedback from employees is essential in the decision process, and may make the difference between a functional ERP system and a glorified spreadsheet.
Quality and Quantity Over Cost
We are all always looking for ways to save money. An ERP system can be a huge step towards cutting costs and increasing revenue. But one place where cost savings cannot be a leading factor is in selecting the proper ERP system for your needs. If you find the perfect system but are concerned about the cost and choose a less expensive platform with less useful features, you will essentially be losing money in the long term. Be sure that you don’t write off more costly options if they truly meet the needs of your organization.
If you’re ready to explore your ERP options, Epicor is ready. Epicor ERP provides a massive suite of business solutions in one convenient platform.
