Things to Consider When Developing an ERP Business Case

How to avoid IT projects to fail! Buying an ERP accounting software or ERP for manufacturing industry (if you are in manufacturing) is not the only mission for you. Instead, being a customer, you must have a clear understanding of the results you are expecting from your project and how you’re going to achieve them.

For this, you must employ the most common entrepreneurial mantra, “proper planning and preparation prevent poor performance”, which is also termed as six Ps. It is imperative to develop a solid business case. It will help you realize – can ERP help your business?

The tips that can help you craft a business case include:

What you want to achieve?
Before selecting a specific business driven open source ERP software product you should work out on what you’re really out to achieve by investing on a new ERP system.

You must be able to elucidate the tangible advantages like business growth, cost saving, and enhancement in functional proficiency and other soft benefits too like customer satisfaction and customer loyalty etc. You should understand the impact on overall functioning, turnaround period and the environment – social, technical, and political.

What are the Other Advantages of ERP?
Some other peripheral benefits are also associated with the successful implementation of ERP, like improved efficiency due to automation and integration of system, improved decision-making by better collaboration and centralized data processing, etc. It will make you prioritize what’s important to you to enable you opt for the best ERP product. 

Estimated Costs of ERP?
The actual costs of ERP implementation are much higher than initial purchase cost of the license. Other costs may include implementation effort, network and server infrastructure, customization, scaling, training and maintenance. Generally software cost is just one third of the total cost.

Troubles faced during the implementation?
There could be various risk of the system, like not being able to support existing business processes, not meeting future requirements, lack of acceptance within stakeholders, improper after-sales support, and schedule and cost slippages. You must consider every risk along with handy counter mitigation options.

What the most suitable ERP for you?
Once you answered all the above questions, it’s time now to zero in to the most suitable ERP provider that is into manufacturing ERP software. For this, you should assess the potential of different products to address your requirements. It’s advisable to opt for a flexible, multi-functional tool that can undergo extensive configuration process and has earned a great reputation for excellent after-sales support.

Synopsis
By getting answers to all these questions, you can ascertain if an ERP platform is the best investment for your business compared to several product options. This exercise will also give you a proper understanding on ROI also that you can expect from this investment.

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