Changing the ERP software that powers your organisation is a big decision and is not something most companies would choose to do in the absence of serious need. However, it can be difficult to identify those needs, and often, by the time the conversations begin it is too late. Here are some signs you may not have considered but can be important early warning indicators that you should be looking at changing your ERP.
Small problems snowballing into big problems
Seen in isolation, time wasted having to source data from various business areas is an inconvenience. However, when seen in the context of the broader business, the impact that has on things like decision making, process optimisation and internal communication it is no longer just an inconvenience. The cumulative impact of these problems affects many people and their ability to work effectively, and ultimately has a negative impact on the goals and objectives of the organisation.
Understanding the flow on effects and business impacts of individual symptoms will help you identify the actual problem and could potentially save your business considerable time, effort, and expense.
Customer expectations are not in line with your output
ERPs are not something that most people think about on a regular basis which means companies are often operating with outdated technology without realising it. Combine that with the internal perspective that most people have, and it can be difficult to realise that you aren’t meeting customer expectation.
Modern customers expect immediacy in outcomes and response time, if your business is unable to meet these demands then you may find that you soon start to lose customers to your competitors who, thanks to modern software systems can offer what you are currently unable to.
This doesn’t have to be a huge problem though, keep an eye on market trends by reading blogs, speaking to customers, and researching what your competitors and other similar businesses are doing and you will soon know if you’re falling behind the pack.
Staff satisfaction is waning
If you have teams at your business who must interact daily with software, then it is in your interests to make sure that software is easy to use and can perform required tasks.
Everyone has experience working with inefficient or unintuitive software and we all get frustrated. But when those frustrations make it hard to do you your job properly one of three things is going to happen:
- Staff will leave and find a similar job with better software
- Staff will find work arounds resulting in inefficiencies, missing data, and a lack of transparency
- Mistakes will happen because the software isn’t up to the job despite the best efforts of staff
Understanding how your ERP is being used and the internal satisfaction with that software is extremely important for the success of your business.
If you don’t have faith that your ERP can keep up with the competition, meet modern customer expectations or ensure that staff are satisfied and able to complete their tasks efficiently then perhaps it is time to look for alternatives. Contact Biscit to learn more about how we can implement Epicor in your business and keep you ahead of the rest.