Jun 29, 2017
Common Challenges for SME ERP Solutions and How They Can be Solved
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is not a new development in the business world, but its usefulness and application in small to medium enterprises are sometimes debated. A good ERP system form the backbone of a business and play a crucial role in the how the business and its resources are managed Traditionally, ERP was only the domain of large corporates with vast budgets. Over the last decade, it has become apparent that ERP is not only useful in large corporates, but may also yield significant benefits to smaller companies who invest in an ERP solution specifically suited to small businesses. Despite what some people may think, SME ERP solutions can add enormous value to an SME. That said, it is still not as freely used in small businesses as larger ones. This is because there are some challenges that prevent small business owners from investing in ERP. Let us discuss some of the challenges of implementing SME ERP solutions and how to overcome them:
- Low awareness and inaccurate perception: Small business owners who are not aware of the potential of ERP and how it can affect their businesses often see it as a large company investment. SME owners are sometimes also not very familiar with the best ERP suppliers for small businesses, as many ERP consultancies tend to focus on solutions for the larger corporates instead of SMEs. Because the market for ERP in small business is steadily growing thanks to the obvious benefits, small business owners are becoming more familiar with ERP, and it is only a matter of time before most small business owners and managers become aware of ERP and how it can improve their businesses.
- Lack of resources: Most small companies don’t have internal technical infrastructure to train and support employees involved with the implementation and management of such as system. A solution is to focus on vendors that supply full support and training, specifically for ERP in small to medium enterprises. Lupus Consulting focusses on SME ERP solutions in particular, and offer training and ongoing support to staff at affordable rates. It is also possible to implement parts of ERP into certain areas of the business and expand the solution as time passes and the business and resources grow.
- Affordable: ERP is usually seen as a large investment, and few small companies can afford a large-scale implementation of advanced new technology that is not crucial to production or operation. They have smaller budgets and may feel that the money could be put to better use elsewhere in the business. The truth is that an SME ERP solution costs less to implement and maintain than people may think, and adds value to the business virtually immediately, which makes the expense well worth it.
- Aversion to change: Before anything can change in a company, stakeholder buy-in is required to manage the change effectively. With the implementation of an ERP solution, the way information is stored and extracted will change, and it is essential that end users and IT staff are trained well to familiarise themselves with the system, and for them to have a full understanding of how ERP works, and how it can benefit the way they function in the short, medium and long term. A good SME ERP solution provider like Lupus Consulting will ensure that buy-in is achieved, and that the changeover to ERP is seamless.
- Scoping the system: The approach to implementation will be important in terms of the cost, the extent of change, and how long this will take. It is therefore essential that thorough analyses are performed to ensure that the right approach is taken. Some business managers may opt for the all-in-one-go approach, while a phased rollout could better suit SMEs. This is why the scope has to be clearly defined through collaboration between the client and the vendor. It is also possible to add more components to the ERP solution at a later stage as the business changes or expands.
If you are a SME owner or business manager, it is time that you explore the benefits of SME ERP solutions to help to manage the business better, to cut costs, and to boost the bottom line. Give our team at Lupus Consulting a call to discuss how we can help.
Jun 29, 2017
How Small Business ERP Software Can Boost Your Bottom Line
ERP (enterprise resource planning) is not a recent development in software and business management, but what is new is the trend to apply ERP to SMEs (small to medium enterprises). Only large companies used to invest in ERP, because they had a lot of data to process, manipulate, and use in various formats, and ERP software allowed them to do this very successfully. As a result, people have become aware of all the benefits that good ERP software can provide, and smaller enterprises are now also investing in small business ERP software to manage that is transaction-based business, and to save on costs and operational expenditure, and overall better management of information and resources.
Studies by the Aberdeen Group, a leading fact-based research group, has found that much benefit can be gained by SMEs when employing the use of small business ERP software, giving them a bigger competitive advantage in the marketplace. SMEs have become far more numerous over the last 10 years, and a lot of these smaller companies are now poised for expansion, and further growing their revenues and profits. It is possible to gain significant cost savings with the use of effective ERP implementation to help operations function at optimal levels. This, in turn, will help these businesses to survive when economic conditions deteriorate. Small businesses who want to be at the top of their game can use ERP software implementation as a strategic weapon against competitors, and as more and better ERP solutions are developed, these solutions widen the performance gap between those businesses that invest in ERP and those who do not. It is now possible to use a wide range of technologies, features, and highly useful functions that are being improved upon all the time in order to draw better results from collected data.
The benefits of small business ERP software:
- Reduced cost of operations.
- Reduced administrative costs.
- Significant reductions in inventory.
- On-time delivery.
- Better compliance to schedules.
How Lupus Consulting Can Help
Since our doors opened in 2003, we have helped many different companies from a variety of industries achieve their strategic objectives with the implementation of our innovative enterprise resource planning software. We know that small and medium enterprises can benefit just as much from the implementation of ERP as large companies – even though this is not always universally realised in the business world. Our specific way of approaching ERP for small and medium enterprises is particularly focussed on the way these companies work and, as a result, we have had a significant influence on the widespread adoption of ERP for small companies in South Africa. We provide the following outstanding services:
- Business analysis: Before any change can take place in an organisation, it is vital to analyse the way the business operates, and to define the requirements of the business in order to come up with viable and effective solutions to challenges. We work closely with our clients throughout the process – we define the scope and incorporate this into an achievable plan for implementation that takes into account all the specific needs of the different business processes, thereby providing significant value to the business.
- System configuration and implementation: After the business analysis phase, we configure our small business ERP software to meet the needs of the client’s business according the scope identified and the analysed processes. Often complex information has to be managed in particular ways and we provide a large variety of options that will cater to all the different businesses, processes, and environments.
- Training and support: Of course, we also train your employees to use and manage your small business ERP software effectively. We conduct on-site training and offer continuous support throughout the implementation phase; in addition, we provide on-time support while the system is going live. We also continue to provide on-site and remote support of the system once it is up and running.
- Reporting and business intelligence: We know that different companies need different types of information, and as a result we write customised reports for our clients that will help them to draw effective and insightful answers from their collected data. We also provide real-time data analyses to show the current state of various facets.
If you would like to find out more about how small business ERP software can benefit your small or medium enterprise, give our team at Lupus Consulting a call today.
