Enterprise Resource Planning | Business Analytics | Digital Transform
Our advice to clients is that implementing a new digital strategy will have the best effects when launched with a new overall business strategy and vice versa. This is especially the case when implementing a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System as it’s this technology that can enable you to experience new operational efficiencies.
So how do you identify the applications of your ERP system that could be the crucial enablers of your business strategy and how do you ensure your ERP implementation will have the capabilities to deliver on the business objectives you expect? e.g. for a Supply Chain and Distribution business, based on business value, we would recommend initially implementing Financials, CRM, and Supply Chain & Distribution applications and therefore implementing Human Resources and Payroll at a subsequent stage. Aligning an ERP system to key business strategies is the only way to ensure that the enterprise can experience the appropriate economies of scale benefits.
Any organisation looking to implement an ERP system needs to ensure their implementation strategy is defined in terms of process scope as opposed to the functionality of modules as ensuring process integrity is the best way to leverage the economies of scale available within your ERP system. So using the example of that Wholesale and Distribution Company again, the high-level process scope would start from the creation of a Sales Order, Purchase Order, Inventory Pick and Despatch to invoice and payment. Therefore by defining implementation requirements in terms of where process integrity will be a driver of business value, organisations will be able to align their ERP to business processes that best align with their organisational strategy.
By using this process scope to define a boundary for the ERP system, the strategy can then determine its use within this boundary. Failing to set and enforce these boundaries means your organisation will miss out on the operational efficiencies that process integrity should be delivering.
There is a range of business drivers that make the pursuit of ERP technology an obvious decision for many businesses but a clear evaluation of exactly where this technology will add value to a business is essential before you begin the implementation process. By looking at which processes depend on technology, which processes could benefit from greater integration with your business technology and leave out those processes that are unnecessary, your organisation will be able to experience the best possible value from your ERP investment.
About the Dan Hewitt
As a Business Development Manager at Endeavour, Dan is passionate about partnering with organisations to provide a value-adding approach to their business services.
