I know what I
would do, but the choice is not up to me.
A number of years ago someone figured out that a company
might be able to generate revenue by utilizing the Internet. For a long time, way before the Internet was
available to the public, companies understood that automation and integration
were key components in lowering costs.
Over time creative people came up with ways to integrate technology to
improve efficiencies, enough so that some business operations are now molded
around available technologies.
An almost universal question that must be answered by organizations
evaluating software solutions is how much will I change my operating procedures
to match the software capabilities or how much will we modify the software to
match our operations.
The answers run
from one extreme to the other.
What we look for is a closer match of software to
business than the reverse. It means that
the software is the right choice. The
Solution provider understands your business and has made the customizations for
you. That is why you pay them or should
is I say what you pay them for.
It is not that a company cannot completely modify a
solution to match their operations, however, that is essentially custom
software and most organizations want to move away from that type of
solution. Granted it meets all of your
business needs, but the problem is that it tends to isolate you from industry
change. This isolation either leads to
falling behind or means that you have to invest in extra staff to keep
current.
No business operates
alone and should not look for a solution that furthers the divide.
There are exceptions.
Of course, it is possible that your organization is completely unique,
operates like no other and therefore you need a completely custom
solution. If their products are in
demand and no one else produces them, they have a monopoly and since there is
demand, then it may make sense. However,
the vast majority of those so egotistical have not taken the time to see how
the technology industry has transformed the way it interacts with their demand.
It is more likely that that there were no solutions years
ago and that company had to develop their own.
They were industry leaders at the time.
Regardless, how will they keep up with change?
This applies to
the Ecommerce versus ERP question that we started out with.
I am sure that a lot of work went into the web site. They may have finally got all the pieces to
work. Well, except for the integration
with the back end. The ecommerce
solution may be working so well that what once worked at one business level,
just simply cannot keep up with the new higher demand.
Sound familiar?
This company came up with a custom solution to meet a
current and growing need. It worked
really well. Business grew. Grew so well, that they grew right out of
their custom solution. Now they have to
decide to scale back the business, invest in more manpower to increase the
integration and accommodate the growth or invest in a new solution, throw some
or all of the existing solution out and then move forward.
How many steps
backwards does this organization now have to take, because they isolated their
technology solution?
It is like climbing a ladder up a building only to
realize they are climbing the wrong building.
Depending on a lot of information that we do not have, it is possible
that they may just need a bigger ladder.
Of course you have figure out what that new ladder will rest on. Will they have to climb all the way down and
then start climbing once again and hope the ladder is big enough this time?
There is no substitution
for full integration.
That does not mean to say that everyone can afford all
the bells and whistles on an initial purchase, however, does the solution
provider you are considering have a solution for what you will likely need in
the future? Do they have a growth plan
available? What are your choices when
the growth of your operations necessitates more horsepower in your systems and
transactional processing? Will you have
to throw everything out or can you add more resources?
Changing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution
is a lot like open heart surgery without any anesthesia. It is painful. No doubt, but afterwards you are grateful for
the change. Low Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) contributes to a higher Return on Investment (ROI) and inevitably the
right solution pays for itself.
My answer to the
question is the same answer to any new solution.
Invest in an ERP solution that is designed for growth and
can add features and modules directly or from vetted third-party solutions when
your business needs them. Do not throw
away the development in the Ecommerce solution.
No need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Concentrate on integrating the front end of
the current web site with the existing backend web constructs that exist and
are fully integrated with a new ERP solution.
Over time, when it makes sense, consider the ramifications of moving
completely over to the ERP offering.
ERP solutions work
best when you let them do what they are designed to do.
Integrate the Enterprise.
The more integrated, the higher the operational efficiencies, cost
reductions and increase profit potential.
ERP solutions are not a substitute, or fix, for bad
management, however, good management has the potential to be great with the
right solution.
Dolvin
Consulting works with midsized manufacturers, distributors and specialty
retailers to help them streamline their computer operations, reduce costs, and
increase profits. Those organizations
typically struggle with warehouse and inventory control issues, have outgrown
manual processing or are frustrated with the constant flux in technology and have
lost the ability to keep current.
Please
contact us today to see how we can help you identify and address the
challenges that hold you back.
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