Why bother with ERP?
An enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. Every business has heard of it, most have implemented one, but many are still vague on the value. Why should the modern organization bother with ERP? Why is it worth investing the funds and time into implementing one? The why of ERP is the most important question that every organization should answer before even putting a toe into digital waters.
Answer the Why
It is this answer that will define how much value your organization truly gets from its ERP expenditure and implementation.
Most research points to ERP being the backbone of the modern organization. It is the tool with which you optimize processes, refine back-end systems, streamline expenditure and gain operational visibility. If done properly, it is a giant pane of glass that grants decision-makers the insights they need to remove bottlenecks, overcome gaps, and transform customer engagement.
The problem is, that many companies are operating with a system that’s made up of multiple parts stuck together with digital glue. It works, but it’s not extraordinary. If you can find out the why for your business, then any ERP system or planned investment immediately shifts from a line item on a sheet or a grudge purchase that costs too much, to an asset.
This is Why…
1 – Your Modern ERP becomes a ‘digital operations platform’, as Forrester so accurately describes it, and not a stumbling, bumbling limitation that doesn’t deliver the speed, insights, and flex you need.
2 – It will help you to pull together all of the different puzzle pieces that are scattered across the business to create a unified picture. Say farewell to fractured insights and limited data and hello to centralized data that anyone can access and use to improve processes and the business.
3 – You gain measurable time and admin savings that translate to financial savings. People can speed up old and sluggish processes that may have caused bottlenecks in the past due to a lack of visibility. They can access information faster which translates to faster service and improved efficiencies. And people can work faster which is always an advantage to the modern organization and is proven to enhance customer stickiness and engagement.
4 – You can connect more effectively. You can use centralized insights and information to create connections and collaborative opportunities that can improve innovation and drive transformation.
5 – With improved analytics and insights, the organization can improve its visibility into overall business performance and gain richer control over decision-making. These insights can be refined and targeted to help streamline different departments or refine specific operations or systems. This can further be enhanced by its interoperability with emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things and automation.
The why may differ for your business
No two companies are the same. Your expectations for your business, your budget, your data – all these are unique to your operating environment and stakeholder requirements. This means that what you want from your ERP will be different from what someone else expects from their ERP investment.
This is where Mint Group UK comes in. Our expertise and our solutions are designed to help you find the Why. With our ProActive™ Discover™ and ProActive™ Transform toolkits, engineers, expert guidance and long-standing experience, we can help you unpack your ERP expectations so that you can define your Why, and take the next step with confidence…
…finding your how – read my second blog to follow.
