Is your ERP system killing your business? PART I

People buy ERP systems to enhance their organization’s performance. So why does it sometimes seems the opposite happens? Systems get more complex, require more work than they save, and actually hide data instead of bringing it to the forefront. Systems need to adapt to an organization’s changing requirements, not get in the way. Is your ERP system killing your business? This is the first of two articles on deciding whether you have a problem with your ERP system.

1. It takes too long to learn the system – older legacy systems often utilize a user interface that is difficult to learn, especially for younger employees, who have been raised on graphical systems from Windows and Apple. This lost time and productivity is expensive.
2. You can’t get information out of the system – if you find yourself tracking information in a bunch of spreadsheets, you probably have a problem. You may have a problem with the base system or with your reporting options. Either way, you lose.
3. Information is being input into more than system – entering the same data more than once is costly, in terms of the labour component, the risk of error, and timeliness of information. Manually inputting information that can be electronically processed can result in weeks or even months in getting your invoices issued and paid.
4. Foreign Exchange and Consolidations are creating huge headaches – These two elements of globalization can be seamless and don’t have to cause headaches for your operations and many long nights for the accounting group at month-end.

If your management information system is exhibiting any of these systems, you might want to consider a review of Microsoft Dynamics NAV, formerly Navision, and see what the most populate mid-market ERP system in the world has to offer.

Please come back next week for Part II of “Is your ERP system killing your business?”