3 Often-Overlooked Aspects of ERP Software
The major benefits of enterprise resource planning
(ERP) software are well known. The automation of routine
transactions, the integration of critical business functions, and the linking
of different departments, plus the capture and centralized storage of data are
all things you may expect to gain from a successful selection project for a new
ERP solution.
In most
cases, ERP systems available today are also comprehensive in what they offer.
In other words, you’ll find that ERP solutions have good coverage of functions
such as finance/accounting, sales management, inventory management, customer
relationship management, business intelligence capabilities, and other such
business mainstays. In other words, each function has a sufficient number of
features built into the software.
In this
post, however, we direct your attention to three less-obvious aspects of ERP
systems that can be overshadowed by functional categories and the incorporation
of new technologies. These are harder-to-quantify aspects of the software, or
“soft factors”, that nevertheless matter a great deal for the long-term success
of an ERP system adoption.
Aspect #1:
User Experience (UX)
How
employees feel about using ERP software, while it is a subjective impression,
is actually important. The user friendliness of any ERP solution ranks up there
with how well the functions and features align with your company’s business
requirements. This is because even the most comprehensive, feature-rich piece
of software will turn out to be a poor investment if would-be users find it
confusing, or they take a long time to learn how to use it, or some of them
outwardly refuse to use it altogether.
So how do
you judge something as subjective as UX? The answer lies in having a properly
chosen selection team not just one or two individuals. The selection team
should be made up of employees from every department or stakeholder group that
will be using any new ERP system.
Besides
consulting these stakeholders when gathering your requirements, you’ll want to
include them when it comes to comparing competing ERP solutions. A particular
UX may seem intuitive and user friendly to you, or to the information
technology (IT) manager, or someone else at your organization, but when that
person from accounting, or inventory, or sales, etc., tries it out, they may
find it’s far from ideal.
People today
are used to using consumer apps and websites that make things easy in their
personal lives. Most people will bring similar expectations to their workplace,
so they may run out of patience if they encounter software with a substantial
learning curve. Keep in mind that most users will not need to understand how to
configure or set up the new software, they’ll just want to be able to perform
the tasks they need to accomplish quickly and easily. In the case where the
screen they land on is not the one they need; they expect a quick swipe or
click will take them to exactly what they’re looking for.
More and
more, ERP software vendors are focusing development time and effort on
providing consumer-grade user experience. This is a trend we expect to
continue, meaning most companies ought to be able to find an ERP system that
both meets their functional needs and passes the UX test.
Aspect #2:
Scalability
Most
businesses hope to grow and expect their ERP software to accommodate that
growth. ERP solutions are expected to have a working life span of at least 2 to
3 years before a major upgrade is required. A lot can happen in that time frame.
Most modern
ERP solutions offer scalability defined as a solution’s capability to handle an
increasing amount of work or to be expanded to accommodate more users and
demands.
As with most
things, scalability comes with additional costs. Ask your ERP vendor to add 50
additional user licenses, and it’s reasonable to assume there will be some
additional fees. While negotiating to purchase a new ERP solution, it’s wise to
ask about scalability. Ask how growth would be handled, including the cost of
adding additional licenses. In some cases, there may also be some need for
additional hardware. Hardware is less of a consideration if the chosen ERP
software is based in the cloud, but even cloud ERP systems depend on the
customer having reliable and fast internet connectivity with sufficient
bandwidth. That may not seem like a problem for a smaller business, but may
require some upgrades for, say, a company with a couple hundred users or more.
Even if your
plans don’t foresee any definite growth, it’s still wise to ask the vendor
about various “what if” scenarios. Sometimes the question of scalability can be
a decisive factor when it comes to selecting from competing ERP systems.
Aspect #3:
Vendor Support
While this is
actually an attribute of the people behind the software rather than the
software itself, it is too important to overlook. It also straddles the middle
ground between something that’s a subjective perception, such as UX, and
something that can be backed with some numerical values, like scalability. For
example, the average length of time it takes for a vendor to resolve a service
ticket issue is a quantifiable measure and hence an indication of the vendor’s
level of responsiveness. But even though the overall perception of whether a
vendor is responsive and supportive is not something that can be quantified, it
can still be as important to a user group’s level of satisfaction.
Working with a
vendor that stands behind its ERP solution and is eager to nurture the
relationship with your organization—the customer—after the sale, can be a
vital aspect of whether your new ERP system lives up to the expectations and
offers a good return on investment (ROI).
The quality of
vendor support is arguably even more important than it was 5 to 10 years ago.
That’s because cloud-based deployments have become so common. When most ERP
software was on premise, the frontline of user support was often provided by
in-house IT staff or hired consultants who often worked on-site. In
the age of the cloud, however, support is most often delivered via help
screens, online chat applications, and phone. In most cases, it also involves
vendor staff other than the sales engineers your selection team was likely to
interact with during your software evaluation and demo.
So, how can your
selection team possibly evaluate the quality of vendor support before you make
the decision to purchase a particular ERP system? The best way is to talk to
other customers, much like yourself, who have already experienced this vendor
support firsthand. Be sure to ask the vendors of the ERP solutions on your
shortlist to provide you with a list of client references. If possible, those
references should include companies that are similar to yours in terms of
industry, size, or preferably both. Most importantly, contact those people and
get as much relevant information as you can from them. This means not settling
for a vague and general comment such as “the service has been good.”
Getting
Qualified Help
ERP software is far from
one-size-fits-all. Most vendors would be loath to turn away a new client simply
because the vendor lacks experience in that client’s particular industry or the
vendor’s solution has many but not all of the features and functions the
prospective client requires.
However, even though a solution may lack
some needed features, it may still represent a good fit for an organization’s
requirements. The best way to ensure your organization spends its time giving
careful consideration only to those ERP solutions that are fairly well aligned to
their needs is to go into the selection process with a clear idea of your
business requirements, priorities, and goals.
You don’t have to go it alone.
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