Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is business process management software that allows an organization to use a system of integrated applications to manage the business and automate many back-office functions related to technology, services and human resources. This is what Google and Webopedia have to say about ERP. What is it in layman terms? It’s the process that simplifies Finance, HR, Data Procurement, Distribution, Logistics, Supply and more to help the company operate without any hitches. Now, the extent and complexity of the ERP system depend purely on the company. But then again there are some who believe “The cost of complexity isn’t offset by what you can charge. Complexity creates opportunities for you to fail your customer.” said an ex-President of a top airline in the US.
What about the case when Hershey Foods lost a ton of money on their peak season – aka Halloween. The ERP Implementation actually prevented the company from delivering $100 million worth of Kisses for Halloween that year and caused the stock to dip 8 percent. 8%. Can you beat that?
But it was then time for HP to say, hold my glass. ERP Rollouts are complex and HP being the uber meticulous company that they are, had a set of expected issues.
And had back up plans in place for when they had those issues. But they didn’t expect it all to happen at once. They didnt have a backup plan for when it all went down south. All being the keyword here. All the issues at a time.
The project eventually cost HP $160 million in order backlogs and lost revenue-more than five times the project’s estimated cost.
So how can you avoid ERP Problems?
- Conduct a very detailed and careful requirements gathering operation
- Include End-Users from all the departments that are being added to the ERP mixture
- Provide an industry-specific solution for maximum customization
- Try not to add unwanted features
- ERP Rollout takes time, accept it and plan for it. Set the right expectations in terms of time to the clients
- The last point is to have a clear maintenance plan
Or you can simply talk to CriticalRiver.
