Planning for ERP: Benefits of Having an ERP Consultant Partner

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) enables businesses to simplify the management of multiple internal processes like HR, sales, and marketing and integrates them into a single platform. However, creating an in-house ERP is a time-intensive task and requires companies to hire high-paying staff for its development is also affected by common errors. This is why companies hire ERP experts, starting from the planning stage. To help you better in ERP planning and integration, see how you benefit by hiring an ERP consultant partner;

    1. Planning and Evaluation

Defining the scope and requirements of your ERP project affects every department in your organization. Lack of proper planning and evaluation leads to disruption in daily operations and, in turn, affects the productivity of your business. ERP consultant partners are well-versed in all areas of ERP as well as combine experiences from across industries. Their expertise in the field provides an unbiased understanding of your business workflow, enabling you to improve ERP planning.

    2. Choosing between Cloud or On-Premise ERP

While both types of implementations have their own merits, it is more important to understand their cons. Cloud-based ERP software solutions provide greater flexibility but may not integrate with many legacy systems in your business. However, on-premise systems can tailor your hardware and ensure solid functionality after implementation. But in this case, there are higher costs involved in setting up such a system, whereas cloud-based ERP systems come as subscriptions. External ERP consultants simplify this decision-making process and enable you to choose what is best for your business. Typically, small and medium businesses (SMBs) integrate cloud-based integrations, whereas corporates install on-premise systems.

    3. ERP vs Operational Goals

Enterprise resource planning tools optimize resource and operation planning to achieve your operational goal and not the other way around. Therefore, be vocal about your expectations and outcome from the beginning of ERP implementation. Often, companies steer away from their operational goals in deploying ERP systems, ultimately causing discrepancies and capital loss. ERP consultant partners ensure that your ERP strategies align with your operational goals at each step during the development process.

    4. Automation and Analytics

Backend process automation is an integral feature of ERP systems, which does not make any difference unless it is deployed effectively. Discuss which processes you have to automate and establish a workflow at the ERP planning stage. In addition, combining your department data into a single ERP platform enables the application of analytical tools. This further accelerates data-driven decision-making and allows easy identification of process bottlenecks. Because of the extensive understanding of ERP, consultant partners can identify what is best for your workflow and which process analytics and automation will positively impact your productivity.

    5. ERP as an Asset Management Tool

An asset management tool provides real-time information on your assets, whereas ERP offers end-to-end data across departments. Unlike legacy management tools that have separated systems for each department, ERP combines these siloed data sources. As a result, managers can receive insights into the overall workflow and data. To facilitate this, ERP consultants will provide you with a deep understanding of your ERP system and offer IT support to minimize any delays.

    6. Process Prioritization

Prioritization is an essential part of enterprise resource planning integrations. Even though it might seem counter-intuitive, implementing ERP on a single task at a time reduces delays and disruptions. For example, breaking a system during on-premise deployment will be limited to that particular task in the process. Discussing these concerns during ERP development with consultants is integral to avoid downtimes during system integration.

   7. Updating Legacy Systems

Be it on-premise or cloud-based, ERP systems are limited by legacy hardware. For instance, on-premise ERP installations require high-end desktops and solid data management systems. On the other hand, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ERP platforms need high-speed internet connectivity and might require department-specific management tools. Therefore, ERP consultants work closely with your IT teams to better understand your hardware and suggest upgrades to avoid delays due to hardware incompatibility.

   8. Change Management

Like any other process change, ERP implementation demands proper staff training, leading to significant drops in employee productivity and morale. The best practice is to maintain standardized documents and interactive training materials before ERP integration. ERP consultant partners play a major role in this seamless transition from a legacy system to an ERP-enabled business. They also support employees through constant remote support to reduce workflow delays and organizational stress.

While these are the most important ways an ERP consultant partner can help you, they offer many more solutions to improve business management and productivity. Get in touch with us to see how you can enhance your ERP setup or start planning an effective ERP for your business.