Yes you can, but it is really a big challenge. Integrating BI (business intelligence) capabilities with ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems need a lot of planning. To succeed in the integration you should have an efficient and single ERP system working across your organization. The integration process can be even easier if the utilization of a single BI system within the organization.
As it is a common knowledge that when you have fewer disparate systems to tie together, the easier the integration. Additionally, it helps to ensure that your master data and metadata definitions are homogeneous throughout the organization. It is also important to recognize that, while ERP systems provide a wealth of operational data, they do not paint a complete picture of your business. For this reason it’s important to ensure that the BI tools you choose can be readily integrated with your mission-critical systems.
No software including even an ERP system will solve your problems unless the system is used in proper manner. What is to be remembered is that ERP is a tool and not a magic wand. Therefore the tool must be used properly if you expect any result out of it.
It is also important that tools are only as good for you as you are good and skilled and disciplined at handling them. Poor tools are just that, poor tools – they won’t help you much. But good tools won’t help you any better if you don’t use them properly.
Huge inventory levels may well be result of bad tools to manage inventory properly. Or they may come from people being irresponsible about ordering only what’s necessary. It may come from poor planning tools. Or from people avoiding planning, or not planning at all.
There are many instances when a company’s profitability may be low due to huge administrative overhead or due to shot of personnel to take care of unnecessary costs. Your company can become unprofitable in sales, because somebody is doing favors to certain “big” and “important” customers, and nobody knows or nobody cares. The people who are associated with these malpractices will keep all the transactions under the carpet.
In the above scenario, an ERP system could make a big difference. That means the ERP will not miraculously make those customers profitable for you, but being a tool, it could expose them and pinpoint the reason for low profitability.
It is just an example how an ERP system could be used as an effective tool to curtail malpractices in an organization which will ultimately solve many of your business problems.
ROI on ERP:
Organizations should not wait for an embarrassing and potentially devastating event to find out that security controls in their ERP systems are inadequate. To overcome this risk organizations need to implement an appropriate access strategy.
As businesses grow, information systems support whole communities of users like customers, suppliers, partners and employees, who all count on the secure exchange of a wide variety of information to place orders, pay bills and keep records up to date.
Customers, vendors, partners and employees all need access to the right ERP information at the right time and, increasingly, from anywhere. Yet these users work on many different systems and access data from multiple locations. All have different passwords and authorizations.
Organizations must not only manage the security issues of your own employees, but also increasingly those of customers, suppliers and other business partners.
eresource ERP addresses your security needs in authentication, access control and user management. An integrated solution identifies the user, determines what the user can do, determine the level of trust the user should receive, protects your data.
Our ERP security specialists have the expertise, tools and methodologies to make sure that your eresource ERP system includes a cost-effective security approach that dovetails with your firewall, virus scanner, spam control and tape backup systems.
Legacy systems utilize outmoded programming languages, software and/or hardware that typically are no longer supported by latest ERP software.
Legacy systems are still used by some companies because they think a change over may cost them lot and potential risk of business interruption associated with the movement of data and key business processes to more advanced and contemporary technologies.
We have seen number of companies still heavily reliant on decades-old legacy system. Further complicating the situation, many of these companies has been built through a series of mergers often must manage a variety of incompatible legacy systems inherited from their predecessor organizations.
In general, legacy system tend to be given inadequate resources for their proper maintenance, even when an upgrade to contemporary technology is not being contemplated seriously. The blame must go to the decision makers in the organization and the non-technical executives who tend to assume that they can continue to run on the cheap, and underestimate the risks of taking this approach.
ERP for SMBs:
Globalization and IT sophistication are forcing even small businesses to automate processes and integrate applications to facilitate stronger communication, data collection and analysis. ERP software systems are integrated business solutions intended for the planning, managing, controlling, and accounting for all of a company’s resources.
It is the administrative and operational requirements, not the size of the company that determines if an ERP solution is required or not. Even small companies require most of the same basic ERP functions needed by larger companies.
eresource’s cost-effective, web-based ERP solution, combined with eresource’s flexible and affordable pricing structures, provides SMBs with a technology solution having all of the functionality and benefits of a “big company” ERP system – but with minimal investment and risk.
Before implementing an ERP software the organization needs to analyze current processes, identify non-value adding activities and redesign the process to create value for the customer, and then develop an ERP system package to suit the organizations requirements.
A key contribution of ERP software is the bundled business process knowledge that comes along with ERP software. These processes have evolved over the past two decades of ERP implementation in some of the most well-managed corporations around the world. By adapting to those processes that have proved successful in some of the finest corporations around the world, an organization implementing ERP would get the advantage of these “best of the breed” practices. That is the reason behind the consultant recommendations.
Why it is not advisable to have an in-house developed ERP?
