Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a process used by companies to manage and integrate the important parts of their businesses. Many ERP software applications are important to companies because they help them implement resource planning by integrating all of the processes needed to run their companies with a single system. An ERP software system can also integrate planning, purchasing inventory, sales, marketing, finance, human resources, and more.
Key Takeaways
- ERP software can integrate all of the processes needed to run a company.
- ERP solutions have evolved over the years, and many are now typically web-based applications that users can access remotely.
- Some benefits of ERP include the free flow of communication between business areas, a single source of information, and accurate, real-time data reporting.
- An ERP system can be ineffective if a company doesn't implement it carefully.
There are three common approaches to installing a new ERP system in an enterprise:
Enterprise-Wide full Installation
This approach was very common in the early days of ERP installations as, at the time, many large corporations were trying to quickly become Y2K compliant. The biggest challenge companies encountered was getting all their employees to cooperate and accept a new software system at the same time. If you are leaning towards this method of installation, make the transition easier by clearly outlining the ways that the new ERP software will be an improvement over existing software. Provide training for your employees to increase their comfort level with the new system.
If your top level staff members are solidly behind the new ERP system and you take the time to help transition your staff to the change, you will go a long way towards helping your company achieve a successful ERP installation.
Unit by Unit
This is common approach among large or diverse companies where there are not many common processes across business units. Management will locate a particularly open-minded and flexible team and install a pilot ERP installation in that department. Some process that don't vary much across the company, such as financials, bookkeeping, and HR may be installed across the entire enterprise, but the pilot department has it's own separate ERP system and database, or "instance".
Once the company feels comfortable with the success of the installation, the pilot team is used as an in-house customer reference to sell other units on ERP. This process can be somewhat time consuming, but does often lead to increased employee acceptance of the new ERP application as they hear testimonials from peers on the benefits of the new system. More departments may be added over time with their own discreet instances of the ERP application, or the company may try to consolidate them into a handful of different instances or perhaps even into a single ERP instance for the entire enterprise.
Key-Process Installation
Smaller companies often opt to focus on a few key processes for their initial ERP installation. For instance, they may decide to start out using the ERP application's financial module and add other features as the company grows. Since Datsolinc provides companies a fully integrated ERP package rather than requiring a company to purchase separate modules, it's easy for a company to add additional processes as the company desires new functionality.
Traditional ERP software often caused problems down the road for this type of installation since they required choices to be made at the time of the initial installation that could not easily be changed at a later date.
You won't face that problem with the new Analytics Data Solutions LLC ERP model. Datsolinc is designed to change with your company now and in the future. Be aware, though, that an ERP implementation isn't really successful until it is in use by employees. You must still expect to devote some time and energy to training employees on new features as they are implemented.