When choosing to invest in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution, it’s important to consider all the facts and take into account the features you will really need in order to help your business grow efficiently. So often though, companies move quickly and without real thought, rushing into a choice based on the wrong capabilities.
In this light, here are five very common mistakes made by rushing into an ERP selection, and ways to avoid them to ensure you select the right ERP solution for your business.
It’s easy to pick the first vendor that peaks your interest, but when choosing an ERP solution, you shouldn’t approach it as a one-size-fits-all situation. In fact, it’s important to look past the sales pitch and decided on an ERP software vendor who doesn’t operate like this. Some companies include just a brief summary of what their ERP solutions can do on their website. So it’s a good practice to be skeptical beyond the simple feature lists and ask the vendor as many questions as possible.
When choosing an ERP solution you’ll want to have a clear vision with regards to what you’re looking to achieve from it. If you don’t define/document your requirements or what you want for end results, you may be choosing a system that works well for another company instead of yours.
Unless you test the new ERP software product on your own, you won’t know how well the new software will hold up in a real-world environment. Sure, the demonstration model the vendor showed you during the meeting worked just fine, but if this step isn’t covered it can mean expensive downtime for your employees while services are upgraded or fixed. Better safe than sorry!
At first, an ERP system investment can seem like an expensive use of a company budget, but in time, the long-term benefits gained from the investments will outweigh this concern.
Not finding enough time to properly train employees about using the new system is one of the most common reasons why ERP implementations fail. This lack of training can lead employees to dislike the new system because they don’t understand it or don’t know how to use it completely.