We must understand that development of ERP is not like other software development projects, which are normally carried out focusing on automation. We find such serious mistakes being committed by some big and small companies in India. The EDP department in most of the cases is responsible for such in-house development work. Though they do consult with outside consultants, the basic theme of ERP is completely found missing in these types of products.
Looking at the efforts and approaches, it is very difficult to believe that the EDP department will come up with such international standard ERP product Though we do not rule out the possibility of someone must have succeeded it in up to some extent, but it’s not advisable to do. The reason being that is, we should leverage when we have strengths and, instead of building up a new strengths, co-opt a partner for the missing strength.
Today, when quality ERP products are well within the reach of most of the companies, one should not opt for costly in-house developed ERP. This ERP is not at all ERP except integration. The essence of ERP is the free BRP, which is absolutely not happening with these products. If we describe this in-house development correctly, then we can say that such approach is typically observed in software development company where only the ‘specification gathering and automation’ takes place.
Importance of ERP
An organization such as Manufacturing that has no ERP will be running on many kinds of software that do not allow interaction. Customization also may be difficult it in some cases. This will negatively affect the optimized functioning of organization’s business activities.
The organization such as manufacturing, construction, trading etc will be facing hardship in many areas of its functions. The engineering design of the software will be needed in order to improve the product, and to follow the client’s behavior and choices since the first contact is quite important. Administration of the different receipts interdependence will be very complex, such as invoices regarding materials purchases, general expenditures or salaries.
All of these things change when Manufacturing ERP system is implemented. Information flows constantly and allows you to follow a client’s processes at any moment, no matter which part of the process they are going through. Purchases and expenditures are registered in a centralized database which allows you to have close control over these activities. In this regard ERP helps you to prevent possible abuse.
A powerfully integrated ERP system enables interactions of marketing, sales, quality control, products processes, supply lines, stocks and many other areas and it can be in a single database. This will eliminate the occasional loss of and retyping errors. It integrates all departments and functions across a company in a single computer system that is able to serve all those different department’s particular needs.
An ERP system also automates business processes by placing them into a useful format that is standardized and common for the whole organization. Moreover it could even be used between their suppliers and customers.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solution software should address all the needs of an enterprise within the social context of the country in which the enterprise operates. This would imply that the local accounting practices and locally applicable taxation laws are fully adhered to in implementing the various business processes.
Many imported ERP software systems must incorporate India-specific features before implementation as per their client’s specifications. In contrast, an Indian ERP solution has already been programmed to care for the national industry’s interest.
Another feature of an India-made ERP like eresource ERP software system is its design. It has been designed to cater for the needs of the Indian users with fully knowing their working environment and requirements.
Industries also consider easy accessibility to their solution providers while choosing the right ERP for their enterprises. It is also to be noted that eresource Infotech serves all our customers equally, unlike some overseas vendors who have a strategy to serve only large clients.
Cost factor also stands as one of the reasons why Indian ERP solution is best suited for Indian industries. Many a time the huge cost involved in it scares away industries from implementing ERP solution, depriving the benefits the system could offer.
To overcome this precarious scenario, eresource ERP has introduced an affordable ERP, keeping in mind the Indian industries, specially the small and medium scale enterprises.
When the decision being taken to implement an ERP system in an organization, training session to the end-users should be discussed and finalized in detail. As lot of money and time is invested in this effort to increase productivity, efficiency and out-put over time from the end-users, it is very important to pay much attention to the training to end-users for the effectiveness of the system in the business operations.
In a normal process, during the “validation” or “cost case” phases of the ERP implementation, companies determine the overall business goals. The training goals also should be aligned during one of these two phases. Insufficient training could cause operational delays and an impediment to realizing your business goals.
While implementing an ERP system the members of the project team need to develop such knowledge and skills that will enable them to establish how to best use the functionality for the operation and maintenance phase. Since the members of the project team will become the trainers of other employees, they need to develop the skill to be able to formulate and deliver a training course.
The users need to have the skill for using the functionality relevant to their roles. They should understand the basic concepts of ERP and also how to perform the day-to-day activities in the ERP system. Others who require training include managers, who should have at least an appreciation of what the system does. Ideally, the project manager should have a good understanding o f all aspects of the system so that he can be effective in dealing with any issues raised.
A select number of people will require more specific technical training so that they can design databases, write scripts, manage users, generate reports and query the database for specific requirements.
The system administrators need to be able to setup the system and then maintain it. They will require knowledge about how to handle system security and deal with technical problems. They will need to develop a level of understanding of the functionality so that, at some stage after implementation when the project team is disbanded, they are able to manage the system smoothly.
Additionally, over the period it can be expected that the ERP tool will evolve to some degree along with the company and projects that it serves. From time to time it may be necessary to conduct additional training sessions to keep everyone abreast of the changes that have been implemented.
